Icebreaker game
An icebreaker a whole room of strangers plays together.
Crowdboard puts a game-show board on the big screen. Two halves of the room guess the most popular answers, and each table buzzes in from a phone, so a conference, kick-off or training day starts with people talking. It runs in a web browser, so there’s nothing to install.
Free for up to 6 phones. No card needed.
Why it works with a big group
Nobody on the spot
Two halves of the room play as teams, so nobody has to stand up and talk about themselves. People who have just met work out an answer together, and that’s the icebreaker.
Twenty people or two hundred
Everyone watches the big screen and shouts answers. In a big room, one phone per table buzzes in for the table.
Everyone can guess
Survey questions ask what most people said, not what an expert knows, so a room of strangers starts level.
Short enough for the agenda
Conference break: 3 rounds, about 10 minutes, between sessions or to open the day.
Nothing to hand out
Players scan the code on the screen with their phone camera, type a name and pick a team. No app, no player accounts, no buzzers to carry.
In the room and online
Share the board in Teams, Zoom or Meet, and people joining remotely buzz in from their own phones, which show the board as well.
From the joining instructions to the first round
Sign in on the host’s laptop. Everything else runs in a web browser.
- 1
Before: ask the room
Make a survey from the questions below and send the link with the joining instructions. People answer on their phones in a minute, with no account, and their answers become the board. Short of time? Skip it: the ready-made game needs nothing.
- 2
The day before: check the venue
Open Check a network on the venue’s Wi-Fi, put the board on the screen you’ll use, and play a practice game with two practice phones from the host deck.
- 3
On the day: split the room
Left side against right, or odd tables against even. Put the code on the screen while people sit down, so the phones are in before you start.
- 4
Play
About 10 minutes for three rounds. Read each question out, let the tables argue, and keep the pace up.
- 5
After: share it
Send the game’s recap link with the slides: the scores and every question, for anyone who arrived late.
Questions to ask before the day
Put these in a survey with the joining instructions, or ask one live with Ask the room. There are no answers here on purpose: the room’s own answers make the board.
- Name a question people ask when they meet someone new
- Name the first thing you do when you arrive at an event
- Name a reason people come to events like this
- Name something you’d find in an event goodie bag
- Name something that makes a talk worth staying for
- Name something you always pack for a work trip
- Name something that makes a training day go faster
- Name a skill you’d like to learn this year
They’re filled in for you to change before you share the link.
Where the questions come from
Ready-made
On the host deck, pick Conference break, and Crowdboard draws a game of 3 rounds, about 10 minutes from the question bank, fresh every time.
From the room
Turn the survey into a game in a few clicks, or ask one question live with Ask the room: everyone answers on their phone, and the most common answers become the next round.
About your event
Write questions about your industry, your company or the event itself in the game editor, and mix them with ready-made ones.
Tips from the host’s side
One phone per table
The table agrees on an answer and its player buzzes in. It keeps a big room playing as teams, and it’s how a room of strangers starts talking.
Mix the tables
Seat people next to someone they haven’t met before the game, not after. The game does the introductions.
Run it from the floor
Open the host remote on your own phone and walk the room with a microphone, while the laptop stays by the projector.
Got longer? Finish with a prize
Pick Team offsite for 5 rounds and a Lightning Round, about 25 minutes. The Lightning Round at the end is two players, five quick questions and a ticking clock, and a small prize makes it count.
Questions hosts ask
How many people can play?
Any number can watch and shout answers. Up to 6 phones can buzz in on Free, 20 on Pro, 40 on Team and 200 on Enterprise. With one phone per table, 20 phones covers 20 tables.
We only need it for one event. What does it cost?
An Event pass is $19 for 7 days of Pro: up to 20 phones and the whole question bank, with nothing to cancel afterwards. For a bigger event, see the plans or talk to us.
Does everyone need a phone?
No. Anyone can watch and shout answers. Without phones, the host can mark who buzzed first instead.
Will it work on the venue’s Wi-Fi?
Usually with no changes, and phones can use mobile data if the Wi-Fi is busy. To be sure, open Check a network there a few days before.
Can we play in two languages?
Players’ phones and the board work in English and Arabic, and a question can carry both, so an international room plays one game.
Your next event, off to a good start.
Start a free game now, or see it all on one screen first.