We have had terrific success with the old icebreaker "Two Truths and a Lie" when we have dinner parties for 8-10. We like to invite people who don't know each other, or at least don't know each other well, and we try to mix ages, marital status, ethnicity, sexual preference, professions, etc., which keeps the conversation great but sometimes does require something to get started.

When the guests arrive, we have cocktails and appetizers in before dinner. When everyone is pretty settled, we start the "game" (there isn't much point to it as a "game"). Each person in turn tells 3 things about him/herself, one of which is not true. The other guests guess which is the lie. Of course, the point is not to keep score or anything; it just gets people acquainted and leads to fascinating talk. We do allow the conversation to digress to interesting conversation when it does, but we make sure everyone has a turn before we go in to dinner. (When it is our turn, because our guests know us, we might tell 3 things about our families or childhoods or something.)

When we first "announce" the game, a few pairs of eyes sort of glaze over, but that quickly passes when they see it isn't really that we are going to be playing a game-y game, if you know what I mean. I have had a guest or two tell me later that her heart sank at first, but it was a terrific idea and she was going to try it, too.

If you don't know the people so well yourself, this game can also help you figure out who your good conversationalists are in the group for the rest of the evening. The one whose idea of interesting facts about him/herself is "I have two sisters, I was born in Chicago, and I like to read," the lie being that s/he really only has ONE sister, is probably not going to be one of your sparkling talkers, and the questions people ask each other will tell you who your good active listeners are.

If you are afraid that even that will seem to game-y, try what my mom does at her dinner parties: she has each guest just tell everyone something interesting. She never says it has to be something about themselves, but she notices that is what it usually is (that's what gave me the idea to use Two Truths and a Lie).

Have fun!

this is a really easy game and is always fun. Go to your local office supply store and get sticker/labels that are about 1/2 to 1 in tall and about 4 inches long. Write down all kinds of famous people. I ususally try to do this while I am watching TV just to get a good mix. I usually try to get at least 100 names. When your guests arrive put a name on there back, they can ask questions like Am I a man or a woman?, am I still alive? When they guess who they are then they get a new name on there back. We have had some people take the sticker from the back and put it on the front so that they know who they have been. I also try to mix in a few holiday characters such as the easter bunny, santa.
Last year we had a party and wee had one guest who of course did not want to play so he got a really good name....Mrs Doubtfire. It took him about 1 hour but he met alot of people just asking questons like am I a man or a woman........how old am I? Needless to say he had a great time and met alot of people that night