Keeping remote and hybrid teams engaged can be a real challenge. With team members scattered around the globe, sometimes it’s too easy for a remote team’s spirit to fizzle out.
A well-organized virtual happy hour keeps team connections strong, and the casual atmosphere helps create a space where staff can bond while they unwind.
Tackling these virtual team challenges is the aim of today’s game, so we’ve got a full list of fun and engaging activities to try out in your next virtual happy hour.
So without any further ado.
25 Virtual happy hour games to try
Here’s our list of 25 of the best games to use in your next virtual happy hour.
1. GIF challenge
Here’s a fun game that might also help members brush up on their file-sharing skills. The GIF challenge pits teams against each other to see who can give the most creative response to a statement, without using words, only a GIF.
Supply teams with a prompt, keeping the topic light-hearted. Leave out a missing word, such as “all I want for Christmas is a ___’. Or give them something funny to respond to, such as “trying to hold back a sneeze in a quiet room like…’ Each team decides their favorite response with a GIF, either their own or one found online. Create judges to choose the most creative and funniest response, for as many rounds as you want. It’s the GIF that keeps on giving!
2. Baamboozle!
In this online game, everything is already set up for you. Baamboozle is a great website with thousands of topics ready to go, all you need is one host to screen-share. 2 to 4 teams can compete, with topics from videogame trivia to icebreaker games.
Allocate more than 3 teams for a more tactical game, as 2 teams can decide to gang up on 1 unfortunate team. Remember to make use of the ‘power up’ function for point-stealing mischief and leader-swapping bonus cards.
3. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
This is a more in-depth game that requires a system like Steam to set up. This game has won multiple awards over the past 5 years. Developers Steel Create Games have crafted a perfect game for chaotic multiplayer fun.
Only one person needs to own the game. Anyone who is part of your voice chat group can play. One person is alone in a virtual room with a bomb. All other players are the ‘experts,’ and they have the manual needed to diffuse the bomb. The aim is quickfire communication and setting up job roles for each expert. Give it a try at Keep Talking Game.
4. Psych!
The creators of the immensely popular ‘Heads Up!’ game have crafted a new virtual game called ‘Psych!’. Each player makes up fake answers to real trivia questions, creating a multiple-choice decision for the opposing team. The other team needs to guess which one is right, as a point system and leaderboard are kept.
The game is built on bluffing and catching others out, while offering some fast-paced fun for your virtual teams. Minimal prep is needed, just one person needs an account, so give this a shot to reward your trivia kings and queens during your next virtual meeting.
5. Name that tune - emoji style
This game combines two things everyone loves, music and emojis. Get some teams set up in your virtual room and demonstrate. Ask each member to think of their favorite song (with a distinct and guessable name!).
Use an online tool like VistaSocial to convert the song title into emojis, while each person tries to guess the song’s name. Award correct guesses with a point, or let the first winner lead the next round. Watch as each member scratches their head once “Smells Like Teen Spirit” generates emoji noses, thumbs up, and ghosts (or spirits).
6. Whose desk is it?
Here’s a great activity to help boost remote employee engagement. It’s a guessing game that only needs photos. Ask each member of your remote squad to take a photograph of their desk or work setup. It might just be their kitchen table or their sofa, there are no real restrictions.
Ask for all pictures to be sent to you. During the next remote meeting, share your screen with each person’s submitted photograph. Each person makes a guess who the work area belongs to. Dish out points for correct guesses and allow time for questions. Get your teams bonding over their tidiness (or mess)!
7. Creative custom emoji contest
Tap into your teams’ creative sides with a contest of emojis. Make teams of 4 and ask teams to create emojis that represent special moments, inside jokes, or favorite office slogans. This one works great when hosted once per month, as you can keep the creative emojis for future use.
Once you get into your virtual happy hour session, ask teams to reveal their creations, while others can vote for which team made the best effort. Add the emojis to your Slack repertoire of emojis, adding a personal and playful touch to your remote team communication channels.
8. Dungeons and Dragons - teambuilding edition
Here’s one of the most creative ideas for happy hour, putting a spin on the fan-favorite Dungeons and Dragons. To get set up, each member just enters an email and creates a password at slideswith. The guys there have everything already set up for short, magical adventures.
It’s a fantastic way to help teams get into a playful mode, even if dragons, wizards, and elves really are serious business. It can be done over Zoom with just one person needing to share their screen. QR codes are generated for multiplayer fun across desktop or mobile devices.
9. Musical quiz
It can be hard to keep everyone engaged when managing virtual teams, so try this game using Spotify or Apple Music playlist with a musical quiz to get things lively. All you need to do is share your screen, with sound, and of course, hide the artist and song title. Begin a song and ask listeners to stick their guesses into the chat box, awarding a point to the first correct guess.
You might want to narrow genres down to Pop music for more engagement, or you might have some real music aficionados in your teams. In that case, create a world music playlist and ask them to guess the country the song comes from! Get funky for your next virtual happy hour.
10. Sneak it in
Here’s a fun word game to get some chuckles around the virtual meeting room. Lifted from the movie Super Troopers, ‘Sneak It In’ involves giving someone the secret task of sneaking a random word into their sentences. In the movie, ‘meow’ is used by the trooper, who needs to say it in his sentences without giving the game away to the listener.
Create a private breakout room, then task someone with adding a word from a random noun generator online to their sentences. Watch the creative ways they can work it into their normal speech, until they’re caught out, then give the task to the next person.
11. Online (useless) talent show
Here’s a game that aims to draw out hidden talents among your teams. Ask each person in the next virtual meeting to showcase a talent they have. The only thing is, a lot of people might feel they have no hidden talents to show, so by calling it a ‘useless’ talent show, you might help reduce any pressure that is felt.
Allow them to be as random and creative as they wish. Older talent videos from the 2000s had some creative gems, like the famous Daft Hands. Simplicity is key for a talent show, as well as an atmosphere of zero pressure, so give a (useless) talent show a shot in your next virtual happy hour.
12. Wikirace
The Wikirace is a simple game, loved by college students bored in class. In the chat, send one Wikipedia article hyperlink and call it ‘start page’, then another hyperlink titled ‘target page.’ The rules are that the player must get from the start page to the target page in a limited number of mouse clicks. It might be as random as going from ‘pizza’ to ‘Apollo 13.’
Try it out in teams to have everyone strategizing frantically. Try making it even more difficult by decreasing the amount of allowed clicks between pages. There’s no going back once a new hyperlink is clicked. Share your screen and try this one out for a laugh in a virtual meeting.
13. Lights, camera, action!
Here’s a funky and active virtual corporate event that is great for the movie buffs out there. ‘Lights, camera, action!’ is a game where teams need to act out a chosen scene from a movie. Prepare cards with famous scenes beforehand, like Luke Skywalker’s parental discovery or Pulp Fiction’s mysterious briefcase, then award points when someone guesses correctly.
You could even spice things up by hosting a mock Oscar award ceremony with awards after everyone’s finished. Cut!
14. Where I'm from
‘Where I’m From’ is a fantastic no-prep game that enables team members to get to know each other better. With smaller teams, ask one person to begin by sharing three quirky facts about their hometown. For globally remote teams, home countries might work better.
Everyone has the chance to guess the speaker’s hometown or country from the three guesses, with a point awarded to any correct guess. The results might surprise you, as you find out your favorite musician comes from a land far, far away.
15. Geoguessr
Almost everyone has spent some time roaming the streets on Geoguessr, so bring this into your repertoire of games in the next virtual happy hour. Kick things off by sharing your own screen Geoguessr’s website, or even Google Maps street view. Split everyone into two teams, then choose a random location, sharing it for all to see.
As everyone gets a full 360° view of the location, begin a timer to ramp up the tension and ask people to guess where is shown on the screen. Points go to the first correct guess. The winner shares their screen with the location for the next virtual journey. Be sure to give this one a try!
16. Something in common
‘Something In Common’ is a no-prep game that can be run on the spot in your next virtual get-together. Create some breakout rooms of 4 or 5 people, giving them a 3-minute timer. Set a task of finding the most unique fact they have in common.
One point is awarded at the end to the team with the most interesting example. Tell them to emphasize uniqueness, as ‘we all use phones’ is a bit dull, while something like ‘we have all read a book by the same author’ sparks interest.
15. Virtual gratitude wall
Utilize the power of digital whiteboards that allow you to save your groupwork, creating a mural of positivity through a virtual gratitude wall. This simple idea brings a stronger sense of unity in teams and solidifies team morale.
Look for a digital whiteboard, or go a step further and get on a collaboration platform like Padlet, letting users add sticky notes and share videos. The emphasis is on positive reinforcement and morale-boosting through remembering what we’re grateful for. Try this one out to get a positive atmosphere flowing.
16. DIY science experiment
This activity takes a little more prep and shipping time, but starts by creating teams. Supply each team with a funky DIY science kit, like these examples. The options range from magic sets to chemistry reaction kits. Ask each team to work on their set and present it in their next virtual meeting.
While the sets might seem a little childlike, presenting the experiment helps to boost their presentation skills and public speaking. Reignite the spark of curiosity with a simple DIY science experiment set, showcasing your scientists in the next virtual happy hour.
17. Virtual show and tell
Virtual show and tell is a simple way to get teams to present and speak about something that means a lot to them. It was fun back in school, and it’s still fun now. You might want to start by asking each person to show something sentimental, an item that is special to them.
The great thing is that you could extend this to showing and telling songs, videos, or even people! Who wouldn’t like to show off their favorite sibling in the world? It works great with hybrid teams too. Our hybrid meeting tip is to make sure equal sharing time is given to each member to promote inclusivity.
18. MTV Cribs: kitchen edition
While it might be a new name for younger team members, MTV Cribs was a very famous TV show where a camera crew followed a celebrity around their home. The celeb would do their best to show off some of the cool stuff around their house and the things they collect. So this game applies the same setup to just a person’s kitchen or fridge.
Showing what food you’re into and what you keep in your fridge creates a personable atmosphere with some light-hearted fun, and even the potential for dietary well-being advice. Start things off with just their kitchen counters, then to the dry cupboards. Then comes the big reveal, the inside of their fridge.
19. Never have I ever
Many of us remember this classic game that gets people connected. In your virtual meeting, go around in a circle, asking each person to say an experience they have never, ever done, starting with the phrase ‘Never have I ever…’
Traditionally it’s played as a drinking game, but substitute alcohol for some nice tea kits and have players sipping camomile and ginger tea if they’re guilty. Any other punishment works too, however you see fit. Never have I ever faked being sick from work!
20. Celebrity impression contest
Similar to our talent contest, organizing an impression contest is a great way to start a positive and playful atmosphere. Make two teams and rotate performers, as each person imitates a celebrity. Gamify the activity by getting opposing teams to guess who’s being impersonated.
Things could get even trickier if you use an online celebrity generator. Keep the celebrity choice very famous to make things fair. Try this one out in your next virtual meeting to see who has standout acting skills!
21. Who was this kid?
For this game, ask each person among your teams to prepare by sending you one photo of them as a child. Once all photos are in, share your screen and display the photos for everyone to guess, who was this kid? You could even create a small list of facts about the person in question before you start.
This is a lovely way to build camaraderie in your teams and also poke a little fun at hilarious childhood photos. You might even see someone rocking some shocking fashion from what looks like a bygone era!
22. Online werewolf
Werewolf is a great popular party game that can run perfectly well in a virtual setting. Zoom, Google Meet, or any platform will do. Make sure all cameras and microphones are on, as seeing each other’s reactions is half the fun!
One person is the ‘moderator,’ who guides the game and assigns roles to 2 werewolves, 1 seer, and 1 doctor, while the rest are villagers. The moderator announces that ‘night has fallen, close your eyes’. Werewolves open their eyes and choose one villager to kill, while the seer can try to guess who is a werewolf, and the doctor can choose to save one person.
The day phase starts and the moderator reveals if any villagers died. Repeat night and day phases until the werewolves are eliminated or outnumber the villagers. It takes a little setup, but try this one out with some useful online werewolf apps to smoothen the gameplay. Get spooky!
23. Compliment train
This simple no-prep activity keeps the aim of positive reinforcement and maximizes a productive atmosphere. It is so simple it can be run during a virtual water cooler chat. Each person in the group simply chooses one other attendee, and then that person chooses someone who hasn’t been complimented yet and tells them something positive they’ve done.
The effectiveness of this simple activity comes from the fact the complimenting is done at a peer-to-peer level, rather than from management.
24. Happy Spa Hour
Show some love and TLC to your teams with a happy spa hour. Send out some personalized spa kits filled with care products like scented candles, fruit teas and face masks. Keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible and try your best to simulate the environment of a spa.
Showing that you’re genuinely interested in the well-being and health of your teams will set you apart as a manager who cares. Create a list of self-care tips to share and get everyone invested in workplace wellness.
25. Virtual bingo
Bingo in a virtual setting can be just as fun as doing it in person. Lots of online virtual bingo cards have cropped up over the last few years, with fun boxes to tick, like family members walking in the background and dogs heard barking on the mic.
Virtual bingo is a great virtual teambuilding activity that adds a light-hearted touch to your remote meetings.
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