Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play 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.

How to play Giant Connect Four

Instructions: Set up a giant Connect Four board on a stand. Participants take turns dropping their colored discs into the slots, aiming to get four in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The player who achieves four in a row first wins.

Materials needed: Giant Connect Four board.

Giant Connect Four is a strategic and engaging game that promotes critical thinking, decision-making, and friendly competition. It encourages problem-solving skills and provides an opportunity for participants to interact and strategize with each other in a relaxed setting.

How to play Matching animal game

This game requires some light preparation, but it’s easy to execute. First, you’ll need to come up with pairs of cards, each with a matching animal (so two tigers, two elephants, etc). Hand the cards out randomly and make sure everyone keeps them a secret. The goal is for players to find the animal that matches theirs without using words - instead, they should make animal noises or movements to hint as to their species. The first “animal team” to pair off wins.

A water gun fight is an opportunity for your employees to leave the stresses of the office behind them and enjoy some harmless fun.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding, relieving stress

Duration: 30 minutes

You’ll need: An open space, various water guns (at least one per person)

How to organise:

• Mark approximate boundaries for your water gun fight. If you’re in a park, this might simply be the approximate confines of the park itself.
• Scatter various water guns through the space for your employees to discover once the fighting begins.
• When you say “Go!” players will scatter to find a water gun and start firing at other players.
• There are no fixed rules here—the idea is simply to have fun!
• Blow a whistle to signify the end of the game.

How to play 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.

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.

This game allows players to explore their potential leadership strengths by creating their pizza with “skill” toppings.

How to play:

Participants draw out a pizza with six slices. They are then asked to put toppings on their pizza, but instead of mushrooms, it’s a skill that they believe they would excel at. Once the pizzas are complete, people present their pizza, explaining why they chose their skills and engaging in a group discussion.

After talking amongst one another, receiving feedback, and discussing their strengths and weaknesses, if you’re willing to take the conversation a step further, everyone revisits their pizza and updates their skills according to feedback.

Materials you’ll need: Paper and general arts and crafts materials. Tables and chairs for drawing surfaces

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

How to play Shout Out

In this game, members collaborate and contribute by shouting out some ideas. You’ll need some sort of white board or flip chart, and plan for 3 - 10 people in a group. First come up with a problem that you want to discuss. For example, “How can we reduce waste in our production process?” or “How can we bring that new product to market one week faster?” Give each person the opportunity to yell out an idea so that the whole group can hear. Once everyone has had a chance to speak, ask the group to come to a consensus on the best option, and then hold a discussion about it. Why is it the best idea? What makes it workable, etc? Also, did everyone feel listened to? How did the results from this process differ from just speaking to each other?

This gives your employees a chance to learn more about problem solving processes and cooperation, in addition to potential solutions to real business issues.

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.

Werewolf strategy is a hidden role card game where some players secretly take on the role of werewolves, and the rest must work together to figure out who they are before it’s too late. Bluffing, strategy, and teamwork are key as everyone tries to survive—or deceive!

This game is a fun way to mix logic with social interaction, and it often leads to hilarious accusations and unexpected alliances.

How to play:

• Players are secretly assigned roles as werewolves or villagers.
• Villagers work together to identify and eliminate the werewolves.
• The game continues until all the werewolves are eliminated, or they outnumber the villagers!

Discover more team building activities for small groups to keep your team engaged and collaborating.

How to play Kiss, Marry, Kill

Looking for a quick and funny way to start a meeting? Try Kiss Marry Kill. A perennial crowd-pleaser, this question game involves choosing which of three people you’d rather kiss, marry, or – you guessed it – kill.

They can be fictional (e.g. characters from well-known movies) or real (e.g. singers, sports stars, or people in the office) and you take turns presenting three names for the other players to choose from. Expect light-hearted debate to rage as each participant justifies who they’re kissing, marrying, or killing!

If you want to make this game slightly more PC, then consider the alternative: “Kiss, Marry, Avoid.” The process is the same, just with slightly less offensive language.

Instructions:

‍Pair people with different levels of experience in a reverse mentoring relationship. The less experienced individuals mentor the more experienced ones, sharing fresh perspectives and knowledge.

It's like flipping the leadership script and giving the underdogs a chance to teach the old dogs some new tricks. By pairing less experienced individuals with seasoned leaders, reverse mentoring unleashes a whirlwind of fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and the wisdom of youth. It's a leadership shake-up that challenges status quo and ignites mutual learning, making it a win-win for all involved. Perhaps consider involving yourself in this activity and allowing a newbie to mentor you. You never know, you could be mentored by the rising stars of tomorrow!

A classic, if you ask me. This game can get a little embarrassing, so it's a nice icebreaker!

How to play Chubby bunny

Two players go head-to-head, adding, placing and holding marshmallows in their mouth one by one. After each marshmallow has been added, each player tries and say the phrase “chubby bunny,” as clearly as possible.

Players keep adding a marshmallow until the judge declares a players “chubby bunny,” to be unintelligible.

How to play Miniature problem solving

Teams use small objects like paperclips, rubber bands, or sticky notes to devise a solution to an everyday office problem, such as tangled wires or tricky door handles. It’s a playful way to encourage innovation while improving problem-solving skills. Plus, you might even come up with a practical fix for those annoying little issues!

Get ready to belt out some tunes with virtual karaoke jam! Team members take turns singing their favorite songs in an online karaoke session. For extra fun, you can even vote on the best performance, though it’s really all about letting loose and having a laugh.

It’s a great way to inject some fun and energy into a virtual meeting and maybe even discover a few hidden vocal talents on the team.

How to play:

• Each person picks a song and sings it in an online karaoke session.
• Optional: Vote for the best performance.
• Sit back, sing along, and enjoy the musical chaos!

Browse more team-building activity ideas to keep your virtual meetings lively and engaging.

Here’s another awesome improv game that involves groups of 3 people performing to an “audience”. This time, though, you’re back to using your bodies to imitate objects! With an element of mime, a sprinkle of role play, and oodles of silliness and fun, we can’t recommend “I Am a Tree” enough!

How to play I am a tree

The first step is to divide the team into groups of three. As always, you can pick the teams or let them choose their partners. From there, take turns to “perform”.

As the name of the game suggests, one person in the trio might stand up and proclaim, “I am a tree” – sticking their arms out to resemble branches and swaying in the breeze to prove it. Then a second person jumps in, pretending to be a different object that fits with the first (e.g. “I am a bird”).

The final group member then completes the scene. In this example, they might say something like, “I am a cat” and drop to all fours as they pretend to hunt the bird.

Then it’s the next trio’s turn! They can either continue the scene or start a brand new one. Whatever happens, you keep going until everyone’s had a try. Of course, you can also decide to create one giant scene that involves the entire team! You could then take a picture of the final result, framing it as a memento of the event.

We recommend “I Am a Tree” for various reasons.

Firstly, the fact you aren’t expected to say anything is a big plus for employees who don’t like the limelight. Secondly, teammates have to work together to create a cohesive scene. And thirdly, it speaks to the reality of teamwork: that sometimes you have to perform tasks and play a role purely in support of your colleagues.

Instructions:

1. Divide people into small groups representing different cultures or countries.
2. Encourage each group to share their cultural values, leadership practices, and challenges. Emphasize the importance of open-mindedness, respect, and active listening.
3. Allow time for each group to ask questions and learn from one another.
4. Encourage people to take note of key insights and learnings.

By diving into diverse cultures and sharing insights, this game unearths hidden gems of wisdom from around the world. Discover unique leadership practices, tackle cross-cultural challenges, and become a culturally savvy leader. Buckle up for a leadership journey that transcends borders and unlocks a treasure trove of intercultural leadership know-how.

How to play 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.

How to play Giant Jenga Tournament

Instructions: Build a tower using giant Jenga blocks. Each player takes turns removing one block at a time from the tower and placing it on top without causing the tower to collapse. The player who causes the tower to collapse is eliminated, and the game continues until only one player remains.

Materials needed: Giant Jenga blocks.

Giant Jenga encourages focus, strategy, and problem-solving skills. It promotes friendly competition and creates a sense of anticipation and excitement as the tower becomes more unstable.

How to play Name that tune

This classic never gets old. Play five-second snippets of 12 songs - this will total one minute. Have players write down each song they think they heard. Whoever has the most correct answers wins! You can streamline this process by creating your one-minute compilation in advance, so you don’t have to keep stopping and starting music.

Messy office spaces are no fun. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, a disorganized work space can have real impacts on productivity and morale. Naturally, you want everyone to clean up - but you don’t want to nag.

How to host “Spring cleaning” scavenger hunt

Turn things into a game instead by creating a tidy up treasure hunt around the office. This game works best when announced in advance, and will require some prep work. Here is how it works: Hide clues in various messy spots around the office, and the team who recovers the most clues wins a prize. For example, you might want to put a clue on an unstocked paper towel machine, an overflowing trash can, or a buried-in-paperwork desk. Make sure to hide the clues in such a way that people will need to organize or tidy up a bit to obtain the paper. To further incentivize people, you could also offer small prizes for every clue collected, like movie theater candy, dollar bills, or tickets for food in the cafeteria.

How to play Restaurant pricing

“Price” is one of the four Ps of marketing, but is an often overlooked element. An exercise that helps your team to come up with a pricing strategy and see how it impacts overall revenue can be really helpful. This game takes about 45 minutes and you’ll need someone who is an Excel whiz to document the numbers portion. To begin, come up with a menu of items for your “restaurant”. You’ll also need an Excel or Google Sheet that has rows for each item, and columns to place cost of goods, price, number sold, and margin.

The goal of your group is to come up with pricing for each item that nets a great profit. However, they need to be realistic about things like the cost to make each item and how many people will buy it. If the price gets too high, they should plan to have less customers. This can start a great conversation on pricing strategy overall. How high does the price need to be before customers turn away? How low can you keep prices while still getting a decent margin? Using a template that has formulas built in means your team can just plug in different numbers to come up with several scenarios. This is a great way to drive home the point that even small price changes can make a big difference on the bottom line.

‍

How to play Don’t answer that

Fun and laughter are guaranteed with Don’t Answer That. A verbal exercise this time, all participants have to do is stand in a circle asking each other questions! As you’d expect, though, there’s a caveat…

You don’t answer the questions directed at you.

The person standing to your left does it instead. For example, imagine that James asks you, “What’s the most embarrassing moment of your life so far?” You’d have to stay silent while Jeanette – the person to your left – claims it was when you got drunk at the last Christmas party and told the CEO you loved her.

The idea isn’t necessarily to be truthful (although it isn’t a rule that you can’t be!). The goal is simply to have a good time, make people laugh, and lift the mood.

Setting up a challenge for your teams using LEGO is a simple and playful way to kickstart an agile session. Tasking them with the challenge of building a specific structure shape using LEGO bricks. Stick a twist on it by giving them limited instructions

Set-up:

Simply create small teams, 4 or 5 members per team will do. Each group gets a set of LEGO bricks and only partially completed instructions. Give them a time limit for preparing and see who builds closest to the desired structure. Variations on the game can include:

• One person being a blindfolded builder
• A “tower of Babel” - biggest tower winds
• Limited communication (like only hand signals)
• Earthquake-proof designs that can withstand a gentle ‘shake’