Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Worst job ever?

Many icebreakers involve simply answering a question, and this is a fun one to get the responses to. As everyone introduces themselves, have them say what their worst job ever was, and why. Laughter is sure to ensue and you might find out some amazing backgrounds of your coworkers.

How to play Riff off

This word game is for all the music aficionados in the office. Riff Off is a popular game that plays on famous song lyrics. If you need a little help, search for the online lyrics to a really popular song. Tell your teammates one word from the song. We’ll make an example, the first lyric is “never.”

If your partners can’t guess it, give them another word (our next example is “give”) until someone shouts out the song. Hopefully, nobody gave up and you guessed ours; “Never Gonna Give You Up”!

Explanation:

‍Teams work together to create a time capsule that captures the personality and vibe of your office. Each department adds a fun item, memory, or note that reflects their unique style.

In this hybrid version, in-office workers can physically contribute items, like quirky gadgets, notes, or office mementos, while remote workers can submit their contributions digitally, like a fun video, a favorite meme, or a virtual memory of a great team moment. The digital items can be printed or stored on a USB drive to be included in the capsule. Once everything is ready, the capsule is sealed up and stored away to be opened in the future. It’s a fun way to bond and celebrate the unique quirks of both in-office and remote team members, all in one cool time capsule.

How to play What do we have in common?

In large organizations, it can be hard to encourage interaction. Use this exercise to improve relations whether in person or in virtual meetings. The moderator should simply ask the group to come up with 5 or 10 things they all have in common. This could be a favorite pizza flavor or Starbucks order, or the ability to speak another language. Colleagues will have to have an extensive dialog to learn about each other and come up with these commonalities, which can be really beneficial for relationship-building.

Agile principles usually involve executing tasks quickly, so get your teams into the habit of fast-paced decision-making with Lightning Planning. It’s a high-energy activity that flexes your prioritization muscles, which is great for reinforcing agile values.

Set up:

Set a timer for 2 minutes. Have your team members brainstorm one task on a sticky note that they believe is crucial to today’s immediate goals. When the time's up, each person shares their note out loud and sticks it to the board. Then, as one big team, arrange all tasks in order of importance, then discuss the top priorities and any overlaps.

Online murder mystery events are just like their live-action counterparts, only, online! With the help of a professional third-party organiser, you can create an engaging murder mystery event for any sized group.

Murder mystery events have become a popular team-building activity because they facilitate interaction between employees and improve teamwork and problem-solving skills.

How to play Online murder mystery

To make the experience more immersive, encourage players to dress up and gather props to match the theme of the event. Also, don’t forget to utilise the background features on zoom for added realism.

Want to get people talking? Get the team’s creative juices flowing? Instigate some laughs and spark some fun into the day? This energizer will be ideal.

How to play Isn’t that crazy?

To play, gather around in a circle and explain that they’ll be working together to tell a story. The catch is that they’re only allowed to say 3 words at a time!

After designating a direction (e.g. counter-clockwise), one person begins by saying “Isn’t that crazy?” Whoever’s next then continues the tale with 3 words of their own – a process that continues until the story reaches a natural conclusion. The wackier, wilder, and more random the story, the better. For instance:

• Person 1 “Isn’t that crazy?”
• Person 2 “That the team”
• Person 3 “Has a big”
• Person 4 “Bad wolf waiting”
• Person 5 “In the cupboard”
• Person 6 “That loves to”
• Person 7 “Eat lazy receptionists”
• Person 8 “But dislikes it”
• Person 9 “When people sing”…

If your group are struggling to come up with team names, this quick team-building activity might help! Classification encourages players to find common ground and get to know one another quickly.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 8+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Classification

Setup: To prepare for Classification, separate your group into even teams. Before the game starts, make it clear that consolidating people into groups or perpetuating stereotypes isn’t useful. Players should avoid classifications based on gender, race, sexual preferences, or any other theme that could be perceived as prejudicial or discriminatory.

To play: After forming teams and explaining the basic rules, you’re ready to start. When you say “Go!” the players can start to exchange basic information about themselves. Perhaps they like to wake up early? Maybe they like to grab a coffee every morning? Based on these preferences and characteristics, the players will attempt to find common ground and classify themselves. You can expect results such as “The Early Birds” or “The Caffeine Addicts.”

How to play My favorite gift to give…

You can learn a lot about people from what they say about presents. What do they like to give, or receive? Ask people to share their favorites, and you’re sure to gain insight into their personality (plus learn some cool new gift ideas in the process). This is an especially fun one for around the holidays. An alternative for following the holidays would be “What is the most exciting gift you got?”

Kick off a healthier routine with run & recharge! Form an office running club and go for group runs after work to promote both physical and mental well-being. It’s a low-pressure way to get everyone moving, destress after a long day, and bond as a team.

This activity is perfect for boosting morale, increasing fitness, and recharging your mind—while enjoying the fresh air.

How to play:

• Set a regular time for post-work group runs.
• Run as a team, encouraging each other along the way.
• Track progress together and celebrate small fitness wins!

How to play Jenga unstack

Try a condensed take on the popular game Jenga. Start by building the tower according to game instructions. Then see who can remove the most pieces in one minute without knocking everything down. You can do this as a large group and simply set the timer for a minute and see how far you can get, or you can have a Jenga tower prepared for smaller groups or pairs and have them compete to see who can remove the most. Either way, watch out for the falling pieces!

‍How to play:

Ask team members to individually envision and design their ideal workspace. Provide art supplies and encourage them to create visual representations of their dream work environment, including furniture and decoration.

Materials needed: Art supplies (paper, markers, colored pencils, etc.)

Benefits:

• Visualization for inspiration: Let imagination take the lead as your team members sketch out their dream workspaces. This activity transforms ordinary offices into extraordinary spaces, all while inspiring a culture of creative thinking.

• Alignment of values: Take a tour through the team's creative designs and uncover the common threads that weave their visions together. This activity fosters a sense of shared purpose, creating an environment where everyone's design dreams harmonize, resulting in an inspiring and collaborative workspace.

Taking the principles of Kanban we learned earlier, now is a great time to make a personal version that prioritizes focus and streamlines workloads. Kanban boards are usually used for team projects but work just as well for a single person. This activity reinforces the Kanban concept: tracking work in stages to keep workflow steady.

Set up:

Each person needs a basic Kanban board, either on a physical whiteboard or on their computer. Each board needs three columns, just keep it basic for the first version. Try “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Get them to write every task for that day or week onto a sticky note (electronic ones are available too) and move each one slowly onto the board. Encourage them to keep a holistic view, so as not to overload the “in progress” section. Simple activities like this can help staff who may feel overloaded. Ask everyone to reflect afterward on how their tasks are managed, and record the insights.

How to play Capture the flag

In this fast-paced game, players try to steal flags from each other's territories. The game is helpful for strategic thinking and promotes togetherness. You’ll need two to four teams with between 4-8 players. Each team should spend a few minutes creating their flag, and then find an open space where the teams can each hide their flag and have everyone attempt to come steal their flag.

The aim of this game is to boost your conflict resolution skills by diving into some video scenes that are bursting with workplace drama. We'll watch 'em, dissect 'em, and figure out the best ways to make things right. This is a hands-on, visual, and chatty way to boost your conflict resolution skills. Let's dive into those scenes, have some fun, and make our workplace a better, more harmonious space.

Materials needed

You won't need much for this - just some video clips that showcase different conflict scenarios, a way to display them (a projector or screen), and something to jot down your thoughts.

Instructions

1. First you need to choose your scenes. Think workplace disputes, customer service kerfuffles, or good ol' interpersonal clashes – scenes that you can totally relate to. Scenes from the movie Horrible Bosses or Steve Jobs could be perfect.
2. After the video's done, it's your turn to chat. We'll dive deep into the conflict we just saw. What caused it? How did emotions play a part? And what about those communication styles?
3. Split into groups or pairs and hand out some worksheets or notebooks. You'll use these to brainstorm your own ideas for smoothing out the situation. Remember, it's all about constructive conflict resolution.
4. Let's regroup and share what we came up with. We want to hear all about your ideas and strategies. Feel free to speak up – there are no wrong answers here.
5. We're not stopping at one video. Nope, we'll keep this party going with a bunch of different scenarios. Each one will have its own unique challenges and situations.
6. After we've tackled all the videos, we'll gather 'round and talk about what we've learned. What were the big takeaways? Any recurring themes? And most importantly, how can we use all this newfound knowledge in our daily work lives?

Think fast! In action reverse, simple commands like “walk” mean “stop,” and vice versa. Players must respond with the opposite action to what’s being instructed. It sounds easy—until your brain starts overthinking!

This game is perfect for getting everyone alert and sharp while throwing in some unexpected laughter. It’s a fun way to test reaction time, focus, and coordination in a lighthearted setting, and it’s guaranteed to shake up the office routine.

How to play:

• One person gives simple commands like “walk” or “sit.”
• Players must do the opposite action (e.g., walk means stop, sit means stand).
• The game continues until someone makes a mistake!

How to host Company quiz

Who knows the most about your organization? Come up with a quiz to find out. Put together a fun list of questions based on company mission, values, history, and staff. Grade the quizzes and the employee with the highest score wins. If you want to up the ante, have every team member write a question about themselves to incorporate into the quiz. Have them make it as challenging as possible!

How to play First Letter, Last Letter

For this game, have everyone form a circle and sit down. Choose one person to start first. That person writes or says a word and the person next to them has to come up with another word using the last letter or the last few letters of that word. This is a verbal game that doesn’t require any materials or special preparation, which makes it a great activity if you have some spontaneous time to fill and want it to be productive.

How to play Speed eraser

If you ever played the game of “quarters”, you’ll have an advantage for this game. Another game with a simple supply list, this one starts with six or seven small but sturdy cups and a few boxes of unsharpened pencils. Each player has one minute to bounce pencils off the eraser end into the cups (one per cup). Starting with a large number of pencils available makes the game easier. Reminder: you’ll want to use unsharpened pencils for this game, and sharpened pencil tips flying around could be dangerous.

How to play:

Provide teams with sculpting materials such as clay, Play-Doh, or modeling clay. Challenge them to create sculptures based on given themes or prompts, encouraging imaginative interpretations and creative expression. Select a judge to choose the best one to determine a winner.

Example: The prompt says design a Simpsons character with play-doh (unintentional pun).

Materials needed: Sculpting materials (clay, Play-Doh, modeling clay)

Benefits:

• Tangible manifestation of creativity: Get ready to witness magic in action as your team members mold and shape their creative visions into physical forms. Their sculptures will be concrete proof of their incredible imagination, leaving everyone in awe and inspired.
• Celebration of individuality: Embrace the uniqueness and diversity of interpretations as each team member unveils their extraordinary sculpture. This game creates an environment that celebrates individuality and appreciates the creative expressions of others.

Get ready to get soaked! Splash battle royale is basically dodgeball, but with water balloons. Teams face off and try to eliminate opponents by hitting them with balloons—easy enough, but staying dry? Not so much.

It’s a great way to cool off, get competitive, and share a few laughs—especially when that one overly serious teammate gets soaked. Perfect for those hot summer days when the office needs a little outdoor chaos.

How to play:

• Split into teams and arm everyone with water balloons.
• Eliminate opponents by hitting them with balloons.
• Last team standing wins (and stays the driest—maybe)!

How to play Try not to laugh

This is another one that’s great for groups. Choose one person to be “invisible”. Everyone should also pretend that the player can’t be seen. They can do anything except interact directly with the invisible player. The entire time, the invisible player should be trying to make them laugh. Any player that does end up laughing must leave the game. Ideally this game goes on until there’s only one player left (the winner).

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.

Regardless of how cohesive your team is, at some point, you’re going to encounter disagreements. Online office debates are a playful way of developing public speaking, communication and listening skills that will come in useful during real-life debates.

How to play Online office debates

To organise an online office debate, select two people to go head-to-head in a meaningless debate. The topic could be silly, such as “No one should ever tell a lie” or “Pineapple belongs on pizza.” One person argues “for” the topic while the other argues “against.”

The two presenters can argue their case using any means necessary, they might want to create a PowerPoint presentation and share their screen or back up their points with YouTube videos. After the presentations have been delivered, it’s time for the audience to decide the winner.