Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

In this speedy activity, the team carry out a rapid pulse-check on recent work, honing in on the focus of continuous improvement, even when time is short. Here’s how to set this one up quickly:

Set up:

Hand every employee three sticky notes, and set a timer for one minute. Have them think about their last project or sprint period, and jot down one thing they think went well, one area for improvement, and one quick idea for moving forward. At the end of one minute, they stick their notes to your board, and you reflect on common themes or action items. Quick, simple, and to the point.

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.

There’s nothing like a spot of mischief to bring colleagues closer together. With office makeovers, different teams within the company have the chance to “redecorate” another team’s space. From unraveling rolls of toilet paper to putting up posters of people’s favorite boy bands, the options are endless.

Set some ground rules beforehand to stop the pranks from going overboard though. The atmosphere should be light and full of laughter – not frustration at the state of your redecorated space!

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.

If you’re trying to amp up the entrepreneurial spirit of your department, this game is perfect. It’s a great tie-in to more professional elements, so team leaders can evaluate business acumen, and public speaking skills.

How to play Business pitch

To start, you’ll want to split people into teams or small groups of 3 or 4, so it’s great for creating cooperation between people who don’t normally work together.  You also need to select a “board” who will judge the ideas presented.

Bonus: you can adjust this game and use some creative materials if you want to ramp up the visual fun. This game is very flexible and you can keep things simple or make it more complex. You can also browse more communication-focused games on our blog. To play this one:  

1. Once you’ve divided everyone into their pair or small team, have the board members (3 maximum) move to the front of the room where they can watch presentations.
2. Give everyone a set amount of time - say 20 minutes - to come up with their best business idea and pitch. If you want to keep the game materials-free, then people shouldn’t use props or anything else - just their own speech. However, as mentioned,  you could also have items on hand so people can create some visual elements like a storyboard or poster.
3. The groups should take turns presenting to the board and sharing their best idea and business plan.
4. The pair or group who comes up with the most compelling or intriguing business idea wins.

How to play weekly updates

A simple yet effective way to encourage team bonding is by facilitating weekly ‘get-togethers’ online. These meetings can be really short and shouldn’t involve work-related topics.

You can start by encouraging each employee to talk about two good things and one bad thing that happened that week.

This game is designed to get your team’s creative juices flowing and encourage them to think on the spot.

How to play the rhyming game

The idea is really simple. Each person takes it in turns to make a sentence. Each sentence needs to rhyme with the previous one. For example, “John woke up and went to work” … “It was his last day so he gave a smirk...” And so on.

Set a rough time limit for each person to say their sentence (we recommend three seconds). If they are too slow they lose the game and are out for the next round. Then a new story begins. If a rhyme is said twice then that person is also out of the game.

The game continues until two people are left for the ‘final showdown’.

How to play Gift wrap

Gift wrapping is a true talent! See who on your team has this skill by tasking everyone with wrapping gifts in under a minute. You can either have several packages ready and see who gets the most wrapped, or pick containers that will be especially difficult to wrap and see how far each player gets in one minute. You might be surprised how difficult this can be. Remember that for this one everyone will need their own scissors, tape, wrapping paper, and area to spread out.

How to play Bean Bag Toss

Instructions: Set up a bean bag toss board with different-sized holes and assign point values to each hole. Participants take turns throwing bean bags and aim to score the highest points. The player with the highest score after a set number of rounds wins.

Materials needed: Bean bag toss board, bean bags.

Bean Bag Toss is a versatile game that suits all ages and skill levels. It promotes hand-eye coordination, focus, and friendly competition. It encourages social interaction and allows participants to engage in casual conversation while playing.

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.

How to play Question mix and mingle

For this game, every participant creates 3 thoughtful questions that will help them get to know the other people better. Write each question down on a separate post-it note. Have everyone start to mingle and ask and answer questions in pairs. After asking a question and hearing the answer, the person should hand over the question they just asked. This means that in each meeting, participants will swap one question each. This event is great for groups up to 50 or 60 people.

Archery is a classic game that also can be a little dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Luckily, there is a way to play the game, office style, using a common stationary material: the rubber band.

How to play Rubber band archery

Instead of a bow and arrow, players use their fingers to pull back the band and shoot it at the target. Marking out a spot on the floor with packing tape, team members all shoot from the same location at the target, which can be anything that makes it evident that it was hit, like a bell or bowling pin.

How to play:

Divide the team into small groups and provide each group with art supplies. Assign a theme or topic and ask the groups to create a collaborative artwork together.

Materials needed: Art supplies (paper, paints, brushes, etc.)

Benefits:

• Masterpieces fueled by teamwork: Prepare to be dazzled by the artistic symphony that unfolds before your eyes. Each stroke of the brush and every imaginative idea blends together like a symphony, resulting in a collaborative artwork that's a testament to the creative genius lurking within your team.

Executing agile principles usually requires your team members to be flexible and growth-oriented. Why not throw them a (light) curveball while they’re deep into an example project to let them practice adaptability? Rethinking your first approach keeps you on your toes and ready for changes as a project develops.

Set up:

Set a scenario with a challenge, such as drafting a basic project plan or sketching a concept product. Each person has a few minutes to get started. Then, introduce a sudden change in the “requirements” like shifting the target audience, adding a new feature, or changing the project scope. Each member needs to adapt to these new conditions, and hopefully, each twist in the tale creates a new opportunity. Regroup at the end to informally reflect on how curveballs in the project affected their work to build core agile strengths.

How to play Pick The Plot

This is an easy activity that doesn’t require much, so it makes a nice addition to any team event. Start with a moderator that will narrate the plot of a movie. Players that are grouped into teams will listen and then try to guess which movie is being described. Just try to keep it a movie that’s safe for work!

How to play Group Art Project

If you want to be a little more active and collaborative, try coordinating an art project like a mosaic for the group. An activity like this can cater to people who are more introverted and not naturally chatty.

First, provide everyone with a workspace and the proper materials. Choose different mediums like paper, paint, magazines, glass pieces, or even computer graphics you printed. Come up with some guidelines such as “draw a team crest” or “come up with a goal for your team”. Then set a timer for a specific amount of time and let everyone create their art! You can have everyone do this as a large group or break people into smaller groups. If there are smaller groups, allow everyone to show off their creation to the larger group. If you need more ideas for icebreakers for introverts, check out our past post.

How to play Under 18 Achievements

It can be really interesting to learn more about people’s backgrounds, particularly if they aren’t from your area. You never know who was their high school lacrosse champion, or moved here from Japan. Kick off your icebreaker exercise by having everyone share the biggest accomplishment they achieved before turning 18.

They say you can learn a lot about someone by looking at their home, which is probably why workspace tours are such good ways to build trust in remote teams!

How to play Home workspace tours

There’s absolutely nothing complicated about this activity. It’s as simple as giving each employee a chance to show their colleagues where they work. They pick up their laptop, smartphone, tablet, or webcam, giving the team a quick tour of their office – or wherever they happen to be working that day.

It’s surprisingly fun though! Employees learn new things about each other, discover mutual interests, reveal their quirks and eccentricities, and gain a much clearer picture of who they work with.

Expect giggles, jokes, friendly banter, and fresh camaraderie to ensue.

You can do these tours at any time. However, we think they’re most enjoyable when saved for morning meetings or the final group video call of the day. Take that approach and you either start or finish the workday with something light-hearted. It’ll set a positive tone and put a smile on people’s faces.

What you need:

• N/A. However, you may want to send an email in advance to check everyone’s happy to give a tour of their workspace (and give them time to hide anything too embarrassing!).

Background noise can be a common challenge if you work in an office or go to your desk in the living room daily. This game relies on an everyday challenge, asking players to listen with intention and remain calm, even if the environment is overwhelming.

How to play:

‍Pick two people from your team to be the “speaker” and the “noise maker.” The person in charge of making noise is as loud as possible while others usually talk.

Team members listen carefully to try and retain as much information as possible. Many suggest that other team members close their eyes to try to hear as much as possible without visual distractions or prompts.

Materials you’ll need: No materials needed, just your team!

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

Think you know your coworkers' texting habits? In emoji detective, you’ll have to guess which team member’s recently used emoji board is being shown. It's a fun, lighthearted way to test your knowledge of your teammates’ messaging style.

It’s an easy, amusing game to throw into a virtual meeting, and it’s always fun to see who’s been overusing the laughing-crying face.

How to play:

• One team member’s recently used emoji board is shown.
• The group guesses which team member it belongs to.
• Whoever guesses correctly wins the round!

Instructions:

‍Pair people with different levels of experience in a reverse mentoring relationship. The less experienced individuals mentor the more experienced ones, sharing fresh perspectives and knowledge.

It's like flipping the leadership script and giving the underdogs a chance to teach the old dogs some new tricks. By pairing less experienced individuals with seasoned leaders, reverse mentoring unleashes a whirlwind of fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and the wisdom of youth. It's a leadership shake-up that challenges status quo and ignites mutual learning, making it a win-win for all involved. Perhaps consider involving yourself in this activity and allowing a newbie to mentor you. You never know, you could be mentored by the rising stars of tomorrow!

How to host Virtual hackathon

This is a great option for remote teams or teams who are spread out geographically. Online hackathons are one of the most popular and effective team competition ideas.  A hackathon is a marathon competition where teams compete to sketch or design a new product over the course of a few days. To host one, pick a theme (like sustainability or pop culture) and announce it at the beginning of the competition. Make sure to announce the contest in advance of starting it so that teams have time to gather supplies, implement the right collaboration tools, etc.

Divide your group into teams and let them get started! Then, at the end of the allotted time, wrap up the competition and set a time for everyone to present their finished products. Then judges will pick a winner and award a prize. Maybe the product ideas could even be implemented someday!

How to play Spray balloons

This is a really fun game for beating the heat. If you will be doing any outdoor activities, this is a good one to add. All participants will need a balloon, a spray bottle filled with water, and some form of receptacle like a trash can or box.

The goal is for players to guide the balloon into the container using only the spray bottle to propel it. Contestants can spray the balloon with the water to guide it off the ground and where they want it to go. Challenge everyone to complete the challenge in one minute!