This is a fun and simple activity that is easy to execute no matter where you are. It does require a larger group since part of the activity is breaking people into groups. We suggest starting with groups of 3 - 5. Have each small group sit down together with the goal of finding something they all have in common. Set a time limit for doing so, such as five minutes. They will have to ask each other a lot of questions to dig into possible commonalities. They may find anything from all having a tattoo to all hoping to visit Scotland someday. If you want to add a fun twist, try combining this activity with the classic “two truths and a lie” game. In that case, groups would present their findings to the rest of the attendees. They would share three options of what they discovered, with one of them being false. Then the larger group would try to determine which thing they truly had in common.
This is a fun and simple activity that is easy to execute no matter where you are. It does require a larger group since part of the activity is breaking people into groups. We suggest starting with groups of 3 - 5. Have each small group sit down together with the goal of finding something they all have in common. Set a time limit for doing so, such as five minutes. They will have to ask each other a lot of questions to dig into possible commonalities.
They may find anything from all having a tattoo to all hoping to visit Scotland someday. If you want to add a fun twist, try combining this activity with the classic “two truths and a lie” game. In that case, groups would present their findings to the rest of the attendees. They would share three options of what they discovered, with one of them being false. Then the larger group would try to determine which thing they truly had in common.
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?
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…
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 many states can you name in one minute? Have players list as many states (and capitals, if you want to make things extra challenging) as they can in a minute. It’s easiest to do this in written form. Whoever names the most wins!
How many states can you name in one minute? Have players list as many states (and capitals, if you want to make things extra challenging) as they can in a minute. It’s easiest to do this in written form. Whoever names the most wins!
Otherwise referred to as “Life Raft”, this is a superb indoor team-building game that, at first glance, seems like nothing but a bit of fun. However, look closer and you realize everybody’s working together, laughing, encouraging one another, and using strong communication skills to complete the task.
Otherwise referred to as “Life Raft”, this is a superb indoor team-building game that, at first glance, seems like nothing but a bit of fun. However, look closer and you realize everybody’s working together, laughing, encouraging one another, and using strong communication skills to complete the task.
Want to give it a shot? Start by making a square on the floor with strips of tape. That’s your life raft! When you call “All Aboard”, participants have to squeeze themselves inside the square as quickly as possible. To spice things up a bit, why not split the team into 2 groups to see who can do it first?
Here’s an improv game for team collaboration that focuses on creativity, attention to detail, and enhancing the connection between colleagues. As the name suggests, it asks pairs of workmates to team up, face each other, and to imagine they have a double-sided mirror between them. In essence, they pretend the colleague opposite them is their mirror image.
Here’s an improv game for team collaboration that focuses on creativity, attention to detail, and enhancing the connection between colleagues.
As the name suggests, it asks pairs of workmates to team up, face each other, and to imagine they have a double-sided mirror between them. In essence, they pretend the colleague opposite them is their mirror image.
One of them then takes the lead by initiating movements of some sort. They can do anything they want! Raising their hand, bending forwards, crouching down, jumping on the spot…It doesn’t matter. All they have to do is move slowly and in silence.
The other person’s task is to mirror those actions and gestures.
So, if their partner lifts their left hand to the sky, they’d lift their right hand (remember, it’s a mirror image!). And if their partner starts doing star jumps and pretending they’re a 70s aerobics instructor, then they have to do the same!
Be sure to mix things up by changing roles and partners every few minutes. Oh, and try to make the movements more complex, intense, and/or bizarre as time goes by. At the end of the task, you’ll feel energized, positive, and aligned as a team.
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.
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.
Get your virtual whiteboards ready for remote sketch-off! One player describes an object in detail, and everyone else has to draw it based solely on the description—no peeking. The results? Often hilarious.It’s a great way to have some fun, practice communication, and see who’s got the best artistic (or interpretive) skills.
Get your virtual whiteboards ready for remote sketch-off! One player describes an object in detail, and everyone else has to draw it based solely on the description—no peeking. The results? Often hilarious.
It’s a great way to have some fun, practice communication, and see who’s got the best artistic (or interpretive) skills.
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.
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.
This card game challenges the psyche and asks employees to get outside their comfort zones. A fun game for a team that is making a company retreat and one that brings out the inner actor in everyone.
This card game challenges the psyche and asks employees to get outside their comfort zones. A fun game for a team that is making a company retreat and one that brings out the inner actor in everyone.
Split your team into large groups, around ten people, is ideal. Make a small deck of cards that includes an even amount of each suit (diamonds, clubs, etc.) which will then be evenly distributed. Team members draw a card, but without seeing it, the team-building organizer tapes it to their backs. Everyone is then instructed to go around talking to others based on the card on their back. The suit dictates the behavior:
After completing the game, sit down as a group and discuss how you were treated and how that made you feel. Group members will get the chance to acknowledge how they treat people as a marker of how others will perform and feel in the workplace.
Materials you’ll need: Desk of cards and ample space
How many people: Large teams (25+ people)
Team members switch roles for the day—the accountant becomes the designer, the manager takes on the IT role, and everyone gets to try something totally different. It’s all about experiencing a new side of office life.In the hybrid version, both in-office and remote employees swap roles, but the twist is they’ll shadow their swapped roles virtually if they’re in a different location. Remote workers can sit in on video calls or collaborate on shared tasks, while in-office workers can hop on a call to learn about the ins and outs of a remote teammate’s role. The key is to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, even if it’s virtually. It’s a fun way to gain empathy for each other’s daily challenges and maybe even discover hidden talents along the way.
Team members switch roles for the day—the accountant becomes the designer, the manager takes on the IT role, and everyone gets to try something totally different. It’s all about experiencing a new side of office life.
In the hybrid version, both in-office and remote employees swap roles, but the twist is they’ll shadow their swapped roles virtually if they’re in a different location. Remote workers can sit in on video calls or collaborate on shared tasks, while in-office workers can hop on a call to learn about the ins and outs of a remote teammate’s role. The key is to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, even if it’s virtually.
It’s a fun way to gain empathy for each other’s daily challenges and maybe even discover hidden talents along the way.
Prepare for the Minute to Win It Challenges, where lightning-fast antics and friendly rivalry collide. These challenges ignite creativity, force adaptability, and unveil hidden talents as team members scramble to conquer the clock.
Instructions: Set up a series of minute-long challenges where participants must complete a task using everyday objects. Examples include stacking cups or moving cookies from the forehead to the mouth using only facial muscles.
Materials needed: Everyday objects (cups, cookies, etc.).
Prepare for the Minute to Win It Challenges, where lightning-fast antics and friendly rivalry collide. These challenges ignite creativity, force adaptability, and unveil hidden talents as team members scramble to conquer the clock.
Who says leadership can't be profound and thought-provoking? This game sparks intellectual conversations and encourages your team to explore different perspectives. By diving into the wisdom of great minds, they'll gain new insights, expand their horizons, and ignite their leadership spark.
Who says leadership can't be profound and thought-provoking? This game sparks intellectual conversations and encourages your team to explore different perspectives. By diving into the wisdom of great minds, they'll gain new insights, expand their horizons, and ignite their leadership spark.
In this engaging team warmup exercise, you have the group imagine the space that you’re in as a map. Their goal is to place themselves where they are from. The first few steps have the most energy, as people try to find relative geographies and move around the space and each other. This game can be played with teams of any size, but it tends to be more fun when people are from more diverse, spread out areas. If everyone is from the same state, simply scale down your map and have everyone stand in the town they’re from.
In this engaging team warmup exercise, you have the group imagine the space that you’re in as a map. Their goal is to place themselves where they are from. The first few steps have the most energy, as people try to find relative geographies and move around the space and each other. This game can be played with teams of any size, but it tends to be more fun when people are from more diverse, spread out areas. If everyone is from the same state, simply scale down your map and have everyone stand in the town they’re from.
One Must Go is a fun question game that’d be a fantastic warm-up activity before team meetings or on your next work retreat. We love it for its ability to stimulate light-hearted conversations and help co-workers get to know each other. How it works is simple: someone comes up with three to four options in a particular category and then asks the group to decide one option to get rid of. For example, “One must go: your favorite drink, your favorite item of clothing, your favorite song, your favorite food?” Or, “One must go: mustard, mayo, ketchup, bbq sauce?”
One Must Go is a fun question game that’d be a fantastic warm-up activity before team meetings or on your next work retreat. We love it for its ability to stimulate light-hearted conversations and help co-workers get to know each other.
How it works is simple: someone comes up with three to four options in a particular category and then asks the group to decide one option to get rid of. For example, “One must go: your favorite drink, your favorite item of clothing, your favorite song, your favorite food?” Or, “One must go: mustard, mayo, ketchup, bbq sauce?”
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.
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:
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.
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?”
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?”
Two people stand across from each other and mirror each other's movements, trying to stay in sync.
Two people stand across from each other and mirror each other's movements, trying to stay in sync.
A quick brainteaser or trivia question is a simple way to engage your team at the start of the week. This is a particularly useful strategy for encouraging engagement in remote teams. You can create a dedicated channel in Slack for employees to discuss the answer.
A quick brainteaser or trivia question is a simple way to engage your team at the start of the week. This is a particularly useful strategy for encouraging engagement in remote teams. You can create a dedicated channel in Slack for employees to discuss the answer.
Great for: Facilitating interaction
Duration: 5 minutes
Players: 6+
You’ll need: A thought-provoking riddle, trivia question or brainteaser
Setup: Establish a day of the week when you’ll pose a head-scratching question to your team. When the time comes to ask the question, you can display it in any way you see fit. Write it up on a whiteboard in the common area, drop it in an email, or—if you’re working remotely—put it in a dedicated Slack group.
To play: Once you’ve asked the question, allow some time for your employees to wrestle with potential answers/solutions. It’s up to you when you choose to reveal the answer, but the idea is to encourage your employees to engage with the question as a group. If you like, you can start a leaderboard with a prize at the end of the year for the person who answered the most questions correctly.
This is another childhood favorite for many, and bringing it into your workplace is sure to create a little nostalgia. It's a simple and fun way to get everyone more comfortable working together.
This is another childhood favorite for many, and bringing it into your workplace is sure to create a little nostalgia. It's a simple and fun way to get everyone more comfortable working together.
High-fives and pats on the back make everyone smile. Positive feedback isn't just about saying "good job," it's a morale booster that powers up motivation and helps colleagues shine even brighter. Positive feedback activity - Kudos circle: Gather participants in a circle. Start by tossing a soft ball or object to one person, offering them a specific compliment or recognizing a recent achievement. The person who received the compliment then tosses the ball to another colleague, offering their positive feedback. Continue until everyone has received and given compliments. Kudos Circle generates a positive atmosphere, boosts self-esteem and reinforces a culture of appreciation. Try this team-building activity outdoors for extra enjoyment!
High-fives and pats on the back make everyone smile. Positive feedback isn't just about saying "good job," it's a morale booster that powers up motivation and helps colleagues shine even brighter.
Positive feedback activity - Kudos circle:
Kudos Circle generates a positive atmosphere, boosts self-esteem and reinforces a culture of appreciation. Try this team-building activity outdoors for extra enjoyment!
Giant tower tactics is your classic Jenga, but bigger—and with more pressure. Teams take turns building up or removing blocks from a giant tower, trying not to be the ones who send it crashing down.It’s nerve-wracking in the best way and a great test of patience, strategy, and steady hands. Plus, the collapse is always dramatic (and hilarious).
Giant tower tactics is your classic Jenga, but bigger—and with more pressure. Teams take turns building up or removing blocks from a giant tower, trying not to be the ones who send it crashing down.
It’s nerve-wracking in the best way and a great test of patience, strategy, and steady hands. Plus, the collapse is always dramatic (and hilarious).
Many people might remember this game from their childhood. Commonly used as an exercise to get kids to enhance their listening skills, this simple yet effective game still works just as well in adulthood!
Many people might remember this game from their childhood. Commonly used as an exercise to get kids to enhance their listening skills, this simple yet effective game still works just as well in adulthood!
Gather everyone on your team and have them line up or sit in a big circle. There is a group leader who whispers a sentence into the first person’s ear. That next person whispers that same (hopefully) sentence into their neighbor's ear, and the game continues as such.
This is a perfect game for large teams, as not much is needed, and it’s more challenging to get the message across perfectly the more people it goes through.
Materials you’ll need: Just your team and space to the lineup, or sit in a circle.
How many people: Small to large teams (8-25+ people)
Mix up the usual routine with a community impact day. Instead of the office grind, teams head out to do some good—whether that’s cleaning up a park or helping out at a local charity.Not only does it feel good to give back, but it’s a refreshing break from the usual. Plus, nothing says team bonding like rolling up your sleeves and making a difference together.
Mix up the usual routine with a community impact day. Instead of the office grind, teams head out to do some good—whether that’s cleaning up a park or helping out at a local charity.
Not only does it feel good to give back, but it’s a refreshing break from the usual. Plus, nothing says team bonding like rolling up your sleeves and making a difference together.
If you need a break that’s a little more physical, set up some buckets of nerf balls in an outdoor space at your venue. Have everyone stand in a circle and choose one person to have the ball initially. When they have the ball, they answer the question that you chose for an icebreaker. For example, “What are you excited to do or learn about today?” They answer, and then throw the ball to someone else, who also answers. Once everyone has had a turn to share, you can head back inside.
If you need a break that’s a little more physical, set up some buckets of nerf balls in an outdoor space at your venue. Have everyone stand in a circle and choose one person to have the ball initially. When they have the ball, they answer the question that you chose for an icebreaker. For example, “What are you excited to do or learn about today?” They answer, and then throw the ball to someone else, who also answers. Once everyone has had a turn to share, you can head back inside.