Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Got a team that likes to read?

Five Minute Book Talks is not only a great excuse to get the team together once a month, but it also develops their public speaking and presentation skills.

How to play five minute book talks

Every week or month, choose a member of your team to give a small presentation on a book they recently read, including a brief synopsis, positive and negative points.

This or That questions force your employees to choose between two equally appealing or unappealing scenarios. As each player explains their choice, you’ll gain insight into their values, moral code and priorities.

Great for: Communication, decision-making

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play This or That

Setup: Start by compiling a list of This or That questions that you can ask your employees.

To play: Playing the game is very simple. After hearing the question, players must vote for which option they would prefer. The questions could be serious, funny, thought-provoking or silly—it doesn’t matter, as long as they force the players to think. The best questions split the crowd and cause a debate.

Oh, Scattergories - that hilarious game that always leaves you scratching your head and laughing until your sides hurt. But did you know that this party favorite can be used in the office setting too?

How to play:

1. Choose a category and a letter.
2. Set a time limit for players to come up with answers.
3. Each player writes down as many answers as possible starting with the chosen letter.
4. Compare answers and eliminate any duplicates or invalid answers.
5. Award points for unique and valid answers. Repeat with a new category and letter.

Not only is Scattergories great for building team chemistry and boosting morale, but it's also a sneaky way to get everyone thinking outside the box and flexing their problem-solving muscles. So the next time you're stuck in a meeting that feels like a snooze-fest, bring out the Scattergories and watch the magic happen!

Explanation:

‍One team writes the first half of a story, and the second team finishes it—often leading to hilarious and unpredictable twists.

The remote team kicks things off by writing the beginning of a story. It can be anything—an adventurous quest, a mystery, or even a funny office tale. Once they’re done, they hand it off to the in-office team, who has to pick up where they left off and complete the story. The catch? The teams can’t collaborate, so the second half is entirely up to the in-office group’s imagination.

Both teams come together to share the full story, often leading to laughs over the unexpected direction it took.

It's a creative way to bring different perspectives together while keeping things fun and engaging for everyone!

How to play "Steal the bacon”

A very competitive game, the goal of this activity is to steal an item from the middle of a group. How does it work? Divide a large group into two smaller ones, and assign everyone on Team A and Team B a number. For example, each person on both teams gets a number 1-10. Then have the teams stand opposite of each other with the object in the middle. Have a moderator announce a number randomly, and then that number from each team will attempt to grab the object and take it back to their side. This is a very physical game, so keep your team in mind when suggesting it.

How to play Heads up, heads down

This one is ideal for small or medium size groups. The goal of the game is to eliminate players who make eye contact. First, choose a person who will shout out the directions. Then players should gather in a large circle with their heads down. When the leader calls “up”, the players must raise their heads simultaneously, look towards another player, and pause. Then the supervisor will say “down” and players put their heads down. These actions go back and forth and if two players happen to look at each other directly, they are out of the game. This continues until there is a winner.

In this activity, individuals become the authors of their own success stories. The game plan? Keep a goal journal, a personal chronicle where you jot down the highs, the lows, and everything in between on your journey to crushing those goals. Why? Because journaling isn't just putting pen to paper; it's a map of progress, a mirror reflecting challenges, and a compass to keep you on course.

Get ready to unleash the power of the written word – your goals are waiting to be documented and conquered!

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Let everyone know this isn't a sprint; it's a marathon of self-reflection and growth. Remind them that every scribble in their goal journal is a step toward victory.
• Foster an atmosphere where sharing the journey, bumps and all, is not just okay but celebrated.
• Create a safe space where the power of putting pen to paper becomes a transformative experience.

If you have a big team of employees that you’re trying to turn into a more cohesive unit, then Snakes could be an ideal trust-building activity. It’s another exercise that involves a large space, but you can do it either indoors or outdoors.

How to play Snakes

Wherever you choose to go, start by splitting everyone into groups of 6 to 7 people and asking them to stand in a line.

Next, spread items around the room/area that can be picked up with relative ease. These objects can be anything you like – from staplers and coffee cups to chocolate bars and clothes!). Finally, place blindfolds on all but the last person in each line and ask everyone to put their hands on the shoulders of the individual in front.

The sighted person then has to direct the “snake” to each object, without talking.

They give directions by tapping whoever’s in front of them on the shoulder, who then taps the person ahead of them in the same way, and so on until the front of the line. Tapping the left shoulder means “turn left”; the right means “turn right”. Pulling backward (gently!) means “stop”.

When the guy or girl at the front manages to pick up an item, they go to the back of the line and give their blindfold to the sighted person. It’s now their turn to direct the snake! The activity’s over when whoever started at the back (as the sighted person) ends up at the front.

What you need:

• Blindfolds
• Items to pick up

This game is a high-speed activity that focuses on prioritization and quick decision-making. The emphasis is less on winning and more on confident decision-making.

Set up:

Start a 2-minute timer and present your teams with a realistic work scenario or small project. Something along the lines of “Plan the first steps for a product launch” or “Outline a strategy for user feedback.” Each team needs to collaboratively brainstorm to create three immediate actions to address the needs of the scenario. Once the timer’s up, let them discuss their choices and how they prioritized their actions. You’ll be helping them develop collaboration and decisiveness.

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.

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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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.

Building forts inside the office might sound juvenile. And it is! But that’s the point. Fort building is fun, silly, and creative – a perfect antidote to the usual stress and responsibility associated with work.

For this game, get everyone to bring things like bed sheets, cardboard boxes, and string to the office. Then divide the group into teams and give them a 30-minute time limit to construct the best possible fort! Each group then presents what they’ve built for you – the judge – to decide who won.

Also known as Battledecks or Powerpoint roulette, Powerpoint karaoke’s a creative improv game where you ask people to give a presentation on a topic they haven’t seen or been able to prepare for.

How to play PowerPoint karaoke

Start by choosing a theme – such as vacations – and creating simple slide decks on it. In this example, the first slide would be a location/destination; the slides to come might include inside jokes, company references, random details, and activities.

To play, you invite a volunteer to the front of the room and ask them to say, “Let me tell you the story of the crazy trip I recently took to…”

You’d then reveal the first slide with the location on it, at which point the participant must improvise a fictional tale about their recent visit! After a little while, you’d move to the next slide and they’d have to incorporate whatever’s on it into their story. Keep going like this for a few minutes or until the story comes to a natural end.

You’d then invite someone else to the front, ending the game when everyone has had a go (although don’t force anyone to present if they don’t want to).

There are countless reasons to play PowerPoint karaoke!

For one thing, it always leads to fun and laughter. For another, it’ll make your team feel more comfortable standing up to give a presentation – if they can do it on a whim, they can definitely do it when they’ve had time to prepare. And finally, it reveals individual personalities and brings the team closer.

Thank you notes in the workplace are an easy and accessible way to express gratitude and appreciation. Showing gratitude is one of the best ways to voice recognition and build positive relationships with colleagues and leadership.

Here are some areas in which thank-you notes can boost morale and positive relationships in the workplace:

1. Post-job interview. After an interview is a great time to send a thank you note to express your appreciation for the opportunity to join a company, especially if it's a role you're excited about. Expressing thanks shows that you are open and communicative, which is an excellent sign that a potential employee is collaborative.
2. Teamwork. Make sure to say thanks when a team member or coworker provides support or collaborates effectively, send them a thank you note to acknowledge their efforts or take them out to lunch.
3. Recognition and thanks from leadership. When leaders in the workplace express gratitude, this can have lasting effects on productivity and the continuation of a positive work environment.
4. Random acts of kindness. Consider giving a coworker who you are close to a small gift to show your appreciation for them, especially if they have helped you professionally. Giving thanks or a small present to show appreciation will strengthen professional and personal bonds.
5. Express thanks to customers and clients. While gratitude in the workspace is vital to a healthy work-life balance, appreciation for your clients or customers helps build trust and a good reputation overall for your organization.

Expressing gratitude in the workplace shows appreciation, helps build positive relationships, and can contribute to a more harmonious and productive work environment.

How to play Coat of arms creation

This creative drawing exercise helps everyone get to know each other better. Have each participant draw their own “coat of arms” that is unique to them, representing the characteristics or important accomplishments that make them who they are. When everyone is finished drawing, they should share with the group. For very large groups, it’s more effective to break people into smaller teams for sharing. For added camaraderie, create a coat of arms gallery in your office where everyone can display their creations.

Get ready for a wild ride as your team navigates public transport to conquer checkpoints. It's not just about reaching your destination; it's about making quick decisions and adapting on the fly. You'll need to work together to figure out the best routes and timings. This challenge sharpens your problem-solving skills and shows you the power of collaboration. Plus, you're in for a fun-filled adventure that will leave you with unforgettable memories.

Instructions

• Create teams and assign a starting point.
• Provide a list of checkpoints around the city.
• Teams use public transport to reach checkpoints in a set order.
• They must decide on routes and timings.
• Time penalties for missed checkpoints.
• First team to finish or most checkpoints in time wins.
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Bonus Tip!

You won't believe the transport paradise that London is – metros, taxis, the iconic underground, and buses galore, making it an absolute dream for the Transportation Challenge. It's the ultimate playground for this adventure!

This Pencil Drop activity ticks all the right boxes. Short and sweet? Check. Fun-filled from start to finish? Check. Great for breaking the ice and boosting bonds between colleagues? Check!

Oh, and it’s nice and easy too…

How to play Pencil drop

All you need is a ball of string, a bunch of pencils, and some empty water bottles. With the supplies sorted, you can crack on with the task itself.

Start by dividing your team into pairs and asking them to stand back to back. Next, tie one end of both pieces of string around the eraser end of a pencil and the other end around their waists. They then have to walk forward (i.e. away from each other) until there’s no more slack in the string and the pencil’s suspended in the air.

Now the fun can begin! Their job is to work together, walking backward in a bid to lower the pencil into a water bottle that you’ve placed on the floor between them. To make things trickier, they’re not allowed to use their hands.

Want to add some fuel to the fire? Make it a race! Pit 2+ pairs against each other at the same time, awarding prizes to whoever wins.

What you need:

• Ball of string, cut into enough lengths for each pair to have two pieces
• One empty water bottle and one pencil between two people

Fun, chaotic, and surprisingly difficult, Attract and Repel is a fantastic game for making people laugh and for breathing life back into the room.

Here’s how it works:

After clearing a space in the office, gather everyone together and ask them to start walking around the room. Next, tell them to choose 2 colleagues (without saying anything out loud), one of which they must stay as close as possible to and the other they have to stay as far as possible from.

What follows often borders on bedlam! People will giggle with glee and squeal with dismay as they attempt to juggle these two competing goals. Try playing this game for 5 to 10 minutes before a morning meeting or after lunch – traditional low points in terms of energy levels – to feel an instant boost in positivity.

How to play “Follow the leader” dancing

If your colleagues are comfortable getting a little silly, you can create a fun game using the “follow the leader” format combined with a dance-off. You’ll have to choose one team member as the leader to direct the dancing. Put on some music, and everyone should dance just as the leader is doing. You can make this more competitive by breaking the game into rounds, where the last player to copy the leader is “out” every time.

Spruce things up by having a judge available to watch the dancers and call out the slowest people or those who are missing the mark on the moves. We guarantee you’ll share some laughs.

Unleash creativity and teamwork by having each team create a story together, one sentence or paragraph at a time.

Materials needed:

• A whiteboard or flipchart
• Markers or a digital platform for recording the story

Instructions on how to play:

1. Start the story with a sentence or paragraph and have the first team member contribute.
2. Continue around the circle, with each team member adding to the story.
3. Aim for a fun and collaborative narrative, encouraging everyone to build on each other's ideas.
4. Once the story is complete, read it aloud and revel in the team's collective storytelling prowess.

Why it's a great team building game:

• Creative synergy: Fosters creativity and cooperation as the team weaves a tale together.
• Communication boost: Enhances communication skills by requiring active listening and contribution.
• Laughs guaranteed: Often results in a hilarious and memorable story that bonds the team.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly: Keep it lighthearted and encourage a "yes, and..." mentality, where each contribution builds on the previous one. The goal is to create a collaborative masterpiece, no matter how silly or unexpected it becomes!

How to play Coffee run

For this game it’s ideal to play on a surface that’s easy to clean or outside. Each team splits in two groups and races against each other relay style, tagging in the next team member to run to the finish line. Sounds easy enough, but where the challenge comes in is each team has a full cup of coffee that they need to run with.

The coffee run is a perfect combination of physical exercise and coordination skills, just make sure you don’t play where you’re not ready to spill some coffee.

Imagine your team deciphering riddles and tackling challenges to uncover hidden city gems - that's the essence of the City Scavenger Hunt. It's like a real-life puzzle where everyone's brainpower combines to crack codes and overcome obstacles. As you explore the city together, you're not only having a blast but also boosting your problem-solving and teamwork skills. It's a chance to unravel mysteries while strengthening bonds among your teammates.

Instructions

• Form teams of players.
• Distribute riddles or clues that lead to hidden city locations.
• Players decipher riddles, solve challenges, and reach each location.
• At each location, complete the challenge to earn points.
• Document progress with photos or videos.
• The team with the most points at the end wins.
• Encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and exploration.
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Bonus tip: Make sure to choose a city with a lot of history or landmarks- the more the city has, the more options you have to choose from!

Searching for another indoor team-building game that demonstrates the virtue of clear communication? Try this one. To play Descriptive Artist, start by pairing teammates up and giving each duo some paper, a pencil, and a picture (making sure only one of them sees the picture).

Sitting back-to-back, one person describes the image while the other tries to draw it based on that description! After 5 to 10 minutes, the activity ends and the artist has to guess what they’ve drawn. You’d then tell everyone to swap roles, hand out new pictures, and repeat the process.