Paper Airplanes (or Name Planes Game) is a simple but effective get-to-know-you game: find the owner of the paper airplane that you pick up and learn a few things about them! This game works best for larger groups of ten or more people. The activity is ideal for those ages 12 and up and is suitable for the classroom.
Setup for Paper Airplanes (Name Planes Game)
There is not much setup required for this activity. However, several materials do need to be provided:
- At least 1 sheet of paper per person
- 1 pen, pencil, or other writing utensil per person
How to set up Paper Airplanes
To set up the game, you can either place the supplies around the room on the seats, desks, or tables where group members will be sitting. Alternatively, you can hand them out as members arrive. In a room where the group will be standing, it’s best to just hand out the supplies.
How to play Paper Airplanes
- Make sure every participant has one sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Ask them each to write their names and two questions down on the paper. You may want to specify that questions should not be too personal or uncomfortable, but this is up to your discretion.
- After each person has written down their name and questions, ask them to form their paper into a paper airplane of their choice.
- Start a timer and have everyone throw their airplanes around at the same time. While the timer is going, everyone should be picking up airplanes and throwing them again to move them around the room and mix all the papers together.
- Stop the timer and ask everyone to pick up one paper airplane that is not their own.
- Each group member should end up with a paper airplane in their hands. They must then find the original owner of the plane and ask them the two questions on their plane.
- Now that everyone has found the owner of their paper airplane and have asked them the questions, have each person come up individually and introduce the person to the group by reading the name on the plane and telling the group the questions and answers given by that person.
Winning the game
As an icebreaker activity, there is no winning or losing in this game. The objective is to have group members become more familiar with each other, rather than to foster a competitive environment. This game will help people get to know each other better in a fun way!
