Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Giant Connect Four

Instructions: Set up a giant Connect Four board on a stand. Participants take turns dropping their colored discs into the slots, aiming to get four in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The player who achieves four in a row first wins.

Materials needed: Giant Connect Four board.

Giant Connect Four is a strategic and engaging game that promotes critical thinking, decision-making, and friendly competition. It encourages problem-solving skills and provides an opportunity for participants to interact and strategize with each other in a relaxed setting.

Many people might remember this game from their childhood. Commonly used as an exercise to get kids to enhance their listening skills, this simple yet effective game still works just as well in adulthood!

How to play:

‍Gather everyone on your team and have them line up or sit in a big circle. There is a group leader who whispers a sentence into the first person’s ear. That next person whispers that same (hopefully) sentence into their neighbor's ear, and the game continues as such.

This is a perfect game for large teams, as not much is needed, and it’s more challenging to get the message across perfectly the more people it goes through.

Materials you’ll need: Just your team and space to the lineup, or sit in a circle.

How many people: Small to large teams (8-25+ people)

The perfect opportunity for your team to flex their trivia muscles! Can easily be played in smaller, tight-knit teams.

Materials needed:

• Round up some trivia questions about the company and the team.
• Grab a whiteboard or flipchart.
• Snag some markers.

Instructions on how to play:

1. Split the team into little trivia squads.
2. Toss out questions and let the teams brainstorm.
3. Keep score and crown the trivia champs.

Why it's a great team building game:

• High-fives all around: Makes competition fun and brings the team together.
• Company brain boost: Boosts knowledge about the company's history and values.
• Teamwork triumph: Needs everyone to join forces and answer those questions.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly: Mix up the questions. Throw in some easy ones to build confidence and some head-scratchers to keep things interesting. Remember, it's about fun and learning!

How to play Review lottery

If customer service is part of your company culture, reviews are important. One fun way to incentivize more positive reviews and reward your team for great performance is by holding drawings of reviews. Every week, pick the new reviews submitted and print them - both bad and good - and then randomly draw one. If the review is positive, reward your team with a pizza lunch or other small prize. If the review is negative, share the feedback with your team and host a discussion on how to improve.

You might even add some low-stakes repercussions such as having to take out the trash or replace the water filter for non-stellar reviews. Note: this sort of contest tends to work better than simply encouraging employees to ask for reviews. In those cases, the most outgoing and charismatic staff tend to get the most reviews, not necessarily the ones who serve customers best. A random drawing rewards the entire team while still highlighting individuals that might be mentioned. Getting more positive reviews can become an important goal for everyone in the department - more positive reviews equals more chances at fun perks.

How to play Rock-paper-scissors challenge

Who didn’t play this game as a kid? Give this energizing grown-up version a try. People should play against each other in pairs until the first win. For added fun, have the people who become eliminated in each round stand in a cheering section for their favorite in the next round. Repeat the process until there are only two players, each with a large fan base. Since this game will get loud, it’s best to play outside in a large, open space. It’s a favorite because it requires no supplies and very little preparation, and gets everyone excited right away.

How to play Top Five

In this game, you’ll ask players to come up with their five favorites across several categories. Each player can make a list and then share with the larger group. The options for categories are nearly limitless and you should try to cater them to your audience. Try creating “best-of” lists for these categories:

• Movies
• TV shows
• Books
• Songs
• Vacations
• Desserts
• Websites
• Celebrities
• Blogs
• Animals
• Brands
• Apps

Perhaps you got some practice at this game whilst procrastinating in school.

How to play the Wiki-relay race

The team will be divided into two teams. The two teams will be racing each other to land on the ‘destination topic’ fastest.

For example, a member from each team both need to load the same Wikipedia page, let’s take “The Grand Canyon” for example. When the starter pistol fires, the two competitors need to race each other to land on the page ‘Manicure’ by clicking through links on Wikipedia. The first person to reach the ‘destination page’ is the winner.

How to play Cold call bingo

A light-hearted game that can help with dreaded cold calling skills is bingo. For this activity, you need to break up more senior sales people from less experienced ones. You’ll have two groups (senior and junior). Give each junior participant a bingo card with 24 sales-related prompts. Have the junior reps listen to the more senior ones make calls and fill in their bingo cards accordingly. Once they have filled in their card - like in normal bingo - they win. Some of the prompts to add to the card could include:

1. “Call back tomorrow”
2. “We’re not interested”
3. “You need to talk to someone else”
4. “You’re too pricey”
5. “I’m not sure”
6. Whatever pertains to your business

How to play Paper airplane race

Like the pencil javelin, the paper airplane race centers on how far you can get your paper airplane to fly. Each team constructs their best engineered plane and marks where they ultimately land. Each person on the team should have a chance to fly the place and the team that gets the furthest is declared the winner.

Office dynamics can often feel like a puzzle, and effective teamwork is the key to success. Enter "Office Intrigue," a game designed to transform your workplace into an engaging realm of active listening, collaboration, and, of course, a touch of intrigue.

How to play

1. Gather your coworkers in a suitable office space or conference room. The more, the merrier!
2. Divide the participants into two groups: "Employees" and "Intruders." The Intruders are the impostors in your office.
3. Employees receive a list of tasks or projects to complete, while Intruders get a list of tasks to sabotage. Both groups must keep their missions secret.
4. Everyone returns to their desks and starts working. Employees must complete their tasks while Intruders subtly hinder progress without being detected.
5. Employees can call emergency meetings if they suspect sabotage. During these meetings, team members discuss suspicious activities and vote on who they believe the Intruders are.
6. The game continues until the employees successfully complete their tasks or identify all the Intruders.
7. After the game, hold a discussion about the importance of active listening, clear communication, and teamwork in the workplace.

Slack talk shuffle uses conversation prompts in Slack to spark casual, non-work-related discussions. Whether it’s “What’s your dream vacation?” or “Best movie of all time?”, this is an easy way to keep the team connected and talking—even remotely.

It’s a great way to add a little fun into your virtual workspace and build camaraderie, with minimal effort.

How to play:

• Post a conversation prompt in Slack.
• Teammates respond and discuss in the thread.
• Watch the conversation flow and learn more about each other!

Explore more funny team-building activities to keep your team engaged, whether you're working remotely or in person.

How to host Talent show

For more silly fun, let employees know that your next happy hour will be a talent show. To execute this idea, you probably need to be in your own office space or another venue where you have the space to yourself. This is also a nice idea for a big outdoor space. Announce the talent show in advance and let everyone prepare an “act”. Or, for even more fun, put people on the spot during the event and see what everyone can come up with at the last minute.

You can encourage more cross-department collaboration by having people split up into groups for their talent act, doing things like a group poetry recitation or improv scene. If you want to ensure more networking, divide up the groups in advance.

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

If you’ve ever been to a professional escape room event, you’ll know just how effective they are at improving essential skills like communication and problem-solving. With Office Escape, you can recreate the drama of an escape room experience without leaving the office!

Great for: Problem-solving, creative thinking, communication, leadership

Duration: 1–2 hours

You’ll need: A storyline with a final objective, a series of problems and challenges

How to organise:

• Think of a final objective and then create a series of challenges and tasks that leads them towards completing it. It’s easier to think of challenges when you already have the final objective in mind.
• Plot a series of challenges that leads your employees toward the final objective. Be creative and have fun with it!
• You can further engage teams by offering a small reward for being the fastest to complete the objective.

Looking for more team-building activities for adults that build communication and problem-solving skills? Explore our full guide for extra inspiration.

You may have played this party game as a child, but it also works brilliantly for breaking the ice at work-related team events. It’s particularly convenient because it doesn’t require any equipment, all you need is a group of people and an open area to move around in. Wink murder can be played with 10-30 people, any more and the game can take too long, any less and the game becomes too easy.

How to play Wink Murder

To prepare, arrange your group into a circle and ask them to close their eyes. At this moment, a moderator will move around the circle and select one player to be the ‘murderer’ by tapping them silently on their shoulder.

When the game starts, all the players start to walk around the room. It’s the task of the ‘murderer’ to catch eyes with a player and wink at them, eliminating them from the game. When a player gets winked at, they must ‘die’ as dramatically as they see fit and leave the game.

It’s the role of the players to identify who the ‘murderer’ is and to make an accusation. When a player wants to make a guess, they say “I accuse [name].” The accusation must be supported by at least one other player by saying “second”. The accused player must then respond with “yes” if they are the murderer or “no” if they are not.

If the accusation is wrong, the two players that made the guess must ‘die’ and leave the game.

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!

How to play Relay Sack Race

Instructions: Divide participants into teams. Each team stands in a line, and the first player in each team gets inside a sack. On "go," they hop to a designated point and back, then pass the sack to the next teammate. The team that finishes first wins.

Materials needed: Sacks or large bags.

Relay Sack Race encourages teamwork, coordination, and builds camaraderie among team members. It adds an element of fun and nostalgia to the picnic while providing an opportunity for participants to cheer on their teammates.

Not every team-building activity needs to be carefully choreographed. Sometimes, organic bonding activities like Company Potluck build stronger relationships.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding

Duration: 1–2 hours

You’ll need: N/A

How to organise:

• Set a time and date for your team to come together for a group meal.
• Ask each team member to arrive with a snack or dish which they prepared themselves. For the more culinary inept employees, shop-bought products are also acceptable.
• Everybody arrives at the event with their offerings and spends the afternoon eating and mingling with their colleagues.
• To prevent lots of people from bringing the same product, you can pin a paper to the staffroom wall for people to write down what they intend to bring.

Ready to turn setbacks into stepping stones? Welcome to the Failure Analysis Workshop, where we don't just talk about success – we dissect failure, pull it apart, and find the golden nuggets within. Participants gather around the metaphorical "lessons learned" table, discussing past hiccups, pitfalls, and fiascos.

Make people understand that learning from failures isn't just a skill; it's an art. This exercise transforms the not-so-great moments into valuable insights, fostering a positive attitude toward setbacks. It’s also the perfect chance to learn from past mistakes in order to prevent future mishaps, a perfect aim for goal-setting!

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Be the guide, not the judge.
• Encourage participants to share openly and guide the discussion towards extracting lessons rather than dwelling on the negatives.
• The goal here is not just to analyze failure but to turn it into a powerful tool for future success.

Get ready for a storytelling showdown, emoji-style! Each participant receives a handful of those tiny expressive symbols, and their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to concoct a tale or spill the beans on a personal experience using these digital hieroglyphics. It's like writing a story, but with smiley faces and thumbs up emojis stealing the spotlight!

Emoji storytelling is an exercise in creativity and interpretation. It's like decoding a secret language. As the stories unfold, the hilarious attempts at translating emojis into real-life adventures begin. It's a light-hearted, laughter-inducing journey into the world of shared imagination.

Instructions:

1. Grab your personalized emoji set - it's time to flex those creative muscles.
2. Cook up a short tale or spill the beans on a memorable experience.
3. Present your emoji masterpiece to the eager crowd.
4. Witness the guessing chaos unfold, crown the emoji storytelling champion, and bask in the glory of a well-told tale.

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A water gun fight is an opportunity for your employees to leave the stresses of the office behind them and enjoy some harmless fun.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding, relieving stress

Duration: 30 minutes

You’ll need: An open space, various water guns (at least one per person)

How to organise:

• Mark approximate boundaries for your water gun fight. If you’re in a park, this might simply be the approximate confines of the park itself.
• Scatter various water guns through the space for your employees to discover once the fighting begins.
• When you say “Go!” players will scatter to find a water gun and start firing at other players.
• There are no fixed rules here—the idea is simply to have fun!
• Blow a whistle to signify the end of the game.

Office FM is an ongoing team-building activity that boosts morale and encourages employees to collaborate.

Great for: Company culture

Duration: N/A

You’ll need: Access to a music streaming service (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)

How to organise:

• Create a collaborative playlist and invite everybody as a contributor. If you like, you can create a theme such as “90s Party Classics”.
• Ask each employee to contribute a maximum of two songs to the playlist.
• Hit “play” on the playlist whenever a morale boost is needed!

One of the benefits of working in a team is that you always have someone to offer their support when you need it. Whether you feel down and need an emotional lift or have too much to do and need some practical input, a sympathetic colleague can step in to ease the burden. This is teamwork and collaboration at its finest.

Unfortunately, Fortunately draws on that supportive reality by asking teammates to reframe each other’s problems into something positive.

Here’s how it works:

Ask one person on the video call to say something they’re struggling with. It shouldn’t be too heavy or serious – nothing that’s going to be uncomfortable to disclose. Next, go around the virtual circle, taking turns to reframe their “problem” in a positive light.

For example, Brian might start by saying, “Unfortunately, I’m finding it hard to wake up on time at the moment.” Upon hearing this, Sheryl might say, “Fortunately, you have such a comfortable bed to sleep in!” And Anthony might follow up with, “And fortunately, you need a good night’s rest to perform at your best!”

It continues from there until everyone has disclosed an issue and received a bunch of positive reframes from their colleagues. By the end of the task, everyone will have practiced their listening skills and offered/received support to/from their teammates.

Trusting your colleagues doesn’t just feel good. It also has very practical implications. After all, it means you can count on each other for help; to work together to achieve common goals.

The Perfect Square (otherwise known as the “blind square”) game teaches this lesson to your employees and sets in motion the teamwork that’s so pivotal to a successful working environment.

How to play Perfect/blind square

Here’s how it works:

Get your entire team to stand in a circle and give them a long stretch of rope to hold. Next, put a blindfold on each person. They then have to drop the rope, take a few steps back, and spin around a few times until they’re dizzy.

That’s when the fun really starts!

Their goal is to return to the rope and work together to lay it out in the shape of, you guessed it…a perfect square. You can give them as much time as they need or add some pressure by setting a time limit.

We like this activity for its simplicity, but you can definitely make it harder if your team’s finding it too easy! For example, why not get them to make a star, diamond, or pentagon? It’s sure to keep them occupied a little longer.

What you need:

• Blindfolds
• Rope