Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Sound and movement

Have everyone stand in a circle. One volunteer should go into the middle of the circle and make a sound and a motion. For example, they might stop their feet and say “clomp, clomp”. That particular sound and movement should be repeated by everyone in the circle. Then a new person should enter the circle and do the same thing, until everyone has had a chance to come up with their own sound and motion for people to repeat. It’s usually easiest to go in a clockwise order, but you can also have people volunteer for a turn at random.

Comic craze is a creative and collaborative activity where teams build a comic strip together. Each person draws a panel, passing it along to the next person to continue the story. It’s a fun way to let imaginations run wild and see how a simple idea can evolve into something hilarious.

This game is ideal for encouraging creativity and team bonding, with lots of room for unexpected twists in the storyline.

How to play:

• Provide each team with blank comic strip panels.
• The first person draws a panel, then passes it along for the next person to continue.
• Once complete, the team presents their comic strip for some laughs!

Explore more team building ideas to spark creativity and collaboration within your team.

How to play Blind drawing game

Similar to a live-action game of Pictionary! In pairs, one person describes an object, and the other person must draw it without seeing it.

How to play:

Label each block of a Jenga tower with a safety-related question or task. Players take turns removing a block and must answer the question or complete the task before adding it to the top of the tower. If the tower falls, the game starts over.

Safety Jenga combines physical and mental challenges, making it an engaging way to reinforce safety knowledge. It requires careful thought and steady hands, much like maintaining a safe work environment. The tension of the wobbling tower adds an element of excitement.

One of the most important skills to be able to iterate and improve work is being able to focus on reflection. A Focus Funnel activity promotes these core values and lets teams work with an agile mindset, asking clinical questions as they go. Here’s the setup:

Set up:

Each team member first needs to clearly write a list of their current tasks and goals.

The focus funnel comes when applying a series of questions to help you narrow down and prioritize their list. Some example funneling questions could be:

a. “Which task delivers the most immediate value?”

b. “Which of these tasks can be delegated?”

c. “What can be simplified and removed?”

As the questions are applied your teams practice agile prioritization and bring high-value tasks to the forefront.

The Penny Game helps teams find the sweet spot between rhythm and balance. This simple game demonstrates how important workflow and efficiency are to agile working. You’ll need a decent-sized coin collection beforehand.

Set up:

Form teams of 5-6, providing each with a batch of 20 pennies. In each round, team members pass a batch, flipping each penny before passing. Reduce batch sizes each round to demonstrate smoother workflow with smaller batches. After each round, pause for feedback on speed and accuracy.

This indoor team-building game involves together to write a story on a sheet of paper. The catch? You do it one line at a time, taking turns to contribute a sentence before folding over the sheet (just enough to cover the line) so the next person can’t see what you wrote.

You continue in this fashion until everyone has added a sentence! Whoever goes last then unfolds the paper and reads the story aloud. Not only is the game fun to play, but the random (and often amusing!) nature of the story demonstrates how valuable clear communication is in a team environment.

How to implement insights (following event)

If you want to go beyond recall, have each person describe how they will implement what they learned in their daily lives and tasks. Hearing important concepts is one thing; knowing how you can practically apply them is something else!

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How to play Online werewolf

Werewolf is a great popular party game that can run perfectly well in a virtual setting. Zoom, Google Meet, or any platform will do. Make sure all cameras and microphones are on, as seeing each other’s reactions is half the fun!

One person is the ‘moderator,’ who guides the game and assigns roles to 2 werewolves, 1 seer, and 1 doctor, while the rest are villagers. The moderator announces that ‘night has fallen, close your eyes’. Werewolves open their eyes and choose one villager to kill, while the seer can try to guess who is a werewolf, and the doctor can choose to save one person.

The day phase starts and the moderator reveals if any villagers died. Repeat night and day phases until the werewolves are eliminated or outnumber the villagers. It takes a little setup, but try this one out with some useful online werewolf apps to smoothen the gameplay. Get spooky!

How to play Mini Myers-Briggs session

If you work in a progressive environment, then chances are you’ve completed some form of personality assessment before, maybe even the Myers-Briggs version. In this popular personality test, you are assigned a four-letter personality type that gives insight into your behavior in relationships, at work, etc. Have everyone complete the test in advance, and then start your meeting by having everyone discuss the results.

How to play Consequences

Kicking off our list of letter games is a fun crowd-pleaser called Consequences. This one works best with groups of more than 4 people, and no materials are needed! Each player in the group is going to add a consecutive line to the group’s story. Sitting in a group, the first person writes a sentence on paper, folds and hides the message, then passes it to the next person.

You’ll need to think of some cool lines beforehand, and the amount of lines depends on the number of people. Let’s create 5 lines for a team of 5 people:

1. A man’s name
2. The word “met”, then a female name
3. “He said…”
4. “She said…”
5. “And then…”

Did you ever hear about that person who traded a paperclip for a house? Well, now it’s your employees' chance to do the same with Bigger and Better! In this fun team-building game, your employees must work together and leverage their sales skills to obtain more valuable objects through trade.

Great for: Communication, teamwork, energization

Duration: 45–60 minutes

You’ll need: Small “invaluable” objects such as paperclips or pens

How to play:

• Separate your group into teams. Then, give each team an invaluable item such as a paperclip or a pen.
• Find a suitable location such as a busy park or shopping mall.
• Explain that the aim of the game is to trade this item for increasingly more valuable items by using their sales skills.
• Set a time limit and start trading!
• When the time runs out, regroup with your employees and ask each team to present their new item. The team with the most valuable item wins! If it’s close, you can ask other teams to vote for the thing they consider more valuable, or turn to a website like eBay or Amazon to establish monetary value.

How to play Workplace trivia

You can’t go wrong with workplace trivia, because it’s a great way to reiterate facts while having some fun. You can even bring out peoples’ competitive side which can be extra entertaining. Workplace trivia is especially helpful for new team members or as part of an onboarding process. Prior to your training session, come up with a list of questions to use in a trivia game. They should relate to the training material, your company, or your industry. You can also use trivia games in virtual training sessions.

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 Icebreaker bingo

This is one of the best games for lengthier introductions and learning more about the people around you. Most people are familiar with a bingo format, so it should be easy to play. You can use an online bingo card generator to come up with squares and randomize them. Squares can be anything from “owns a boat” to “has 20 years with the company” to “met a celebrity”. Another great thing about this icebreaker game is that there are actual winners - so if you have some fun prizes to hand out, this exercise is perfect.

Our next game involves drinking, so make adjustments according to the workday! There are a lot of videos for this game involving beer, but water and soda work just as well. The game works best with two teams facing each other on opposite sides of the table. The first member needs to successfully flip before the second member can go. It’s a race to the finish line!

Set-up:

1. Get your teams ready: Organize teams on either side of the table. In front of each player place a cup filled with any liquid (beer is optional!). Tell them the first player needs to down the liquid, then successfully flip their empty cup from the edge of the table, so that it lands upside-down.

2. Get flipping crazy!: Let the two players face-off. Once a team member lands a perfect flip, the next teammate downs their drink and races to do the same. Continue with each team member until the last player flips their cup at the finish line.

You’ll likely be creating a bit of a chaotic mess with this one, so whatever you choose as your drink, make sure it’s easy to clean up, and it doesn’t affect your work performance!

How to play:

Set up an obstacle course that includes various safety challenges (e.g., wearing PPE, using a fire extinguisher, performing first aid). Employees navigate the course individually or in teams, and the fastest time wins.

This activity adds a physical element to safety training, making it dynamic and memorable. It promotes hands-on practice of essential safety skills while providing a fun and exciting challenge. Encouraging a bit of healthy competition boosts engagement.

How to play Live “Price is right”

If you’re familiar with the classic show, you know how into it people can get! Try hosting a variation of the show at work. Split everyone into two teams and have everyone guess prices on things from around the office. You can use items ranging from an executive desk to snacks in the kitchen.

Make sure you know the real prices so that you can fairly determine the winners each round. Bonus points for having fun props like large cards to write guesses on, or nameplates to display team names. You’ll have to give some consideration to just where to host this game - the space needs to fit everyone and also have room for bringing in the items.

How to play Sinking ship

This is a fun, physical game for people who aren’t afraid to get close. It works best for about 10 - 20 people. Create a boundary on the floor with tape, and have everyone step inside it. Make sure they are standing close, but not totally on top of each other. Then, each minute, pick up one side of the tape and move it further inside the boundary. The idea is that it gets smaller and smaller, just like a ship that is gradually filling with water. The group will likely get into funnier and more creative configurations as the space gets smaller. Again, please be aware of the comfort of your team in close physical proximity before executing.

Did you ever play a drinking game at university called “never have I ever”?

How to play Spotlight

You sit in a circle, taking turns to say something you’ve never done that you think other people may have. Anyone who’s done the deed must then take a swig of their drink – revealing the fact they’ve done it and leading to ever-increasing levels of intoxication!

Spotlight is similar, although you wouldn’t (usually) be drinking at the same time. Instead, the entire team starts by covering or turning off their webcams. Then each participant takes turns saying fun/random statements that are true of themselves.

If it’s true for someone else in the group too, they have to uncover their camera.

Want a different way to decide who goes next? See who uncovers their camera! Instead of taking turns, whoever said the initial statement would pick someone who revealed their face. If only one person does so, then they’d go next. If nobody does, then you can choose someone at random.

We like Spotlight because it’s a more interesting way to get to know your teammates compared to typical networking events. It’s also super simple and accessible. The end result is a quick and enjoyable exercise that brings the virtual team together (if only in a figurative sense!).

Ever thought of completing tasks in a foreign language with your team? The Language Barrier Quest throws you into an international adventure where you'll face language challenges head-on. Teammates support each other as you navigate through linguistic puzzles. It's not just about learning new words; it's a chance to build trust and embrace different cultures. This quest transforms language barriers into bridges, all while strengthening your team's cohesion.

Instructions

• Divide participants into teams.
• Assign tasks or challenges that require communication in a foreign language.
• Provide resources like translation tools or basic language guides.
• Teams work together to complete tasks, overcoming language barriers.
• Encourage assistance within teams.
• Reflect on the experience to promote cultural understanding and teamwork.

Regardless of how cohesive your team is, at some point, you’re going to encounter disagreements. Online office debates are a playful way of developing public speaking, communication and listening skills that will come in useful during real-life debates.

How to play Online office debates

To organise an online office debate, select two people to go head-to-head in a meaningless debate. The topic could be silly, such as “No one should ever tell a lie” or “Pineapple belongs on pizza.” One person argues “for” the topic while the other argues “against.”

The two presenters can argue their case using any means necessary, they might want to create a PowerPoint presentation and share their screen or back up their points with YouTube videos. After the presentations have been delivered, it’s time for the audience to decide the winner.

It’s time for a verbal showdown. In debate duel, two players go head-to-head, debating opposite sides of a topic. The audience votes on the winner based on persuasion, humor, or pure passion.

This group activity gets the conversation flowing and lets people flex their public speaking and persuasion muscles. Whether it’s serious or silly topics, debate duels are a great way to sharpen communication skills while having a few laughs. Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to settle those ongoing office debates once and for all!

How to play:

• Select two participants to debate opposing sides of a topic.
• The audience listens and votes for the most convincing debater.
• The person with the most votes wins!

How to play Three-line scene

Anyone who’s played beginner improv games before may have encountered a game called “Yes, and”. In it, people work together to build an increasingly ridiculous story. For example:

• Person 1: “I went to the gym this morning.”
• Person 2: “Yes, and your arms look fantastic.”
• Person 3: “Yes, and they’d be perfect for arm wrestling.”
• Person 1: “Yes, and I want to tattoo my partner’s name on them.”
• Person 2: “Yes, and they’ll probably want to marry you after.”

Three-Line Scene takes that concept and simplifies it. This time, pairs of colleagues work together to say one line each, using “yes, and” to build on whatever the previous person said. Heads up, it works best when you say statements vs questions. For example:

• Person 1: “I went to the gym this morning.”
• Person 2: “Yes, and you’re making me feel guilty about eating this cake.”
• Person 1: “Yes, and I’m not going to stop until you become my gym partner.”

The aim is to move fast, think quickly, and not worry about saying the ‘right thing’. The game works well because it rewards creativity and is inherently positive. Those enthusiastic “yes, and” responses embolden new improvisers and make them feel comfortable thinking on their feet and contributing to the task.

We don’t have to explain how helpful that is to team collaboration! The fact teammates practice the art of agreeing with their colleagues (vs dismissing their suggestions) is useful too. With any luck, it’ll transfer into everyday conversations.