Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Short, snappy, funny, physical, and with a powerful message about collaboration, this energizer for large workgroups is hard to beat.

How to play Stand back to back

It starts with participants pairing up with someone of a similar build. They then sit back to back on the floor and link their arms together. Their task?

To stand up while remaining with their backs together and arms interconnected.

Aside from providing plenty of laughs, this warm-up activity provides a valuable opportunity to discuss the importance of trust, alignment, teamwork and moving in the same direction to achieve a common goal. Take advantage of it!

Always be sensitive to people’s differing physical capabilities though. Skip this exercise for something else if it doesn’t seem appropriate.

Costume races are fast-paced, hilarious, and ideal for both small and large groups.

To give them a try, you’ll need:

• A briefcase for each team
• Enough old/used clothes for each member of the team to get fully dressed, such as hats, dresses, shirts, skirts, pants, and jackets.

You then fill each briefcase with clothes and mark a track with a start and finish line. Next, put the briefcases at the end and line up the teams (each should have the same number of people, if possible) at the start.

When the whistle blows, one person in each team races to the briefcase opposite them and gets fully dressed as quickly as possible, pulling the clothes over the top of whatever they’re already wearing. They then rush back to the start in their costume, at which point the second person in their team has a turn.

The first team where everyone is dressed in a costume and back at the start line wins! However, if you want to make this game even more memorable, design it so each briefcase follows a certain theme. You could have one team dressing up as pirates, for example, another as famous Disney characters, and so on.

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This activity is a hands-on, engaging, and safe way for employees to develop crucial conflict resolution skills that they can use effectively in their professional roles.

Instructions

1. Set a conflict scenario or topic for discussion.
2. Participants can only communicate nonverbally (no words).
3. Designate one as the communicator and the other as the recipient.
4. Set time limits for interactions.
5. Discuss experiences and challenges after each round.

Why it's awesome for learning conflict resolution

• Practical Skill Development: Conflict resolution often involves understanding emotions and unspoken cues. This game offers practical experience in interpreting nonverbal signals, a crucial aspect of resolving conflicts effectively.

• Enhanced Communication: The game hones participants' ability to communicate without words, which is essential when dealing with emotionally charged conflicts where verbal communication may be challenging.

• Active Listening: Conflict resolution relies heavily on active listening. This activity encourages participants to pay close attention to nonverbal cues, which is a key component of effective listening.

You may have played this party game as a child, but it also works brilliantly for breaking the ice at work-related team events. It’s particularly convenient because it doesn’t require any equipment, all you need is a group of people and an open area to move around in. Wink murder can be played with 10-30 people, any more and the game can take too long, any less and the game becomes too easy.

How to play Wink Murder

To prepare, arrange your group into a circle and ask them to close their eyes. At this moment, a moderator will move around the circle and select one player to be the ‘murderer’ by tapping them silently on their shoulder.

When the game starts, all the players start to walk around the room. It’s the task of the ‘murderer’ to catch eyes with a player and wink at them, eliminating them from the game. When a player gets winked at, they must ‘die’ as dramatically as they see fit and leave the game.

It’s the role of the players to identify who the ‘murderer’ is and to make an accusation. When a player wants to make a guess, they say “I accuse [name].” The accusation must be supported by at least one other player by saying “second”. The accused player must then respond with “yes” if they are the murderer or “no” if they are not.

If the accusation is wrong, the two players that made the guess must ‘die’ and leave the game.

Building stories together can help an agile team practice iteratively expanding ideas. Building stories has been helping teams grow in corporate events and quickfire meetings, so keep the focus on agile principles and you’ll be improving your employees’ collaborative skills.

Set up:

Dedicate some time to creating prompts beforehand, to make each step in the story open-ended and adaptable. Start with an opening that instigates conversation like “Our new app just launched…” The first team member adds to this line, which can turn the story in any direction, such as “Users flooded in on day one, and our servers went caput.” Encourage the next member to weave in some challenges or a milestone, with a line like “Our support team scrambled to handle user questions.” Keep iterating and adding and see where it leads. When the story ends, reflect as a team and focus on agile practices that helped them to adjust.

Ready to channel your inner child and do something silly as a team? This hilarious energizing exercise involves colleagues listening to instructions and pressing different parts of their bodies to objects around the office, depending on their color. Sounds bonkers, right? So let us explain…

How to play Pink toe

You – the facilitator – start the activity by calling out a body part and a color. The team then has to find items in the office that have that particular color and touch it/them with the chosen body part! For instance, if you called out “gray elbow”, people would run around finding something gray to put their elbow on.

The basic version of this game’s fun, but adding a competitive element can make it even better. Why not set a time constraint for completing each task? Or limit the number of people who can touch a particular item? If they take too long or can’t find something to touch, they’re out; the last workmate remaining is the winner.

How to play Dance-freeze

A very popular high-energy game, this one is great for students and teams. You’ll need music that you can dance to and participants that aren’t too shy about dancing. The concept is simple: everyone must dance when music is playing. When the music stops, everyone must freeze just as they were when they were in motion. Anyone who keeps dancing is out of the game and it continues until there is a single winner.

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!

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.

Soccer was the first team sport to be introduced to the Olympic games in 1900, so in the spirit of teamwork, it’s a great game to integrate into your Office Olympics.

How to play Office soccer

You can use desks, or even chairs set apart from one another, to serve as the goal.

If you’re pressed for space, you can play Desk Top Soccer. Find a tabletop with enough length to set up two goals and crumple some paper to create a soccer ball.

This event allows coworkers to team up and play a friendly match of office soccer, promoting play and teamwork.

How to play Tug of War Challenge

Instructions: Divide participants into two teams and provide a long rope. Each team holds onto one end of the rope and pulls in opposite directions. The team that successfully pulls the other team over a designated line wins.

Materials needed: Rope.

Tug of War encourages teamwork, communication, and friendly competition. It promotes unity, camaraderie, and creates a sense of strength and determination among team members.

How to play Story challenge

For the language lovers on your team, try this version of an ongoing story icebreaker. To play, each person receives a number of words (a word bank) that they can use to create a story. Then, everyone reads their piece out loud or presents it to the group. To come up with the words available for each person, you can use a random word generator online, or get creative. For example, consider instructing participants that they can only use words from the company website, or from the emails they received in their inbox yesterday.

How to play:

Write down various safety-related terms (e.g., "fire drill," "first aid kit," "slippery floor") on slips of paper and place them in a container. Divide employees into teams, and have them take turns drawing a term and illustrating it on a whiteboard while their team guesses.

This quick team-building game combines creativity with learning, making it an enjoyable way to reinforce safety concepts. It breaks up the monotony of regular training sessions, and the abstract drawings often lead to plenty of laughs.

It’s time to see who’s the office know-it-all with trivia smackdown! Split into teams, answer rapid-fire trivia questions, and see who can come out on top. You’ll cover everything from history to pop culture—and probably learn who’s been secretly binge-watching obscure documentaries.

This is a laid-back activity to get the team thinking and laughing, and maybe stir up some friendly rivalry.

How to play:

• Form teams and answer trivia questions in rounds.
• Keep track of points, and the team with the most correct answers wins.
• Bragging rights are included in the prize.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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!

Transform your office into a puzzle paradise! Puzzle stations are strategically placed around the workplace, offering employees a mental workout during breaks. It's like a treasure hunt for your brain, with puzzles ranging from crosswords to brainteasers waiting to be conquered.

Puzzle stations provide a refreshing break from screens, encouraging mental agility and problem-solving skills. Employees can collaborate, share tips, and revel in the satisfaction of cracking a challenging puzzle. It's a break that stimulates the mind and promotes a sense of accomplishment.

Instructions:

1. Set up puzzle stations in common areas or designated break spaces.
2. Include a variety of puzzles, from crosswords to Sudoku and brain teasers.
3. Encourage employees to tackle puzzles individually or collaborate with colleagues.
4. Consider hosting puzzle challenges with small prizes for those who conquer the most puzzles within a given time frame.

Think you’re good at following directions? This game will test how good you are, testing your communication skills, so you follow the right directions.

How to play:

Pick one person from your team who will pick a game or activity that is complex or hard to follow. After reading the directions out loud to the rest of the group,  everyone else will attempt to play the game only based on what the speaker has told them.  They will have to work together and communicate to figure out how to play correctly.

Afterward, the leader and team can briefly discuss where there were any communication breakdowns and what could have been improved.

Materials you’ll need: A game with complex directions

How many people: Small to mid-sized teams (8-16 people)

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)!

If you’re planning more outdoor activities, explore our full list of fun team-building games for even more ideas.

Setting clear goals involves defining your objectives with precision, making them more achievable. The SMART criteria are a useful framework for goal-setting:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to accomplish.
• Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress. This might involve quantifiable metrics or milestones.
• Achievable: Ensure that your goals are realistic and attainable.
• Relevant: Align your goals with your overall objectives and values
• Time-Bound: Set a timeframe for achieving your goal.

Instead of a wishy-washy goal like "be better at work," let's get as specific as a project deadline. Say something like "we will increase project efficiency by 20% in the next three months by focusing on XYZ "

SMART Activity:

Introduction (15 minutes):

• Explain SMART goals and its components in simple terms.
• Stress the importance of clear and realistic goal-setting.

Examples and Discussion (20 minutes):

• Provide examples of SMART and non-SMART goals.
• Engage in a discussion on why goals meet or fail to meet SMART criteria.

Breakout Session (30 minutes):

• Divide participants into small groups.
• Assign each group a broad goal (e.g., "improve productivity," "enhance communication").
• Instruct groups to break down the goal into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound components.

Group Presentations (20 minutes):

• Each group presents their SMART goals.
• Encourage constructive feedback and group discussion.

Reflection and Adjustment (15 minutes):

• Facilitate a reflection session.
• Participants share insights and challenges.
• Discuss adjustments to make current goals SMART.

Individual Goal Setting (20 minutes):

• Participants set a personal or professional SMART goal.
• Provide guidance and support as needed.

An obstacle course is another crowd-pleaser that’s as versatile as relay races! It’s also a fantastic physical team-building activity that gets everyone moving, laughing, and working together.

From crawling under chairs and jumping over cones to walking along zigzagging stretches of rope and squeezing through hula hoops, you can create an endless list of obstacles for participants to navigate, all while racing to the finish. The result is a fun-filled and exciting event with a nice dose of friendly competition thrown in.

Here are a few additional DIY obstacles course ideas to consider:

• Hang inflated balloons at different levels under a table – people must crawl underneath without touching them
• Make a laser-style course out of pieces of string for people to climb through
• Set up cardboard boxes with holes to throw beanbags into
• Create makeshift tunnels to crawl through by hanging old bed sheets and blankets over rows of chairs
• Lay hula hoops along the ground for people to hop between
• Lay rope on the ground in different patterns to walk along and test people’s balance
• Create “stepping stones” using circles of rope and play “the floor is lava” – if they miss a stone and touch the ground outside, they go back to the start

How to play “I expect”

You can kick off a training session and spur engagement with this simple exercise. You’ll need a blank wall and a few colored post-it notes. Break the white board or chalkboard into 4 quadrants and label them “the training”, “the trainer”, “from myself”, and “from attendees”. Each participant should take a turn filling out 4 post-its that begin “I expect”. For example, “I expect from the training to learn how to better resolve customer conflicts.” Everyone should place their sticky notes in the appropriate quadrant. Then the moderator should go through and read them, highlighting which ones are repeated often.

How to play Boggle

The letter game Boggle has been around since the early 70s. It was designed by Hasbro and uses letters printed onto multiple dies. There are 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5 boards that make a game more or less challenging. This one works great for 4+ players.

All of the letter dice are placed into the square-ish grid, with a clear dome over the top. Every player gets a pen and pencil. The letters on the grid get scrambled, and each player gets three minutes to write as many words as they can. The key is, each letter must be touching vertically, horizontally, or diagonally in a chain. You can't skip or "jump" across letters. Try this one out with your teams today!

This activity tests the strength of every link in the chain. In paperclip chain relay, teams compete to craft the longest paperclip chain within a time limit.

‍Set up:

1. Split everyone into teams of 4 to 6. Enough brains to brainstorm, but not too many cooks to spoil the broth.
2. Hand out equal piles of paper clips to each team. Ready, set, clip!
3. Decide on a time limit. 5 to 10 minutes should do the trick. Start your timer and keep it viewable.
4. Roam the room and cheer teams on as they make the longest chain possible. When time’s up, measure each chain to find the longest.

Fun, fast, and easy trust-building exercises don’t get much better than this one. A true classic, “Three Truths and a Lie” helps teams learn more about one another, show off their individual personalities, and become closer friends in the process.

How to play Three truths and a lie

With 3 or more people sitting together in a circle, you ask each person to come up with 4 facts about themselves. But there’s a catch! As the name of the game suggests, only 3 of those facts should be true.

The other should be a lie that’s framed in such a way that it sounds true. The more feasible it seems, the better.

From there, each participant takes turns revealing their facts – keeping their best poker face on at all times. The group has to decide which statement’s the lie, using what they know of the individual to determine their answer. When they’ve finished guessing, the person reveals the truth!

We like this exercise for a host of reasons, but its accessibility is one of its biggest benefits. You can do it anywhere and at any time, with no tools required.