Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Most likely everyone is familiar with the old game Pictionary. This activity puts a spin on the traditional game, focusing on adaptability and quick-thinking. Adaptability is highly important in agile practices, with most teams needing to respond to changes while mid-task. This game helps with that, so here’s how to set it up:

Set up:

Get everyone into pairs or small groups, with one person from each group starting out as the “artist.” The artist draws a prompt that you give them, such as “team goal” or “product feature.” Halfway through, introduce a new element to what they need to draw, like “user feedback” or “project roadblock.” They need to adjust the drawing on the fly, while everybody else throws out their guesses.

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 Whose story is it

This is a really engaging icebreaker game for smaller groups and teams who have known each other for years. Have everyone write down a funny or interesting (true) story on a small piece of paper. Then take all of the papers and place them into a hat to be drawn. The facilitator should randomly choose stories and read them aloud. Then, every player should guess who wrote the story. This is a great way to learn new things about people that you may have known for a long time.

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.

This indoor team-building game involves together to write a story on a sheet of paper. The catch? You do it one line at a time, taking turns to contribute a sentence before folding over the sheet (just enough to cover the line) so the next person can’t see what you wrote.

You continue in this fashion until everyone has added a sentence! Whoever goes last then unfolds the paper and reads the story aloud. Not only is the game fun to play, but the random (and often amusing!) nature of the story demonstrates how valuable clear communication is in a team environment.

This game is a bit random but great fun. Each player takes a turn thinking of a specific ‘thing’.

How to play Tree or Bob Ross?

The other players must then figure out what that ‘thing’ is by asking comparative questions like, “Is it more like… or…?” Traditionally, the first question is always, “Is it more like a tree, or Bob Ross?” Play continues with similar comparative questions until the guessing team has successfully identified the ‘thing’.

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).

How to play:

• Teams take turns building and removing blocks from a giant Jenga tower.
• Avoid making the tower collapse!
• The last team to make a successful move before it topples wins.

How to play:

Gather musical instruments or use online platforms for virtual collaboration. Start with a simple melody or rhythm. Allow each team member to add their unique musical contribution to create a collaborative piece.

Materials needed: Musical instruments or virtual collaboration platforms

Benefits:

• Celebration of diversity: Let the rhythms of diversity fill the air! Embrace the unique musical backgrounds and influences of your team members as they unite to create a harmonious and vibrant musical piece. Like a global fusion of melodies, it celebrates the richness of individual perspectives, fostering an inclusive and creatively harmonious work environment.

A classic getting-to-know-you game, Twenty Questions is fun and easy to play, taking up minimal space and great for after-work activities or as a bar game on a company retreat.

How to play:

‍Split into a team of two or small groups and assign one person who will think of an object, animal, etc. The other team members can ask twenty questions to determine the person's feelings.

Another way to keep score is to time how long it takes for those asking the questions to figure it out. If you ask 20 questions and still don’t know the answer, you lose, and the other person wins. Those who find the solution in less time are the winners and get a higher score.

Materials you’ll need: A list of topics and a timer

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

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.

How to play:

‍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:

• Spades are ignored
• Diamonds are treated well
• Act indifferent toward Hearts

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)

A water-tight relay is a great game to get everyone active, if a little bit wet! You’ll need 2 or more teams, a cup for each player, and a source for refilling water. The objective is to carry water in a cup to a teammate, creating a relay chain until all water is collected at the end.

Set-up:

1. Carry water carefully: Create teams with an equal number of members, each member should be the same distance away from their teammate. The first person in the line is given a full cup of water. They move to the second person and pour water into their cup. They can only pour water backward over their head!

2. Continue the chain till the end: Each member repeats the action until the last person pours their water into one large container. The first member in the line then gets another full cup and repeats. Put a measurement on the final container (3 or 4 full cups of water), and the first team to reach the line wins.

Speed does not always beat a steady hand in this game. Try this one out as a fun Friday activity. Just make sure you’re away from electrical equipment!

How to play Blind Volleyball

Volleyball’s always fun to play with friends. However, this version of the game adds a memorable twist that makes it even better! Rather than playing with an ordinary net you can see through, you place a cover over the top that stops you from seeing the team on the other side.

This simple change completely alters the volleyball experience! It becomes something like Battleships. You have to guess where the opposition is so you can place the ball where you hope they aren’t. In essence, you’re playing blind.

Assuming you can find a volleyball net and ball, this Field Day game for adults is nice and easy to organize as well. The rules are exactly the same as normal, other than the cover you’ll put over the net (an old bed sheet does the trick nicely). Just be conscious of hitting the ball too hard! You don’t know where people are on the court, so smashing it over the net is asking for trouble.

How to play “MacGyver” challenge

MacGyver is an older television program where the hero escaped sticky situations by improvising tools made of unlikely materials. You can recreate this set-up in your event space or office. To play, challenge participants to use 3-5 items to reach a desired end result. For example, something like “a way to pick the door lock” or “escape vehicle” are fun options. You can either set out some various equipment, or have people collect their own based on what they can find around the office. Note: if you are doing this in a conference room or other rented space, it makes sense to have a table set up with random odds and ends for people to pick from.

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!

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 Try not to laugh

This is another one that’s great for groups. Choose one person to be “invisible”. Everyone should also pretend that the player can’t be seen. They can do anything except interact directly with the invisible player. The entire time, the invisible player should be trying to make them laugh. Any player that does end up laughing must leave the game. Ideally this game goes on until there’s only one player left (the winner).

How to play Categories (similarities)

The goal of this game is to have everyone find a certain amount of things they all have in common. You can make this into a competitive icebreaker game between smaller teams or a larger group. For groups of more than 20 or so, you’ll need to break people up into smaller teams. You don’t need any supplies to set up the game, simply use a piece of paper and a writing utensil for each team to record their similarities on. Each group should talk about things they have in common and try to come up with at least 6 similarities. Things could be as simple as hair color or favorite food, or dive deeper like holding certifications or having visited a country.  The first team to get to 6 commonalities wins.

How to play Treasure hunt

Similar to a scavenger hunt, a treasure hunt is a lot of fun but with a bit more intention. Rather than collecting a random list of items, participants use clues to find more prompts and hints, until the group solves a mystery (or finds a treasure). You can also create a treasure map if you want to play into the “pirate” fantasy a little more. The important thing is that only clues point toward the next stop - areas of the map should not be spelled out, but involve some problem solving and critical thinking to figure out what the clue means.

Soccer was the first team sport to be introduced to the Olympic games in 1900, so in the spirit of teamwork, it’s a great game to integrate into your Office Olympics.

How to play Office soccer

You can use desks, or even chairs set apart from one another, to serve as the goal.

If you’re pressed for space, you can play Desk Top Soccer. Find a tabletop with enough length to set up two goals and crumple some paper to create a soccer ball.

This event allows coworkers to team up and play a friendly match of office soccer, promoting play and teamwork.

Get ready to get soaked! Splash battle royale is basically dodgeball, but with water balloons. Teams face off and try to eliminate opponents by hitting them with balloons—easy enough, but staying dry? Not so much.

It’s a great way to cool off, get competitive, and share a few laughs—especially when that one overly serious teammate gets soaked. Perfect for those hot summer days when the office needs a little outdoor chaos.

How to play:

• Split into teams and arm everyone with water balloons.
• Eliminate opponents by hitting them with balloons.
• Last team standing wins (and stays the driest—maybe)!

Imagine you've just won the lottery. You're now sitting on a financial treasure chest that could fuel any dream you've ever had. What would you do? In this activity, team members get to explore their deepest desires and articulate the goals they would pursue with the newfound freedom that a winning lottery ticket provides. This one is about tapping into personal passions, aligning goals with intrinsic motivations, and thinking big.

Get ready to let your imagination run wild and uncover the aspirations that truly light your fire.

Top tips for facilitators

• Encourage Passions: Help participants focus on what they love and why it matters, ensuring their goals match personal values for lasting happiness.
• Facilitate Discussion: After sharing aspirations, guide a discussion to discover common interests, potential collaborations, or ways to support each other.
• Keep it Real: Dream big but add realistic steps for doable progress.

How to play:

Organize a mock emergency drill where employees must respond to a simulated emergency scenario (e.g., fire, chemical spill, medical emergency). Debrief after the drill to discuss what went well and areas for improvement.

Simulations provide hands-on practice in a controlled environment, helping employees feel more confident in real emergencies. It’s a practical way to test and improve response procedures while highlighting the importance of being prepared. While this isn’t really classed as a ‘game’, it’s certainly a safety activity that could be beneficial to everyone in the event of an emergency.

One of the benefits of working in a team is that you always have someone to offer their support when you need it. Whether you feel down and need an emotional lift or have too much to do and need some practical input, a sympathetic colleague can step in to ease the burden. This is teamwork and collaboration at its finest.

Unfortunately, Fortunately draws on that supportive reality by asking teammates to reframe each other’s problems into something positive.

Here’s how it works:

Ask one person on the video call to say something they’re struggling with. It shouldn’t be too heavy or serious – nothing that’s going to be uncomfortable to disclose. Next, go around the virtual circle, taking turns to reframe their “problem” in a positive light.

For example, Brian might start by saying, “Unfortunately, I’m finding it hard to wake up on time at the moment.” Upon hearing this, Sheryl might say, “Fortunately, you have such a comfortable bed to sleep in!” And Anthony might follow up with, “And fortunately, you need a good night’s rest to perform at your best!”

It continues from there until everyone has disclosed an issue and received a bunch of positive reframes from their colleagues. By the end of the task, everyone will have practiced their listening skills and offered/received support to/from their teammates.

How to host Create emotion signs

Why not give everyone a bit of a heads up about the kind of moods they’ll be dealing with that day? Have a paper and some markers ready at each seat when people come into the room. Ask them to make a sign that would signal their mood to everyone around them, and then hold it up. For example, if someone is a bit out of sorts on a Monday morning, they might write “Tired”. If someone is really excited, they might write something like “Pumped!” If someone is anxious about presenting later, they might draw a nervous-looking face. Then, have each person stand and explain what’s on their sign and why.