10 Engaging EFL Warmups & Icebreakers You Can Play with Just a Dice! (Easy Instructions)
10 fast, low-prep EFL warm-up and icebreaker games that need nothing more than a single dice — built for beginner through advanced classes.
By My Teacher
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March 16, 2024
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3 min read
A single dice is one of the most underrated tools in an EFL classroom — no printing, no setup, and it turns a familiar warm-up into a small game of chance that students genuinely enjoy. Here are 10 warm-up and icebreaker activities that only need one.
Find Someone Who...
Level: Beginner–Intermediate
Write different questions on a sheet of paper (e.g., “Has been to the beach this year,” “Speaks three languages”). Students roll the dice and answer the question matching the number rolled, then mingle to find classmates who can also answer “yes,” writing their names next to the question. First to complete the sheet wins.
Describe Yourself
Level: Beginner–Advanced
Assign numbers to vocabulary categories (1 – Food, 2 – Hobbies, 3 – Adjectives). Students roll twice — once for the category, once for a number within it — then take turns describing themselves using the result (e.g., “I love pizza” for Food, 1).
Story Time
Level: Beginner–Advanced
Assign verb tenses to numbers (1 – Past Simple, 2 – Present Continuous, 3 – Future) and prepare a second list (places, actions) beforehand. Students roll twice — once for the tense, once for the second list — and contribute one sentence to a group story based on both rolls.
Would You Rather?
Level: Intermediate–Advanced
Prepare “Would You Rather?” questions on slips of paper beforehand. Students roll the dice — even numbers pick and read a new question aloud, odd numbers answer the previous one — then discuss their choices and reasons as a class.
Number Bingo
Level: Beginner–Intermediate
Prepare bingo cards with numbers 1–6 written randomly. Students roll the dice, and whoever completes their card first shouts “Bingo!”
Swap the numbers for vocabulary words instead — same fast-paced format, but doubling as vocabulary review.
Guess the Number
Level: Beginner–Intermediate
One student thinks of a number between 1 and 6. Others take turns rolling and guessing — after each wrong guess, the student gives a clue (“higher,” “lower”) until someone gets it.
Alphabet Chain
Level: Beginner–Intermediate
Students sit in a circle. The first rolls the dice and says a word starting with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. Play continues around the circle, each student rolling and continuing the chain, until someone hesitates or repeats a word.
Categories
Level: Intermediate–Advanced
Choose 5–6 categories (Countries, Food, Colors). Students roll to select a category, then roll again and say a word matching both the category and the number rolled.
Verb Conjugation Race
Level: Intermediate–Advanced
Divide students into teams and write several verb tenses on the board. Teams take turns rolling the dice and conjugating a teacher-given verb according to the tense rolled — first team to conjugate correctly wins the point.
Storytelling Relay
Level: Beginner–Advanced
Divide students into teams. Based on the number rolled (1 – Character, 2 – Setting, 3 – Action), each student contributes one sentence continuing the team’s story from where the last student left off. Most creative story wins.
These work best back to back rather than spread across the week — a short run of 2–3 dice games makes a genuinely energizing 10-minute warm-up block on its own.
All You Need Is One Dice
None of these require printing, prep the night before, or any material beyond a single dice and whatever’s already on hand. Start with two or three that fit your class level, and build a rotation from there.
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