Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

This is another childhood favorite for many, and bringing it into your workplace is sure to create a little nostalgia. It's a simple and fun way to get everyone more comfortable working together.

Here’s how you play:

1. Have everyone sit down, either at a desk, on the floor, or wherever it makes sense (but everyone should be sitting). Everyone should close their eyes, put their heads down, and put their thumbs up.
2. Seven players will go around the room and touch one person’s thumb apiece. Each chooser will select only one person, and they should do so as quietly and discreetly as possible. The goal is for the chosen people to guess who picked them, so the more secret, the better.
3. Once all seven people have been picked, have everyone raise their heads and ask the seven chosen people to stand up. Now, they will guess who touched their thumb. Each person gets only one guess, and if they pick correctly, they will be one of the seven “choosers” in the next round.
4. The game continues with the new seven people, including anyone who guessed correctly in the previous round. Ideally, everyone will get a chance to be one of the “pickers”.

Remember that game from childhood, “the floor is lava”? The one where you had to make it around the room without touching the floor. Good times. Shrinking vessel is somewhat similar, except you are working with a team. Strategy and Tetris skills will help me excel at this exercise.

How to play:

‍Mark the boundaries of the areas where team members will be placed. Slowly, the edges of the borders are moved and made smaller, and team members must work together to ensure they don’t fall outside the lines. They cannot step out of the line.

Materials you’ll need: Anything temporarily marks the floor, like a string or tape, even a blanket, will do. Enough space to fit a small team of 4-5 people at a time is also needed.

How many people: Mid-size to large teams

This one probably doesn’t need too much introduction, you’ll probably remember it from school.

How to play show and tell

Show and Tell is a fun way to start the team building session. Before the meeting starts, ask each person to bring a mascot with them. At the beginning of the meeting, each team member will have a turn at introducing their mascot and explaining why they brought that item with them.

In back-to-back sketch, one person describes an image while their partner, sitting back-to-back with them, draws it based solely on the description. No peeking allowed! It’s a great way to test communication skills—and usually leads to some very entertaining (and often unrecognizable) drawings.

This game encourages clear instructions and active listening, with plenty of laughs thrown in.

How to play:

• Pair up teammates to sit back-to-back.
• One person describes an image while the other draws based on the description.
• Compare the final drawings with the original image for some laughs!

If you’re in a big team and want a fun and speedy energizer to lift the mood in record time, try Shock Wave.

How to play Shock wave

To play, clear a space and ask the whole team (except you, the moderator) to form a circle. Colleagues then have to join hands with the people next to them and shut their eyes. Next, quietly touch the shoulder of one person in the circle.

When they feel your touch, it’s their job to begin the “shockwave” – moving both their arms up and down in a wave-like motion, thus sending it to whoever’s on their left and right-hand side. Those people then continue the wave, taking the “shock” in one arm and replicating it in the other.

This continues around the entire circle until someone on the opposite side feels the movement in both arms simultaneously. At that point, they yell “KABOOM”, and everyone can re-open their eyes. Repeat as many times as you want to!  

John: Hey, what’s your favourite superhero movie?

Jane: 🕷👨

John: Really? Batman’s my favourite too!

Jane: 🤦

If you’re like John, you won’t be any good at the Emoji Quiz. But if you’re like the other 99% of the population, capable of deciphering emojis without a second thought, then we have the perfect game for you!

Great for: Creative thinking, problem-solving

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 4+

You’ll need: A list of movie, book or song titles written in emojis

How to play Emoji Quiz

Setup: Before playing Emoji Quiz, you need to create a list of movie, song or book titles written in emoji form. Here are a few examples:

• ⚫ 🦅 ⏬ = Black Hawk Down (film)
• 🍍 🚄 = Pineapple Express (film)
• 🐦 🐦 🐦 = Three Little Birds (song)

To play: Separate your group into equal teams. Then, display each title (written in emojis) on a screen and ask the teams to write down the name of the movie, song or book. Once you’ve asked all your questions, go back and reveal the answers. The team with the most correct answers wins!

We all loved arts and crafts when we were kids, and this game brings out our inner child while encouraging problem-solving and creative thinking.

How to play: Split the group into two teams. Make sure you have enough space to place people to be apart or use a sheet to divide the space. Teams work together to construct one-half of a bridge, which will eventually be together. It’s essential for each group not to be able to see the other’s progress. The two groups can communicate verbally to ensure the design will result in a stable, “functioning” bridge.

Materials you’ll need: Construction materials, like newspaper, tape, legos, cardboard, etc. Make sure you have a device for measuring, like tape or a long rule—enough space for teams to work privately.

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

Your team is transforming into urban explorers armed with cameras, ready to capture the essence of the city. The Urban Photography Expedition is a creative challenge that combines sightseeing with storytelling. As you traverse the streets, squares, and alleys, you'll not only snap stunning shots but also collaborate to craft a visual narrative of the city's soul. It's an opportunity to flex your artistic muscles, enhance your communication skills, and develop a keen eye for detail—all while fostering camaraderie within your team.

Instructions

• Form teams, ensuring a mix of photography skills.
• Provide a list of themes or subjects for the photos.
• Teams interpret themes creatively and capture captivating images.
• Collaborate to curate a photo collection that tells a compelling story.
• Share your insights and learnings from the photography experience.

How to play Catch-All

For this group, have everyone stand in a circle and begin with a ball. Share which topic the exercise will be based on, and then let everyone know that they will be stating something they have previously learned about the topic. Then, throw the ball to the next person. If, for instance, your topic is accounting, then when one person has the ball, they might say something like “I learned that most tax issues come down to manual accounting errors.” Then they’ll toss the ball to the next person, who will share another bit of information they know or have learned previously. This makes training a lot more interactive, as everyone gets the chance to contribute and learn from a variety of perspectives.

How to play Friendly Feud

Have you ever seen the TV show or played the board game called Family Feud? Well, Friendly Feud is a DIY version that’s just as fun to play. Here’s the process for each round:

1. Divide the group into 2 teams
2. Come up with a question on a particular topic
3. Poll one of the teams to find the top 5 answers to it (making sure the other team doesn’t see/hear)
4. Assign points to each option, with the most points going to the “best” answer and the least points going to the “worst”
5. Ask the opposite team to come up with 5 answers to that same question – with a time limit
6. See if they choose any of the same answers and then add up the number of points they earned
7. Repeat the process, asking numerous questions to both teams and keeping track of their points

For instance, let’s say the question is, “what’s something that flies?” After polling Team A, you get 5 answers: Airplane, bird, bee, drone, and helicopter, which you say are worth 5 points, 4 points, 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively.

You then ask Team B for 5 answers to the same question. They say, “airplane, paraglider, hot air balloon, spacecraft, and birds.” Because they got two of the five options set out by Team A, they’d receive 9 points.

If your group are struggling to come up with team names, this quick team-building activity might help! Classification encourages players to find common ground and get to know one another quickly.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 8+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Classification

Setup: To prepare for Classification, separate your group into even teams. Before the game starts, make it clear that consolidating people into groups or perpetuating stereotypes isn’t useful. Players should avoid classifications based on gender, race, sexual preferences, or any other theme that could be perceived as prejudicial or discriminatory.

To play: After forming teams and explaining the basic rules, you’re ready to start. When you say “Go!” the players can start to exchange basic information about themselves. Perhaps they like to wake up early? Maybe they like to grab a coffee every morning? Based on these preferences and characteristics, the players will attempt to find common ground and classify themselves. You can expect results such as “The Early Birds” or “The Caffeine Addicts.”

How to play Smartphone bingo

Some variation of bingo is helpful in nearly all scenarios, and this is no exception. Start by creating bingo cards with a random assortment of prompts based on your phone. For example, “has a to-do list”, “has Amazon as a bookmark”, “has more than 300 contacts”, or “has a photo of their dog”. Have a facilitator randomly pull these prompts and call them out, and attendees will fill in the square if it applies to them. This is a fun way to learn a bit more about your coworkers while also improving listening skills.

How to play Communication chain

This is a great game for a team and involves participants expressing activities through gestures. Have everyone stand in a line facing the same direction. The last person on this line is the lead. They should write down an action (such as “I was walking my dog and tripped and fell”). The person next to them in line acts out the particular action without any verbal cues, and then the next person in line does the same, and so on. The first person at the beginning of the line will have to guess what the action was.

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How to play Wikirace

The Wikirace is a simple game, loved by college students bored in class. In the chat, send one Wikipedia article hyperlink and call it ‘start page’, then another hyperlink titled ‘target page.’ The rules are that the player must get from the start page to the target page in a limited number of mouse clicks. It might be as random as going from ‘pizza’ to ‘Apollo 13.’

Try it out in teams to have everyone strategizing frantically. Try making it even more difficult by decreasing the amount of allowed clicks between pages. There’s no going back once a new hyperlink is clicked. Share your screen and try this one out for a laugh in a virtual meeting.

We’ve likely all played a game of Bingo at one time or another. Take the well-known teambuilding activity and infuse it with agile principles. It’s a fantastic way to keep reflection engaging and lively. Retrospectively looking at completed projects is putting the key in the door to iterative progression. It relies on honest reflection and communication. Here’s how to set it up:

Set up:

Create a 5x5 Bingo card with “What went well?” and future-focused questions in each square. Send cards to remote participants and, during the session, have everyone ask questions. They mark off squares as topics are brought up. The first to complete a line shouts “BINGO,” and recurring themes can be explored.

Example retrospective questions:

a. Which team member made this sprint easier for you?

b. Did anything go better than expected?

c. What should we replicate in future projects?

d. What’s one small improvement you’d suggest?

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How to play Inspirational quotes

For a faster paced activity, prepare a set of inspirational quotes before the session. Grab as many quotes as there are participants and write them individually on pieces of paper. Put the pile of papers in the center of the room and let everyone pick one quote. They should share with the group what the quote means to them and how it is meaningful. This process should continue until everyone has had a chance to read and discuss a quote.

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

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

Top tips for facilitators

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

Remember the Pinball exercise we described earlier? Well, Willow in the Wind is very similar. This time, however, there’s no walking involved…

How to play Willow in the wind

Instead, everyone stands in a circle, with one person in the middle. You then put a blindfold on whoever’s in the center and tell them to a) lock their legs and b) put their arms across their chest.

Then comes the nerve-wracking part:

They have to fall forward, or in any other direction, trusting their colleagues to stop them from hitting the ground! Each time they fall into someone, that person has to keep them upright and push them softly to another side of the circle.

After 30 seconds or so, swap the blindfold around and give someone else a turn. The activity ends when everyone has been in the middle.

Our pro tip is to stop the blindfolded person from falling too far! The further they fall, the harder it becomes to hold them up and push them away. Stay close together to make life easier and prevent accidents from happening.

For a variation of Willow in the Wind, consider doing a trust fall.

A popular team and trust-building exercise, the principle is the same except the blindfolded individual stands at a height (e.g. on a table or wall) and falls backward into the arms of their colleagues below.

What you need:

• Blindfold

How to play Secret word

Insert some fun and laughter into your everyday office work by playing this silly game. To play, start by writing down any word on a piece of paper (An object or action is usually easiest). Choose your first participant and have them place the paper on their forehead (without looking at it). It’s key that the player doesn’t know what word they are displaying! Other players should gesture to try to get them to guess the word without actually speaking. The person with the card will try to guess the word based on the actions of everyone around them.

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

Imagine your team venturing into the wilderness, not just for a casual hike, but for an exhilarating Outdoor Survival Race. You'll rely on each other's skills to navigate the wilds, decode puzzles, and conquer challenges. This is more than teamwork; it's about trust, communication, and strategizing under pressure. As you tackle Mother Nature's obstacles together, you'll find yourselves delegating tasks, sharing ideas, and building unbreakable bonds.

Instructions

• Create diverse teams for varied perspectives.
• Equip each team with maps and survival tools.
• Progress by solving puzzles at checkpoints.
• Delegate tasks based on strengths and communicate clearly.
• Prioritize safety by sharing essential survival tips before setting off.

This fun and interactive game helps employees to collaborate and polish their problem-solving skills. If you want to make it even more challenging, then you can set up obstacles or choose materials that will be tricky to pick up.

Here’s how to play the game:

1. Break a larger group into smaller teams of 3.
2. Hand each team a bucket of water filled with small objects (to represent radioactive waste). Grab things like tennis balls, blocks, clips, etc.
3. Put a smaller bucket on a table a few feet away from each team.
4. Participants need to use a rope with a square knot (or whatever other method they work out) to transfer the “waste” from the larger bucket into the smaller one.
5. The team that moves all of their waste first, wins. If everyone is moving at about the same pace, then the winner will be the group who moved the most in the amount of time you allocated.

Asking the right questions is a valuable skill. Cutting straight to the core and homing in on what’s important boosts productivity and efficiency. Who am I? Is a well-known party game that encourages employees to consider their questions carefully.

Great for: Communication, problem-solving

Duration: 5-10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Sticky notes, pens

How to play Who am I?

Setup: Hand out a sticky note and pen to each player and have them write down the name of a famous person, or—if your team is already well acquainted—the name of a colleague. Then, ask the players to swap notes and, without looking, stick them to their foreheads.

To play: The players start to mingle with other players, asking questions that can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” The answers to these questions should help the players to decipher which name is written on their forehead. For example, players might ask things like “Am I a celebrity?” or “Do I wear glasses”? If you want the game to be shorter, try separating players into smaller groups of three to four.

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.