This engaging icebreaker game is perfect during the first week of school or when you want your class to collaborate and practise their communication. Pupils are each given one unique clue. They must share their clue with every other classmate to uncover the complete mystery. 🔍🎮

A New Icebreaker for Primary Pupils

This game works similarly to those old-fashioned murder mysteries. Each person playing has a special clue that can be shared with everyone else. Once you have all the clues, you can find out whodunnit. Here’s a breakdown of what’s involved:

• Each pupil page has a unique instruction/clue.
• The instructions tell them to draw a line connecting two images on their maze (some instructions tell them to cross out lines on the maze).
• If 25 pupils are playing, there will be 25 clues in circulation.
• Pupils need to talk to each other to get all the instructions and make all the changes to their maze.
• Once it is complete, they solve the maze.

Whole-Class Icebreaker Mystery

A successful video game competition has been hacked, and the high scores list has been scrambled! It is up to your pupils to interpret and solve the Decryptor Maze to find out who won the competition and determine the hacker’s identity. 👨‍💻

Everything you need to implement this icebreaker is included in this resource. The PDF download option contains teacher notes, an introduction page and pupil worksheets. The PowerPoint (available via the drop-down menu) adds extra fun elements to the game, bringing music, sound effects and an interactive reveal of the answers.

This back-to-school classroom icebreaker requires a minimum of 15 pupils to play and can accommodate a maximum of 32 pupils.

How to Play the Classroom Icebreaker Game

1. Print one page for each pupil in your class, i.e. if you have 26 pupils, print pages with numbers 1 through 26 (pp. 2–28).
2. Display the title slide of the PowerPoint (slide 3) on a screen for all pupils to see as they enter class.
3. Click start and step through the introduction of the game.
4. Make sure pupils understand how to solve the Decryptor Maze.
5. Distribute the pages to the pupils.
6. Click ‘Begin’ and let pupils share their clues and make changes to their mazes.
7. Once pupils have all the clues, they can solve the maze.
8. Check pupil answers using the answer page in the PDF before allowing them to view the solution in the PowerPoint.