Jonathan Wells
Games Expert
Jonathan Wells is a games expert and the founder of Dig the Games. The Wells family founded Dig The Games as a way to share the joys of playing games and friendly competition with a wider audience. They share group games, party games, classroom games, board games, and more. Dig The Games has grown a global online community of over 142k followers with over 18 million views, inspiring families and groups to come together and create memorable, fun experiences.
Education
- BS in Theology
Professional Achievements
- Creator of Dig the Games, a popular resource for leaders and families featuring creative, low-prep games
- Featured online, shared by groups across the country, and continues to help thousands make meaningful memories through play
Favorite Piece of Advice
Simple games make some of the best memories. Don’t overthink it—what matters most is creating moments where people laugh, connect, and feel seen. The joy is in the experience, not the perfection.
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Forum Comments (4)
What are some hilarious icebreaker questions?
One of the icebreaker games we always played was called Arrange Me
. If you're sitting in a row of chairs at an event, then you would arrange yourself from left to right based on a prompt. For example, arrange yourself:
There are a lot of different Arrange Me's, and it is a big crowd game for us. We've done it so many places, and they always seem to enjoy it because even if they work with them, they've never played something like that before, and they're having to ask those questions that they never really thought to ask before. It's a lot of fun, and it's a no-prep game. As long as you have a list of things you're going to ask, there's no prep involved. So, just throw that list on your notes app so you always have it on your phone, and you're good to go.
- from shortest to tallest
- alphabetically by your middle name’s first initial
- by your birth year
There are a lot of different Arrange Me's, and it is a big crowd game for us. We've done it so many places, and they always seem to enjoy it because even if they work with them, they've never played something like that before, and they're having to ask those questions that they never really thought to ask before. It's a lot of fun, and it's a no-prep game. As long as you have a list of things you're going to ask, there's no prep involved. So, just throw that list on your notes app so you always have it on your phone, and you're good to go.
Favorite "would you rather" questions for kids?
I would keep it around animals, food, and stuff that's related to them all the time. Would you rather have a popsicle or a bomb pop? Would you rather have a cat or a dog?
Sticking to these topics allows them to pick, and at the same time, you're discovering their favorite items. And so, you're discovering, especially if you're in a classroom and you're a teacher, what that child likes as you're teaching them along the way.
Another example: Would you rather be called your full name or your nickname? A lot of kids don't get to say, and little things like that you don't discover until they're older. This can prevent you from thinking, ‘I wish I had known that, I would have called you by what you prefer. You didn't want to be called Abby. You wanted to be called Abigail.’
Do it with animals, with snacks or candies, or something that they can eat. I think keeping it in those categories for kids or something simple like that is a lot of fun because they can relate to it. It's something they do all the time. So, that's what I would do.
Sticking to these topics allows them to pick, and at the same time, you're discovering their favorite items. And so, you're discovering, especially if you're in a classroom and you're a teacher, what that child likes as you're teaching them along the way.
Another example: Would you rather be called your full name or your nickname? A lot of kids don't get to say, and little things like that you don't discover until they're older. This can prevent you from thinking, ‘I wish I had known that, I would have called you by what you prefer. You didn't want to be called Abby. You wanted to be called Abigail.’
Do it with animals, with snacks or candies, or something that they can eat. I think keeping it in those categories for kids or something simple like that is a lot of fun because they can relate to it. It's something they do all the time. So, that's what I would do.
Do you have recommendations for 2-player board games?
There is a couple that I follow online, called Games for Two
, and they've actually been featured on several games in Target and Walmart now, based on their social media channel, but they post a ton of 2-player games because it's a husband and wife duo. Anytime I'm looking for a duo game, I go and look up what they've done, and they do a great job with that.
One of the games my wife and I play that she always beats me in is called Blockus . It's a Tetris board game style game where you have to get all the pieces to fit. Card games are huge - there are so many games you can play with a deck of cards, and a lot of times, families already have that in their house. We play a couple of games, Sevens and Spoons . Any dice games are also great.
One of the games my wife and I play that she always beats me in is called Blockus . It's a Tetris board game style game where you have to get all the pieces to fit. Card games are huge - there are so many games you can play with a deck of cards, and a lot of times, families already have that in their house. We play a couple of games, Sevens and Spoons . Any dice games are also great.
The best games to play at sleepovers
At sleepovers, I would do the same kind of games you would do as a family because that's a family environment, and they're in your home. Our daughter does day-overs rather than sleepovers, but that's how we do it. Just play games!
