Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Office DJ challenge brings some rhythm to the office! Teams collaborate to create themed playlists—whether it's “Monday Motivation” or “Friday Chill”—then share them to boost morale and get everyone in a good groove.

It’s a fun, creative way to connect over music, brighten the office mood, and maybe discover some new favorite tunes along the way.

How to play:

• Teams work together to create a themed playlist (e.g., “best road trip songs”).
• Share the playlists with the office.
• Enjoy the music and vote on the best playlist for the day!

Looking for more team building activities for small groups? Explore our full guide for more ideas to energize your team.

How to play:

Create a word search puzzle using safety-related terms (e.g., "first aid," "PPE," "emergency"). Distribute the puzzles to employees and offer a small prize for the first person to complete it.

This quick office game is a simple yet effective way to familiarize employees with important safety vocabulary. It’s a relaxing activity that can be done during breaks, reinforcing key terms and concepts in a fun way. The satisfaction of finding that last hidden word is a great bonus.

How to play Balloon stomp

For this game, you’ll need tons of balloons in two different colors. You need to be outside or in a large space, and divide your large group into two smaller groups and assign them each a color. Set a timer for one or two minutes, and the goal of the game is for each team to pop all the balloons of their own color - without accidentally hitting the other color. At the end of the game, the team who popped most of their own color balloons wins.

How to play Try not to laugh

This is another one that’s great for groups. Choose one person to be “invisible”. Everyone should also pretend that the player can’t be seen. They can do anything except interact directly with the invisible player. The entire time, the invisible player should be trying to make them laugh. Any player that does end up laughing must leave the game. Ideally this game goes on until there’s only one player left (the winner).

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 Cooperative yoga or stretching

A collaborative set of movements is always a nice idea for a group. We suggest focusing on yoga moves and having each person picking the next move in your flow. A participant will pick a yoga move that everyone completes, and then the next person selects a different one, and so on.

It’s best to complete these exercises quietly and without speaking, focusing  instead on breathing and movement.

This game is a fun and energetic game that gets the blood pumping, and its team members get to know each other in an informal way, which is essential to boosting workplace morale.

How to play:

‍Stand in a group, and the first player answers one of the written prompts on the ball after reading it aloud, so the group knows what they’re answering. After they finish, they call out the next person's name to that they will be throwing the ball (they wouldn’t want to hit an unsuspecting player in the face), and they do the same as the first player.

The game continues until everyone has a chance to answer a question.

Materials you’ll need Enough space for people to gather comfortably and throw a ball.

How many people: An icebreaker thumbnail or a DIY version can be a soccer ball with phrases written on it.

How to play:

‍Play a game Simon says with a safety theme added to it. Choose a leader to give safety-related commands (e.g., "Simon says put on your safety goggles," "Simon says find the nearest fire exit"). Employees must only follow the commands that begin with "Simon says."

Safety Simon says is a playful way to reinforce safety habits and quick response times. It keeps employees alert and engaged while reinforcing important safety behaviors in a fun and interactive manner.

How to play Typing race

Who would have made the best 1950s receptionist? You can find out with this fun activity. Anyone who is interested should gather in one space with their keyboards or laptops. Announce the words that people should type (or write them on a white board) Set a timer and see who can get the typing done the fastest. This is helpful for developing typing skills and is also a great refresher for hand-eye coordination during a monotonous day.

How to play Lego builders

If you have enough space to spread out a bit, try some lego construction. Give everyone the same set of lego pieces, and print out brief instructions for creating a certain project. Who can complete the project in under one minute?

Pipeline doesn’t just foster trust between colleagues. It’s also an awesome way to cultivate collaboration, communication, and listening skills.

How to play Pipeline

Here’s the basic idea:

Each team member has a small half-pipe with which they have to transport a small ball/marble between point A and point B, without letting it hit the floor.

Each person rolls the ball along their pipe and onto the next person’s, before running to the end of the line so they can take the ball again when it arrives there! This continues until they deposit the ball into a basket at the end of the course.

If they drop it, though, they start over.

Of course, the more people on each team, the easier it becomes, and vice versa. Try to spice things up by adding a time limit and offering prizes to the victor. You could also put obstacles in the way to make the task harder!

Another advantage of Pipeline is that you can play it anywhere. Indoors or outdoors, confined to one room or spread across many, it’s your choice. However, the bigger the space, the trickier the task.

What you need:

• Small sections of half-pipe
• Small balls (marbles or ping pong balls)

This is a guaranteed good-time game that can be played after work on a retreat or at a weekend getaway with your team. It only requires the game Jenga and adequate seating and surface area for playing.

How to play:

‍The same rules apply to Jenga Thoughts to the original Jenga. There is a tower made out of rectangular wooden blocks that players have to remove, so the whole tower doesn’t fall strategically.  

With this team-building-friendly version, each block has a question the player has to answer. The objective is to keep the tower intact, but questions facilitate discussion and break down walls, bringing teams together while playing.

Materials you’ll need: A Jenga set, multiple, and seating areas with tables where people can play.

How many people: Small to mid-sized teams and a large one for setting up the game so everyone can play. If you have multiple Jenga sets, ensure you have several tables to seat and several small groups.

How to play Where I'm from

‘Where I’m From’ is a fantastic no-prep game that enables team members to get to know each other better. With smaller teams, ask one person to begin by sharing three quirky facts about their hometown. For globally remote teams, home countries might work better.

Everyone has the chance to guess the speaker’s hometown or country from the three guesses, with a point awarded to any correct guess. The results might surprise you, as you find out your favorite musician comes from a land far, far away.

One-word check-in is a quick activity that helps gauge the mood and mindset of all team members. It’s ideal as a warm-up or to start a meeting with a pulse check.

Set up:

In a circle, ask each team member to describe their current feeling, focus, or attitude in just one single word. They might give you positive input like motivated or focused, but they might let you know how tired and overwhelmed they feel, so it’s important to listen closely. Once everyone has spoken, look for recurring themes and reflect on those as a group.

How to play Survival Plans

Prioritizing is an important mental exercise. You can work on this with a game about survival. Have everyone imagine they are stranded on a desert island, and they must decide the correct order to perform life-saving steps in. Have this list handy, and ask everyone to pair off or get in small groups and number the list according to the best likelihood of survival:

• Rest
• Find water
• Find food
• Set up shelter
• Look around the island
• Signal for help
• Create weapons for self-defense
• Build a raft for water
• Start a fire
• Select a group leader
• Find other survivors
• Anything else you think of!

The catch is that everyone must agree on the order of events!  That will typically involve discussion and coming to some sort of consensus. Once everyone is done with the exercise, have them present to the larger group and explain their reasoning. This exercise is good for team-building, communication, and problem resolution. Plus, you will be better prepared if you ever get stuck on a deserted island!

In this engaging game, sales reps work as detectives and try to uncover customer needs.

Here’s how it works:

1. Have everyone in the group divide into pairs with one detective and one customer.
2. Give every pair about ten minutes to get as much information as possible. The detective should try to understand as much as they can about the customer's needs.
3. At the end of the session, have each detective present what they’ve learned, with the person who acquired the most knowledge the winner.

This is a great activity for learning more about probing questions, uncovering the things that aren’t being said, and building rapport with prospects - all valuable skills in the sales process!  

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Ever helped a buddy with moving house? Offering help is like that—showing you've got each other's backs and creating a vibe of togetherness.

Offer assistance activity - "Helping hands":

• Create a designated area, either physically or digitally, where colleagues can post requests for assistance or offer help with specific tasks or projects.
• Participants can write down their requests or offers on sticky notes or digital platforms.
• Encourage colleagues to browse the requests and offers and connect with each other to provide assistance or collaborate.
• Regularly update and promote the exchange to ensure ongoing engagement and support within the team.
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Helping Hands fosters a culture of mutual aid, teamwork and resource sharing. All the perfect ingredients to boost working relationships!

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!

If you're looking for more fun team-building activities to liven up your next meeting, explore our full list for extra ideas.

In this activity, individuals become the authors of their own success stories. The game plan? Keep a goal journal, a personal chronicle where you jot down the highs, the lows, and everything in between on your journey to crushing those goals. Why? Because journaling isn't just putting pen to paper; it's a map of progress, a mirror reflecting challenges, and a compass to keep you on course.

Get ready to unleash the power of the written word – your goals are waiting to be documented and conquered!

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Let everyone know this isn't a sprint; it's a marathon of self-reflection and growth. Remind them that every scribble in their goal journal is a step toward victory.
• Foster an atmosphere where sharing the journey, bumps and all, is not just okay but celebrated.
• Create a safe space where the power of putting pen to paper becomes a transformative experience.

How to play Giant Jenga Tournament

Instructions: Build a tower using giant Jenga blocks. Each player takes turns removing one block at a time from the tower and placing it on top without causing the tower to collapse. The player who causes the tower to collapse is eliminated, and the game continues until only one player remains.

Materials needed: Giant Jenga blocks.

Giant Jenga encourages focus, strategy, and problem-solving skills. It promotes friendly competition and creates a sense of anticipation and excitement as the tower becomes more unstable.

After gathering everyone together in a remote arena, a game of Emoji Communication is a great way to get teams working together. This game highlights how easy it is to misinterpret digital messages and the importance of thoughtful communication. It helps members build agile skills where tone and context need extra clarification.

Set up:

One person in the remote meeting is chosen as the messenger. They create a message, a clear and cohesive sentence using only emojis. No words allowed! Everyone else works by a timer and writes down their guesses. Dish out points for correct guesses and rotate the messenger. Some example sentences to start you off could be:

"Let’s grab coffee and chat" ☕👫💬
"Team celebration tonight!" 🎉🍻🎶🕺
"Emergency! Need a quick solution" 🚨🧠⚙️⏳

Building forts inside the office might sound juvenile. And it is! But that’s the point. Fort building is fun, silly, and creative – a perfect antidote to the usual stress and responsibility associated with work.

For this game, get everyone to bring things like bed sheets, cardboard boxes, and string to the office. Then divide the group into teams and give them a 30-minute time limit to construct the best possible fort! Each group then presents what they’ve built for you – the judge – to decide who won.

Some of the simplest trust-building exercises for new teams involve asking good old-fashioned ice-breaker questions. Case and point?

“You Get One Question”.

This super quick and easy game requires minimal preparation, which makes it ideal whenever you want the team to connect and/or unwind. It’s a good way to kick off morning meetings, for instance, or to use when onboarding new employees.

How to play You get one question

To play, you need to create or acquire some cards with different scenarios or roles written on the back. Examples might include “starting a company”, “babysitting your nephew”, or “being a world leader”.

You’d then split your team into pairs and let them choose a card from the deck. Their task is to come up with one perfect question to determine if the other person would be a good fit for that specific role.

After a few minutes of thinking and talking, you can then reconvene and discuss the questions and the process of creating them as a group. By the end, your team will have had a stimulating chat in which they learned more about each other.

What you need:

• Pre-written cards with different scenarios on them

This game allows players to explore their potential leadership strengths by creating their pizza with “skill” toppings.

How to play:

Participants draw out a pizza with six slices. They are then asked to put toppings on their pizza, but instead of mushrooms, it’s a skill that they believe they would excel at. Once the pizzas are complete, people present their pizza, explaining why they chose their skills and engaging in a group discussion.

After talking amongst one another, receiving feedback, and discussing their strengths and weaknesses, if you’re willing to take the conversation a step further, everyone revisits their pizza and updates their skills according to feedback.

Materials you’ll need: Paper and general arts and crafts materials. Tables and chairs for drawing surfaces

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