Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Balloon challenge

Start this fun and active energizer by inflating lots of balloons in the office (the more the merrier!). When you’re done, the challenge can commence:

The team’s job is to stop the balloons from touching the ground at all costs! Play for 5 to 10 minutes and explain there’ll be prizes if they succeed.

Want to give the game a competitive edge? Divide everyone into smaller teams and assign each one a bunch of balloons with the same color. They then have to work together to keep those particular balloons in the air (while simultaneously sabotaging the other teams’ efforts).

Bonus points if you can inflate all the balloons before anyone else arrives at the office! Trust us, the look on peoples’ faces when they walk through the door will be worth getting there early…

This simple card game is designed to get people talking. Building Blocks is a perfect icebreaker tool or exercise for growing teams.

How to play:

The card game has six categories with questions aimed at “removing personal barriers and creating space for teamwork.” An example of a question in the deck is: What do you wish to spend more time on both in and outside the office”. If your team is remote, this can be played in person or over Zoom. The game is marketed for workshops, and meetings.

Materials you’ll need: Building Blocks card deck.

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

This one's all about sharing stories! In this activity, we'll open up about our real-life workplace conflicts and learn a bunch of cool stuff from each other.

Why it's awesome for learning conflict resolution

Real-Life Drama: So, imagine this: We're sharing the nitty-gritty details of actual conflicts we've faced at work. No made-up stuff here! That means the lessons we learn are totally relatable to our daily grind.

All Walks of Life: We've got a mixed bag of folks here, from different departments and roles. That means loads of different perspectives. Hearing stories from all angles makes the learning super rich.

Feel the Empathy: When we listen to each other's tales of workplace woe, it's like putting on someone else's shoes (not literally, though). We start to get how our colleagues feel in those tough spots.

Test your team’s spelling skills with a spell-off showdown! Contestants take turns spelling increasingly difficult words until someone slips up. It’s like a mini virtual spelling bee, but with more laughs and less pressure.

This game is great for keeping the brain sharp and having fun at the same time—especially when you realize nobody remembers how to spell "mnemonic."

How to play:

• The host gives players words to spell, starting with easy ones and getting harder.
• Each player takes a turn spelling their word.
• The last person standing after everyone else misses a word is the winner!

For more fun team-building activities that mix laughter with a little friendly competition, check out our full guide.

How to host a Photo caption contest

Pick out a funny meme or cool photo and ask everyone to come up with a clever caption. You can either have one person pick a winner, do so by committee, or share with the company and let audience applause dictate the most popular caption. This is a quick team-building activity and easy to put together, and a good option for when you have a short window of time to bring everyone together. This activity is an ideal choice if your current bandwidth only allows gathering everyone in the breakroom for an hour or so. Simply share the image the night before and let everyone bring their A-game in the morning.

Ever wish you had a roadmap to success that's so clear it practically unfolds itself? Well, here's a twist on traditional goal-setting – the Backward Goal Setting activity. Instead of starting at square one and plotting your course forward, imagine you've already reached the pinnacle of success. What does it look like? Now, work backward to identify the steps and milestones that got you there.

This technique transforms lofty long-term goals into manageable, bite-sized chunks. It's like reverse-engineering success – a strategic approach that breaks down the journey into actionable tasks, helping you pave the way to your objectives with confidence.

Top Tips For Facilitators:

• Encourage participants to break big goals into small, manageable steps. Sometimes the big goals can get overwhelming!
• Plans can change, and that's okay. Let know that they need to be adaptable to unexpected shifts.
• Share stories of success with backward goal setting for inspiration. Perhaps an employee from a different department or an inspirational figure online!

Channel your inner "Survivor" with the corporate survival challenge! Teams compete in a series of physical and mental challenges inspired by survival shows, testing their problem-solving, strategy, and endurance. Who can outwit, outplay, and outlast?

This is ideal activity for larger groups, giving everyone the chance to shine. It promotes teamwork, leadership, and resourcefulness—all while adding a fun, competitive edge. It’s great for building resilience and camaraderie in the workplace, with some light-hearted rivalry thrown in.

How to play:

• Organize physical and mental challenges, like obstacle courses or puzzles.
• Divide participants into teams to compete against each other.
• The team with the most points at the end of the challenges wins!

Effective collaboration is all about working together to achieve a common goal. It involves putting your ego to one side for the good of the team, listening to what others have to say, and responding positively instead of dismissing their ideas.

We love the Ad game because it hones in on each of these aspects of collaboration – as well as many others!

Here’s how it works:

After dividing your team into groups of at least 3 people, you give each group a particular item, such as a chair, plant pot, or cup. Feel free to tell them what they have, rather than literally giving something to them!

Each group then takes turns to provide extra information about their item, adding more and more details until they’ve turned it into a revolutionary new product.

Let’s say you gave a coffee cup to someone in Group 1. Someone in the group will start by making a statement about it, such as, “This mug has a giant handle”. Everyone in the room then yells “YES!” as if it’s the best idea they’ve ever heard.

Someone else in Group 1 then says “and”, before adding another detail (“And it has a special lid on it that functions as a coffee plunger”).

This process continues, with each group member adding further details and the entire team agreeing with their idea, until they’ve fleshed out their product and decided on a name for it. You can even take it a step further by getting them to create a tagline and identify a celebrity to endorse it.

Do this for each group until everyone’s had a turn. By the end of the game, you’ll have giggled, groaned, exercised your creative sides, and worked together in a wholly positive fashion.

This trust-building game is simple and requires only a blindfold and players willing to work together. While you don’t necessarily need a big field to play this in, it would be better to have an open area to avoid too many hazards getting in the way.

How to play:

‍Break groups into small teams of two. One player is the leader, and the other wears the blindfold. The leader has to guide the blindfolded player to the endpoint while making sure they avoid bumping into objects.

For example, pick a start and end location; players start in the office and end at an outdoor seating area.

Materials you’ll need: Blindfold(s)

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

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How to play Suddenly” story

This is a fun game that brings out lots of creativity and improves communication. Have your team sit in a circle and instruct everyone that they will get to share 3 sentences only. Choose a person to start, and they’ll share their 3 sentences. Once finished, they should say “suddenly!” and then the next person in the circle takes their turn.

This cycle continues until you reach the last person in the group, who should conclude the story. For a twist, you can have people make up a completely fictional story, or include real-world information to form a realistic narrative. This makes it amusing but also helps with overall story-telling, which is a key part of effective marketing

How to play Drama-freeze

Best for small groups, this option can be really interesting. You start with pairs of two and a supervisor. The first team will act out a spontaneous scene without discussing it beforehand. While they do so, the supervisor of the game calls out “freeze” (any time they want). At that time the acting team must remain still. Then the next team of two begins and will start upon the supervisor saying “action”. They need to come up with a scene entirely different from the one from the pair before them. This will go on until each team gets a turn to act and freeze.

Think of this as your team's time-traveling adventure. The Historical Timeline Quest takes you to historical sites, but there's a twist. You'll decipher clues that unlock stories from the past. It's like solving history's riddles together. By working as a team, you'll connect the dots, piece together the timeline, and unveil the bigger picture. Through shared "aha" moments and collaborative detective work, you'll appreciate each other's unique knowledge and skills. It's not just history; it's a journey that brings your team closer, one clue at a time.

Instructions

• Assign roles to team members for efficient operation.
• Distribute clues that reveal historical landmarks.
• Visit sites, solve clues, and document significant events.
• Collaborate to accurately piece together the historical timeline.
• Keep historical references handy to aid in solving challenging clues.

How to play Lego builders

If you have enough space to spread out a bit, try some lego construction. Give everyone the same set of lego pieces, and print out brief instructions for creating a certain project. Who can complete the project in under one minute?

How to play Impromptu Shark Tank

If you’re building a multi-day agenda and have a couple hours to kill, put together a short-notice shark tank. The key is not to give too much notice - remember, these activities don’t require prep work and the last minute nature of idea generation is sure to lead to more creativity and laughter. Have small teams brainstorm and come up with a few ideas, and then present their best idea to a panel of judges who will decide if it’s worth investing in.

Explanation:

‍Teams bid on fictional items by describing them in the most creative way possible. Whether it’s a "self-warming office chair" or a "never-ending snack drawer," the challenge is to sell these imaginary products with over-the-top descriptions.

In-office and remote teams come together to craft the most outlandish descriptions for fictional items. Remote workers might create wild product ideas (think: an "anti-gravity backpack" or "teleporting coffee") and in-office teams will take turns describing why their made-up product is the best one. The fun lies in the creativity and the bizarre backstories teams come up with to "sell" their imaginary items. The best (or most hilarious) pitch wins the auction, and everyone has a good laugh at the absurdity.

If you’ve ever been to a professional escape room event, you’ll know just how effective they are at improving essential skills like communication and problem-solving. With Office Escape, you can recreate the drama of an escape room experience without leaving the office!

Great for: Problem-solving, creative thinking, communication, leadership

Duration: 1–2 hours

You’ll need: A storyline with a final objective, a series of problems and challenges

How to organise:

• Think of a final objective and then create a series of challenges and tasks that leads them towards completing it. It’s easier to think of challenges when you already have the final objective in mind.
• Plot a series of challenges that leads your employees toward the final objective. Be creative and have fun with it!
• You can further engage teams by offering a small reward for being the fastest to complete the objective.

Looking for more team-building activities for adults that build communication and problem-solving skills? Explore our full guide for extra inspiration.

How to play 1-2-4 share

Everyone learns differently, and some people learn best by quietly absorbing information, while others need to talk through ideas. For this activity, start by asking a question and having everyone quietly contemplate the answer. Then, have them get into pairs and discuss their answers. Next, have two pairs sit together (forming a group of 4) and talk about their takeaways.

Finally, have each group present their ideas to the larger team as a whole.  This ensures that no matter what type of learning style each attendee has, they get a chance to absorb information in that way.

Grab your party hats and imagine the sweet taste of success as you envision your retirement bash! In this activity, participants fast-forward to the future, picturing the day they bid farewell to the 9-to-5 grind. But it's not just about the cake and balloons – it's a chance to reflect on the accomplishments you want to be celebrated for at that legendary retirement party. We're talking about a holistic approach here – both professional victories and personal triumphs. By contemplating your legacy and long-term impact, you can set goals that align with your values and priorities, ensuring a fulfilling journey throughout your career and beyond.

Top Tips For Facilitators:

• Encourage thinking about personal successes, growth, and relationships for a balanced view of success.
• Try pictures or charts to make future plans clear and real.
• Emphasize goals that match values, ensuring a celebration that reflects a well-lived life.

Making a game out of training is a great way to get people more excited about the subject matter. And which game is better than Jeopardy? A quiz show format is an innovative way to introduce new material and understand how much your team has absorbed.

Here is how we suggest you play:

1. Find a Jeopardy template online using a site like Jeopardy Labs.
2. You’ll need five categories for questions related to your company. It’s best to stick with your company’s offerings or information like the organization’s mission, customer demographic, or latest marketing campaigns.
3. Use the premade questions from the online resource or come up with your own questions and answers. Make sure you’re able to share the screen with all your participants.
4. If you’re using a group format, let people discuss and share answers.
5. Proceed to gather everyone in a large space with a smart screen and ensure everyone can see, then divide people into either small groups (or individuals if the group is already small).

Red Light Green Light is another popular team warm-up/energizer that you may remember from childhood.

How to play Red light, green light

Simple to play and fun to participate in, your team has to line up on one side of a room and move toward a finish line whenever you – the facilitator – shout “green light”. When you yell “red light”, they have to stop.

If they keep moving forward, fall over, or do anything other than stand completely still, then they’re out. The winner is the first person to get to the finish line.

You can also play in separate teams instead of doing it individually though. In this version, you’d split everyone into 2 main groups, with the winner being the first group to get everyone across the finish line.

Top tip: Like many large group energizers, Red Light Green Light works best when you have a bigger space to do it in. Consider going outdoors to a local park if your office can’t accommodate the exercise.

The next game is Mirror Image Drawing, a delightful activity that challenges your communication skills in the workplace.

How to play

1. Find a partner in the group. One of you will be the "drawer," while the other becomes the "instructor."
2. The instructor's task is to describe a unique abstract image or scene. Be creative, but keep it abstract enough to encourage interpretation.
3. The drawer's role is to listen carefully to the instructor's descriptions, without seeing any reference or the instructor's drawing.
4. Instructors must provide instructions verbally only; they can't draw alongside the drawer or use gestures. Be clear and concise.
5. Drawers must translate the instructions into a drawing on their paper. The goal is to recreate the instructor's mental image as accurately as possible.
6. Once both partners are done, compare the drawings. Discuss the challenges faced and the effectiveness of communication.
7. For a well-rounded experience, switch roles and try again.

How to play Trading post

Understanding pricing and its effects on supply and demand is a natural skill in the business world. This game can help your employees to focus on this area in new ways. You can do this game for any length of time, so it’s perfect for fitting into most agendas. Start with two groups, a pile of fake money, and some simple items to trade like paper clips or pencils. Each group should have their own money and supply of items. The groups will need to decide what things cost and come up with trade terms.

Then, they should get busy buying, selling, and trading. At the end of the exercise, bring everyone together and see who came out ahead. Why did one group do better than the other? What did everyone learn? Supply and demand are pretty simple economic concepts that most people know, but this is a fun reminder and refresher.

Remember that game from childhood, “the floor is lava”? The one where you had to make it around the room without touching the floor. Good times. Shrinking vessel is somewhat similar, except you are working with a team. Strategy and Tetris skills will help me excel at this exercise.

How to play:

‍Mark the boundaries of the areas where team members will be placed. Slowly, the edges of the borders are moved and made smaller, and team members must work together to ensure they don’t fall outside the lines. They cannot step out of the line.

Materials you’ll need: Anything temporarily marks the floor, like a string or tape, even a blanket, will do. Enough space to fit a small team of 4-5 people at a time is also needed.

How many people: Mid-size to large teams

How to play Name that product

Remember the memory games that you used to play as a child? A variation of this activity can help new hires to learn about your product offerings. You don’t need anything besides a pen and paper! Begin by making a list of the products that your company sells. On the same page, list product features and price points. Then, on separate papers, write a short product description for each of the items. Have sales reps match the products with the short descriptions. Or, as another variation, instead of descriptions you can use customer needs or wants, or another indicator that would help people to better understand your product breadth and keep them straight.