Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

We all fall on hard times. But victimising ourselves and dwelling on the negatives can lead us to overlook growth opportunities. Silver Linings alters perspectives of apparent failures and misfortunes.

Great for: Mindset development, positivity

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Silver Linings

Setup: Divide your group into pairs. You might wish to pair employees together who don’t often have the opportunity to interact.

To play: The first partner starts by sharing a negative experience. This could be something from their personal or professional life, as long as it’s true. Upon hearing the experience, the second partner attempts to reframe the story in a positive light. Then, the first partner retells their story, highlighting silver linings they may have missed the first time around. The players then switch roles and start again.

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 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 Beer pong game

If you’ve ever been to a fraternity party, this game needs no explanation. A classic drinking game, this option is for crowds who tend to get a bit rowdier. You set up the game with several red solo cups and ping pong balls - and of course, lots of beer.  You’ll also need a large long table that you don’t mind getting messy. If you’re not sure how to play, just look up a tutorial on YouTube.

How to play Defy gravity

For this game each player needs two balloons. Using only one hand, each player tries to keep them both from touching the ground for a whole minute. If you want more of a challenge, increase the amount of balloons to three per player. No holding onto the balloons! Tip: Use different colored balloons so you can better keep track of which have touched the ground.

How to play Riff off

This word game is for all the music aficionados in the office. Riff Off is a popular game that plays on famous song lyrics. If you need a little help, search for the online lyrics to a really popular song. Tell your teammates one word from the song. We’ll make an example, the first lyric is “never.”

If your partners can’t guess it, give them another word (our next example is “give”) until someone shouts out the song. Hopefully, nobody gave up and you guessed ours; “Never Gonna Give You Up”!

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.

Taking the principles of Kanban we learned earlier, now is a great time to make a personal version that prioritizes focus and streamlines workloads. Kanban boards are usually used for team projects but work just as well for a single person. This activity reinforces the Kanban concept: tracking work in stages to keep workflow steady.

Set up:

Each person needs a basic Kanban board, either on a physical whiteboard or on their computer. Each board needs three columns, just keep it basic for the first version. Try “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Get them to write every task for that day or week onto a sticky note (electronic ones are available too) and move each one slowly onto the board. Encourage them to keep a holistic view, so as not to overload the “in progress” section. Simple activities like this can help staff who may feel overloaded. Ask everyone to reflect afterward on how their tasks are managed, and record the insights.

Hosting a company-wide employee appreciation day is an idea to show employees gratitude and recognition for their hard work, dedication, and contributions to the organization. It's an opportunity for employers to express their appreciation and for employees to feel valued and motivated.

Here are some ideas and suggestions for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day:

1. Write personalized thank-you notes to each employee, highlighting their contributions and efforts.
2. Offer gift cards to employees to take themselves to lunch or coffee.
3. Hand out employee awards that highlight outstanding employees with awards or certificates, such as "Employee of the Month."
4. Host a company-wide employee breakfast where employees can relax and bond with one another.
5. Take the day off for team-building activities that encourage employee bonding and camaraderie.
6. Take the day off to volunteer day and use all that appreciative energy to do some good. Volunteer for a charitable cause or support a community project as a team-building activity.
7. Acknowledge each employee's unique interests and preferences, which can make the recognition more meaningful.
8. Share employee accomplishments on social media, the company website, or a company newsletter to highlight their contributions.

Employee appreciation day is all about celebration and showing gratitude and should be made an ongoing practice within the workplace to maintain a positive and motivated workforce.

How to play Candy questions

For this game, you’ll need several different colored candies. Write on the board one question per color, for example purple means “Do you have a pet?” and red means “Did you go to college and where?” Then, have everyone take 3 candies randomly from your supply. The 3 colors they get represent the three questions they’ll ask their neighbor. In this way, people can have fresh conversations and not just repeat the usual getting-to-know-you questions over and over.

Your employees will work in teams to build the most durable boat using nothing but cardboard, sticky tape and their creativity. Whose will travel the furthest before it sinks?

Great for: Teamwork, creative thinking

Duration: 1–2 hours

You’ll need: Cardboard, tape, table tennis rackets

How to play:

• Find a suitable location to perform the boat races, i.e. a pond or swimming pool.
• Divide your group into teams of about 5–6 players, then give each team some sheets of cardboard and a few rolls of tape.
• Set a time limit for the build. Once the time is up, ask each team to present their creations and explain why theirs is best.
• Finally, ask each team to delegate a captain (it’s best to choose somebody small and light).
• Hand each captain a pair of table tennis rackets (this will help them to propel their vessel) and ask them to take their boats to the water’s edge.
• When the starting pistol fires, the captains will scramble into their vessels and paddle as fast as they can while their teammates cheer them on. The team to paddle the furthest wins.

How to play Photo Scavenger Hunt

Instructions: Create a list of specific photos or scenes that teams need to capture using their smartphones or cameras. The team that captures all the items on the list in the shortest time wins.

Materials needed: List of photo items, smartphones or cameras.

The Photo Scavenger Hunt combines the fun of a scavenger hunt with creativity and photography. It encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and allows team members to explore the surrounding area while creating lasting memories.

Fuel teamwork and competition by challenging teams to complete a jigsaw puzzle race.

Materials needed:

• Jigsaw puzzles of varying difficulty levels
• Timer or stopwatch

Instructions on how to play:

1. Divide the team into equal groups and provide each team with a jigsaw puzzle.
2. Set a timer and have teams race against each other to complete their puzzles.
3. Emphasize that each team member must contribute to assembling the final image.
4. Celebrate the first team to finish and acknowledge their teamwork.

Why it's a great team building game:

• Piece by piece teamwork: Requires collaboration and coordination to complete the puzzle.
• Friendly competition: Adds a dash of competition to energize the team spirit.
• Problem-solving practice: Enhances problem-solving skills in a fun and engaging way.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly: Choose puzzles that match the team's preferences and skill levels. If possible, opt for puzzles that relate to the team's interests to make it more engaging.

How to play: ‍

Instead of one person acting out a word or phrase, the entire team acts it out while one person guesses. This will definitely encourage team work!

Materials needed: None

Benefits:

• Teamwork in action: Experience the adrenaline rush of synchronized creativity as your team acts in perfect harmony. It's like a choreographed dance routine, but with hilarious gestures and expressive charades.
• Unleash your inner performer: Allow everyone to enter the spotlight and let their creative instincts take over. This allows for the slightly timid members of your team to build confidence in themselves, which can only be a good thing going forward.

How to play Call a number

This circle game is ideal for warming up and gaining energy. Follow these steps: First, give all of the players ordered numbers (so if there are 15 players there would be numbers 1-15). Players should gather in a circle and then choose someone to go first. The player will mention a random number within the range of numbers you are playing with. The player with the number mentioned must respond by mentioning the number of another player. The game continues with players responding when another player calls their number. If a player doesn’t respond right away when their number is called, they are out.

Get ready for a storytelling showdown, emoji-style! Each participant receives a handful of those tiny expressive symbols, and their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to concoct a tale or spill the beans on a personal experience using these digital hieroglyphics. It's like writing a story, but with smiley faces and thumbs up emojis stealing the spotlight!

Emoji storytelling is an exercise in creativity and interpretation. It's like decoding a secret language. As the stories unfold, the hilarious attempts at translating emojis into real-life adventures begin. It's a light-hearted, laughter-inducing journey into the world of shared imagination.

Instructions:

1. Grab your personalized emoji set - it's time to flex those creative muscles.
2. Cook up a short tale or spill the beans on a memorable experience.
3. Present your emoji masterpiece to the eager crowd.
4. Witness the guessing chaos unfold, crown the emoji storytelling champion, and bask in the glory of a well-told tale.

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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!

How to play:

‍Encourage employees to create catchy safety slogans that promote workplace safety. Have a panel of judges select the best slogans and award prizes to the winners. Display the winning slogans around the workplace.

This activity taps into employees' creativity and gives them a sense of ownership over the safety culture. Seeing their own slogans around the workplace can be a source of pride and motivation. The next "Safety First!" slogan might just be around the corner.

How to play:

‍Set up a Jeopardy-style game board with categories related to workplace safety (e.g., "Fire Safety," "PPE," "First Aid"). Create questions of varying difficulty and assign point values. Divide employees into teams and let them choose questions to answer for points.

Safety jeopardy extravaganza transforms safety training into an exciting game show experience. It’s an effective way to review safety policies and procedures while fostering a competitive spirit. Channeling their inner Alex Trebek, participants can both learn and have fun.

It's time for the Goal Reflection Circle – a huddle of progress, challenges, and collective wisdom. Allow participants to form a circle, each taking a turn to share one of their recent exploits. It's a chance to share challenges, reflections, and receive constructive feedback from your cohesive team. This activity is like a group therapy session for your goals, promoting a sense of community

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Foster an atmosphere of trust and support. As the facilitator, guide the circle with a gentle hand. Encourage active listening and constructive feedback. This activity is about building a community where vulnerability is a strength, and everyone is not just cheering for success but helping each other navigate the hurdles.

How to play Balloon stomp

For this game, you’ll need tons of balloons in two different colors. You need to be outside or in a large space, and divide your large group into two smaller groups and assign them each a color. Set a timer for one or two minutes, and the goal of the game is for each team to pop all the balloons of their own color - without accidentally hitting the other color. At the end of the game, the team who popped most of their own color balloons wins.

Quick, easy, engaging, and ideal for getting to know one another, Roulette Questions is an energizer/ice-breaker that’s sure to go down well before virtual meetings – especially for new teams.

How to play Roulette questions

The game involves using an online roulette wheel that’s full of different questions. Co-workers take turns “spinning” the wheel and answering whichever one they land on.

Simply work your way through the questions until there are none left (many roulette tools allow you to eliminate questions as you do, ensuring you never land on the same one twice) or until everyone has answered something!

Try playing with a time limit to inject more energy into the activity. For instance, depending on its size, you could challenge the team to get through the questions in 10 minutes or less. This should stop the game from dragging on too long and make it more enjoyable to boot.

How to play:

‍Play a game Simon says with a safety theme added to it. Choose a leader to give safety-related commands (e.g., "Simon says put on your safety goggles," "Simon says find the nearest fire exit"). Employees must only follow the commands that begin with "Simon says."

Safety Simon says is a playful way to reinforce safety habits and quick response times. It keeps employees alert and engaged while reinforcing important safety behaviors in a fun and interactive manner.

How to play Thread it

The goal is for contestants to thread as many needles as they can in just one minute. This game can become highly competitive (and even frustrating). Make sure to have enough needles and thread set out for everyone.