Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

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.

How to play Office “Great race”

Have you watched The Great Race? It’s a competition show where teams race around the world competing various tasks, finding out what their next task is when they complete one. You can create your own version in your office and have teams go on a quest before ending at a finish line. You can make a day of it, or break things up over a few weeks.

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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How to play Timeline creation

A collaborative creation is a great way to help teams to bond, and the bonus is that you get something to display and remind your employees of a fun day and group effort. Start by rolling out a large white scroll of paper in a big space or outdoors. Provide plenty of drawing materials and ask the team to work together to create a timeline of the company. In this way, employees will share important milestones that they know about the company - and newer staff will learn them. It’s a great facilitator of discussion around what makes your organization great.

Bring your team outside for a day of friendly competition with ultimate field frenzy! This is a mix of classic outdoor games like tug-of-war, sack races, and team challenges that will get everyone moving and working together.

It’s the perfect way to boost team spirit and break up the office routine. With a variety of games to suit everyone’s skills, it encourages teamwork, healthy competition, and plenty of laughs. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get the entire team involved, no matter how large!

How to play:

• Organize outdoor games like tug-of-war, sack races, and obstacle courses.
• Split the group into teams and have them compete in various challenges.
• The team with the most wins at the end of the day is the champion!

How to play Restaurant pricing

“Price” is one of the four Ps of marketing, but is an often overlooked element. An exercise that helps your team to come up with a pricing strategy and see how it impacts overall revenue can be really helpful. This game takes about 45 minutes and you’ll need someone who is an Excel whiz to document the numbers portion. To begin, come up with a menu of items for your “restaurant”. You’ll also need an Excel or Google Sheet that has rows for each item, and columns to place cost of goods, price, number sold, and margin.

The goal of your group is to come up with pricing for each item that nets a great profit. However, they need to be realistic about things like the cost to make each item and how many people will buy it. If the price gets too high, they should plan to have less customers. This can start a great conversation on pricing strategy overall. How high does the price need to be before customers turn away? How low can you keep prices while still getting a decent margin? Using a template that has formulas built in means your team can just plug in different numbers to come up with several scenarios. This is a great way to drive home the point that even small price changes can make a big difference on the bottom line.

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Imagine standing on that iconic red circle, sharing your most audacious goal with the world as if you've already aced it. In this activity, participants channel their inner TED speaker and deliver a brief presentation that could rival the real deal.

Public speaking about your goals isn't just about eloquence; it's about fostering confidence, celebrating achievement, and nurturing a positive mindset. Get ready to captivate your audience – even if it's just your team – and let your goals take center stage in the spotlight!

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Remind the employees it's about sharing dreams, victories, and the occasional stumble.
• As the facilitator, be the hype person, the supportive audience member, and the constructive critic all rolled into one.
• Let the stage be a place where authenticity shines, and goals take center stage with a side of passion!

How to play Speed networking

This quick team-building activity breaks large groups into pairs, giving them three minutes to talk about anything other than work. Whether it’s their favorite hobby, vacation plans, or a fun fact about their pet, the goal is to find connections outside the office. After three minutes, everyone rotates to the next partner, continuing until all participants have met.

Speed networking helps people break the ice quickly and can lead to lasting friendships. It’s an excellent way for new hires to get to know their coworkers or for team members who don’t usually interact to find common ground. Since the conversations are short, it keeps things moving and avoids any awkward pauses, making it an easy and effective way to strengthen team bonds.

Top tip: Encourage team members to ask fun questions like “What’s your dream vacation?” to keep the conversation light and engaging. It’s amazing how fast friendships form when you find out someone shares your love of 80s action movies!

This game is all about mental energy. Easy to play and can be done anywhere from a break room, to the office common space, mental gymnastics can be any type of quick trivia game, even including Pictionary if you have a lot of artists on your team.

Perfect for teams, trivia encourages employees to work together, relying on their smarts and pop culture knowledge. You can even make the game workplace specific and test how much your team knows about one another, ultimately bringing them closer together.

Ready for a fun, 5-minute energizer that’s suitable for groups of all sizes and you can do via video call? This one ticks all the right boxes.

How to play Up, down, left, right

Start the activity by asking everyone on the call to stand up – ensuring they’re still visible on the webcam. Then all you do is say the words “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right” and tell the team to point their heads in the corresponding direction.

Do this for 30 to 60 seconds at a fairly rapid pace. Next, change the rules so that people have to look in the opposite direction to what you say. So when you say “down”, they should point their heads toward the ceiling, and vice versa.

Keep going for another minute, gradually speeding up as you go. The light physical movement and mental challenge involved should invigorate and focus the group before your meeting; the mood should feel brighter too.

This easy game is perfect for breaking up an in-person meeting with a quick exercise that encourages listening and concentration, depending on the size of your team, which can be done in a meeting or break room.

How to play:

‍Set up chairs in a circle facing one another so your team members do not face to face. This game is about listening, so get ready to use your ears and not your eyes. Have your employees start counting from one to ten or higher if you’re a big group. Each person goes around in a circle saying a number, but since you are not looking at one another, you have to be patient and listen carefully for your neighbor to speak theirs. If you interrupt them, you start back at zero and start the whole game again.

Materials you’ll need: Just your team and enough chairs and space to have your whole team sit in a circle.

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

Explanation:

‍Teams are presented with rapid-fire problems to solve, ranging from everyday office issues to totally wacky scenarios (like planning for a zombie apocalypse!). The goal is to come up with creative solutions as fast as possible.

In this hybrid version, teams—both in the office and remote—can get hit with rapid-fire challenges through video calls or chat. Each team works together to brainstorm and present their solutions as quickly as possible. In-office workers might tackle more physical challenges, like figuring out how to fix something in the room, while remote teammates might handle tech or creative scenarios. It’s a fun, fast-paced way to get everyone involved, thinking on their feet, and laughing at the wild scenarios they come up with!

How to play Lip Sync Battle

Instructions: Divide participants into teams. Each team chooses a song and choreographs a lip-sync performance. Each team takes turns performing, and judges or fellow team members select the winning performance based on creativity, stage presence, and enthusiasm.

Materials needed: Music player, microphone (optional).

Lip Sync Battle allows team members to showcase their creativity, performance skills, and sense of humor. It promotes camaraderie, boosts morale, and creates a fun and entertaining atmosphere where everyone can participate and enjoy the performances.

How well do your team really know each other? Team Trivia is a fun and simple game that will put your employee’s relationships to the test.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Team Trivia

Setup: Before you can play Team Trivia, you need to compile interesting facts about your employees. The easiest way to do this is to send out a survey designed to extract as many cool facts as possible.

To play: Team Trivia can be played online or in person, making it a great solution for remote teams. Bring your team together and start asking questions to your team. These can be things that they might already know, like, “Who is the tallest member of the team?” Or things they will need to guess at, like, “Who in the office has eight siblings?” The player with the most correct answers is the winner!

Tight-knit teams need to understand how their colleagues like to work. Who likes to work in silence and who likes to exchange ideas? Who likes to take phone calls and who prefers emails? By creating Personal User Manuals, new and existing employees gain a deeper understanding of their peer’s workplace preferences.

Great for: Onboarding, company culture

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 4-15

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Personal User Manuals

Setup: No setup required.

To play: Ask your employees to record a short video of themselves that can be used as a Personal User Manual. In the video, the employee should introduce themselves, tell an interesting fact and discuss their workplace preferences. Once everybody has recorded a video, you can upload them to your company intranet or knowledge hub.

How to play Sales pitch

This exercise not only gets the creative juices flowing, but can also help with sales skills. Have everyone grab one item from around them - like a pen from their desk - and craft a brief sales pitch to present to the larger group. People should spend about 15 minutes coming up with a logo, a slogan, some talking points, etc. Then they give the sales pitch of their item to the larger group. If you want to make it competitive, you can announce a winner and even grant a prize as part of this sales game.

How to play Which cartoon character would you be?

What silly character (or creature) are you most like? Have everyone go around the room, and in addition to the basics like name and role, ask them to share which cartoon character they would play and why. For example, a rugged outdoorsman might say he is like Sven from the Disney classic Frozen, while a particularly studious young woman might say she is like Lisa Simpson from the old Simpsons show.

Ever heard of the drinking game 'Categories'? Ever thought it could be adapted to a game that helps with active listening? Well, take a seat, my sober friend, and let's get into this! This version of the game will help promote better communication and listening skills among colleagues.

How to play

1. Find a conference room or suitable meeting space to bring your team together.
2. Designate one person to kick off the game as the "Category Caller." This role will rotate as the game progresses.
3. Compile a list of work-related categories. These could range from types of project management software to company department names—whatever suits your workplace.
4. The Category Caller selects a category from the list and announces it to the group. Make sure the chosen category relates to your office environment.
5. Using a timer or smartphone, set a specific time limit (e.g., 15 seconds).
6. The Category Caller begins by naming an item from the chosen category. For instance, if the category is "Types of project management software," they might say "Trello."
7. The person to the right of the Category Caller takes the next turn. They must listen carefully to the previous response and provide another item from the category within the time limit.
8. The game proceeds clockwise. Each participant must actively listen to the previous response and contribute a new item to the category before the timer runs out. If someone repeats an item or fails to provide an appropriate one, they are temporarily out of the round.

How to play Compiling mission statement

A group mission statement is a hands-on way to get people working together toward a common goal. If your group is more than 10, break it into even smaller groups of 3-4 for this work. Then, have everyone work together to come up with a mission statement for either the company as a whole, an important initiative being worked on, or for the immediate retreat or working session. Teams can start by brainstorming and then narrowing down statements into a single written paragraph that they present out loud to the larger group. It’s a great way to kick off the session with high energy and cooperation.

5-minute energizers don’t get much better than this one. Got Your Finger is fun, fast-paced, suitable for groups of all sizes, and sure to lift the mood. Oh, and it requires no prior planning or preparation either.

Here’s how to play:

Ask the team to stand in a circle, close together, and face inward. Next, tell each participant to stick their right hand out with their palms facing the ceiling. They then have to put their left index finger on the open palm of whoever’s standing to their left.

Now the fun can start! When you shout “Go”, each participant must try to close their hand around their partner’s finger before they escape. It’s multi-tasking at its finest – trying to stop the colleague to your left from catching your finger, while simultaneously trying to grab whoever’s on the right.

High-fives and pats on the back make everyone smile. Positive feedback isn't just about saying "good job," it's a morale booster that powers up motivation and helps colleagues shine even brighter.

Positive feedback activity - Kudos circle:

• Gather participants in a circle.
• Start by tossing a soft ball or object to one person, offering them a specific compliment or recognizing a recent achievement.
• The person who received the compliment then tosses the ball to another colleague, offering their positive feedback.
• Continue until everyone has received and given compliments.
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Kudos Circle generates a positive atmosphere, boosts self-esteem and reinforces a culture of appreciation. Try this team-building activity outdoors for extra enjoyment!

Dabble is another great letter game that combines elements of Scrabble with crossword puzzles. 2 or more players compete to create five unique words. These words must be 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 letters long each, using 20 tiles. Easy to pick up, difficult to master!

How to Play:

1. Each player receives 20 letter tiles
2. Race to create a 2-letter, 3-letter, 4-letter, 5-letter and 6-letter word using your tiles.
3. The first player to finish all five words wins the race, but then scores are counted depending on the value of each letter.

This one is fast, fun, and utterly addictive!

Of all the trust-building exercises on this list, Blind Wine Waiter’s almost guaranteed to go down well with your employees – assuming they’re aged 21 or older! Why?

Firstly, because it’s a fun, light-hearted game that’ll have you crying with laughter. And secondly, because it involves drinking wine.

Make no mistake though. As breezy and irreverent as this may sound, Blind Wine Waiter’s a powerful exercise that cultivates trust, develops teamwork, rewards strong communication, and helps foster leadership skills.

Here’s how to play:

1. Divide your employees into teams of 6 people
2. Ask each team to designate a leader
3. Blindfold everyone but the leader of each team
4. Instruct the leader to sit close to their team and on their hands (they’re not allowed to move or use their hands)
5. For each team, place one bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and enough wineglasses for each person at various points around the room (ensuring nothing fragile is positioned where it might fall or break easily)
6. Each team then has to follow directions from their leader to find each item and return them to their base (i.e. where the leader’s sitting)
7. They then have to open the wine bottle with the corkscrew and pour themselves a glass of wine each
8. Finally, they have to drink the wine and help the leader (who still can’t use their hands!) do the same.
9. Importantly, each member of the team must perform exactly one task.

The first team to finish their bottle of wine is the winner! Feel free to set a time limit and award prizes if it seems appropriate.

What you need:

• Blindfolds
• A bottle of wine, wineglasses, and a corkscrew for each team

How to play Night watchman

Both small groups and big groups can benefit from this exercise. The game involves players imitating a statue under the watch of a “night watchman”. They should try to move without getting caught. You’ll have to choose a night watchman at the beginning of the game; this person can move about freely while everyone else should behave like a statue. Players can try to take steps, but the night watchman must not see them move. If they see someone move, that person is out of the game. In some variations, the night watchman can do things to make the players move, but they shouldn’t touch them directly. You can also make this a no-winner game where the last person caught moving becomes the new night watchman.