My partner and I were planning a Christmas party that included groups of people who didn't know each other. Our house has small rooms, so we knew that one group of work colleagues would occupy one room, while our friends would occupy another. We wanted them to have the opportunity to meet each other, so we created a game we called the Mingler. Here's how it works and how to create your own.
In essence the idea is that everyone gets a set of questions to answer. Each answer is held by someone in the party. You have to find them to get the answers you need to win. You can't win by intellect because some of the answers aren't what you'd expect. People come and go, so to win you have to stick around for a while. Also people may decide to tell you the 'correct' answer or to make up a wrong one depending how nice you are, so it encourages that side of things too.
We created the same number of questions as there were people coming.
To be completed <>
Finally, let me apologise for even posting this page. It feels glib and self satisfied. Hey look everyone, look how clever we are! On the other hand, the whole point about the Internet is that we can share stuff, and I've benefitted from 'recipes' that users of software such as Paint Shop Pro have published. My beliefs about the Internet have overridden my normal reticence, and after all, it was a good idea, it did work, and I hope it works for you too.