#38 Easy

Emoji Story

🚀🐧🍕 walk into a meeting room. What happens next? Your team decides - one emoji at a time. Watch spreadsheet-lovers become accidental comedians as stories take unexpected turns.

groups adults students meetings team-building

Group Size:

4-20 people

Duration:

10-15 minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

How to Play:

1
Gather participants in a circle or virtual call. Open a shared chat or whiteboard visible to everyone.
2
The first player types 1-3 emojis to start a story (example: 🏃🔍🔑).
3
The next player interprets those emojis out loud, creating a sentence (example: 'A detective was searching for a lost key...').
4
That same player then adds 1-3 new emojis to continue the story.
5
Continue around the group until everyone has contributed at least once.
6
The final player wraps up the story with an epic conclusion. Read the complete narrative aloud.

Emoji Story transforms ordinary team meetings into collaborative storytelling sessions where anything can happen. One player drops a few emojis, the next interprets them and adds more, and suddenly your quarterly planning call features a detective penguin solving crimes on Mars. The real magic of this ice breaker game is watching logical thinkers embrace absurdity - the same colleague who sends three-paragraph emails will confidently declare that the eggplant emoji obviously represents a submarine. No artistic talent required, no right answers exist, and the stories are never the same twice. Keep rounds short, embrace the chaos, and prepare for inside jokes that last for months.

Best For:

Virtual team meetings, creative brainstorming warm-ups, remote team bonding, and any ice breaker game session where you want to spark creativity and laughter

Pro Tips

Start with concrete emojis (🐱🚗🏠) rather than abstract ones (❤️✨) to make interpretation easier
Set a 30-second time limit per turn to maintain energy and prevent overthinking
For shy groups, let players type their story interpretation in chat first before reading aloud
Save the emoji chain as a screenshot - teams often want to revisit their ridiculous creations later

Variations

Theme Round: Pick a genre before starting - horror, romance, sci-fi, or workplace drama
Silent Story: Skip the verbal interpretation. At the end, everyone writes their version of what happened
Emoji Telephone: First player whispers their interpretation to the next person only, creating a telephone-game effect

FAQ

What if someone doesn't know how to find emojis quickly?: Share keyboard shortcuts at the start: Mac uses Control+Command+Space, Windows uses Windows+Period. Have an emoji website like Emojipedia open as backup.
How do I play Emoji Story with a large group?: Split into teams of 4-6 people. Each team creates their own story simultaneously, then shares the funniest moments with the full group.
What makes a good opening for this ice breaker game?: Action emojis work best. Try: 🏃💥🚪 or 🐱👑🏰. Avoid starting with 😀 or ❤️ - they're hard to build stories from.
Can Emoji Story work for serious team settings?: Yes. Frame it as 'creative communication practice.' The game reveals how differently people interpret the same symbols - a useful insight for any team.
How long should each person's contribution be?: Keep interpretations to 1-2 sentences maximum. Longer stories slow the game and make it harder for the next person to continue.

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