The Best Sorority Icebreaker Games: Ways To Strengthen Sisterhood With Your New BFFs

Greek life is all about being social—am I right, sister? Whether you’re a Pi Beta Phi, a Tri Delta, or a Kappa Alpha Theta, as a sorority sister you know what it’s like to form meaningful friendships, host epic socials, and giggle with your gal pals well into the night. But when you’re dealing with post-rush week exhaustion, you may need a little help to get to know your new sisters after all the chaos subsides.

When welcoming your littles into your chapter, have some fabulous icebreakers planned to help you bond with your new house members so they can quickly become your besties. Not only are these games the perfect way to familiarize yourself with all the beautiful new faces in your house, they light the spark for a plethora of lifelong friendships, strengthening your sisterhood from day one.

Inspired by the tenets of Greek life—scholarship, leadership, service, philanthropy, and sisterhood—these sorority icebreaker games are sure ways to have you feeling like soul sisters in less time that it takes to curl your hair for date night. Here’s to a year of friendship, fun, and, of course, frat boys! More boy talk later, though—start breaking that ice, girl!

Icebreaker Game #1: What Do You Value Most In a Sister? A Group Brainstorm and Discussion Activity

You want to be a tight-knit sorority, right? Then you need to make sure that all of your sisters, regardless of who they are or where they hail from, share a common value. This is a great icebreaker to do at the beginning of the new school year, just after rush week as you’re initiating a bunch of new members into your chapter. Grab a couple of fun-colored markers, a stack of cue cards, and begin! Start by posing the following question to your sisterhood and letting them mull it over for a few minutes:

“What values do you think a sorority is built on?”

Ask sisters to call out whatever comes to mind, writing each value down on a separate cue card. If the group is quiet or shy, give them a few ideas; honesty, trust, and authenticity are a few values sure to get the ball rolling. When you’ve collectively come up with about twenty or so, ask some of your sisters to hold up the cards so that everyone can see them. Then, ask each girl to choose the one they feel is most important and inspiring—the value that should be at the core of the sisterhood. Let each of them explain why they made their selection, and keep a tally of the results. Whichever value gets the most votes becomes your sorority’s core value.

Next, think of ways you could honor this core value and bring it to life throughout the year. Perhaps you can have cute t-shirts made featuring your core value and your sorority name. Or, you could plan a jewelry making party where you string matching bracelets with pretty letter beads together. How cool would a big, bold, (and sparkly—duh), banner look in the entrance of your sorority house? If it inspires you, why not celebrate it?

However you choose to honor your core value, make it visible so it acts as a constant reminder to all your sisters. This is a wonderful way of strengthening the spirit of sisterhood, boosting pride, and uniting a sorority.

Icebreaker Game #2: Bust a Move, Sister! Teach Your Girls Your Best Dance Move

There are plenty of opportunities to bust your moves in Greek life, so it only makes sense to let your sisters in on your favorite secret step. So why not teach your sisters your all-time favorite dance move? This activity can be a little nerve-wracking, especially for the littles, but shakin’ it together is one of the quickest ways to get comfortable with each other. So turn on you favorite T. Swift song (Shake It Off, obviously), and don’t stop movin’ and groovin’! Oh, and prepare yourself for a whole lot of blushing and giggling—this one can (and should) get super silly!

Here’s what you do:

Get your sisters to form a big circle and crank the tunes. Choose the most extroverted member of your sorority to kick things off.
She’ll sashay into the center of the circle and teach everyone her signature move. Give the move a name, which can just be the first name of whoever is shakin’ it (ie. The Ashley).
Next, everyone in the circle has to do The Ashley too, right along with her.
Continue around the circle, each sister teaching her signature move while everyone else imitates her.
Eventually, when everyone has had their turn, you can call out the different moves as the girls do them on command: "Do the McKenna! Show me the Caitlyn!"

Guaranteed this won’t be the last time these moves will make an appearance. Maybe your sorority will bust them out at the next social, or bring them back for an impromptu house dance party during exam week to blow off some stress. One thing’s for certain, though—you’ll all have huge smiles on your faces when you’re through with this one!

Icebreaker Game #3: The Hypothetical Millionaire Philanthropist Question

You can tell a lot about someone by discovering what social issues matter to them and why. Who knows, you may find your soul sister who shares your passion for animal rights. Or a friendship may blossom when two girls connect over their support of the organic food movement.

Whatever the cause, we all have the desire to be altruistic and give in some way. This ice breaker activity will allow you to get a glimpse into all of the big hearts in your sorority. It’s also a great exercise in honoring and respecting the differing values that your sisters undoubtedly have. So, without further ado, present this scenario to your sisters:

You have been gifted one million dollars. The only catch is that you have to donate all to one charity, organization, group, or person, and the donation will be made anonymously. Who would you donate it to, and why?

Give them a few minutes to give it some thought, and then let the girls take turns sharing their answers with the group. You may be surprised to learn that Jenny would donate to Greenpeace because she used to volunteer with them, or that Kat has a soft spot for goats and would give all of her money to Goats of Anarchy. We all want to make the world a better place, but the fun of it is that philanthropy means something different to each one of us.

Icebreaker Game #4: How Can We Be of Service to Our Sisters? The Giving Back Group Calendar

Each girl comes to your sorority with special talents. Encouraging your sisters to get in the mindset of how they can be of service to each other is a great way to get them to step out of self-consciousness (especially for the new recruits) and into their own personal confidence.

This sorority icebreaker game gives your gals a chance to think about how they can use their talent, passion, or knowledge to serve the sorority in their own unique way.

The Supply List:

Enough cue cards for everyone
Pens or pencils
A monthly calendar

The Game Directions:

Hand out cue cards to each of your sisters and instruct them to write down a passion or a pastime of theirs that could be used to help others. Maybe one girl loves to bake cupcakes while another is a tech wiz.
Next, ask the girls to share what’s on their cards with the rest of the group.
Then, instruct your sisters to pair up with those who had similar answers. For instance, all the gals who had beauty-related answers will get into one group. If there are any girls whose answers don’t necessarily fit, ask them to think creatively and join a group their talent would complement.
Ask the girls to do a group brainstorm of how they can combine their talents and passions to serve the greater group at large. Perhaps the beauty group decides they will host a weekend of self-care, or the baking group plans to make cookies for all the sisters every two weeks.
When each group has a solid plan, ask them to present their ideas to everyone, and then have them plot their plans on a calendar. Encourage each group to do something special for the sorority at least once a month.

Depending on how large your group of sisters is, it can be overwhelming for new recruits to meet so many girls at once. Putting them into smaller groups, according to their unique talents, can help them feel instantly connected to their like-minded sisters. And who knows, they may even find their lifetime bestie!

Icebreaker Game #5: Act Out Your Best Study Tip for a Game of College Charades

Sorority life is busy. When you aren’t fulfilling your sisterly duties, you are no doubt fulfilling your scholarly ones. You’ve got to be able to refocus and recenter so you can succeed in keeping that GPA up girl! This ice breaker is a great way for sisters to share their best study tips while fitting in a little acting practice (#dramaqueen).

If you’ve got a big group of girls and a bunch of new recruits, it may be a good idea to split into smaller teams for this one. Before you start, try and give the girls some ideas to spring from. Perhaps you like to reward yourself with M&Ms for every 10 minutes you study. Or, maybe you review your notes right before bed and let the info sink into your brain while you sleep.

Here’s what you’ll do:

Appoint someone to keep track of time in each group. Each girl will get a maximum of 2 minutes to act out her best study tip while others guess what it is. If nobody guesses the tip at the end of the 2 minutes, the actress can verbally tell the group what it is.
Have someone in each group write down all of the tips.
When everyone has finished, reconvene and ask each group to share:
- What was the most outrageous tip?
- What tip sounded the most foolproof?
- What tip had most people in the group tried themselves?
After the ice breaker, you can type up a document of all the tips and distribute it to your sorority. This sheet can come in really handy when girls hit a study slump, or are struggling to stay focused. Also, be sure to include who provided each tip, so that if someone finds them useful they can thank the girl who came up with the idea!

From sister to sister, I sincerely hope you’ve found these sorority icebreaker games useful! May your socials be stellar, may your fundraisers be on fleek, and above all else, may your sisterhood stay strong. Here’s to an AH-MAZING year at college.

At Elfster, we are as good at throwing parties as sorority girls are at multi-tasking studying and social hour. Connect with us on Facebook , Instagram @Elfster, and Twitter @Elfster for loads of fabulous party ideas.