Ice Breaker Game

The aim of the “two truths and a lie” ice-breaker game is to build a relationship among the mentoring groups before the summer school starts. Please make time for this activity BEFORE arriving. The easiest way to play before the start of the summer school is to use email or create a slack direct message group for the mentoring group (1 mentor and 3-4 mentees).

During lunch on the first day of the summer school, we will ask mentoring groups to pair up and play the game in the larger group.

Two Truths and a Lie

To play the game, each person will make three statements about themselves–two will be true and one will be a lie. The rest of the group should come to a consensus about statement is false. The original person lets the group know if they guessed correctly.

Typically, statements cover likes/dislikes, experiences, skills, or habits. They can be common or unusual facts. Liking the color red is a common statement; bungee jumping off the Rio Grande Bridge is a bit more unusual. Unusual facts tend to make for a more interesting game. Players use different tactics to try to hide their lies. For example, three common statements or three unusual ones are perhaps hardest to evaluate. Be creative! Selecting lies that ‘seem like you’ or truths which don’t are often good strategies.