Ali Ali Ali !

Group stand in a circle with one person in the middle.
The person in the middle must say someones name three times before they can say their name once.
If the person in the middle succeeds then they join the circle.
The person on the outside who failed then goes into the middle.

Comment: A good game when the group is familiar at least a little bit with eachothers names. However the person in the middle can always ask people in the circle their names to remind themselves. This also builds up tension as that person ios then expecting their name to be said

Gesture Name Game

In a circle ask each person to think of a gesture that represents who they are.
Go around the circle one by one with each person saying their name and showing their gesture.
Go round the circle again and each time after someone shares their name and gesture the whole circle must repeat it together.
This time go round the circle with the whole group doing each persons name and gesture. The person who is having their gesture done must stand still and not show them. (The name can be dropped at this stage if you like - Put it in your pocket)

Progression
You can play a game where someone must show their gesture and then pass it to someone else by doing theirs as well.
That person then does their own gesture and passes it to someone else and so on.
When someone is unable to do this for whatever reason then they must sit out.
The winner is the last person left in.

Group people together who have similar gestures or even gestures that contrast in an interesting way.
This group must present some kind of movement or drama using each of their gestures.
You could also give the group a well known story/nursery rhyme to act out and each of their gesture must be contained within the story.

Comment: I have used this many times and it is an excellent way to get a group to learn each others names and open up to one another. I tried this with a group of ordinands recently and although the group new each other quite well, individuals revealed things about themselves through their gesture that they had never previously shared.
No matter what the person shows always accept their gesture, although at times you may need to reflect it back to them or accentuate something they show you to make it clearer.

Balloon Games

Sit on chairs or stand in a circle.
Introduce a balloon and instruct the group to pass it around the circle without holding it and without it touching the floor.
Introduce another balloon and tell the group that at any time a person can take hold of the balloon and walk to someone in the circle say their name and hand it to them after they have too said their name back.
You can add more balloons to the circle and if the passing of the balloon around the outside is too difficult to sustain at the same time then people can simply walk with the balloon to someone else and say their names.

Once there are a number of balloons in the circle the challenge can be given to the group to keep all the balloons up in the air without holding them for any time. Each time a balloon is batted up into the air the person calls out their name.

Variation
Have only one balloon in the circle and like the game above someone bats the balloon up into the air but then calls out someone elses name in the circle. They must then come in and stop the balloon hitting the floor while calling someone elses name in the circle and so on..

Name tag hug

This essentially is a name game and a good way to break down inibitions quickly.
One person is on it and everyone else must avoid from being tagged by that person.
However if te person on it calls out someones name then that person must stand still.
The person on it must now try and run to that person to tag him/her.
If two people are able to hug the person standing still then they are safe and cannot be tagged.
This game requires a certain amount of team play and watching out for one another

You're the Man

Walk around the room in any direction at an even pace.
Explain that as they catch eye contact with others they say, “You’re the Man!” the other person says back “No! You’re the man” then they walk on.
Then explain that on the command “Show me the love” everybody is to go into a huddle, except the last person who is pushed out and must stand on their own. (The facilitator may need to judge this - A variation on this is to call out someone’s name.)
The group then whisper to each other and talk about the person on their own.
Observe how they react.
The facilitator then shouts again “walk” and everybody goes back to walking around the room.
Repeat this a few times and then bring the group together to have a discussion about how people felt being separated from the group and how people felt being part of the group.

Progression
You could develop a scenario pretending to be a teacher arriving on the scene and ask the group “What is going on here?” Force someone to respond and then ask “Why?” and so on to build up a mini scene.

Bang (Splat)

The group stands in a circle
Someone says the name of someone else in the circle
That person must duck.
Two people either side fire gun at each other and say "Bang!"
If the person ducking doesn't duck in time they are out.
Otherwise the person who fires last is out.
When you get down to the last 2 people they stand back to back.
An adjudicator then counts 1 to10 and the two pace away from each other.
When the adjudicator skips a number the first one to turn and fire is the winner

Budge

Budge

Everyone sits in a circle on a chair.

One person starts by making eye contact with another person e.g. Dave and then they say 'Dave Budge' and walk towards his chair.

Dave has to make eye contact with another person e.g. Kat and say 'Kat Budge' before the first player reaches his chair.

Each player sits in the chair of the person who they 'budged'

This process continues.

The game can involve elimination if you want.

It is really good way to learn names.