Reaction Game

Form groups of six to twelve people. If playing this game with a very large group as an icebreaker, you can also choose four or five volunteers and have them go to the front of the room. The first step is to ask players to create some events. Give each player small sheets of paper and pens. Ask each player write some events. Encourage creativity. Some examples of events:
• Being attacked by a shark while fishing
• Hitting a home run to win the World Series
• Watching the lottery and realizing that you have the winning number
• Being presented a large engagement ring and proposed for marriage
• Going on a first date with an attractive person
After people are done writing events, collect the sheets and place them in the container (a hat or small bag will do). Within groups, choose three or four people to act for each round. Ask the players to randomly draw an event from the container. Without giving away what the event is, give each player 30 seconds to 1 minute to act out a reaction to the event they received. They may act out using charades rules, and they can also make noises and talk to the other actors (while staying true to their character).
As players act, this should lead to funny results. When time expires, the other team members attempt to guess what event each person had. If you want to keep score (optional), award a point for each correct guess. Winning or losing tends to be less important for this icebreaker, however, as there is a lot of humor and entertainment value in watching people react to silly things.
Variations
Other variatons of Reaction include:
• Narrator explains each event before the actors act. This makes the icebreaker less of a competition, but it still makes it entertaining.
• Noises permitted, but no words. This variation permits noises as long as they are not actual words. The game becomes more challenging, yet it can be more funny to watch.