Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

The Human Spring teaches participants the value of trust, cooperation, and interdependence – three core qualities of effective teams. If your workforce appears divided, there’s been recent conflict, or levels of collaboration seem to be dwindling, then we highly recommend it!

Here’s how to play:

Divide the team into pairs (consider doing this for them in order to break up the usual cliques and encourage mingling), ensuring that partners are of a similar size.

Next, ask the pairs to face each other and put their hands up, with their elbows bent, and palms facing the other person. They then have to put their palms together (i.e. person A’s palms should be touching person B’s) and lean towards each other, bit by bit, until they’re holding one another up.

That’s the easy bit! The real challenge comes next, when they have to start moving their feet further and further back, while keeping their palms together.

The beauty of this exercise is that each rearward shuffle makes it harder to stay upright without the support of their partner.

Eventually, their feet should be so far back that they’re relying solely on their teammate to stay upright. The pair with the greatest distance between their feet is the winner. They should then swap partners and do it all again!

What you need:

• N/A

How to play Snowball fight

This activity is pretty simple and straightforward. If you live in a climate where snow is on the ground, get outside and dig in! Organize your larger group into smaller teams and have an old-fashioned snowball fight outdoors. For maximum fun, you can set up barriers or partitions in advance for people to hide behind, or set out supplies for building a “fort” for protection.

If your team members work with each other daily, they probably already have a good system of teamwork. However, crafting a relay activity can really amplify and broaden the way teams function together. A cross-team relay involves “handing off” completed stages of a larger project. Here’s how to set it up:

Set up:

Create teams of 5 or 6 members. Each team member needs one hypothetical role in a shared project. An example could be designing a product feature. Introduce or reinforce the concept of a “sprint,” which is extremely important to agile working. Use a timer for this “short sprint” period, where each person completes their segment, then “hands off” their work to the next member. After a few rounds, bring everyone together to review the finished product, and reflect on each step of the handover. The aim is for seamless collaboration between each handover.

Not something that can be played as a group, but something that can really help with setting goals. Habitica is an online platform and mobile app that gamifies goal-setting and task management. It transforms your goals and habits into a role-playing game where you create a character, set goals, and earn rewards for completing tasks.

In this game, you begin by crafting a character to embody you. Input your tasks, habits, and daily goals, each linked to a specific achievement. Successfully completing these earns in-game rewards, like experience points and virtual currency, allowing your character to level up, unlock new features, and face challenges. Neglecting tasks or failing incurs consequences for your in-game character.

This game shows the person first-hand what it’s like to set a clear goal and how it feels to reap the rewards. It also shows the person that not meeting your goal will result in consequences. In theory, this can be then applied in real-life work!

Top Tip: Set this as homework for all the group!

Instructions:

1. Begin by researching and finding a leadership style quiz on the internet.
2. Allow your team to read through the questions and ask them to choose the answer that best reflects their leadership approach.
3. Once they have completed the quiz, review their results and take note of their leadership style.
4. Engage in a group discussion about the different leadership styles and how they can be applied in various situations.
5. Share insights on how to adapt leadership style to different scenarios.
6. Encourage open communication and active listening during the discussion.

Who doesn't love personality quizzes? This activity helps team members to understand their unique leadership style and explore different approaches. By delving into the nuances of leadership styles, you'll gain self-awareness and learn how to adapt your style to different situations. It's like discovering your leadership superpower and unleashing it to save the day!

How to play Blind drawing game

Similar to a live-action game of Pictionary! In pairs, one person describes an object, and the other person must draw it without seeing it.

How to host Creativity contest

If you really want to encourage creativity, pick a theme and ask everyone to make something related to it. There’s so many directions people can go in, which makes this extra fun! You may decide to give people supplies in advance or pick one type of material for them to use. If you have a large group, perhaps you want to take a team-based approach to increase collaboration and bonding. Allow everyone to come up with their own work of art, and have a panel of judges pick the one that is most creative.

Quick, simple, and surprisingly engaging, Fact or Fiction is a first-rate icebreaker game that challenges players to distinguish between true or false statements.

How to play Fact or Fiction

To play, one participant reads out a statement, and everyone else must guess whether it’s “fact” or “fiction.” The aim is simple: test people’s general knowledge on certain topics and have some fun in the process!

This question game often works best with a bit of planning, though. Try to compile a long list of fact/fiction questions beforehand that players can draw from. It’ll help the game flow and ensure you ask questions on a range of topics to keep it interesting.

Alternatively, you can forget the trivia and play Fact or Fiction with personal statements. Each player says something about themselves, and everyone else decides if it’s true or false! Examples include:

• I have traveled to every state in America. Fact or fiction?
• I can do the splits. Fact or fiction?
• I have an identical twin named David. Fact or fiction?
• My family emigrated here from France in 1880. Fact or fiction?
• I am bilingual. Fact or fiction?

How to Cup toppers

For this game you’ll need some cups or tumblers and some old compact discs. Place the cup a reasonable amount of space away from the player (such as a few feet, across a table). Have them take a stack of CDs and toss them, one by one, onto the cup. Their goal is to land as many as they can flat onto the top of the cup. Whoever strikes the most landings wins.

How to play Show your phone

A very simple and easy icebreaker involves asking everyone to share the latest “something” on their phone. The “something” could be their most recent photo, or the last app they had open. As long as it’s work appropriate, you can get creative about what you’ll ask people to show. A popular take on this game is to share the last 3 emojis you used, but you can get as creative as you feel comfortable. For a super fast and effective icebreaker, have each person stand up, introduce themselves, and share this tidbit of information based on your prompt.

Explanation:

Someone in the office describes an abstract design made by remote workers, while those working remotely try to recreate it—without ever seeing the original! The goal is to see how close (or hilariously far) the recreations turn out.

This is a perfect game for connecting the office and remote workers. The in-office person gives a detailed but tricky description of a design that a remote worker has come up with (think: a robot unicorn or a house made of ice cream cones). Remote team members then try to recreate the design based solely on that description using whatever tools they have at home—whether that’s paper and pen or digital drawing software. Everyone compares the original design with the recreations, leading to plenty of laughs as teams see just how different (or spot on) the interpretations are!

How to play Pantry pop quiz

A piggyback off of the desktop exercise, learn about your colleagues favorite foods with this challenge. Have each person send a photo of the inside of their fridge or pantry and then show them during the meeting and have everyone guess who each picture belongs to. For example, many people will think it’s obvious that the bachelor in the group has only ketchup and beer in the fridge. This is a fun peek into the lifestyle of the people you work with.

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Every team's got its hiccups, but conflict resolution is the superhero cape. It saves the day by smoothing things over and turning tense moments into learning experiences.

Conflict resolution activity - Role play resolutions:

• Develop fictional workplace scenarios involving conflicts or disagreements.
• Pair colleagues and assign each pair a scenario to role-play.
• Partners take turns assuming the roles of individuals in the conflict and work together to find constructive solutions through communication and negotiation.
• After role-playing, each pair presents their conflict and proposed resolution to the larger group.
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This interactive activity hones conflict resolution skills, encourages creative problem-solving and enhances communication strategies.

How to play Letter to myself

This is another great activity for ending a large group event. Instruct everyone to write a letter to themselves that involves what you just did. For example, if part of the event was creating new goals, ask them to write how they’ll accomplish that. Then, depending on the size of the group, have people either pair off to share their letter or read their letter aloud. Opening up this way is a nice step toward getting everyone to bond and collaborate.

Can you creep up on the pirate and steal his treasure without being spotted? This game will push your employee’s sneaking skills to the limit.

Great for: Energising your team

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: A chair, a random object (small enough to easily pick up and carry)

How to play Pirate’s Treasure

Setup: To prepare for Pirate’s Treasure, position your players in a circle, facing inwards, and place a chair in the centre. Request a volunteer and ask them to sit on the chair. Blindfold the volunteer and place the object under the chair.

To play: To start the game, the players in the circle (the pirates) start walking around the chair. When they stop, they silently pick one person to attempt to steal the object from under the chair. If the pirate manages to steal the object undetected they win the game. However, if the volunteer hears the pirate approaching and points at them, the pirate is eliminated and play starts again.

How to play Breakfast Guessing

This game is super simple and doesn’t require any props. Players simply take turns guessing what other colleagues had for breakfast that morning. To make it more interesting, the team can collectively ask up to three questions to narrow down their options. For example, they might ask if it was a cold item, or whether it was savory or sweet.

Sometimes people get really creative, asking questions like “Did it come from a blender?” or “Would fancy restaurant serve this food?” Warning: this game does tend to get people thinking about food, so make sure you have a plan in place for your next snack or meal.

Dabble is another great letter game that combines elements of Scrabble with crossword puzzles. 2 or more players compete to create five unique words. These words must be 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 letters long each, using 20 tiles. Easy to pick up, difficult to master!

How to Play:

1. Each player receives 20 letter tiles
2. Race to create a 2-letter, 3-letter, 4-letter, 5-letter and 6-letter word using your tiles.
3. The first player to finish all five words wins the race, but then scores are counted depending on the value of each letter.

This one is fast, fun, and utterly addictive!

The Penny Game helps teams find the sweet spot between rhythm and balance. This simple game demonstrates how important workflow and efficiency are to agile working. You’ll need a decent-sized coin collection beforehand.

Set up:

Form teams of 5-6, providing each with a batch of 20 pennies. In each round, team members pass a batch, flipping each penny before passing. Reduce batch sizes each round to demonstrate smoother workflow with smaller batches. After each round, pause for feedback on speed and accuracy.

How to play:

Provide materials for employees to create safety posters that highlight important safety messages or procedures. Display the posters around the workplace and have a voting process to select the best ones. Offer prizes for the top posters.

This activity promotes creativity and personal investment in workplace safety. Employees get to showcase their artistic talents while contributing to a safer work environment. The posters serve as ongoing reminders of safety practices long after the competition ends.

Instructions:

1. Divide participants into teams of 4-6 with puzzles and workspace.
2. Teams solve the puzzle within a specified time, demonstrating leadership skills.
3. Assign the role of ‘team leader’ and allow them to oversee progress.
4. Set a time limit for completion, emphasizing collaboration and effective communication.
5. Debrief and discuss team approaches, leadership qualities, challenges, and strategies.
6. Reflect on individual and collective leadership skills, share insights and lessons.

This game is no ordinary puzzle-solving extravaganza. It challenges teams to collaborate, communicate, and showcase their leadership prowess. By assigning team leaders, setting time limits, and emphasizing effective problem-solving, this game hones their ability to guide and bring out the best in your team. So grab your puzzle pieces and get ready to unlock your team’s inner leadership maestro in a fun and engaging way.

How to play Timeline creation

A collaborative creation is a great way to help teams to bond, and the bonus is that you get something to display and remind your employees of a fun day and group effort. Start by rolling out a large white scroll of paper in a big space or outdoors. Provide plenty of drawing materials and ask the team to work together to create a timeline of the company. In this way, employees will share important milestones that they know about the company - and newer staff will learn them. It’s a great facilitator of discussion around what makes your organization great.

How to play Six word memoir

This is a common exercise in college English classes, but it involves a lot of creativity and brainpower. Ask people to boil their lives down into six words only. For example, one of the most impactful memoirs we have seen said “The broken bird flies through fog.” This person was sharing - without really disclosing details - that they had overcome some struggles and were proud of their ability to persevere. Give people time to put some real thought into this exercise and it’s sure to be something that stays with them long after the meeting.

Imagine your team venturing into the wilderness, not just for a casual hike, but for an exhilarating Outdoor Survival Race. You'll rely on each other's skills to navigate the wilds, decode puzzles, and conquer challenges. This is more than teamwork; it's about trust, communication, and strategizing under pressure. As you tackle Mother Nature's obstacles together, you'll find yourselves delegating tasks, sharing ideas, and building unbreakable bonds.

Instructions

• Create diverse teams for varied perspectives.
• Equip each team with maps and survival tools.
• Progress by solving puzzles at checkpoints.
• Delegate tasks based on strengths and communicate clearly.
• Prioritize safety by sharing essential survival tips before setting off.

Rotating roles in your teams can immerse them in healthy agile practices while developing their adaptability, and giving a fresh perspective on the tasks their colleagues perform. By rotating through positions like designer, developer, and tester, they’ll be gaining insights on team contributions and will be more empathetic of task ownership.

Set up:

Assign every member an initial role, and give them a small hypothetical project, like designing an app feature. Let them play out their roles for a few minutes before rotating. Encourage each member to build on the contributions of those before them. Shifting from role to role comes with a perspective shift, so reflect on how each rotation improved on the last to reinforce agile principles of incremental improvement.