No doubt you’ve heard the phrase “teamwork makes the dream work.” And, according to research, that philosophy has proven true time and again. 

Several studies have shown that collaboration is key for team success, including one published by Statista. They found that a massive 89% of respondents believe that teamwork between departments and other business units is either “important” or “very important” to their overall job satisfaction. Another study published in an academic journal shares that employees who are open to collaborative working are not only likely to focus on tasks for longer, but are also more engaged, display less fatigue, and generally deliver more successful outcomes. 

If you need some extra inspiration for bringing your team together, check out these fun collaboration games. Give one (or several) a try at your next team-building event to maximize fun and morale. 

Collaboration games for engaging employees

1. Toxic Waste

This fun and interactive game helps employees to collaborate and polish their problem-solving skills. If you want to make it even more challenging, then you can set up obstacles or choose materials that will be tricky to pick up. Here’s how to play the game:

1. Break a larger group into smaller teams of 3. 
2. Hand each team a bucket of water filled with small objects (to represent radioactive waste). Grab things like tennis balls, blocks, clips, etc. 
3. Put a smaller bucket on a table a few feet away from each team.
4. Participants need to use a rope with a square knot (or whatever other method they work out) to transfer the “waste” from the larger bucket into the smaller one. 
5. The team that moves all of their waste first, wins. If everyone is moving at about the same pace, then the winner will be the group who moved the most in the amount of time you allocated. 

2. Deserted Island

This game is simple and fun, but also promotes teamwork and cooperation. You need to start with groups that have 3-5 people in them. Make sure each group has a pen and paper for note-taking. Then:

1. Have everyone sit in their groups and display a deserted island map on a white board or projector. Explain the activity by telling participants to imagine they are started on a deserted island with very limited resources. The resources that are available are: a water purifier, food supplies, a radio, and a compass.
2. Give each group some time to brainstorm and share ideas on the best ways to use the available resources to survive and escape. 
3. After that time, each team should present its plan to the larger group. They should be prepared to explain how they plan to use the items, as well as the obstacles they believe they’ll face, and how they can overcome them. 
4. Once all the teams have had a chance to present, conduct a group discussion to analyze the different plans, pick out strengths and weaknesses, and develop a final strategy that includes the highlights from each team. 

3. Memory Wall

This activity is more of a team-building exercise than a game, but it’s still a lot of fun and usually leads to loads of laughs. It’s the perfect way to use up a little extra time in something like a team-building retreat, and it can also improve morale if that is something you’re currently struggling with. You can do this with a smaller group, or break a big group into pairs. Start by having a large white board or chalkboard available (wall size is ideal). You’ll also need dry erase markers, pens, and sticky notes in a variety of colors. Begin by using the dry erase markers to break up the board into 3 separate categories of “memories”. For example, you could say “office jokes”, “holiday parties”, and “team meetings”. Next, each person (or pair) will use the sticky notes to write down a favorite memory in each category. At the end of the exercise, you’ll have a colorful visual full of your colleagues favorite memories. Leave it up for the duration of your event, or you can leave it up permanently and let it be a place people can visit and add to. 

4. Collaborative Puzzle

Solving a puzzle is a great way to increase bonding, because you need to problem solve and think critically as a group. It presents a good opportunity for learning more about how your teammates think and work. You can formalize this puzzle–solving by buying several versions of the same puzzle. At your next group event, have people break into groups of 3 or 4 and work on the puzzle at a table or on the floor. Set a timer for 60 or 90 minutes and then see who has gotten the furthest on the puzzle in that timeframe. This is great for last-minute planning, since you only need the puzzles and you can order those for next-day shipping on many sites. 

Teams can also have great success focusing on their communication and cooperation skills specifically. You can find some ideas for communication games and other fun group activities on our blog. 

Collaboration games for team-building 

5. The Amazing Race

If you’ve seen this popular show, then you know how exciting and engaging it can be. You can recreate these feelings by putting on your own version of the event. Here are the steps: 

1. Pick teams and assign team leaders. How large the teams are will depend on the size of your overall group, but you probably don’t want more than 10 people in any group. 
2. Bring a list of challenges that you prepared previously. They should be things that require teams to solve puzzles, perform physical tasks, or navigate obstacles. Come up with some clues that will help them to solve each challenge and give those to teams as well. 
3. Start the race! Let teams know they’ll have a set amount of time to do as many challenges as possible. Make sure teams know that communicating effectively and working well together will help them to solve challenges and win the race. 
4. Award points for each challenge, and bonus points for the teams that finish first. You can keep this really simple, or get more complex by weighing challenges according to difficulty or adding in other options for bonus points. 
5. At the end of the session, stop the timer and add up the points, then award your winner. 

6. Recycled Art Competition

If your team is on the creative side - or you want to encourage them to be - this is a smart activity for you. You’ll need plenty of recycled materials like paper, cardboard, or plastic items. Here is what to do:

1. Split up your group into smaller teams. 
2. Give each group a set of recycled materials. Try to give a good mix of whatever you’ve come up with. 
3. The goal of each team is to come up with a unique and creative piece of art in the time allotted. The other objective is to use as many of the recycled materials as possible. 
4. Once the time you set is up, each group will present their creation to the larger team. 
5. Either one judge or a panel of judges will assess each art piece based on factors like creativity, teamwork, and the best use of the materials provided. The team with the highest score is the winner. 

7. Improv Olympics

This team collaboration game is good for mixing up departments and getting people to work well with others that they may not normally interact with. If you are trying to encourage inter-departmental cooperation, this is a good place to start. We think this game improves collaboration, creativity, and even problem-solving skills - so it’s good for almost any group event! Here are instructions: 

1. Divide the larger group into teams that are as even as possible and assign a leader for each group. 
2. Provide a topic for the story or skit. You may want to associate the subject with your work - for example, a consumer goods company may discuss a new product that’s being launched. 
3. The team should come up with a short skit or performance to showcase their creativity and improv skills, while highlighting the topic or product you gave them. 
4. Set a time limit for each performance, and tell everyone that the goal is to earn points based on creativity, collaboration, and actual improv. 
5. The team with the best score wins. You can leave this up to a moderator or come up with a panel of judges for bigger groups. 

8. Build-a-Bridge Challenge

This game is challenging as well as fun (hence the word “challenge” in the title). It also promotes teamwork and cooperation, which are important skills for collaboration in any group setting. It’s best for larger groups that you can divide up. Start with these steps: 

1. Divide players into groups of 5 and give everyone their materials. The kit should include things like wooden sticks, blocks, and glue. 
2. The goal is to work together to build a bridge that can support a certain weight. Teams should factor in design, stability, and safety factors. 
3. At the end of the game, each team will present their bridges to the entire group and test them by putting the required weight onto the bridge. The weight you choose can vary, from an apple to a brick. 
4. If you want to make things more challenging, change the type of materials or require a higher weight. 

9. Escape room

If part of an event includes an outing of some sort, why not try an escape room? These challenges provide a unique way to promote problem-solving and collaboration. Groups work together to decipher clues and solve puzzles, all within a time limit. This challenges their critical thinking skills and encourages them to communicate and coordinate effectively. The time pressure and suspense make it a high-energy game that enhances teamwork and bonding. Research your location to see if there are escape rooms nearby (or work with Surf Office to coordinate logistics for a seamless, multi-day experience). 

Make sure to browse our blog for more ideas on indoor team-building activities, conversation games for teams, or team bonding activities. 

Virtual employee collaboration games

10. Scattergories

This game is excellent for remote teams and perfect for playing on Zoom (or your preferred teleconference platform). Here is what to do: 

1. Invite all the participants to join a call at a certain time. 
2. Share your screen, and navigate to an online Scattergories generator too. Swellfarfo is a good choice but you can find others. 
3. The tool will randomly generate categories and provide a letter, and players must fill out each category with words that begin with the given letter. They can do this in a separate chat. 
4. Once the timer runs out, players will reveal each answer. 
5. Only unique answers receive points - that means if more than one person comes up with the same answer, their points essentially cancel each other out. 
6. The player with the most points is the winner. 

11. Virtual Jeopardy

This game can help to energize your group, increase collaboration, and bring in new knowledge. Any activity that increases your team’s proficiency in something is going to be helpful, so a game like this is especially useful if you have new products coming out and want to test your sales team, or help new people get up to speed. You can also add or modify questions so that they better align with your discussion topics. Here’s how to play: 

1. Pick a platform to host your virtual game like Zoom. 
2. Create categories and questions for each category based on the information you want to review. Pick from industry statistics, company history, competitor info, or industry trends. You’ll want to have a range of difficulty levels and you can also consider incorporating multimedia elements like videos or photos to make things more engaging. 
3. Once you have done all of this prep, divide your team into groups. Start by letting each team pick a category and difficulty level (just like the real game show). 
4. Ask the question and set a time limit for answering. You can also allow teams to step aside for side-bar conversations to come up with their answer. 
5. A correct answer wins the corresponding number of points. If the team answers incorrectly, an opposing team gets a chance to try. 
6. Play should continue until all of the questions on the board have been answered. Keep track of scores and award the group with the highest number of points. 

12. Think - Pair - Repair

Group learning activities are helpful for encouraging discussion and improving critical thinking. For this virtual game, you’ll need to make teams, and then invite all players to a zoom call. Send the teams to breakout rooms using your conferencing platform. Assign a problem or scenario to each group to work on within their team for about 5 or 10 minutes. Once time is up, have everyone come back together in the virtual setting to share their challenge, as well as their ideas and solutions. The scenarios will be different for every company or industry, but here is a good standard example: “You were assigned a task, but you procrastinated and did not complete it on time. When your manager asks, how will you manage the conversation using your communication and problem-solving skills?”

Simple collaboration activities

13. Trust Walk

This activity is a classic team-building option. It emphasizes trust and effective communication using one team member that is blindfolded, with a partner to guide them through an obstacle course. It’s great for fostering trust and getting to know other colleagues better. It’s best for an outdoor space, but can be done anywhere that you can set up small obstacles that people can maneuver around pretty easily. Then just pair people off and hand out the blindfolds. 

14. Lego Play

For a fun youthful take on a corporate exercise, try having people model something using legos or other building blocks. You’ll need to provide several sets to make sure you have enough materials. Start by coming up with a concept or product and having each team build out their idea using the blocks. For example, you might say that your company wants to come up with an innovative breakfast product. People have to get really creative to demonstrate their ideas using only legos, and it usually results in lots of laughter, too. 

15. Innovation Challenge

You really don’t need any materials or preparation for this option. Innovation challenges involve identifying a hurdle or concern within the organization and working together to come up with a solution. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement, encourages team members to think creatively, and also shows management that you care about everyone’s ideas and are open to new ways of thinking. For maximum effect, come to the table with real challenges that you’d like to see addressed - you never know where a brilliant solution might be found! 

You can also find some fun and simple ideas in our blog posts on quick team-building activities or team-building games.  

Incorporate collaboration games for your team events

Putting together an effective team-building retreat or large work event is not easy. It requires the right balance of socialization, learning, and bonding. These games are a great inclusion for a single day or multi-day retreat. In fact, you might want to disperse a few of them throughout your event to get people moving and sharing, leading to better collaboration inside and outside the office.

If you’re not sure how to create a compelling corporate event, reach out to Surf Office. We help companies to plan events that their employees not only remember, but enjoy.