IceBreakers is a social mobile party game launching in mid-2025. IceBreakers is designed to help people connect and get to know each other better in a fun and interactive way.
My Role
UX Researcher, UI/UX Designer, UX Strategist
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Maze, Zoom
Time
~3 months
Where it Started
IceBreakers is a social mobile party game created to transform gatherings into engaging and memorable experiences. As the Design Lead, my role was to design a fun, intuitive app that encouraged meaningful connections through interactive group experiences. IceBreakers is an ongoing project that began in late 2023, during which I collaborated with a small team using tools like Figma, FigJam, Maze, and Zoom. IceBreakers was built with the goal of creating an accessible, customizable game for all kinds of social settings.
The Problem
Social gatherings often lack engaging activities that help people connect, and they can be be awkward, especially when participants don’t know each other well. Existing party games like Jackbox are entertaining but don’t always focus on fostering direct personal connections and require setup and installation.
The Goal
IceBreakers aims to create a party game that seamlessly breaks the ice, encourages meaningful interactions, and engages diverse groups while being easy to set up and play.
Constraints & Requirements
Must be designed as a mobile, browser-based site.
Design needs to focus on the main user flow, setting up and playing a game.
User Research
I conducted user surveys in order to better understand the users I was designing for and what their needs were. The primary user group I identified were adults aged 18-35 who attend social gatherings regularly, ranging from daily to monthly.
Through user surveys and interviews, I discovered that many people find it hard to connect with others in a social setting. On top of that, many people also felt that party games were fun, but that they don’t inspire meaningful connections and that they can be complicated to setup and explain.
“Party games are fun, but they don’t really help you get to know the people you’re playing with.”
“Games that take forever to explain or set up are frustrating—it kills the vibe before it even starts.”
These interviews revealed two key pain points that we needed to focus on addressing during our creation of IceBreakers.
Pain Point #1
Social gatherings often lack tools to help people start meaningful conversations, leading to awkward silences and missed opportunities for connection.
Pain Point #2
Many games require explanations, additional equipment, or complicated onboarding, which disrupts the flow of the event and frustrates people.
These pain points were representative of two different user groups, those who find it difficult to form meaningful connections in social settings and those who are frustrated by complicated game setups that disrupt social events. I created personas to represent each of them.
Our assumptions about people finding it hard to connect with others in social settings and being frustrated by complicated setup and lack of availability of games that inspire social connection were confirmed and our goal to create a party game that encourages social connection with little to no setup was reinforced.
With a thorough understanding of user goals and frustrations, I was able to begin designing IceBreakers.
Wireframes & Prototypes
The design process began with low-fidelity wireframes to map out user flows, focusing on simplicity, easy setup, and intuitive navigation. Early sketches emphasized the onboarding process and key gameplay interactions.
I then created a high fidelity prototype for the entire user flow. Most elements stayed the same when moving from low fidelity to high fidelity, but some additional features were added.
The homepage was kept as simple and intuitive as possible, featuring a prominently placed create/join room option. This streamlined approach minimizes effort for both hosts and players, allowing them to initiate or join a game with ease. By focusing on simplicity, we ensure that IceBreakers delivers a seamless experience, reducing setup time so users can quickly dive into the fun.
If you join as a host, the room code is automatically generated and unchangeable.
After the host creates the lobby, they are able to select question packs, sorted by intimacy level. They can select a single question pack or multiple packs to be used together.
To make it easy for players to join the game, both host and player can copy a link to send others that will take them to the ‘join game’ page with the appropriate room code automatically filled. This can be accessed through the link icon or through the hamburger menu.
The room code is also prominently displayed in the lower left for people to share with each other verbally.
Once all players have joined, the host can start the game. In case the player doesn’t feel like answering or if it’s time for someone else’s turn, both the host and the player being asked the question have the option to skip to the next question.
After all of the questions have been answered, they are reshuffled, and the game continues.
Since IceBreakers is designed for mobile, a landing page was created for people who first come to IceBreakers on a desktop, letting them know to grab their phone.
Usability Study Findings
Following usability testing, a key finding emerged: users expressed a strong desire for more personalization in their gameplay experience, specifically the ability to create custom questions. Participants emphasized that having control over the content would make the game more adaptable to unique group dynamics and personal preferences, such as inside jokes or tailored themes.
This insight validated the decision to prioritize the development of a custom question pack feature. Users felt that this capability would significantly enhance replayability and engagement, making IceBreakers more versatile and appealing across different social settings. These findings have informed our roadmap and helped us develop our plans for IceBreakers moving forward.
Upcoming Features
One of the key features we plan to launch is a tool for creating custom question packs. This feature will allow users to write their own questions tailored to their unique groups, enhancing personalization and increasing replayability. Custom packs will be easily integrated into the gameplay, giving users more control over their experience with IceBreakers.
We also plan to have enhanced accessibility elements. Adding features like multi-language support and improved visual design for colorblind users will expand the app’s inclusivity.
Measures of Success & Next Steps
Key Performance Indicators
In order to assess whether IceBreakers is meeting its goal of providing users with an enjoyable party game that fosters opportunities for meaningful connection while being painless to setup and start playing, we plan to track the following metrics:
User Retention: Percentage of users returning to play within 7 and 30 days.
Session Duration: Average time spent on the site per session.
Onboarding Completion Rate: Percentage of users successfully creating or joining a room.
Custom Pack Adoption Rate: Percentage of users utilizing the custom question pack feature.
Testing Plans
Leading up to the mid-2025 launch, we plan to:
Conduct beta testing with diverse groups to gather targeted feedback on new features.
Conduct A/B testing to evaluate the effectiveness of onboarding flows and gameplay enhancements.
Analyze data from usability tests to refine accessibility and ensure seamless interaction.
Additional next steps include finalizing the custom question pack feature, expanding game modes, and ensuring a successful mid-2025 launch. IceBreakers is well-positioned to redefine party games by bridging the gap between fun and meaningful social interactions, setting the stage for unforgettable gatherings.
IceBreakers successfully combines fun gameplay with meaningful social interaction, addressing the challenge of breaking the ice in group settings. The design process leveraged iterative feedback and creative problem-solving to deliver a polished and engaging site. IceBreakers has the potential to redefine how people connect at social gatherings, making every party unforgettable.