Organising a team-building event or offsite retreat for a large group is a massive undertaking.
And the bigger your group is, the more complicated the planning process becomes because more people lead to trickier logistics, bigger spending and a reduced margin for error.
Those are some of the reasons why big companies like Google and Shopify ask Surf Office to do the planning for them—it allows them to focus on their workload while we put together a carefully planned event.
On the other hand, if you’ve decided to go it alone and plan your team-building event yourself, you might need some help choosing the best big group activities.
So, to help you find group activities that align with your team-building goals, we’ve put together this list of team-building activities for large groups.
Outdoor team-building activities for large groups
At Surf Office, we’re huge advocates for getting out of the office for some much-needed team building. We believe there’s no better catalyst for building new relationships than the great outdoors.
1. Extreme rock, paper, scissors
Extreme rock, paper, scissors takes the traditional playground game to a new level. This time, Instead of battling it out in pairs, your employees will attempt to overthrow the competition in teams.
Great for: Energization
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: Plastic hula hoops (approx. 15)
How to play:
- Lay the hoops in a line on the ground and leave a gap of 50cm between each one.
- Divide your group into two teams and position them at either end of the line of hoops.
- When you shout “Go!” one player from each team starts hopping through the hoops towards the opposition.
- When they meet in the middle, they play rock, paper, scissors.
- The loser exits the hoop and jogs back to their team. Meanwhile, the winner continues hopping forward towards the opposition and a player from the other team steps in to replace their fallen comrade.
- When the two players meet, they play rock, paper, scissors again.
- Play continues until a player reaches the opposing team’s starting hoop. The first team to land in their opponent's starting hoop wins.
2. Corporate Castaways
Corporate Castaways puts your employees’ ingenuity and teamwork skills to the test as they attempt to solve various group challenges.
Great for: Teamwork, communication
Duration: 2–3 hours
You’ll need: Various equipment depending on the games chosen
How to play:
- Find an open outdoor space with plenty of room to move around, such as a park or a beach.
- Set up each game (physical challenges and puzzles). Leave plenty of space between them. You should have as many challenges as you do teams.
- Divide your group into teams of about 5–8 players.
- Assign each team a challenge and have them stand around or next to it.
- Set a time limit for each game. When you say “Go!” teams set about trying to complete the challenges. Assign an “official” to each challenge to tally the scores.
- Teams have a turn to complete each challenge. The team with the most points after completing all of the challenges wins.
3. Cardboard Boat Building Challenge
Your employees will work in teams to build the most durable boat using nothing but cardboard, sticky tape and their creativity. Whose will travel the furthest before it sinks?
Great for: Teamwork, creative thinking
Duration: 1–2 hours
You’ll need: Cardboard, tape, table tennis rackets
How to play:
- Find a suitable location to perform the boat races, i.e. a pond or swimming pool.
- Divide your group into teams of about 5–6 players, then give each team some sheets of cardboard and a few rolls of tape.
- Set a time limit for the build. Once the time is up, ask each team to present their creations and explain why theirs is best.
- Finally, ask each team to delegate a captain (it’s best to choose somebody small and light).
- Hand each captain a pair of table tennis rackets (this will help them to propel their vessel) and ask them to take their boats to the water’s edge.
- When the starting pistol fires, the captains will scramble into their vessels and paddle as fast as they can while their teammates cheer them on. The team to paddle the furthest wins.
4. Community service
Team-building doesn’t only need to be about silly games. Sometimes, you strengthen your team while contributing something valuable to your local community.
Great for: Company culture, company perception, job satisfaction
Duration: 2–3 hours
You’ll need: N/A
How to start:
- Consult your team about the type of community service they’d like to get involved with. It could be anything from a beach cleanup to helping out at an animal shelter.
- Once you’ve settled on an activity, reach out to your chosen organisation and inform them you’d like to offer a helping hand.
- Don’t forget to document the event by taking photos or making a video—these images will make additions to your employee breakroom!
5. Water balloon dodgeball
Water balloon dodgeball is a highly intense competitive game that’s guaranteed to get your group livened up at the start of your team-building event. Just don’t forget to remind everyone to bring a change of clothes beforehand!
Great for: Energization
Duration: 10–20 minutes
You’ll need: Two large buckets or bins, lots of water balloons, cones or rope for marking the field
How to play:
- Mark out a rectangular field using rope or cones, divide it in half and then place a bucket or bin full of water balloons at both ends.
- Divide your group into two teams and position them at opposing ends of the field next to the water balloons.
- When you say “Go!” both teams start hurling water balloons at the opposing players.
- If a player is hit, they’re out of the game and must leave the field.
- Play continues until all the players from one team are eliminated. The team with players still standing wins.
6. Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt is an excellent opportunity for your team to escape the office while working on essential soft skills like teamwork, communication and problem-solving.
Great for: Teamwork, communication, problem-solving
Duration: 1–2 hours
You’ll need: A list of challenges for teams to complete.
How to play:
- Establish the boundaries of play, i.e. the confines of a large park.
- Create a list of things for employees to find, hear, smell or do. For example: Find the leaf of a maple tree.
- Teams will work through the list, ticking off challenges as they complete them.
- The first team that completes all the challenges (or the team that completes the most challenges after the time runs out) wins.
7. After-work running club
Recurring group activities like after-work running clubs are a great way of making team-building a regular feature in your team’s schedule.
What’s more, healthy activities like jogging and yoga boost employee well-being, job satisfaction and company culture while giving employees a chance to bond outside of the office.
Great for: Company culture, job satisfaction, employee well-being, interpersonal relationships
Duration: 30 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to start:
- Arrange a regular running schedule for your employees to register. It’s wise to create multiple groups for different fitness levels.
- Pin a running calendar to the staff room wall, detailing the different group times.
8. Employee beach day
At the office, heavy workloads and busy schedules can prevent friendships from blossoming. Therefore, from time to time, it’s critical to leave the hubbub of the office behind and escape to the beach for some well-earned chill time.
Great for: Interpersonal relationships, stress reduction
Duration: As long as you like!
You’ll need: Various beach games like frisbee, volleyball, etc.
How to prepare:
- Mark a day in your employees' calendar for a relaxing beach day. It could be a one-off event, or you could integrate recurring beach days as part of your employee benefits package.
- Head to the beach for a day of tanning, beach games and swimming. If there are waves in your region, you could arrange for your team to join a surf lesson!
9. Treetop adventure
Treetop adventures test your employees’ composure as they traverse various obstacles high up in the forest canopy. These high-rope courses are an effective way for your team to build trust and develop new friendships.
Great for: Building trust, interpersonal bonding
Duration: 1-2 hours
You’ll need: N/A
How to prepare:
- Reach out to your local treetop adventure facilitator to arrange a booking. Look out for corporate group discounts or packages.
10. Bubble football
Bubble football is a hilarious variation of The Beautiful Game in which players are half-enclosed within inflatable spheres that cover the body and head.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding
Duration: 1 hour+
You’ll need: N/A
How to prepare:
- Reach out to your local bubble football facilitator to arrange a booking. Look out for corporate group discounts or packages.
11. Water gun fight
A water gun fight is an opportunity for your employees to leave the stresses of the office behind them and enjoy some harmless fun.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, relieving stress
Duration: 30 minutes
You’ll need: An open space, various water guns (at least one per person)
How to organise:
- Mark approximate boundaries for your water gun fight. If you’re in a park, this might simply be the approximate confines of the park itself.
- Scatter various water guns through the space for your employees to discover once the fighting begins.
- When you say “Go!” players will scatter to find a water gun and start firing at other players.
- There are no fixed rules here—the idea is simply to have fun!
- Blow a whistle to signify the end of the game.
12. Lunchtime picnic
Lunch breaks present an excellent team-bonding opportunity that many managers fail to capitalise on. By organising regular lunchtime picnics, you encourage your employees to spend time getting to know each other outside of the office.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, well-being
Duration: 30 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to organise:
- Outdoor company picnics are, of course, weather dependent, so look at the forecast at the start of the week and determine the best day and location for a picnic.
- Mark the chosen day on the calendar in the staff room or send a group email to notify your team.
- On the day of the picnic, provide essential items such as blankets, picnic baskets, sunscreen etc.
13. Random Acts of Kindness
Random Acts of Kindness is a mobile app that challenges your employees to perform as many good deeds as possible within a given time limit. This large group game is a fantastic way to get employees out of the office and interacting with the local community.
Great for: Company perception, well-being, interpersonal bonding
Duration: 1 hour
You’ll need: One smartphone per team with the Random Acts of Kindness mobile app installed
How to play:
- Separate your group into even teams and provide each one with a smartphone with the RAOK app installed.
- Once the teams launch the app, there’s little more for you to do. The app will set a time limit and then present a series of challenges like helping somebody pack their groceries or assisting an elderly person to cross the road.
- The winning team is that which has completed the most challenges when the time runs out.
14. Paintball
Paintball is a physically demanding team-building activity that encourages your employees to work together as a team to overthrow the enemy in a series of game modes.
Note: This activity isn’t for the faint-hearted—getting hit by a paintball can hurt!
Great for: Teamwork, interpersonal bonding, leadership skills
Duration: 2–3 hours
You’ll need: N/A
How to organise:
- Reach out to your local paintballing facilitator to arrange a booking. Look out for corporate group discounts or packages.
15. Field day
A corporate Field Day is a chance for your employees to relive their youth in a series of silly outdoor team-building games like tug of war, beanbag race and slip and slide!
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, communication, teamwork
Duration: 2–3 hours
You’ll need: Various items depending on the game you choose
How to organise:
- Come up with a list of field day activities for your employees to enjoy. A quick Google search for “field day games” will do the trick.
- Gather the necessary materials.
- Select a suitable venue. You’ll need a big open space like a sports field or park.
- Gather your employees and prepare them for the day ahead. If you like, you can divide your employees into teams to encourage communication and teamwork.
- Announce a mystery prize for the winning team. This helps to boost engagement and creates a buzz from the beginning.
- Let the games begin! Take note of scores as the games unfold and announce a winner at the end of the day. You can also award special prizes like “most dedicated team member” and “best performance”.
16. Bigger and Better
Did you ever hear about that person who traded a paperclip for a house? Well, now it’s your employees' chance to do the same with Bigger and Better! In this fun team-building game, your employees must work together and leverage their sales skills to obtain more valuable objects through trade.
Great for: Communication, teamwork, energization
Duration: 45–60 minutes
You’ll need: Small “invaluable” objects such as paperclips or pens
How to play:
- Separate your group into teams. Then, give each team an invaluable item such as a paperclip or a pen.
- Find a suitable location such as a busy park or shopping mall.
- Explain that the aim of the game is to trade this item for increasingly more valuable items by using their sales skills.
- Set a time limit and start trading!
- When the time runs out, regroup with your employees and ask each team to present their new item. The team with the most valuable item wins! If it’s close, you can ask other teams to vote for the thing they consider more valuable, or turn to a website like eBay or Amazon to establish monetary value.
Indoor team-building activities for large groups
You won’t always have the time or budget to organise a big outdoor event. Therefore, it’s often necessary to organise team-building activities inside the office.
Here are some of our favourite big group team-building activities that you can play without venturing too far from home.
1. Keep up the balloons
What was the second-best thing about having a birthday as a child? Playing balloon keepy-uppy with the day after! Keep up the balloons is a light-hearted energization game that’s perfect for large groups.
Great for: Energization, teamwork
Duration: 5–10 minutes
You’ll need: Balloons in a variety of colours
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of three to four players and then hand each group a set of balloons. Use different coloured balloons for each team and ensure the number of balloons is double the number of players in the team. For example, a team of four players would receive eight blue balloons.
- Spread out the teams so that there’s plenty of space between each. When you shout “Go!” the teams hit their balloons into the air.
- The aim of the game is for the players to keep their balloons from touching the ground for as long as possible. The team with the most balloons still in the air after the time runs out wins.
2. Where Do You Stand?
Where Do You Stand? Is a simple energizing game that’s perfect for large groups and easy to set up. All you need is an open space and a handful of ‘this or that’ questions.
Great for: Energization, session icebreaker
Duration: 10–15 minutes
You’ll need: Cones to divide the room
How to play:
- Divide the room in half with a line of small cones and then ask your group to stand more or less along the line.
- Ask a ‘this or that’ question to the group such as “pizza or pasta?” and assign an answer to each side of the room. For example, if a player wants to answer “pizza”, they need to run to the left side of the room.
- Keep the energy up by asking questions in quick succession. The idea is to get your group moving and acting impulsively.
- By the end of the game, your employees will know a little bit more about their colleagues’ preferences.
3. The desert island game
The desert island game is a straightforward getting-to-know-you icebreaker game that works brilliantly with large groups. You won’t need any props or materials—all your group need is some imagination.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, energization
Duration: 15–20 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of approximately 4–5 players.
- Set the scene: Each group has been stranded on a desert island after their boat sank at sea. As the boat was sinking, each player had just enough time to grab one object to take with them onto the island. The idea is to gain insight into each player’s likes and dislikes, not to establish who has the best survival acumen. For example, if a player really enjoys photography, they might choose to take their camera with them to document life on the island.
- Once everybody has shared their chosen object, the team-building portion of the activity begins. Now, teams must work together to establish how they would survive on the island using the objects they chose to take with them.
- Each team must then present their survival strategy to the rest of the group. A prize can be awarded to the team with the most creative ideas.
4. Company Potluck
Not every team-building activity needs to be carefully choreographed. Sometimes, organic bonding activities like Company Potluck build stronger relationships.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding
Duration: 1–2 hours
You’ll need: N/A
How to organise:
- Set a time and date for your team to come together for a group meal.
- Ask each team member to arrive with a snack or dish which they prepared themselves. For the more culinary inept employees, shop-bought products are also acceptable.
- Everybody arrives at the event with their offerings and spends the afternoon eating and mingling with their colleagues.
- To prevent lots of people from bringing the same product, you can pin a paper to the staffroom wall for people to write down what they intend to bring.
5. Painting workshop
A painting workshop is an opportunity for your employees to get to know each other while unleashing their creative side.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, creative thinking, relaxation
Duration: 2–3 hours
You’ll need: Painting materials (brushes, paper/canvases, paints, water, etc.)
How to organise:
- Reach out to your local paint workshop facilitator to arrange a booking. Look out for corporate group discounts or packages. There are various workshops available from guided painting to bring-your-own-drinks free painting sessions.
6. The Marshmallow Challenge
The Marshmallow Challenge puts your employees’ engineering, teamwork and communication skills to the test as they attempt to build the highest tower using only dried spaghetti, masking tape and string.
Great for: Teamwork, communication, problem-solving, leadership
Duration: 30 minutes
You’ll need: Marshmallows, dried spaghetti, masking tape, string, scissors, measuring tape
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of approximately 5–6 players and give each team a package of dried spaghetti, a roll of masking tape, a ball of string and a pair of scissors.
- When the timer starts (approximately 10 minutes), teams will start constructing the highest possible tower using only the materials provided.
- When the time expires, ask each team to present their tower and briefly discuss their thought process.
- Approach one team at a time and measure the height of the tower and record the result.
- Place a marshmallow on top of the tower. The tower must support the weight of the marshmallow for 10 seconds without collapsing.
- Repeat this process with the remaining teams.
- The team whose tower was the highest and successfully withstood the weight of the marshmallow wins.
- Follow up with a debriefing session where employees can discuss what went well and what could be improved next time.
7. Egg Drop
The classic team-building game Egg Drop works just as well with large groups as it does with small ones. In fact, when working in larger groups, your employees will be forced to delegate more tasks and come to decisions quickly—even when not everybody agrees!
Great for: Problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork, leadership
Duration: 30 minutes
You’ll need (per team): A raw egg, 1 piece of cardboard, 1 meter of duct tape, 40 plastic (bendy) straws
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of 4–8 players and give each team a set of materials.
- Set a time limit of 15 minutes and ask your group to create a protective structure that will prevent the egg from breaking when it’s dropped from a height.
- When the time runs out, ask each team to present their creation to the group before dropping their egg.
- The team whose egg hits the ground without breaking wins. If multiple teams manage to protect their eggs during the fall, the team that used the fewest straws wins.
8. Scheduled coffee breaks
Team building doesn’t need to be a one-off event. Sometimes, it can be as simple as incorporating organic and meaningful interactions, like scheduled coffee breaks, into your employees’ schedules.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding, company culture
Duration: 15–20 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to organise:
- Create a coffee-break schedule for your team. The schedule should encourage organic, one-to-one interactions between employees who don’t often interact. This is also a chance for your employees to spend time together out of the office.
- If your company is remote, this is an excellent team-building activity for Zoom.
9. Office FM
Office FM is an ongoing team-building activity that boosts morale and encourages employees to collaborate.
Great for: Company culture
Duration: N/A
You’ll need: Access to a music streaming service (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)
How to organise:
- Create a collaborative playlist and invite everybody as a contributor. If you like, you can create a theme such as “90s Party Classics”.
- Ask each employee to contribute a maximum of two songs to the playlist.
- Hit “play” on the playlist whenever a morale boost is needed!
10. Office Escape
If you’ve ever been to a professional escape room event, you’ll know just how effective they are at improving essential skills like communication and problem-solving. With Office Escape, you can recreate the drama of an escape room experience without leaving the office!
Great for: Problem-solving, creative thinking, communication, leadership
Duration: 1–2 hours
You’ll need: A storyline with a final objective, a series of problems and challenges
How to organise:
- Think of a final objective and then create a series of challenges and tasks that leads them towards completing it. It’s easier to think of challenges when you already have the final objective in mind.
- Plot a series of challenges that leads your employees toward the final objective. Be creative and have fun with it!
- You can further engage teams by offering a small reward for being the fastest to complete the objective.
11. Memory wall
A memory wall is a space for spreading good vibes and positivity in the workplace. Here, you’ll create a collage of good memories that your team can appreciate every time they pass by.
Great for: Company culture, job satisfaction
Duration: N/A
You’ll need: Paper, various coloured pens
How to organise:
- Give each employee a pen and piece of paper and ask them to write down some of their favourite memories from previous experiences like Christmas parties and offsite retreats. These can be personal memories or experiences they shared with colleagues.
- Then, ask your employees to create colourful drawings of these memories. If the memory is shared with a colleague, they can pair up and make the drawing together.
- Collect the drawings and use them to make a colourful collage somewhere in the office. It should be in a shared space where it can be appreciated throughout the day.
12. Laser tag
Laser tag is paintballing’s pain-free relative. It’s an activity that lends itself perfectly to corporate groups, encouraging employees to work together to defeat their opponent in a series of electrifying game modes.
Great for: Teamwork, communication, interpersonal bonding
Duration: 1–2 hours
You’ll need: N/A
How to play:
- Reach out to your local laser tag facilitator to arrange a booking. Look out for corporate group discounts or packages.
13. Minefield
Minefield is a fun energization game that improves communication and listening skills. All you need is an open space and a bunch of soft-edged objects.
Great for: Listening skills, communication, energization
Duration: 10–15 minutes
You’ll need: Various soft objects like balloons, foam blocks, plastic cups, etc.
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of about 4–5 players and blindfold one player from each team.
- Spread out your soft-edged objects throughout the space.
- Ask the teams to stand at one end of the room.
- When you shout “Go!” the blindfolded player must make their way to the other side of the room without touching any of the objects on the floor. The players without blindfolds are allowed to give verbal commands to the blindfolded player. They are NOT allowed to touch or guide the blindfolded player in any way.
- The team to reach the other side of the room first without touching any of the objects wins. If a team touches an object, they must return to the start.
Quick team-building activities for large groups
The following list of quick team-building games are perfect for when you’re short on time, but they’re equally effective when used as icebreakers before a big event.
1. Paper Plane Parade
Here’s a creative team-building game that’s easy to play and gets your employees fired up for the rest of the session.
Great for: Teamwork, creative thinking
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: A4 Paper, sticky tape and scissors
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of 4–5 players and give each team a sheet of A4 paper, scissors and sticky tape. Feel free to add more stationary items such as glitter, plastic straws etc.
- Start a timer of five minutes and ask each team to build a paper plane using the items provided.
- When the time runs out, give each team a few minutes to present their creation and explain why there’s is the best.
- Then, each team will stand in a specified place and throw their plane as far as possible.
- Teams will be judged on three criteria: the plane that travelled the furthest, the plane that flew for the longest and the plane that looked the best.
- Prizes can be awarded to the winners.
2. Word Association
Word Association is a quick team-building game that’s easy to play and doesn’t require any probs or materials.
Great for: Energization, creative thinking
Duration: 5 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to play:
- Divide your group into smaller groups of 8–10 players and position them in separate areas of the room.
- Ask each group to sit on the ground in a circle facing inwards.
- Provide each team with a one-word prompt such as “lasagne” or “sandals”.
- Going round the circle, each player contributes a new word that they strongly associate with the previous word. For example, if a player said “tree”, the next player might say “roots” or “forest”.
- Play moves around the circle until the time runs out.
3. Caption This
Caption This is a light-hearted team-building activity that encourages your team to get creative in thinking up captions for various images.
Great for: Energization, creative thinking
Duration: 5–10 minutes
You’ll need: A collection of silly/thought-provoking images
How to play:
- Find and print out a variety of images. You can find images online or dive into your corporate photo album.
- Divide your group into teams of about 4–5 players. Then, present the photos one by one and ask each team to come up with a silly caption.
- Once you’ve been through all the photos, go back to the start and ask each team to read out their caption for each photo.
- Teams will then vote for the captions they thought were the best.
- The team with the most votes wins!
4. Stop-Walk
Stop-Walk is a fun group activity that forces players to listen carefully to commands. This is a fantastic game for maintaining engagement during a long day or energizing groups early in the morning.
Great for: Listening skills, energization
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: An open space
How to play:
- Delegate one person to be the “leader.”
- The leader will begin by introducing two commands: “stop” and “walk.” When the leader says walk, the other players will start to walk around the room. When the leader says “stop,” the players will stop where they are.
- Then, the leader will announce that the meaning of these commands is now reversed. So, “stop” now means “walk” and “walk” now means “stop.”
- Over time, the leader introduces new commands like “jump,” “spin around” and “clap.” Commands are always introduced in pairs and their meanings are later reversed.
- As the game progresses, the players will need to listen carefully to ensure they perform the right action.
- Whenever a player performs the wrong action, they’re eliminated from the game. The last player standing wins.
5. 3-Question Mingle
3-Question Mingle is a simple game that enables your team to get to know each other a little better. It’s easy to play and doesn’t require many materials.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: Paper, pens
How to play:
- Hand each player three pieces of paper and a pen.
- Ask each player to write down three open-ended questions such as “What is your favourite thing to do outside of work?” or “If you could have a superpower, what would you choose and why?”
- When everybody has finished writing their questions, players walk around the room and find a partner.
- When a pair is formed, both players ask and answer a question.
- They must then swap the question they asked with their partner and find a new partner.
- When the time runs out, ask your group what interesting/surprising things they learned about their colleagues.
6. Blind Drawing
Blind Drawing is a fun team-building game that tests your employees’ abilities to both convey and interpret verbal instructions.
Great for: Communication, listening skills
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: Pens, paper, reference images
How to play:
- Divide your group into pairs and ask them to sit back to back with their partner.
- Hand a reference image to one half of the pairs and a piece of paper and a pen to the other half.
- The players with the reference image must provide verbal instructions to their partners to recreate the reference image as accurately as possible.
- When the time runs out, ask each to present their drawing next to the reference image. The team that most accurately recreated the image wins.
7. Paper Tower
In Paper Tower, your employees must work together in teams to create the highest tower using only A4 paper.
Great for: Communication, leadership, decision-making
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: Sheets of A4 paper
How to play:
- Divide your group into teams of 5–6 players and give each team several sheets of A4 paper.
- When the time starts, teams must use the sheets of paper to create the highest possible tower. No other materials may be used to reinforce the paper or bond it together.
- When the time runs out, measure the height of each tower and present a prize to the team whose tower is the tallest.
8. Who am I?
The classic party game Who am I? works perfectly as an energizing team-building activity. Simply collect a bunch of names on sticky notes, hand them out and watch your employees try to figure out which famous person’s name they have written on their forehead.
Great for: Communication, energization
Duration: 5-10 minutes
You’ll need: Sticky notes, pens
How to play:
- Hand each player a sticky note and ask them to write down the name of a famous person or character.
- Collect the names, shuffle them and hand one to each player. The players must then stick the sticky note to their forehead without looking at it.
- Start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time, players must mingle around the room, asking questions to determine whose name is written on their forward.
- The questions can only be answered with either “yes” or “no”.
- If you prefer, you can separate your large group into smaller groups of 5–6 players.
9. Classification
Classification is a great way for your employees to find hidden similarities between them and their colleagues. It’s also a great way for groups to come up with team names before a longer activity.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding
Duration: 10 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to play:
- Separate your group into teams of 4–5 players.
- When you say “Go!” the teams will start exchanging information about themselves as they attempt to find out what they have in common. For example, a team might discover they all prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate. Remind your team that it isn’t useful to find similarities based on race, gender, sexual preferences, or any other theme that could be considered prejudice or discriminatory.
- When the time runs out, ask each team to announce any similarities they found.
10. Copycat
Copycat is a simple team-building activity that teaches the importance of clear instructions, and how miscommunication has a domino effect that can easily derail a project.
Great for: Communication
Duration: 5–10 minutes
You’ll need: Various sets of matching office items, an object that can be used as a barrier e.g. a flipchart.
How to play:
- Divide your group into pairs, hand each player a matching set of random office items and divide each pair with a barrier. The players shouldn’t be able to see what their partner is doing.
- Designate one member of each pair as the leader and the other as the copycat.
- When the game starts, the leader will start to create a sculpture using the materials provided. The leader must provide clear instructions for their partner to recreate the same sculpture on their side. This forces the leader to be very careful with the instructions they provide.
- When the time runs out, ask the players to stop what they’re doing and remove the barrier between them.
- The team with the two most identical sculptures wins.
- Ask the pairs to debrief and discuss what went well and what could be improved.
11. Bucket list
Bucket List is a simple team-bonding game that allows your employees to discuss their dreams and aspirations outside of the office.
Great for: Interpersonal bonding
Duration: 5 minutes
You’ll need: N/A
How to play:
- Divide your group into smaller teams of 5–6 players and ask each team to sit together in a circle on the floor.
- Going around the circle, employees take turns telling the top-three items on their bucket lists. This provides insight into the hobbies and aspirations of your team.
Try your favourite large group games at your next team-building event
Thanks for reading our list of large group team-building games—we genuinely hope it will help you plan a more purposeful offsite retreat for your team.
Don’t forget to take note of your favourites and bookmark this page so you have a reference for future events.
Alternatively, (if you want to save yourself a bunch of time) you can always reach out to Surf Office and we can organise your event for you!
