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Giants Wizards and Elves

Two teams secretly choose to be giants, wizards, or elves, then act out the choice together — the winning character captures players from the other side, who switch teams on the spot. It's rock-paper-scissors played with your whole body, and the huddle is where the real strategy happens.

15–30 min6–50 peopleAverageNo materialsIn-person onlyClassroom ✓
By Jon Zajac · Founder & Chief Icebreaker · Last updated February 19, 2024

What is Giants Wizards and Elves?

Giants, Wizards, and Elves splits two teams against each other in a live-action rock-paper-scissors match. Each round, both teams huddle and secretly settle on one of three characters — giants stand tall with arms raised and growl, wizards crouch and chant while wiggling their fingers, elves crouch low, cup their ears, and shriek. Teams line up facing each other, the leader calls it, and both sides act out their character at once. The winning character captures as many opposing players as it can reach, and captured players switch sides on the spot.

It works because nobody knows what's coming. Every huddle is a guess about what the other team will guess, so a room of strangers ends up growling, chanting, and chasing each other within the first round, no elaborate rules required. It needs no materials, just enough open floor for two lines to face off and run.

It needs real room to move — captures happen by grabbing an opponent and pulling them to your side, so a gym or a cleared meeting space works better than a circle of chairs. Skip it for video calls, tight rooms, or any group where physical contact isn't a comfortable option; it doesn't translate to a screen.

The rules

  1. Split the group into two teams, each on its own side of the room.
  2. Each round, both teams huddle and secretly pick a character: giant, wizard, or elf.
  3. Teams line up facing each other, about five or six feet apart.
  4. The leader calls "three, two, one, go," and both sides act out their character.
  5. The winning character's team grabs as many opposing players as it can and pulls them to its side — captured players switch teams.
  6. Giants beat elves, elves beat wizards, wizards beat giants; matching characters are a tie. Play continues until one team has captured everyone.

Before you start

  • Group size: 6–50 players, split into two teams. Divide as evenly as you can — the game scales from a small classroom pod to a large group event without changing the rules.
  • Any indoor or outdoor space with room to line up. Clear a lane wide enough for two teams to face off about five or six feet apart, with space behind each side to retreat into.
  • Teach all three characters before round one. Demonstrate giants (tiptoes, arms up, growl), wizards (crouch, wiggling fingers, chant), and elves (crouch low, cupped ears, shriek), and let the group practice until the motions feel natural.
  • No materials — just space and people. Hands and voices are the only equipment. Indoors or outdoors both work, as long as the ground is safe to move on.
  • Name a leader before you start. Someone needs to stand where both teams can see them and call the start of every round.

How to run it

  1. Split into two teams 1–2 min

    Divide the group in two and send each team to its own side of the room.

  2. Teach the three characters 3–5 min

    Walk through the hand motions and sounds for giants, wizards, and elves, and have the whole group practice each one before playing.

  3. Huddle and choose 1 min

    Each round, both teams huddle up and secretly settle on giant, wizard, or elf — no peeking at the other side.

  4. Line up and call it 30 sec

    Teams line up facing each other, about five or six feet apart. The leader calls "three, two, one, go," and both sides act out their character at once.

  5. Capture or retreat 1 min

    The winning character's team grabs as many opposing players as it can reach and pulls them to its side — captured players now play for the other team. Everyone else retreats to safety.

  6. Reset and go again 10–15 min

    Huddle up and play another round. The game ends when one team has captured every member of the other.

← the huddle's the real game.

Facilitator tips

Offer a no-shout optionSome players have mobility limits or don't want to shout. Let them use a silent gesture instead of the growl, chant, or shriek — the character still reads from across the room.
Randomize the character pickHand each team a card or a die roll instead of a huddle vote. It keeps any one player from steering the choice round after round.
Rotate the rostersMix the teams every few rounds so everyone ends up playing alongside — and against — different people by the end.
Walk through all three characters firstDemonstrate the giant, wizard, and elf motions and let the group practice before round one, so nobody's improvising a growl mid-huddle.
Watch for repeat capturesIf the same player keeps getting grabbed round after round, step in — a quick reshuffle keeps the game from souring for them.

Why it works

The huddle forces a real betGiants beat elves, elves beat wizards, wizards beat giants — so every huddle is a quick, out-loud negotiation about which way to guess. It's a genuine coordination call, not just a pose.
Getting captured switches your loyalty instantlyA captured player joins the other side the moment they're grabbed, so both rosters reshuffle mid-game without anyone sitting out. By the last round, most players have worn both jerseys.
The noise strips away self-consciousness fastGrowling like a giant or shrieking like an elf is silly enough that nobody can stay guarded — the room is moving and making noise together within the first round.
HELLO, MY NAME ISJon

"I love how fast this one flips a room from strangers into a screaming mob of giants, wizards, and elves. There's no setup — no materials, indoors or out — and the huddle before every round is where I watch people actually start strategizing together. It's loud, it's a little ridiculous, and that's exactly why it works."

Jon Zajac · Founder & Chief Icebreaker

Reflection questions

5 questions that turn the captures into an actual debrief.

  1. What character did you find yourself choosing most often during the game?Surfaces which role people default to when the pressure's on.
  2. Did you discover any strengths or weaknesses in your team while playing as different characters?Gets the team naming how different roles changed the way they played.
  3. How did it feel to be captured by the opposing team?Opens up the game's only real emotional beat — worth sitting with for a second.
  4. Did you find any strategies that helped your team win rounds? If so, what were they?Lets a team name what worked so they can lean on it again next time.
  5. How might the concepts of giants, wizards, and elves apply to real-world scenarios or challenges you face as a group?Pushes the game's rock-paper-scissors logic into an actual conversation about the group's real dynamics.

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Jon Zajac

Founder & Chief Icebreaker

I started IcebreakerSpot because I believe strong connections are the foundation of successful teams. This site exists to make it easy to find and share the icebreakers and team-building activities that build trust, spark collaboration, and help groups do great things together.

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