Shoe Talk
A relaxed icebreaker no prep game for large groups
- Play anywhere
- Cooperative
- Quick (5 - 15 mins)
- No cost
- No Mess
- Relaxed
- Icebreakers
- Large Groups
- No Prep
Added by
Joel
on
How To Play Shoe Talk
Often at the start of a youth camp or youth group year there are many people who don't know each other. Even the leaders often don't know many of kids. What's needed is a good ice breaker game which doesn't put too much pressure on everyone.
I played this group game at a camp recently and it was a fantastic icebreaker idea.
1. Split the group into 2 halves.
2. Get each half of the group to line up against opposite sides of the room or hall.
3. Get each person to take of 1 shoe and make a pile of their team's shoes.
4. Get each person from one team to come a select a random shoe from the other team's pile and then find the person that shoe belongs to.
5. Once they have found their match, have a question ready so each person in the pair can ask each other a get to know each other a little bit better. Make sure you don't leave this time too long, but don't make it too short either, give both people a chance to answer.
6. Get the other team to do the same process with the first team's pile of shoes.
Variants
Added by
Joel
on 23 July 2010
35 Comments
Add a commentWhat were the questions?
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4 years ago
What were the questions?
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7 years ago
I agree with the comments that the shoes will make many students uncomfortable. But, adjust this: Have students draw a detailed pic of their shoe on an index card, place all cards in middle of room. Or, have students draw a picture of their face on the card! This seems fun.
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7 years ago
Just an FYI - I did a fun “take off your shoe” game with a bunch of kids and while it was fun - the room stunk to high-heaven when we were done.
NEVER AGAIN!
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7 years ago
I really Like the Idea :D
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7 years ago
Great idea for breaking ice with some of the kids. If they're uncomfortable then they can sit out
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7 years ago
Obviously this game is not a one size fits all one :)
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7 years ago
This is a good one! I played this about 8 years ago with a camp group. Yeah the room was already an interesting smell but no one was embarrassed and the kids that were had friends who encouraged to play along. I'm sure none of them were scarred from it as it ended up being a huge hit and they wanted to play it again at the church several weeks later...
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8 years ago
I like this idea alot ! However I do understand how kids will be uncomfortable but I'm thinking that maybe instead of a shoe, that we take an item they have like a bracelet,phone,necklace,jackets,purses, etc.
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8 years ago
Instead of shoes, you guys can use other things to substitute. Like watches or phones, something less embarrassing.
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9 years ago
Sounds like a very instructing game,I should try it out but the only problem is opening up to the question you get
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9 years ago
I tried this game with seventeen teenagers, and two adults. It resulted in a two hour session of knowing each other, I modified it by allowing the group to ask five questions to the pers receiving their shoe back (the person who had the shoe was the first to ask). It was played on my first account with them and it helped a great deal in me knowing them, at times it got emotional based on the question asked but all in all we had lots of fun.
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9 years ago
All we did was we had plastic bags. Each shoe was in a clear plastic bag, then we distributed them.
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9 years ago
I've done this game a lot, and it's never created any problems with embarrassment.
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11 years ago
you may choose other stuff that every one certainly have.... like a cell phone or a wallet ... shoe is not such a good thing specially if you have to take others' with your hand!!! EEEEeee...!!!
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11 years ago
Played this game with girls group! I just let them know ahead of time to wear their favorite pair of shoes and they all had a blast playing it!
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11 years ago
This was fun so much fun! As a kid it wont matter to them how smelly or stinky they were, but the fun and excitements was totally burts out! Kids just love to enjoy games!
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12 years ago
the whole idea is to get them comfortable around each other so at first they might feel uncomfortable but the getting to know part is the idea of the game.
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12 years ago
i do think its a exciting game to play and to interact with the youth
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12 years ago
If people are concerned with taking off the shoes - a variation would be to find their "solemate". The children leave their shoes on and have to find someone with a similar design on the sole of their shoe. The children could then make up a secret handshake with their "solemate".
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13 years ago
is a very good fun game i like it i will try to introduce with my teaam
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13 years ago
I appreciate all of your comments above.
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13 years ago
two of my shyer kids felt embarrassed about hole in sock and another had stinky feet.... it really stuck while some kids made fun of them... great idea but now I use name tags... cut first name from last name and person has to find person with the first name of the last name they hold...they get to know names and have to discuss why they think that person looked like an Ann or Bob, etc.. kids seem to like it
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14 years ago
We did this as an icebreaker at our youth group. The only difference was that it was only the leaders shoes that they had to guess. Which was really cool for helping them get to know us.
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14 years ago
Your over thinking it. We've done this several times and it works just fine. It helps if there si more than just question, but a task they have to share.
If your really concerned about the kids feet smelling, bring some baking soda and simply ask the kid quietly to put some in his shoe.
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14 years ago
we tried it and its fun but maybe this only works if the people in the group know each other.
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14 years ago
boriiiiiiinnnnnngggggg
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14 years ago
but when one set take off one shoe...isnt it so easy for the oppse set to figure out who the shoe belong to? bcoz they will see the other shoe on them.
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15 years ago
I've done this game before and I know that some of the girls got quite uncomfortable, the guys loved it though. They of course got competitive haha
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15 years ago
I believe this game is a platform for us to apply it the best way that works for the group we are working with...that require to know our audience and encourage them to embrace it and the best way is try it, fail and adjust... thank you
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15 years ago
i did play it with my group, oh boy did we enjoy ouselfs. even though some of us did not get the whole point, but it was great.
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15 years ago
no not atall, I totally think that this game would be a great resource and I am going to use it tonight! I can see this working a treat! Thankyou!!!! :-)
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15 years ago
yes that true i also agree some people will feel uncomfortable with that (shoes). Y how will it be if we use names of poeple. like right names of the other group and something like pick a name.
shoes for name same rules.
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15 years ago
I agree - I can be unhelpful in some situations. An alternative could be to tell kids to "find their twin" in the room and can get to know them, and then "find their opposite' in the room and can answer a question with them.
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16 years ago
I think that this game will make some kids uncomfortable beacause they think some kids will make fun of their shoes or their socks. It can also be emberrasing if their feet smell or their shoes.
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16 years ago