Ah, the humble cup, one of mankind’s most important inventions.
Creating games with everyday objects like paper or plastic cups is a great way to bring colleagues together.
Low-prep, minute-to-win-it games brighten up the workday and inject a dose of healthy competition into the office.
All you need is a stack of paper or plastic cups and one or two other materials, and you’re ready to roll.
So grab a cup (or twenty) and get the office party started!
What can games with cups bring to the workplace?
Cup-based games can be set up in a flash, rejuvenating a regular workday with a wave of positivity. Who knew that something as simple as a cup could fill the office with so much fun and healthy competition?
Gamification in the workplace is on the rise, and organizations all around the world are harnessing the power of games for workforces.
A 2019 LMS survey found that 89% of employees felt more productive when employers introduced games into the workplace, and 88% of them felt happier. Happier teams in the office are much more engaged and motivated in their tasks.
Another poll from Gallup shows that motivated teams increase revenue by an average of 21%, so overlook quick office games for employee motivation at your peril!
Our list of games with cups for the workplace
Whether you’re using solo cups, plastic cups, or paper cups, get them into action with your teams to brew up some excitement in the office.
1. Pyramid stack and collapse
Kicking off our list is a competitive bout of stacking. This cup game is the most popular on the list, and also the most professionally competitive! Side note, did you know that professionals call this “sport stacking,” and the world-record holder finished a stack in 1.33 seconds?
This one works best individually, and is fun to use a timer with, for extra competition! Give each player 10 cups and a table to do their stacking.
Set-up:
- Build a pyramid of cups: Each player needs to stack 10 cups to make a pyramid shape. The base will have 4 cups, then 3 on top of those, 2 cups for the next level, finished with 1 cup at the top.
- Collapse the pyramid down into one stack of cups: Players then need to take the top cup and collapse the other cups down, until only one stack of 10 cups remains Remember to smash that timer as soon as they’re finished! Create a leaderboard and find the fastest stacker!
So how fast can your teams complete a pyramid? You never know who’s going to stand out in this minute-to-win-it game.
2. Water-tight cup relay
A water-tight relay is a great game to get everyone active, if a little bit wet! You’ll need 2 or more teams, a cup for each player, and a source for refilling water. The objective is to carry water in a cup to a teammate, creating a relay chain until all water is collected at the end.
Set-up:
- Carry water carefully: Create teams with an equal number of members, each member should be the same distance away from their teammate. The first person in the line is given a full cup of water. They move to the second person and pour water into their cup. They can only pour water backward over their head!
- Continue the chain till the end: Each member repeats the action until the last person pours their water into one large container. The first member in the line then gets another full cup and repeats. Put a measurement on the final container (3 or 4 full cups of water), and the first team to reach the line wins.
Speed does not always beat a steady hand in this game. Try this one out as a fun Friday activity. Just make sure you’re away from electrical equipment!
3. Blow that pyramid over!
Our next game requires pyramids of stacked cups, some balloons, and a healthy set of lungs. The objective is to exhale into a balloon and use the air to blow every cup off the table. You might find that office-singers do well in this one!
Step-up:
- Use balloon air to start the destruction: Create three teams, with a table in front of each first-player, On each table, create a pyramid of 10 cups. Each pyramid should be around 15cm from the edge of the table. The three competitors stay in one place, blow into their balloon, hold the air in with their fingertips, and then let the air go while aiming it at the pyramid. You’ll have a few cups fly off the edge of the table.
- Refill balloons to clear the table: For any remaining cups, the balloon needs to be inflated again. Repeat the releasing of air until every cup is off the table. The first player with a cup-free table wins!
“Blow that pyramid over!” works fantastically as an office party game or on an occasion like a birthday or special celebration. Enjoy the moment!
4. Flip and sip
Our next game involves drinking, so make adjustments according to the workday! There are a lot of videos for this game involving beer, but water and soda work just as well. The game works best with two teams facing each other on opposite sides of the table. The first member needs to successfully flip before the second member can go. It’s a race to the finish line!
Set-up:
- Get your teams ready: Organize teams on either side of the table. In front of each player place a cup filled with any liquid (beer is optional!). Tell them the first player needs to down the liquid, then successfully flip their empty cup from the edge of the table, so that it lands upside-down.
- Get flipping crazy!: Let the two players face-off. Once a team member lands a perfect flip, the next teammate downs their drink and races to do the same. Continue with each team member until the last player flips their cup at the finish line.
You’ll likely be creating a bit of a chaotic mess with this one, so whatever you choose as your drink, make sure it’s easy to clean up, and it doesn’t affect your work performance!
5. Cup tower jenga
This game takes a little more precision than the others and needs a steady hand. Cup Tower Jenga can be played in teams or as a solo cup game. You’ll need some medium-sized index cards. If you can’t get index cards, try cutting up some A4 paper. Make sure the paper has a similar weight, around 150gsm. If the paper is too light, it won’t support the cups’ weight. Each sheet needs to be big enough to fit an upside-down paper cup. Now let’s set the game up.
Set-up:
- Stack up a tower: Each participant needs four cups and a table in front of them. On the table, they need to build a tower of upside-down cups, four cups high. Between each upside-down cup should be placed 1 index card.
- Carefully deconstruct: One at a time, players need to slide out an index card, so that the cup above neatly falls over and contains the cup beneath it. Precision beats strength here. If the construction is rushed, or cards aren’t pulled perfectly, the whole tower is likely to fall down. If the tower falls before the 4 paper cups are perfectly stacked, they need to rebuild and try again.
Try this one out in pairs, with one person being the builder and one as the demolition expert. They’ll likely strategize together. The first pair to stack 4 wins!
6. Musical cups
Here’s a game that demands timing and cat-like reflexes. It’s a rework of musical chairs, something that we’ve all played in childhood at least once. The game is fast-paced and competitive, making it a perfect team energizer. You’ll need a group of 4 to 10 people, a table and an amount of cups that is one less than the number of players you have. Basically, one person is going to be eliminated each round!
Set-up:
- Get the music started! Get your Bluetooth speaker and an upbeat playlist ready. On the table place a number of cups that is one less than the amount of people playing. Most people will recognize the rules instinctively; you play the music and each player walks around the table clockwise. When the music stops, each person needs to grab one cup with lightning-fast speed. Whoever is without a cup at the end of this round is eliminated. Remove one cup and move to the next round.
- Whittle down the competition: Continue eliminating one player per round. Make the music more intense and crazy as each round passes by. Eventually, only one person will be left standing (and sipping!), so crown this person as the winner of Musical Cups!
Cups can be full or empty as people play, and as with our other drinking games, choose a beverage that’s easy to clean up and applies to your work setting. Organize it during a work happy hour to get the party started. We’ll say cheers to that!
7. Cup 10-pin bowling
Do you have anyone in the office who is an absolute pro on a bowling alley? Maybe you do, but you haven’t realized it yet. 10-pin bowling with cups demands precision and a little strategy. It works well in small teams too, with each teammate helping the bowler plan out their attempt.
You’ll need 10 cups per team, with each team member taking turns to bowl. Cups placed the right-way-up make knockdowns a lot easier! Here’s how to get it started:
Set-up:
- Prepare an “alley” for bowling: Set up your cup formation, 10-pin style, at the end of a flat, smooth table (the longer the better!). To replace a 10lb bowling ball, just use a tennis or ping-pong ball.
- Roll to your heart’s content!: Each player has 2 attempts to roll the ball along the narrow table and knock over as many “pins” as possible. Not everyone is going to bowl a “spare” or “strike,” so you might need someone keeping careful tabs on the scoreboards. Play over 10-frames to find and crown your winner.
It doesn’t take much to set up this cup and ping-pong ball game, so bring the excitement of a bowling alley to the workplace for teambuilding fun! Serve some popcorn and play the sound of pins being hit with each roll too, to get the atmosphere right!
8. Cup and paper rolling relay
Our final minute-to-win-it cup game is a hilarious way to round off the list. It also takes a steady hand and a surprising amount of patience! You’ll need a few rolls of toilet paper, some cups and refillable water. Here’s how to play:
Set-up:
- Prepare your contestants: Each player should be given 1 roll of toilet tissue. At the end of a long table, place one cup per contestant. Fill the cups up (it shouldn’t be too heavy, as the paper will rip). Under the filled cups, place the end of the toilet tissue roll, and let the toilet tissue unravel all the way to the other end of the table.
- Wind the cup towards you: On your mark, each player then carefully rerolls the toilet tissue, slowly dragging the filled cup toward them. Things can get really fun when a player is losing halfway through the race. They start to panic and speed up the rolling process. This often causes a bit of spillage, tearing the paper. When that happens, they need to clear up and reset their roll.
This super simple game is a barrel of laughs, so try it out with your teams today. It’ll bring team members closer together and keep everyone on a roll!
Cup games forge even stronger bonds on a team retreat!
Fun teambuilding games with paper or plastic cups are a wonderful way of revitalizing a regular workday. Did you know they’re even more powerful when used on a team-building retreat? Just imagine the experience of organizing these games in a one-of-a-kind location!
Here at Surf Office, organizing team retreats is what we do best.
Here’s what we offer:
- Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
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- Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅
Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.
Never underestimate the power of solidified team bonds. Integrate these group and solo cup games into an unforgettable company retreat, and watch teamwork in the office soar!
Let us sort out the tricky logistics for you. Spaces are very limited, so get in touch now!
