Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Penguins and flamingos

This activity captures the magic of youth and gives everyone a chance to stretch their legs. One player acts as a flamingo and then everyone else is a penguin. Their goal is to “peck” one person on the head and make them a flamingo. The last person to remain a penguin wins!

How to play River crossing

This game involves solving a hypothetical challenge. For this game, two teams work together to collect planks and get everyone in their group across a river. The trick is that the planks are magic and sink when not in contact with a person. This is a good way to facilitate critical thinking and work together as a team.

Ever feel like time is running faster than you can list your goals? Well, brace yourself for the whirlwind excitement of Speed Goal Sharing! Participants team up, and they've got a mere minute to spill the beans on their current goals to a partner. It's like goal-setting on fast-forward. Why? Because sometimes, brevity is the key.

This quick teambuilding activity isn't just a time crunch; it's a crash course in concise communication and prioritization. So, get ready to share your aspirations at lightning speed – clarity and alignment within the team await!

Top Tip for Facilitators:

• Keep the vibe upbeat and the clock ticking. Encourage everyone to channel their inner auctioneer – goals on the fly, people!
• Guide the conversations to make sure it's not just a blur of words but a meaningful exchange.
• This activity is like a goal-driven race, so set the pace, cheer them on, and let the concise communication marathon begin!

Fun Field Day games for adults don’t get much better than wheelbarrow races. It’s another activity you may remember fondly from childhood – a silly, light-hearted, and surprisingly physical race where teams of two use their bodies to form the shape of a wheelbarrow!

Here’s how it works:

• The group divides into pairs, with one player as the “wheelbarrow” and the other as the “driver”
• Whoever is the wheelbarrow lies face down on the ground as if they’re going to do a push-up
• Whoever is the driver then takes the wheelbarrow’s feet in their hands, lifting their legs up at the same time as their partner pushes up with their hands

The resulting pose resembles someone pushing a wheelbarrow! However, instead of having wheels, the person in front (i.e., the wheelbarrow) uses their hands/arms to move while the driver walks forward normally.

As for the race itself, you set a start and end point and get everyone to line up in position. When the whistle blows, they have to walk/run together as fast as possible to the finish! Once there, they swap roles and then race back to the start. The first pair to complete both journeys wins.

How to play Pass the bomb

Pass The Bomb is a fast-paced family word game that’s great for work teams too. The box contains two decks of cards, a dice and a ticking time bomb. The aim of the game is to create words with the letters shown on the cards. Most cards have only 3 letters.

Rolling the dice can land on “TICK,” “TICK TACK,”  or a BOMB symbol.

• TICK means letters can’t be used at the start of a word.
• TICK TACK means your letters can be used anywhere within the word.
• The BOMB symbol means letters can’t be used at the end of the word.

So turn over your letter card, turn on the bomb, and start the game! Remember; pass the bomb, don’t throw it! (gunpowder not included)

How to play Penny stack

Players should try to stack 25 pennies in under one minute using only one hand. This game works best for small groups and is ideal for groups of three players competing in rounds of play. You’ll need to make sure you have a few rolls of pennies to start the game.

If you want to kick off your virtual team building event with some light-hearted fun, try this!

How to play the ‘Ruined paradise’ game

After splitting the group into two teams, each team will be assigned a role. A member of team 1 will start by describing ‘paradise’ in one sentence, using only positive descriptions. Then, a member of team 2 will attempt to ‘ruin paradise’ with a negative sentence.

Play continues like this until everybody has added a sentence. A judge then determines which team has won by deciding whether ‘paradise’ has been ‘ruined’ or not.

How to play Review lottery

If customer service is part of your company culture, reviews are important. One fun way to incentivize more positive reviews and reward your team for great performance is by holding drawings of reviews. Every week, pick the new reviews submitted and print them - both bad and good - and then randomly draw one. If the review is positive, reward your team with a pizza lunch or other small prize. If the review is negative, share the feedback with your team and host a discussion on how to improve.

You might even add some low-stakes repercussions such as having to take out the trash or replace the water filter for non-stellar reviews. Note: this sort of contest tends to work better than simply encouraging employees to ask for reviews. In those cases, the most outgoing and charismatic staff tend to get the most reviews, not necessarily the ones who serve customers best. A random drawing rewards the entire team while still highlighting individuals that might be mentioned. Getting more positive reviews can become an important goal for everyone in the department - more positive reviews equals more chances at fun perks.

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.

The Local Legends Expedition is a quest for untold stories that have shaped your city's culture and history. By delving into local folklore, you'll piece together intriguing narratives and enrich your understanding of the community's roots. This adventure isn't just about exploration; it's about teamwork and research that illuminate the city's unique character.

Instructions

• Form teams with an interest in history and storytelling.
• Provide a list of clues related to local legends.
• Teams conduct research, interview locals, and gather information.
• Collaborate to weave together the stories into a cohesive narrative.
• Share your newfound knowledge and insights with each other.

Last but not least, we have Alphabets. It’s another improv game that’s as simple as it is fun, making it ideal for virtual meetings. All participants have to do is work together to create a story from scratch, contributing one line at a time. However, the complicating factor is that each line must begin with the next letter of the alphabet!

How to play Alphabets

For example:

• Participant 1: “A long time ago, in a distant land…”
• Participant 2: “Benjamin the Brilliant was building his next great invention.”
• Participant 3: “Crikey, said the inventor…”
• Participant 4: “Don’t people know the world is on the brink of collapse?”
• Participant 5: “Especially now that aliens have landed in America.”

Keep going until the end of the alphabet, or when everyone’s spoken at least once.

Oh, and encourage the team to be as creative as possible. The more random details and unexpected plot twists, the better. The exercise should be about having fun and getting everyone involved – not necessarily about creating a world-class story!

Consider setting a general topic to guide the task too. Maybe it should be a story about pirates, for instance, or dinosaurs…or the team’s next Christmas party.

You can also mix things up by giving people less and less time to contribute the next line. The added pressure keeps the game moving, stops it from getting dull, and requires your employees to think on their feet.

How to paly Gibberish conversation

Two people have a conversation in “gibberish” (essentially made-up, nonsense language), and each person must try to understand what the other is saying.

You may have played Word Association to pass the time on long journies. Well, funnily enough, it also works brilliantly as a quick team-building game!

Great for: Quick thinking, communication

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 4+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Word Association

Setup: Position your group in a circle facing inwards. Players can be sitting or standing.

To play: To start the game, somebody starts with a one-word prompt. Then, play moves around the circle as each player replies with a word they strongly associate with the previous word. For example, if player one starts with the word “tree,” player two might say “leaves” and player three might follow up with “autumn.” Play moves around the circle until the time runs out.

How to play Paper Plane Contest

Instructions: Each participant creates their own paper airplane using a standard sheet of paper. Measure the distance or time each plane stays in the air. The person with the longest distance or longest airtime wins.

Materials needed: Sheets of paper.

Prepare to fold, fly, and fiercely compete in the epic Paper Plane Contest. It's a creative extravaganza that will take your team back to childhood dreams of aeronautical glory. Bring your finest folding skills, unleash your inner innovator, and get ready to soar to victory in this friendly battle of airborne awesomeness.

How to play 10 things I do well

Another version of simply sharing information about yourself, ask people to come up with a list of ten things they do well. It’s a good idea to have a pen and paper at each place setting in advance so that people can brainstorm. Have everyone stand up and share their list with the group. This is actually a really powerful way to understand group dynamics and who is best for what, which is important for collaboration in the workplace. Plus, it’s a sort of forced reminder for individuals about what they are good at, which is a confidence builder.

That’s right, the classic race from your childhood is just as fun for adults! In fact, it’s probably even better. After decades of being bipedal, strapping your leg to someone else’s and having to move in unison is a significant (and hilarious) challenge – especially when you make it a race.

How to play Three-Legged Race

As you can probably remember, you don’t need much for a three-legged race. Some simple strips of fabric or lengths of rope will suffice. From there, you divide the group into pairs, stand each team side-by-side, and use the fabric/rope to tie Person A’s right leg to Person B’s left leg or vice versa.

Next, mark a start and finish line, get everyone to stand at the start, and blow a whistle for the race to commence. Expect chaos and laughter to ensue as they make their way as quickly as possible down the track!

Got lots of people coming to your Field Day? Try a three-legged relay race instead.

This time, you’ll need to create a longer track with four individual sections before splitting everyone into pairs like before. Assign four pairs to each team then set them around the track to run different sections of the relay. Each “starting pair” needs a baton, which they’ll pass to the next pair in their team, whenever they reach them. The first team to reach the finish line wins!

How to play What’s new (in my office)?

If you have a lot of virtual meetings with the same people, it can be a fun idea to throw in some changes now and then. For this game, send out a note prior to the meeting instructing everyone to add one new thing to their normal working space or background. Then, during the meeting, everyone should take turns observing the work space of their colleagues and seeing if they can point out what’s new.

The new item can be anything from a plant on the desk to a silly poster on the wall. Obviously, this game only works well for people who are used to being in virtual events in the same space with their camera on. For that reason, it’s a nice way to mix up daily status meetings or weekly department meetings.

In this speedy activity, the team carry out a rapid pulse-check on recent work, honing in on the focus of continuous improvement, even when time is short. Here’s how to set this one up quickly:

Set up:

Hand every employee three sticky notes, and set a timer for one minute. Have them think about their last project or sprint period, and jot down one thing they think went well, one area for improvement, and one quick idea for moving forward. At the end of one minute, they stick their notes to your board, and you reflect on common themes or action items. Quick, simple, and to the point.

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.

How to play Brain teaser challenge

Test everyone’s problem-solving skills with some fun riddles. Put together a list of brain teasers for everyone to take a crack at. This is a great activity to take a team approach to. Break everyone up into small groups and share the list of questions with a time limit. Highest score wins!

Get ready to wield your balloon-bashing skills in the exhilarating Balloon Sword Fight challenge! As your teams gear up for friendly combat, the atmosphere will be filled with excitement and laughter. Inspired by the fast-paced action of sword fights, this game replaces steel with balloons, turning your colleagues into balloon-busting warriors. It's not just about popping balloons; it's about teamwork, strategy, and the art of joyful competition.

Instructions

• Divide participants into teams of equal size.
• Equip each team member with a balloon "sword" – a harmless, air-filled weapon.
• Set up a designated play area with safety precautions in place.
• Teams strategize and plan their approach to the battle.
• Engage in friendly combat, trying to pop opponents' balloons while protecting your own.
• The last team with an intact balloon wins the round.
• Encourage sportsmanship and celebrate the victorious team.

How to play:

Create bingo cards with different safety-related actions or reminders in each square (e.g., "wore safety goggles," "reported a hazard"). Distribute these cards to employees and encourage them to mark off squares as they observe these actions throughout the day. The first person to get a bingo wins a small prize.

Safety bingo blitz makes safety awareness engaging. It's like regular bingo but with a twist that reinforces good safety practices. Everyone loves a good game of bingo, and it's a great way to keep everyone alert and involved in maintaining a safe work environment.

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How to play Consequences

Kicking off our list of letter games is a fun crowd-pleaser called Consequences. This one works best with groups of more than 4 people, and no materials are needed! Each player in the group is going to add a consecutive line to the group’s story. Sitting in a group, the first person writes a sentence on paper, folds and hides the message, then passes it to the next person.

You’ll need to think of some cool lines beforehand, and the amount of lines depends on the number of people. Let’s create 5 lines for a team of 5 people:

1. A man’s name
2. The word “met”, then a female name
3. “He said…”
4. “She said…”
5. “And then…”

Hangman can be more than just a childhood pastime. It's a great way to break the monotony of the office and encourage team building.

How to play:

1. Choose a word or phrase and draw a line for each letter of the word.
2. The other player guesses one letter at a time. If they are correct, write the letter on the corresponding line.
3. If they are incorrect, draw a part of the hangman on the gallows.
4. The game ends when the word is guessed correctly or the hangman is completed.
5. Alternate roles and repeat.

Not only does Hangman sharpen vocabulary skills, it also allows colleagues to work together to solve a common puzzle.