A board game gives strangers a shared problem before they need shared history.

Getting to know people is slow because there is nothing yet to be together about. A game solves that by handing everyone a small, harmless problem at the same moment, so attention can point outward instead of at the awkwardness in the room. You learn a great deal about someone from how they take a bad turn, and none of it requires making conversation out of nothing. Structure does the work that shared history would otherwise have to do.

If you are hosting people who do not know each other, give them a task rather than a topic; cooking, a puzzle, or a short walk will serve the same purpose.