Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

If you’re looking for a serious game that teaches the value of collaboration in a plain and no-nonsense manner…then this one definitely isn’t it!

Hello kitty’s a super simple improv game that’s all about being silly, getting involved, having fun, and making each other laugh. And, ultimately, that’s what improv games are all about. The fact they forge tighter bonds between teammates is a bonus.

How to play Hello kitty

Hello kitty couldn’t be easier to play either. Suitable for groups of any size, you start by dividing employees into two teams: kittens and puppies. Next, separate everyone into pairs, where one partner’s a kitten and the other’s a puppy.

The puppy’s job is to say hello with one goal in mind: to make their partner smile, chuckle, laugh out loud – anything that shows they’re amused. The kitten’s job is to keep a straight face. Expect all sorts of funny voices, impressions, and gestures to follow! What happens if/when they succeed, you ask?

The kitten turns into a puppy, of course! They can then both turn their attention to any remaining kittens who are yet to laugh. The game ends when everyone has joined the puppy team. By then – having exercised your creative sides and laughed a lot – you should all be feeling energized, light, and closer to your teammates.

This guessing game is more than just a fun activity to pass the time; it’s a chance for your colleagues to learn about each other on a personal level.

How to play:

• Make a list of real-life or fictional characters that your employees are familiar with (celebrities, historical figures, or people in your industry).
• Divide employees into teams and assign each team a character.
• Take turns asking yes or no questions about the other teams' characters until you guess who it is.
• Once a team identifies a character, they are eliminated.
• Continue until only one team remains with a character that hasn't been eliminated.

This game promotes teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in a lighthearted way. Additionally, it is a great way to add some fun to the workday while getting to know your employees.

Prioritizing work-life balance is one of the best ways to show gratitude to employees. Implementing ways for employees to rest and understand that they have their own lives will lead to more quality output and happier employees.

How:

There are many ways to create a balanced workplace. Here are a few of the major ones currently being implemented by many companies as the workplace shifts:

1. Encourage employees to take their vacation days and use them to relax and rejuvenate. Additionally, work continuously to ensure employees are given ample time off, revisiting vacation policies to meet today's standards.
2. Don't push for overworking. Even with a tight deadline, don't send a message that employees are expected to work late or take work home consistently. Show gratitude for the work-life balance by completing your work during your designated hours. Articulate to workers that you respect the time needed to spend with family and friends.
3. Ensure employees are given time to turn off work-related notifications and emails outside work hours, respecting personal time to promote a healthy work-life balance for your colleagues.
4. Delegate work fairly and encourage workers and teams to share the workload and responsibilities with colleagues.
5. Set aside a budget for employees to benefit from, such as an amount each month toward wellness activities, like exercise, meditation, or hobbies. Improved well-being is one of the best ways to demonstrate gratitude for your employees' hard work.
6. Regularly evaluate your company's work-life balance and adjust when necessary.

Remember that work-life balance is not just a personal benefit; it can lead to increased productivity, creativity, and overall well-being, which can benefit your work and relationships. By prioritizing work-life balance, you show gratitude for your life and the people and opportunities that make it all possible.

Our final activity can be best applied by taking what you’ve learned from our other games and applying the lessons to a real-world setting, including your current projects. It involves iterative development and working with your remote staff to create a group consensus that optimizes results.

Set up:

To create an agile mind map, use an online whiteboard, like Miro or MindMeister. Use your central theme or challenge. Let everyone collaboratively create branches of ideas or suggestions on the main topic. Review the map after gathering your input, group similar ideas, and prioritize the final items together.

An example might be improving your onboarding process. Together in a virtual setting, your remote workers add insights and areas for improvement in onboarding, such as setting clear expectations, first-week check-ins, and onboarding buddies. Agile mind mapping can be an extremely valuable.

Squirt gun water races are an exciting alternative to traditional water fights. To play, you’ll need plastic cups (one per team of two people), string, scissors, duct tape, and enough squirt guns for every second person in the group (i.e., 10 people will need at least 5 squirt guns).

How to play Squirt Gun Water Races

Set up for the game by:

• Making a small hole at the bottom of each cup, close to the edge
• Threading a long line of string (e.g., 15 feet long) through each cup
• Use duct tape to suspend the string between two fixed points that are slightly closer together than the length of the string (e.g., a tree and fence about 12 feet away from each other). The cups should be facing the same direction

Play the game by:

• Dividing into pairs and blindfolding one member of each
• Giving the blindfolded members a squirt gun
• Ensuring the cup starts at the end of the string, closest to the teams
• Pitting pairs against each other to see who can squirt water into their cup fastest, pushing it to the other end of the string

The first pair to get their cup to the other end wins. Of course, only one member can see what’s happening! The sighted person must communicate effectively to guide their partner in the right direction.

Squirt gun water races are unique, exciting, and awesome for team-building. Yet another benefit is that they’re accessible to everyone. Unlike other Field Day games for adults that involve physical activity, you only need the ability to fire a water gun!

How to play:

Write down various safety-related terms (e.g., "fire drill," "first aid kit," "slippery floor") on slips of paper and place them in a container. Divide employees into teams, and have them take turns drawing a term and illustrating it on a whiteboard while their team guesses.

This quick team-building game combines creativity with learning, making it an enjoyable way to reinforce safety concepts. It breaks up the monotony of regular training sessions, and the abstract drawings often lead to plenty of laughs.

This indoor game is super simple yet strangely addictive. Played in small teams, you stand at a distance and take turns tossing rings at a pole on the ground. If the ring slots successfully over the top, then your team gets a point! Whoever has the most points after a certain number of attempts, wins.

Want to make things more interesting? You could have multiple targets spread across the office, with some that are closer/easier and others that are further away. You can purchase actual ring toss equipment, but it isn’t essential! Frisbees (or anything else you have that’s ring-like) and empty water bottles work just as well.

Did you ever hear about that person who traded a paperclip for a house? Well, now it’s your employees' chance to do the same with Bigger and Better! In this fun team-building game, your employees must work together and leverage their sales skills to obtain more valuable objects through trade.

Great for: Communication, teamwork, energization

Duration: 45–60 minutes

You’ll need: Small “invaluable” objects such as paperclips or pens

How to play:

• Separate your group into teams. Then, give each team an invaluable item such as a paperclip or a pen.
• Find a suitable location such as a busy park or shopping mall.
• Explain that the aim of the game is to trade this item for increasingly more valuable items by using their sales skills.
• Set a time limit and start trading!
• When the time runs out, regroup with your employees and ask each team to present their new item. The team with the most valuable item wins! If it’s close, you can ask other teams to vote for the thing they consider more valuable, or turn to a website like eBay or Amazon to establish monetary value.

As we’ve seen already, miming actions is a common component of improv games. However, so too is imitating objects!

How to play Human objects

In Human objects, your employees have to use their bodies to impersonate a given item. You can be sitting in a circle or walking around the room – it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that there’s enough space for everyone.

From there, all you have to do is call out an object.

It can be anything you want! From vases and coffee cups to pairs of scissors and laptop computers, the items can be big, small, and everything in-between. Whatever you yell out, though, each participant has to put their arms, legs, and torsos into positions that resemble it.

As you can imagine, this game’s great fun. But it’s effective too. It forces your employees to think outside the box and displays how differently people can think about the same problem. The team will see how their colleagues approach the task, learning more about each other and forming closer bonds in the process.

That’s an invaluable lesson when it comes to collaboration. After all, it shows that not everyone thinks in the same way! If you’re going to solve problems and work well together, you have to play to people’s individual strengths, respect their perspectives, and empathize at every step.

Everybody likes to draw! This game is a fun opportunity for colleagues to relax and have some fun. The game is very simple, and it goes like this…

How to play Forensic artists

Step 1: Split the group into teams, you can have as many teams as you like, with a minimum of two per group.

Step 2: Explain that a crime has been committed, but fortunately one person from each team spotted the suspect.

Step 3: Using a random face generator, create a face for the witnesses to describe.

Step 4: The witnesses must try their best to describe the face they are seeing to their team members.

Step 5: The other members of the teams must try to draw the face as accurately as possible based upon the descriptions.

Step 6: The team with the most accurate sketch wins!

Test mathematical agility and strategic thinking! In 21, participants take turns adding 1, 2, or 3 to a running count, with the goal of avoiding reaching the number 21.

Instructions on how to play:

1. Participants sit in a circle.
2. The first person starts with a count of 1, 2, or 3.
3. The next person adds 1, 2, or 3 to the count.
4. Continue in order, with each person adding to the count.
5. The person who reaches the number 21 is out, and the game restarts.

Why it's a great team building game:

• Mathematical agility: Challenges participants to think strategically and make calculated choices.
• Team dynamics: Promotes a sense of competition and camaraderie as participants strategize together.
• Quick thinking: Enhances cognitive skills as individuals make decisions on the fly.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly: Keep the pace quick to maintain engagement. Encourage participants to strategize together subtly and have fun with the challenge. After each round, discuss strategies and celebrate successes.

How to play Recall quiz (at the end of an event)

How about a little icebreaker to wrap things up? Most icebreakers are at the beginning, but with longer events, we suggest interspersing them throughout - including the end. Have everyone go around the room and share their biggest takeaway from the day. Or, have a list of quiz-style questions that you ask everyone and see who can remember the most answers. Recall is an important part of memory, so this is a great time to reiterate the concepts that you really want people to take away.

How to paly Gibberish conversation

Two people have a conversation in “gibberish” (essentially made-up, nonsense language), and each person must try to understand what the other is saying.

How to play:

Choose thought-provoking topics or issues and divide the team into two groups: one supporting the topic and the other opposing it. Engage in a lively 1 minute debate where participants use their creativity and persuasive skills to make their case. Choose a judge to pick a winner.

Example: a poor person stealing food to feed their family.

Materials needed: None

Benefits:

• Critical thinking champions: Sharpen your team's critical thinking skills as they analyze and present arguments with a creative twist. This game is your intellectual battleground, where creativity becomes your secret weapon.
• Confidence boosters: Embrace the art of persuasive communication and witness your employees' confidence soar as they present their arguments with flair and creativity. It's like a TED Talk where your team members become eloquent speakers with powerful messages.

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.

How to Desert Island Exercise

For a quick and easy icebreaker that doesn’t require any materials, try this simple question and answer exercise. Simply ask what each person would bring if they were stranded on a desert island. Then go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves, along with the one item that they would choose. They should pick one thing and then offer a brief explanation of why they chose it.

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.

Put on your thinking caps for code breakers! Teams are given a series of cryptic riddles and challenges to solve, with each solution leading to the next clue. It’s a mental race to crack the final code and declare victory.

This team-building game is perfect for testing problem-solving skills and teamwork. Plus, there’s nothing like the thrill of solving that final puzzle before the other teams.

How to play:

• Give teams a series of riddles and cryptic challenges to solve.
• Each solution leads to the next clue.
• First team to crack the final code wins!

Explanation:

‍Remote workers solve clues sent by in-office colleagues to identify specific office landmarks or objects, using virtual walk-throughs or photos.

In-office workers come up with cryptic clues about various spots or objects in the office (like a quirky poster on the wall or the location of the best coffee machine), and remote workers have to figure out the location using virtual office walk-throughs, photos, or even quick video tours. The remote team submits their guesses, and the in-office team reveals the answers.

It’s a fun, puzzle-solving challenge that makes both in-office and remote workers feel like they’re part of the same environment.

How to play Pretty windy

This game is fun because it’s so active and engaging, it makes for a lot of laughs! To play, you’ll need balloons and plastic cups. The goal is to blow plastic cups over using only air from an inflated balloon. You can start by lining up 5 or 10 plastic cups on an empty table. Then give each player a balloon. Everyone has one minute to blow up their balloon and then release the air from the balloon to knock the cups over or off the table. Whoever has knocked over the most cups in one minute wins.

How to play Dot voting

Does your team tend to go off on tangents and get into circular discussions when talking about projects or issues? Meetings that devolve into unrelated conversations are a big challenge in many workplaces. You can practice these skills with this exercise, dot voting. To do it, all you need to do is present the issue and then have everyone suggest ideas for a solution.

Write them down on the white board so everyone can see. Then, hand out sticky notes and have everyone place their papers under the ideas they like best. You might let them choose only one, or up to 3. Once everyone has had their turn, you will have an obvious visual that shows which of the ideas was most popular. This is a great tactic that can be used in many different meetings, discussion, and brainstorming sessions.

Want to raise the energy levels in the room? Lift people’s spirits? Encourage colleagues to work together to achieve a common goal?

Don’t Drop the Balloons involves inflating masses of balloons in the office and making a rule that they can’t touch the ground! However, you can add a competitive element by splitting employees into 3+ teams and assigning balloons of a particular color to each one. If any of their balloons touches the floor, that team’s out!

This game is great for better understanding how your coworkers' minds work. What better way to bond than to create something together - in this case, a story. You can do this with any number in your group. Plus, you can play this game as many times as you want, and the outcome will be different each time.

Here’s how it works.

1. Have everyone stand in a circle or semicircle where the entire group can get a good look at each other.
2. The person who is running the event should decide on a story topic. You can pick anything, but be sure to use your imagination. Something like the middle ages to underwater adventures adds an element of fun (vs. a typical day at work or something more mundane). The more creative you can be, the better it will be for the group.
3. Choose a person to kick things off with a few sentences. Then, they “pass” to the next person to continue the story.
4. The passing continues until everyone has had an opportunity to add to the story. A few lines are sufficient, but encourage people to be creative.
5. The last person to go should wrap up the overall story. It’s a good idea to let them know in advance that this will be their responsibility so they can think of a clever ending.

Ever had the fantasy of basking in the glory of a well-deserved standing ovation? Well, guess what – you're about to live it! In this activity, team members take turns stepping into the limelight, imagining they've just knocked it out of the park and achieved something monumental. Remember that celebrating success is not just reserved for the grand finale – it's an integral part of the journey. This activity cultivates a positive and supportive atmosphere motivating participants to conquer their goals.

Tips For Facilitators:

• Remind everyone that this is a space to celebrate successes and lift each other up. High-fives and virtual confetti are totally encouraged!
• Encourage participants to share their achievements. The more specific, the better!