Treasure Hunt Icebreaker

This is one of my favorite first-day icebreakers. I call it “Treasure Hunt”. However, it isn’t quite what you might think it is.

Ok, so every person has treasure. The purpose for this game is to find out what those treasures are and who has them.

You will need to set aside about 10 minutes for everyone to prepare. Start by instructing each person in the group that they will be preparing a list of ten items. Everyone's list should be different so they cannot work in groups at this stage.

Explain that the items to place on the list are not what you might find in a room but rather the characteristics of the people in it.

Provide examples of the type of things to place on the list: A person who has a college degree. A person who likes to write. A person who’s favorite color is blue. A person who’s favorite number is 6. A person who has their own website. Any human characteristic or quality is fair game. You should play too!

Now the real fun begins! Ideally, you should allow 15-20 minutes for this part. Instruct the group to mingle with each other and ask each other questions until they find a fit for an item on their list and get the person to sign their name by that item. The first person to complete their list gets the prize. I find chocolate or a free coffee works great!

And, of course, everyone actually wins in this game because they will have gotten to know each other better, shared a laugh or two and gotten comfortable speaking in front of and with each other!