Want to know one of the best-kept secrets of the world’s most successful workplaces? They consistently and intentionally invest in team engagement, well-being and cohesion. And here’s a hint: they don’t do that by hosting endless seminars, either! Instead, they find creative ways to bring everyone together regularly, often through team-building games.
Making time and space for lighthearted fun is one of the most effective ways to create a healthy, balanced workplace where employees feel inspired. With that said, if you’re looking for enjoyable games to engage your team, we’ve created a suite of 50 of the best team-building games for the office!
Some of them are classic goodies, while others might be new. We also included plenty of options that don’t require equipment – just you and your work squad. Keep reading to explore them all!
50 Epic Team-Building Games for the Office
1. Scavenger Hunt
Best for: Employee Engagement, Collaboration, Problem-Solving
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
We have to start by paying homage to this classic because not only is it a massive hit with kids – it can also work well as a team-building game for adults! Prepare the activity by collecting and hiding items for participants to find individually or in teams. You will need to:
- Identify a suitable indoor or outdoor location (feel free to use your office).
- Assemble and hide a variety of items in different places on the premises.
- Create a list of the items and provide a copy for each player or team.
- Write clues for finding the hidden objects (using riddles, poems, puzzles, etc.).
- Set your timer and let participants use their lists of hidden items and clues to try and retrieve the items within the allocated period.
The person or team that retrieves the most items wins the contest!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Scavenger Hunt All-Stars!
2. Pictionary
Best for: Communication, Creativity, Teamwork
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Pictionary is a team-building board game for work perfect for two or more players. You’ll need:
- A Pictionary board game
- Pencils
- Paper
A player starts by drawing a card from the deck of Pictionary cards with a word or phrase on the printed side. The player then sketches a picture representing the printed word or phrase without using letters, numbers, sign language, or spoken clues. Their team members must then attempt to guess what word or phrase the sketch represents within the time limit. If the guess is correct, the team gets to roll the dice and move forward accordingly on the board.
The goal is to be the first team to arrive at the finish square on the board and guess a final sketch correctly to win!
3. People Bingo
Best for: Communication, Team-bonding
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Bingo is another classic, evergreen option for a corporate team-building game, suitable for a group of any size. People Bingo is an excellent variation for getting to know each other at work! Each player needs:
- A Bingo card
- A pen/pencil
You can create the questions and cards yourself, download ready-made printable versions or generate them online with a Bingo card generator on sites like Teach-nology and Print-Bingo.com. Note that there might be a charge for online tools, though!
Armed with their Bingo card and pen, players will mingle one-on-one and ask each other if any of the items listed on their Bingo card applies to them. If they do, the responder will write their name or sign off in the relevant box on the asker’s Bingo card. The first player to collect enough matches to form an unbroken vertical, horizontal or diagonal line across their Bingo card wins the round!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Bingo!
4. Musical Bingo
Best for: Stress Reduction, Team-bonding, Collaboration
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Music is a universal form of expression, and most people enjoy some version of it. That’s why Musical Bingo is one of the best team-building games to host at work; it has the potential to be a real crowd pleaser! It is similar to other Bingo games, except participants play by identifying music.
To play team receives a card with a list of music titles. A host will then play one random piece of music from the list while the players listen, try to identify it and hopefully mark it off on their list. The person or team that identifies the most tunes wins the game.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Musical Bingo!
5. Office Olympics
Best for: Teamwork, Employee Engagement
Duration: 90 minutes
How it works:
To play this high-energy team-building game, create a schedule of activities for employees to participate in, generally in the form of entertaining mini-challenges. Here are some ideas to help you DIY your Office Olympics:
- Decide on a location and choose a few game hosts.
- Select the games (e.g. Rubber Band Archery, Pencil Javelin, Darts, Tic Tac Toe, Tug of War, Trivia, etc.). Find more office olympics ideas here.
- Prepare the necessary game materials.
- Plan an Olympic Torch lighting (use a safe candle!) and carrying to kick off your games.
- Prepare gold, silver, and bronze “medals” for the winners.
- Randomly divide participants into teams of 4-12 players. Let each team appoint their captain, select their country name from a hat, and prepare their flag.
- To kick off the games, light the “Olympic Torch” and let team representatives carry it from “country” to “country.” The arrival of the Torch at the last “country” marks the beginning of the games.
- Have a small opening ceremony to declare the games “officially open.”
- The hosts will guide players through the games and activities and keep a point tally for each “country.”
- Have a closing ceremony to tally up points and award the medals to the winning teams.
Also, things can get pretty intense and exhausting. Remember to provide lots of snacks and refreshing beverages throughout the games and allow for short breaks throughout your program!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Office Olympics!
6. Improv Game
Best for: Communication, Critical Thinking
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Improv team-building games require participants to role-play scenes spontaneously, without scripts. There are many variations, and since these games are group-based, no one will be singled out or put on the spot.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Improv Team-Building Workshop!
7. Murder Mystery
Best for: Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking
Duration: 90 minutes
How it works:
Murder Mystery is an interactive problem-solving team-building game for adults based on crime fiction. The game always begins with an unsolved “murder.” Participants will review information related to the crime scene and other clues, then work together to uncover who did the foul deed and why.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try The Wilting Peony: A ‘Whodunnit’ Mystery Game!
8. Continue a Story
Best for: Collaboration, Creativity, Team-bonding
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This is an interactive team-building game for groups where participants will build a random storyline together. To get started, have all participants seated comfortably. Ask one participant to get the fun rolling with the beginning of a random storyline. Then, the remaining participants will build the rest of the story one by one. The goal is to include everyone and add twists and turns while making the narrative as cohesive as possible.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Collaborative Team-Building Events (3+ Game Package)!
9. Corporate Survivor
Best for: Employee Engagement, Teamwork, Problem-Solving
Duration: 120 minutes
How it works:
The object of this game is to outwit, outplay and outlast fellow competitors to “survive.” Participants will split into two or more groups to form “tribes” and imagine they are all trapped on a deserted island. They must dig deep to tap into their high-level problem-solving skills and work together to collect points and advantages through various challenges. And, of course, the team that gathers the most points wins!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Corporate Survivor!
10. Mini Golf
Best for: Team-bonding, Communication, Employee engagement
Duration: 180 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game will deliver loads of fun for non-golfers and golfers alike! Players start by placing their golf balls on the green and take turns putting the balls toward the hole. A game supervisor then records each player’s number of shots to sink the ball on a scorecard. The player with the least number of shots wins! You can up the ante by building a “golf course” with several challenging obstacles.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Golf Simulator with a PGA Pro!
11. Two Truths and a Lie
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game rocks for the office because it requires no tools or equipment. Each participant will share three intriguing things about themselves. The catch? One statement is a complete lie the remaining participants must identify! Whoever guesses correctly wins a point!
12. Charades
Best for: Team-bonding, Communication, Creativity
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Charades is one of the best team-building games to play because it’s super easy to set up, wherever you are. All you need are four or more players and:
- A time and scorekeeper
- A notepad, pen and timer
- Index cards with simple words or phrases (e.g. plane, spoon, book, etc.) written on one side
- Two baskets or bowls (one for used cards and the other for unused ones)
- A pair of dice to determine who plays first.
Put the Charades cards face down in one basket. Next, have the first participant draw a card, read what’s on it without revealing the word or phrase, and then put it into the second basket.
Next, the player acts out the word or phrase without speaking while their team members try to guess the word or phrase in under 60 seconds. If they guess right, they win a point. Once a team’s 60 seconds are up, the next team takes their turn. At the end of the game, the team with the highest score wins.
13. Reverse Charades
Best for: Team-bonding, Communication, Creativity
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This game includes a hilarious twist on the classic game of Charades. You’ll need all the same equipment mentioned previously. Participants will then split into two or more teams, and each team will select:
- One or more guessers and
- One or more actors
The host will then show the actor(s) a Charades card with a word or phrase, which they must act out without speaking, mouthing words, or pointing at objects in the room. The guesser(s) must then figure out as many words or phrases as possible in under 60 seconds. Once their time is up, another team takes their turn.
14. This or That?
Best for: Bonding, Entertainment
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
Not every team-building office game needs to be competitive. This game is perfect because it’s purely for fun and has no “winners” or “losers.” Participants will receive two related things to choose from, for example:
- Sweet or Sour
- Cooking or Takeout
- Kids or Pets
- Rent or Own
- Movie or Pub
- Indoors or Outdoors
- Swimming or Hiking
- Party or Casino,
- Etc.
Players will then pick one option that best relates to them. The goal is just to have fun and learn about each other!
15. Trivia
Best for: Employee Engagement, Team-bonding
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Trivia is perfect for brain-teasing and team-bonding. Simply choose a host to ask questions about little-known facts on various subjects such as:
- Places
- Nature
- Famous people
- History
- Inventions
- Etc.
Teams will then “feud” against each other (think Family Feud style) as they try to answer as many questions correctly as possible!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Premier Trivia Competition!
16. Bridge Tea Party
Best for: Entertainment, Team-bonding, Teamwork
Duration: 180 minutes
How it works:
Anyone obsessed with British period dramas has probably witnessed Bridge in many movies, especially ones with fancy balls and tea parties! But if you’re unfamiliar with it, Bridge is a card game where two-player teams work against each other to win as many “tricks” as possible. You’ll need:
- A bridge room (feel free to use an office meeting room or rent a space)
- Several tables with four seats at each (depending on how many large your team is)
- A 52 cards deck (per table)
- Paper
- Pen
This game is pretty tricky, so provide access to the rules! To make things even more entertaining, turn the event into a Victorian-themed tea party where everyone dresses up and nibbles dainty pastries.
17. Balloon Questions
Best for: Entertainment, Team-bonding
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game is the perfect icebreaker for groups that have never met or aren’t very familiar with each other. Plus, it’s simple, and all the materials are easy to get your hands on. You’ll need:
- A packet of balloons
- Small pieces of paper
- Pens
- A balloon pump (for sanitary reasons)
- Toothpicks (for popping balloons)
- An open space
To play, simply write thought-provoking questions on the pieces of paper. Then, push the pieces of paper into the balloons and blow up the balloons. Scatter the balloons across the room, and unleash your team to pick up one each at random. Everyone will then take turns popping the balloons and sharing their responses.
Alternatively, you can give each team member a balloon, piece of paper and pen to write questions themselves. Some fun, get-to-now-you questions might include:
- What’s your most embarrassing high school memory?
- What’s a motto you try to live by?
- If you could meet a famous dead person, who would it be and why?
- What is your hidden talent?
- What would you do if you had $20 million and only one day to spend it?
Check out some more ideas here!
18. Guess the Refrigerator
Best for: Team-bonding, Employee Engagement
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
To play this team-building game, each employee will snap a photo of the inside of their refrigerator and anonymously post it to a dedicated online space for your group. Participants will then look at the pictures, try to match them to their owners, and note their guesses within a time limit. The participant with the most correct guesses wins.
19. Costume Contest
Best for: Team-bonding, Employee Engagement, Creativity
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
There’s nothing like a costume contest to lighten the mood in a corporate setting. This team-building game simply involves choosing a theme, then having everyone dress accordingly. You can turn this into a competition by having employees vote for their favorite costume! Examples of costume ideas include:
- Movie moments
- Professions
- Sports
- Celebrities
- Villains
- Superheroes,
- Cartoon characters
- Etc.
20. Talent Show
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment, Creativity
Duration: 90 minutes
How it works:
Chances are, your team members have many hidden talents! A talent show is a great workplace team-building game to help employees learn more about each other. If your group is large, consider team contests or schedule more than one day to give everyone who wants to participate a chance to share their singing, dancing and comedic skills.
21. Team Charity Challenge
Best for: Morale, Community Spirit
Duration: 120 minutes
How it works:
This activity will allow employees to do something meaningful for their community while having a blast. Consider creating a competition to beautify public spaces, handing out care packages, or creating content for non-profits. Remember to hand out amazing prizes to reward teams for their hard work!
22. Short Film Challenge
Best for: Creativity, Collaboration, Entertainment
Duration: 90 minutes
How it works:
This is a good team-building game for challenging employees to do something entirely out of their comfort zones. Let your employees explore their creative sides by making short films!
Start by putting participants into groups of two or three, and have each team randomly draw a film genre. They will then have 48 hours to film a 5-minute film, which they will reveal during your office’s Film Festival Day.
To make things more interesting, select a team of impartial judges to award points for each production. They can also award prizes in various categories such as Best Actor/Actress, Best Film, Plot, Sound Quality, Originality, etc.
If you need more help or inspiration to organize this event, check out The 48-Hour Film Project!
23. Dance-Off
Best for: Entertainment, Team-bonding, Confidence Building
Duration: 90 minutes
How it works:
Invite your team to don their dancing shoes and bring the house down with good music and dancing. You only need a dance music playlist in a few different genres, which you can easily create with Spotify or another music streaming platform. Turn it into a competition or keep it neutral – but everyone must dance!
24. Plant Doctor
Best for: Skill Building, Diligence, Employee Engagement
Duration: 8-12 weeks
How it works:
Houseplants have incredible mental health benefits, so this team-building game will encourage employees to cultivate them in their workspaces. Simply ask each team member to bring an indoor plant for their workspace, commit to learning about the plant and give it the best TLC to help it thrive over a few weeks. You can award points for milestones such as new leaves, branches, or flowers.
At the end of the challenge period, have a plant show where participants show off their plants and share what they learned during the experience.
25. Jenga
Best for: Team-bonding, Mental Concentration, Collaboration
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
While a simple game, Jenga requires patience, concentration, and attention to detail, all valuable soft skills. Your team can also practice collaboration by playing this game in groups. You can play this game by setting up classic hardwood Jenga blocks. Alternatively, shake things up with unusual building materials! For example:
- Food (like pickles or bananas)
- Styrofoam blocks
- Cardboard boxes
- Pillows
- Popsicle sticks
Get creative (but stay safe)!
26. What Would You Do?
Best for: Team-bonding, Problem-Solving
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
This simple problem-solving, team-building game works well in an office setting because it challenges everyone’s critical thinking skills. Participants can play individually or in smaller teams. Each participant will receive a hypothetical, perplexing situation and challenge themselves to develop the best possible solution. Compile your own unique list of questions or find some online! Remember to steer clear of inappropriate or controversial topics, though.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Interactive Icebreakers!
27. Last Letter, First Letter
Best for: Listening, Mental Concentration, Creativity
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
Last Letter, First Letter is a vocabulary activity that doesn’t require any materials to play. Simply choose a topic and have the first participant name a word that fits the topic. The next participant must name a word that starts with the last letter from the first participant’s chosen word, and so on. For example, say your group’s topic is famous brands:
- First player: “Prada.”
- Second player: “Adidas.”
- Third player: “Spanx.”
- Fourth player: “Xscape.”
- Etc.
This game is as simple or as tricky as the chosen topics!
28. Word Chains
Best for: Listening, Mental concentration, Creativity
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
Word Chains is a word association game similar to Last Letter, First Letter. However, in Word Chains, the last word of the previous phrase makes the first word of the following phrase. As such, players must come up with meaningful two-word phrases. For example:
- First player: “Shirt button.”
- Second player: “Button down.”
- Third player: “Down below.”
- Fourth player: “Below deck.”
- Etc.
The chain of phrases doesn’t have to make sense, but each term must. Also, set a time limit for each player so that no one drags out their response!
29. Never Have I Never
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
Never Have I Ever is another classic team-building game for all adults to enjoy. Once again, it’s a verbal game requiring no materials. To play the game, participants form a circle. Then, each player holds up five fingers. The first player gets the activity rolling by saying a simple statement about something they’ve never done. For example, “Never have I ever planted a garden.” Any player who has ever planted a garden puts down one finger. The next player makes their statement, and so on. The last person to still have fingers up wins the game!
30. Debatable
Best for: Problem Solving, Communication
Duration: 30-120 minutes
How it works:
As the name indicates, Debatable involves debate! All you need to set up this game is a Debatable board game, a table and a timer. Start by selecting a random participant to act as the “moderator.” The moderator will then choose a debate topic from a randomly drawn topic card, select two debaters, and assign which side of the debate each player must represent.
Next, the debaters will each draw a card containing two strategies they must follow to argue their positions. The moderator starts the timer, and the two players begin their banter. Once their time is up, the other players vote for who their favorite debater! As you can see, everyone gets to play an active role in this team-building office game.
A word of caution: consider setting some basic rules of play; for example, players to keep dialogue light, funny, and respectful.
31. Codenames
Best for: Critical thinking, Listening, Collaboration
Duration: 40 minutes
How it works:
As we’ve already seen, board games make some of the best team-building games! Codenames is another masterpiece that draws inspiration from the fact that real spymasters often use codes to communicate with their collaborators secretly.
First, grab your Codenames cards. Then split participants into two groups with two or more players per team (make sure both teams have an equal number of participants!). Each team will designate one team member as the “spymaster,” while the remaining team members play as “field operatives.” Next, lay out 25 Codename cards in random order. The two spymasters take turns to help their field operatives find their agents hidden among the 25 possibilities on the table!
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Agents Vs Spies!
32. Straw Tower Challenge
Best for: Creativity, Teamwork, Problem-Solving
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game only requires a few inexpensive materials to play. Participants play in equal-sized teams of 2-5 players with a supervisor overseeing the activity. You’ll need:
- 50 non-flexible regular drinking straws
- A pair of scissors
- Paper clips
- Pipe cleaners
- A small ball of string
- A small weight (e.g. one tennis ball or two ping pong balls)
- A sheet of blank copy paper (for brainstorming designs)
- A timer
- A tape measure or ruler
Each team must build a tower using only the supplied materials and secure the weight at the top. The tower should be able to stand on its own for 3 seconds without falling over or collapsing. The tallest and sturdiest structure wins! If there is a tie, the team that used fewer materials wins.
33. Paper Tower Challenge
Best for: Creativity, Teamwork, Problem-Solving
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game is much like the Straw Tower challenge, except paper is the only material involved! Randomly assign participants to equal groups of 2-5 players and provide each team with 15-20 sheets of scrap paper and a tennis ball. Again, team members must build a structure and secure the tennis ball at the top. Their creations must stand alone for 3 seconds without collapsing.
And remember, no extra materials! That includes glue, gum, paper clips, adhesive tape, strings, rubber bands, or anything else.
Cruel, but oh so fun to watch.
34. The Numbers Game
Best for: Communication, Collaboration, Team-bonding
Duration: 30 minute
How it works:
Who says kids have all the fun? This challenging, hilarious team-building game is great for adults too! All you need is one group (or multiple groups) of 10 players, a host, and giant cards with one-digit numbers from 0-9.
Give one number to each player in the team and have everyone stand side by side, holding their numbers. The game starts with the host calling out a multi-digit number, and everyone must immediately scramble to form that number! The caller must make sure not to repeat any numbers so that the players must create a new formation each time. Make things even more fun by setting a time limit!
35. Heads Up!
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment, Collaboration
Duration: 30 minutes
How it works:
Heads Up! is an app-based guessing game suitable for two or more players. First, download the app from the Apple or Google store. Then, get your group together and decide whether everyone will play individually or in teams.
Next, start the app and select a game category. The person who goes first takes the phone and holds it up to their forehead with the screen facing the other players. A word pops up on the phone screen, which everyone except the phone holder can see it. The other players call out clues and hints to help the phone holder guess the word correctly. Players take turns, and the person with the highest score wins!
36. Hangman
Best for: Teamwork, Problem-Solving
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game is another classic that most of your team is probably already familiar with. But, just in case anyone needs a refresher, the basic gist of the game is that one player thinks up a word, phrase, or sentence and another player guesses what it is.
Whenever a guesser gives an incorrect answer, the “hangman” draws part of a stickman and gallows. The guesser’s goal is to determine the correct answer before the drawing is complete!
37. Casino Night
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment, Employee Engagement
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This team-building game idea is perfect for your team if you have coworkers who enjoy “trying their luck” at the casinos. You can plan an outing to a local casino or host a casino-style game night at the office or some other suitable space. However, hosting your own casino-style game night requires planning and preparation! Here are some things to think about:
- A suitable space
- Game equipment (e.g. blackjack, slots, roulette, poker, baccarat, etc.)
- A playlist of great casino-style background music
- Casino décor (e.g. Las Vegas signs, giant dice, giant playing cards, cozy lighting, etc.)
- Game hosts
- A dress code (e.g., make it a black tie occasion or an informal night – your choice!)
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Casino Night!
38. Things in Common
Best for: Team-bonding, Entertainment
Duration: 45 minutes
How it works:
Ever worked with someone who just feels hard to get along with? Things In Common is a fantastic team-building game that fosters community and helps coworkers get to know each other.
Start by preparing a list of things participants may share in common (apart from obvious things such as eating, reading, working, etc.). An easy way to compile questions to ask during your Things In Common game is from online sites, such as here and here. Then, choose a host to read the list out loud. Participants will then step forward or raise their hands if those things apply to them. To heighten the bonding experience, allow players to share more about themselves.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Interactive Icebreakers!
39. Jigsaw Puzzle
Best for: Teamwork, Problem-Solving, Mental Concentration
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Jigsaw puzzles are often completely underrated as team-building games for the office. For one thing, puzzles emphasize a “big picture” concept, something any team can relate to. Plus, putting puzzles together challenges team members to collectively engage their observation, creativity, concentration and problem-solving skills to achieve a common objective.
All you need for this activity is the right puzzle for your team. Jigsaw puzzles are available online, but nothing beats a physical board game!
40. Barter Puzzle
Best for: Problem-Solving, Communication, Collaboration
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
This is a puzzle game with a twist! You’ll need a couple or more different boxes of Jigsaw Puzzle pieces, each with a similar difficulty level (for example, 200 pieces each). Randomly mix up all the peices into the wrong boxes, then split players into teams.
Hand out the boxes to each group and let them put their puzzles together. They’ll realize at some point that they’ll need to negotiate and trade pieces with the other team(s) to achieve their goal. Barter Puzzle is a great team-building game for the office because it emphasizes problem-solving, strategy, teamwork, creativity, and communication skills.
41. Geography Puzzle
Best for: Teamwork, Educational, Team-bonding
Duration: 45 minutes
How it works:
How well do your team members know the world they live in? Geography Puzzle will test just how much! You’ll need:
- Copies of blank world maps (one for each team)
- List of countries (one for each team)
- A copy of a fully complete map (for the host)
- A timer
Pass a blank map and a list of countries to each team. Each team has 15 minutes to complete their maps as thoroughly as possible! This team-building game is fast-paced and educational, making it the perfect way to spend a slow afternoon.
42. Egg Drop Challenge
Best for: Problem-Solving, Creative Teamwork, Leadership
Duration: 45 minutes
How it works:
Egg Drop is a high-energy (slightly messy) corporate team-building game that requires easily accessible materials to play. Let’s break down the basic idea. You will need:
- 50 thin plastic drinking straws per team
- A raw egg per team (but have spare eggs, in case of “accidents”)
- A roll of duct tape per team
- A piece of cardboard per team
- A sheet of copy paper and a few pencils per team (for brainstorming design ideas)
- A timer
- An elevated location for the egg drop test (e.g. a desk or terrace)
- Garbage bags or a tarp to keep the floor clean
Randomly form smaller teams of 2-5 players. Each team must use ONLY the construction materials provided to build a protective nest in under 20 minutes. The eggs must survive a drop from a height of three feet or more! At the end of the challenge, have a debrief session and ask teams to share their experience. For instance, what worked or didn’t work? What would they do differently next time?
43. Describe a Drawing
Best for: Communication, Teamwork, Creative Thinking
Duration: 45-60 minutes
How it works:
This is a whimsical, chucklesome team-building game for adults that only requires a small amount of readily available items:
- A flipchart (facing away from the audience)
- Markers
- Blindfold materials
- A timer
- Objects to draw (choose everyday items for ease and keep the topics hidden from players)
Break up participants into smaller teams of 3-6 players and ask each group to appoint one member as their “artist.”
During each round, give a team an object for their artist to draw on the flipchart. The trick is that the artist is not allowed to see the object or know what it is! The artist will draw the object by following only verbal instructions from their team members. The artist is not allowed to ask questions or speak; they can only listen and draw.
Oh, and they must do this blindfolded!
At the end of the game, everyone votes for the drawing which best represents the object that inspired it.
Want a done-for-you experience? Try Guess-My-Sketch!
44. Telephone
Best for: Communication, Employee Engagement
Duration: 45 minutes
How it works:
This popular game goes by many names, including Whisper, Whisper Down The Lane, From Ear To Ear, Gossip, Pass The Message, and so on. It requires no materials whatsoever! Simply get your team to form a circle, then choose one person to start the game (e.g. based on whose birthday is coming up next).
The starting player thinks up a word or phrase and whispers it ONCE to the next person. Next, the listener repeats what they hear to the next person, and on and on until the last player receives the message. The last person has to repeat the word or phrase out loud so everyone can hear.
Teams rarely manage to survive this game without someone screwing up the message, so prepare to die laughing!
45. Cranium
Best for: Collaboration, Problem-Solving
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Have a soft, nostalgic post for Ludo? Then you’ll love Cranium! This game makes a fantastic office game night and icebreaker activity for small groups. To win the game, team members must draw from various skills to help them complete a series of activities in each of four categories:
- Creative Cat
- Data Head
- Word Worm, and
- Star Performer
Cranium will remind participants of the importance of recognizing and appreciating the diversity of strengths and skills among co-workers strategically.
46. Scattergories
Best for: Employee Engagement, Mental Concentration
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Scattergories is always a winner, no matter how many times you play it. As always, each player’s objective is to score the most points!
The game involves 12 categories and takes place in three 3-minute rounds. After choosing a category, the host rolls a 20-sided letter die to determine the key letter for that round. Next, the host starts the 3-minute timer, and all players must think of and write down a list of words that each begins with the play letter.
Once the timer goes off, everyone stops writing. Players then take turns reading their lists aloud and score points for words that no one else duplicated. At the end of the game, the person with the most original (i.e. non-duplicated) words wins!
47. What If?
Best for: Problem Solving, Leadership
Duration: 45 minutes
How it works:
This corporate team-building game only requires participants and paper. You (or a chosen host) will present participants with a workplace problem. Each participant will then write their thoughts on what they would do to solve the problem. Participants will then take turns to read out their solutions. Everyone would then vote on the best response, and the person who receives the most votes wins the round.
The activity will allow your team members to think as leaders and give you a glimpse into the various leadership styles within your team.
48. Grab-Bag Skits
Best for: Creativity, Teamwork, Entertainment
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Get ready for a scream-fest! This team-building game for rowdy groups will leave everyone breathless from laughter. You will need:
- Paper bags with random items obtained from the office or a dollar store (one bag per team)
- A timer
Keep the paper bag items hidden from the teams, and start by splitting everyone into three or more small groups of 2-4 players each. Teams will then have 20 minutes to use all of the items in their bag to create a 4-5 minutes long skit. Have a neutral judge (or bystanders) score the performances and award points and prizes to the best ones!
49. Sales Pitch
Best for: Communication, Skill Building, Confidence Building
Duration: 60 minutes
How it works:
Sales Pitch will work for any group, but it’s especially perfect for sales teams! Employees can play this game individually or in groups (which is a good idea if you have introverts on your team!).
Players must grab a random object from their office and bring it to the game session. Then, they must transform the object into a brand new, must-have product by giving it a name, logo and pitch. Participants will have 20 minutes for this process and 2-3 minutes to pitch their products!
At the end of all the presentations, have the team discuss the top-selling “products” and why they got the most “buyers.”
50. Cook-Off or Bake-Off
Best for: Creativity, Sensory Exploration, Confidence Building
Duration: 60-120 minutes (depending on where the activity takes place)
How it works:
No ultimate list of team-building games for work would be complete without a food activity! Here is one activity that will challenge your team and delight their taste buds:
- Decide on one dish for participants to make
- Ask staff to sign up to make the dish individually or in groups
- Set the items on display for a taste test (without revealing their creators)
- Choose neutral judges to taste and rate the dishes
- Award prizes for the most popular dish
Note that the actual cooking or baking may take place at your office if the resources are available. If not, the chefs can make the food at home and bring them to work!
Let The Games Begin!
Why are we so so big on team activities over here? Because corporate life doesn’t have to be all work and no play. Office games create opportunities for people to loosen up, practice soft skills, and get to know each other more deeply.
THAT’S how you build a strong and lasting team!
