Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Growing sentence

In this game, everyone in the room contributes one word to a growing sentence. You can have everyone stand in a group or in a line, as long as everyone can hear each other properly. Pick one word to begin the sentence and have everyone add one more word to keep the sentence going. Have someone write it down on paper or a chalkboard so you can all get a laugh at the final result.

How to play:

Create a list of safety-related trivia questions covering topics like fire safety, first aid, and workplace hazards. Organize a trivia contest where employees compete individually or in teams to answer the questions. Keep score and offer prizes for the top scorers.

Safety trivia battle turns learning into a competitive and enjoyable experience. It encourages employees to brush up on their safety knowledge and rewards them for their efforts. Trivia is always a crowd-pleaser and can be a great way to break up a training session.

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How to play Minute to Win It Challenges

Instructions: Set up a series of minute-long challenges where participants must complete a task using everyday objects. Examples include stacking cups or moving cookies from the forehead to the mouth using only facial muscles.

Materials needed: Everyday objects (cups, cookies, etc.).

Prepare for the Minute to Win It Challenges, where lightning-fast antics and friendly rivalry collide. These challenges ignite creativity, force adaptability, and unveil hidden talents as team members scramble to conquer the clock.

How to play Facts only

An effective icebreaker for training sessions helps to energize everyone present while relating to the material. Start by narrowing down a topic that everyone should understand by the end of training. Then go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves, and give one fact that relates to the topic.

For example, if the topic is employee annual reviews, people could give a fact like “our review cycle begins in August”, or “the average for annual reviews ‘meets expectations’”. If you want to add another layer of complexity, you can have the group vote on if the statement is truly a fact (rather than more of an opinion). So if someone says “Employees don’t like annual reviews”, then the group would call out that it’s actually more of a personal statement and not a fact.

How to play Truth or Dare

Want to discover new things about your workmates or challenge them to do silly stuff? Truth or Dare is a classic question game where you take turns choosing between a “truth” and a “dare.”

If you pick the former, you have to answer a personal question from one of your colleagues – no matter how embarrassing it might be! Opt for the latter, and you have to do something embarrassing, awkward, or otherwise unenjoyable.

As you can imagine, the truths and dares you’d do with close friends are likely to differ from what’s appropriate in the workplace! We suggest you keep the game “PG” when you’re with workmates – avoiding questions or dares that might make people too uncomfortable.

Potential “truths”:

• What’s your biggest fear?
• Who do you think is the best-looking person in the office?
• What’s the worst lie you’ve ever told someone?
• What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

Potential “dares”:

• Do your best impression of [insert co-worker’s name here]
• Sing a song in front of the group
• Eat a spoonful of [insert condiment here]
• Call a random number and tell whoever answers that you love them

How to play Lights, camera, action!

Here’s a funky and active virtual corporate event that is great for the movie buffs out there. ‘Lights, camera, action!’ is a game where teams need to act out a chosen scene from a movie. Prepare cards with famous scenes beforehand, like Luke Skywalker’s parental discovery or Pulp Fiction’s mysterious briefcase, then award points when someone guesses correctly.

You could even spice things up by hosting a mock Oscar award ceremony with awards after everyone’s finished. Cut!

Have your teams flex their teamwork muscles while experimenting with their engineering skills. Build a bridge uses small, nifty materials to set the stage for a group challenge.

How to set up:

1. Gather Your Gear. You’re going to need specific materials. Raid the supply closet for straws, tape, and popsicle sticks. Also, get them sorted into teams to save the supplies.
2. Rule check time! Explain that teams need to create the strongest free-standing bridge they can, and lay down some time limits to add a sense of urgency.
3. Time to test the strength of each bridge and see if it can handle pressure. Load the bridges up with weights and see which one stands strong at the end.

Kicking off our list is a competitive bout of stacking. This cup game is the most popular on the list, and also the most professionally competitive! Side note, did you know that professionals call this “sport stacking,” and the world-record holder finished a stack in 1.33 seconds?

This one works best individually, and is fun to use a timer with, for extra competition! Give each player 10 cups and a table to do their stacking.

Set-up:

1. Build a pyramid of cups: Each player needs to stack 10 cups to make a pyramid shape. The base will have 4 cups, then 3 on top of those, 2 cups for the next level, finished with 1 cup at the top.
2. Collapse the pyramid down into one stack of cups: Players then need to take the top cup and collapse the other cups down, until only one stack of 10 cups remains Remember to smash that timer as soon as they’re finished! Create a leaderboard and find the fastest stacker!

How to play Turn back time

Turn Back Time" is a heartwarming activity that brings people together through sharing personal memories. It taps into the positive things people remember from the past, sparking nostalgia and curiosity among the listeners.

This is a great way to boost team building without materials, as participants need only their memories. Why is it a hit at corporate events? Well, we spend so much time in the office, but how often do we really get to know our coworkers beyond the water cooler chat?

So, if you're looking to sprinkle a little fun and nostalgia into your next corporate shindig, "Turn Back Time" is your golden ticket. As you uncover the beautiful tapestry of memories that make your team tick, get ready to laugh and reminisce.

This short game encourages everybody to listen and pay close attention to their partner.

How to play ‘My perfect vacation Is…‘

Split your team up into pairs and ask them to go away and explain their perfect vacation, imaging that time and money were no object. Then, each person needs to have a go at explaining their partner's dream holiday to the rest of the team.

21 Questions is the perfect game for passing the time, learning more about each other, and exercising critical thinking skills. Here’s how it works:

One person in the group thinks of an individual (e.g. a celebrity), a place, an animal, or an object. Then everyone else takes turns asking “yes/no” questions to work out what it is! The aim of the game is to work together to find the answer as quickly as possible. If they don’t succeed within 21 questions, they lose.

Here’s an example where Player One is thinking of an elephant:

• Player Two: “Is it an animal?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Three: “Does it fly?”
• Player One: “No.”
• Player Four: “Is it a large animal?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Two: “Does it live in Africa?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Three: “Is it a giraffe?”
• Player One: “No.”
• Player Four: “Is it an elephant?”
• Player One: “Yes.”

They’d then swap roles, with Player Four (i.e. the person who guessed the answer) thinking of something for everyone else to guess.

Oh, Scattergories - that hilarious game that always leaves you scratching your head and laughing until your sides hurt. But did you know that this party favorite can be used in the office setting too?

How to play:

1. Choose a category and a letter.
2. Set a time limit for players to come up with answers.
3. Each player writes down as many answers as possible starting with the chosen letter.
4. Compare answers and eliminate any duplicates or invalid answers.
5. Award points for unique and valid answers. Repeat with a new category and letter.

Not only is Scattergories great for building team chemistry and boosting morale, but it's also a sneaky way to get everyone thinking outside the box and flexing their problem-solving muscles. So the next time you're stuck in a meeting that feels like a snooze-fest, bring out the Scattergories and watch the magic happen!

How to play Celebrity matching game

This is similar to the childhood photo matching game, only instead of a photograph from their childhood, staff should bring in a photo of a celebrity they’ve been told they resemble. You can either post the pictures in a public space or pass them around and have everyone guess which photo belongs to which person.

Ah, Pictionary, the timeless guessing game that has brought joy and frustration to households for decades. But have you ever thought about playing it in the office? Trust me, it's not just a game for family game night.

How to play:

1. Split into teams.
2. One player draws a word or phrase from a container.
3. That player must draw the word or phrase, while their team guesses.
4. The team has a limited amount of time to guess correctly.
5. If they guess correctly, they earn points; repeat until all players have had a turn.

Not only does it encourage teamwork and communication skills, but it also allows for a fun and creative break from the typical daily routine. Plus, it's a refreshing change from staring at screens all day.

Discover more team building activities for work to bring energy and collaboration into your workplace.

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.

This team-building game is perfect for groups that don’t yet know each other very well.

How to play Two truths, one lie

Each person will take a turn at having their colleagues guess which of the three statements is the lie. The more believable the lie, the harder it is for the guessing team!

Not only will the team get to know one another better, but there will certainly be some big laughs and surprising moments along the way.

How to play Brain teaser challenge

Test everyone’s problem-solving skills with some fun riddles. Put together a list of brain teasers for everyone to take a crack at. This is a great activity to take a team approach to. Break everyone up into small groups and share the list of questions with a time limit. Highest score wins!

Here’s a game that demands timing and cat-like reflexes. It’s a rework of musical chairs, something that we’ve all played in childhood at least once. The game is fast-paced and competitive, making it a perfect team energizer. You’ll need a group of 4 to 10 people, a table and an amount of cups that is one less than the number of players you have. Basically, one person is going to be eliminated each round!

Set-up:

1. Get the music started! Get your Bluetooth speaker and an upbeat playlist ready. On the table place a number of cups that is one less than the amount of people playing. Most people will recognize the rules instinctively; you play the music and each player walks around the table clockwise. When the music stops, each person needs to grab one cup with lightning-fast speed. Whoever is without a cup at the end of this round is eliminated. Remove one cup and move to the next round.

2. Whittle down the competition: Continue eliminating one player per round. Make the music more intense and crazy as each round passes by. Eventually, only one person will be left standing (and sipping!), so crown this person as the winner of Musical Cups!

Cups can be full or empty as people play, and as with our other drinking games, choose a beverage that’s easy to clean up and applies to your work setting. Organize it during a work happy hour to get the party started. We’ll say cheers to that!

This one's all about sharing stories! In this activity, we'll open up about our real-life workplace conflicts and learn a bunch of cool stuff from each other.

Why it's awesome for learning conflict resolution

Real-Life Drama: So, imagine this: We're sharing the nitty-gritty details of actual conflicts we've faced at work. No made-up stuff here! That means the lessons we learn are totally relatable to our daily grind.

All Walks of Life: We've got a mixed bag of folks here, from different departments and roles. That means loads of different perspectives. Hearing stories from all angles makes the learning super rich.

Feel the Empathy: When we listen to each other's tales of workplace woe, it's like putting on someone else's shoes (not literally, though). We start to get how our colleagues feel in those tough spots.

A vital part of effective team collaboration is communication. Yet to be a strong communicator you also have to master the art of listening.

That’s one reason Group Counting’s such a popular improv game. Aside from being fun and strangely addictive to play, it requires participants to pay close attention to each other; to get on the same page by listening intently from the outset.

How to play Group counting

The game itself couldn’t be more straightforward. The team stands in a circle, closes their eyes, and works together to count to 21. However, there’s a catch: only one person can speak at once. Not only that, but if more than one person says a number at the same time, the group starts again from 1.

It might sound easy enough, but you’d be surprised how long it can take to get to 21! And remember that everyone has their eyes shut, which stops them from using hand signals and other gestures to pick who’ll speak next.

Instead, they’re forced to listen – to try and pick up on verbal cues to see if someone’s about to yell out the next number.

Expect light-hearted frustration mixed with laughs as the team proceeds from 1 to 21, followed by shouts of glee when they finally finish the game. By then, they’ll have bolstered their sense of group mind and become a closer team in the process.

We're gonna dig into past workplace conflicts, learn from them, and maybe even give our past selves a pat on the back. Let's get started!

Materials needed

Not a lot is needed here, just paper and pens!

Instructions:

1. The first goal here is to think back to a workplace conflict you've faced before.
2. It could be a disagreement with a colleague, a tricky project situation, or maybe a frustrating client interaction.
3. Grab a pen and paper or your trusty device—it's time to write a letter to yourself. Pretend you're talking to your past self during the heat of that conflict.
4. Start by describing the conflict. Who was involved? What were you all arguing about? Where and when did it go down?
5. Don't hold back on the emotions. Share how the conflict made you feel, and how you reacted. Were you cool as a cucumber or seeing red?
6. If the conflict got resolved, let yourself know how. If not, explain why it stayed hanging in the air.
7. Here's the meaty part—identify what you could've done differently to handle the conflict better. What strategies or communication skills could've saved the day?
8. Reflect on the lessons you've learned from this experience. How can you use these lessons to face future conflicts like a pro?

Once you're done pouring your heart into your letters, let's gather 'round and chat.

Let's talk about common themes, cool strategies, and any lightbulb moments you had during your reflections.

To wrap things up, think about what you've learned and what you're going to do about it.

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!

The Innovation Scramble challenge is an exercise in resourcefulness, creativity, and teamwork. As you brainstorm, prototype, and iterate, you'll discover how diverse perspectives can lead to breakthrough ideas. This activity not only hones problem-solving skills but also fosters an environment of collaborative ingenuity.

Instructions

• Create teams with a mix of analytical and creative thinkers.
• Present a problem statement or challenge that requires an innovative solution.
• Teams scavenge for materials and brainstorm ideas.
• Collaborate to design and build a prototype of your solution.
• Present your innovations and discuss the collaborative process.

How to play:

Create bingo cards with different safety-related actions or reminders in each square (e.g., "wore safety goggles," "reported a hazard"). Distribute these cards to employees and encourage them to mark off squares as they observe these actions throughout the day. The first person to get a bingo wins a small prize.

Safety bingo blitz makes safety awareness engaging. It's like regular bingo but with a twist that reinforces good safety practices. Everyone loves a good game of bingo, and it's a great way to keep everyone alert and involved in maintaining a safe work environment.

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