Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Here’s a simple game that always goes down well with small groups – especially when it’s a new team that’s still getting to know each other. FYI, Magic box also works well when you need an improv game that’s less daunting or full-on.

How to play Magic box

To play, you’ll first have to assemble a box full of random objects. It doesn’t matter what goes inside! The stranger and more varied, the better. Candy bars, coffee cups, plants, pictures, water bottles, business cards, books…you name it.

With your box ready, the fun can start. Each person sits in a circle and takes turns picking out an item. They then have to tell the group something about themselves that relates to that object.

The trick is to do it without overthinking. Heck, this is improv! They can make something up entirely if they want to. Play it that way and the group could then try to figure out whether it was a true story or not. Bonus points if whoever’s telling the story can link it to a central topic or theme of the workshop.

Whatever version of this game you play demands quick thinking and creativity from participants. It can also showcase their personalities and help the team learn more about each other, becoming a closer group as a result.

As an aside, Magic Box can also be played by remote teams. All you need is a virtual box of items (a web tool like this can be helpful) that people select at random. We’ll go through more examples of remote improv games later.

How to play Dance-freeze

A very popular high-energy game, this one is great for students and teams. You’ll need music that you can dance to and participants that aren’t too shy about dancing. The concept is simple: everyone must dance when music is playing. When the music stops, everyone must freeze just as they were when they were in motion. Anyone who keeps dancing is out of the game and it continues until there is a single winner.

How to play Personality Shapes

If your personality was a shape, what would it be? This is a fun little game where you can get a visual of the different personality types you work with. At a table near the entrance to your event, have several colored shapes set out. You’ll also want a sheet available that explains the different shapes and their traits. For example, squares could be detail-oriented and stubborn, while circles are empathetic but struggle with saying no. You can be creative in making the various shapes and matching them with different characteristics.

The important thing is that everyone gets a chance to choose a shape based on the descriptions provided. Then, before starting the meeting, ask everyone to raise their shape in the air and let everyone look around. In this way, you can get an accurate portrayal of who sees themselves a certain way. For added benefit, allow time for discussion.

How to play Photo Scavenger Hunt

Instructions: Create a list of specific photos or scenes that teams need to capture using their smartphones or cameras. The team that captures all the items on the list in the shortest time wins.

Materials needed: List of photo items, smartphones or cameras.

The Photo Scavenger Hunt combines the fun of a scavenger hunt with creativity and photography. It encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and allows team members to explore the surrounding area while creating lasting memories.

How to play:

Sit in a circle and start a story with a few sentences. Each person adds a sentence to continue the story, building upon the previous contributions.

Materials needed: None

Benefits:

• Enhanced communication skills: Your team will be able to improve their ability to listen and build upon the ideas of others. It's like a symphony of words, where everyone gets a chance to play their unique melody.
• Team synergy on steroids: Witness the magic of teamwork as your team's contributions harmonize into a cohesive storyline. It's like a literary potluck where each person brings their secret ingredient to create a masterpiece.

How to play Stop and walk

This is a high-energy game that's great for groups. Use it to warm up large groups in a fun way or break up long periods of sitting such as during training. All the participants should “walk” and “stop” on the commands of a leader. The leader should repeat the two commands several times so everyone gets used to it - and then switch commands to “trick” people. For example, saying “stop” two times in a row. You can also add in other commands like “jump” or “turn around”. There’s no real winner, it’s just about everyone being silly and moving their bodies.

Hosting a company-wide employee appreciation day is an idea to show employees gratitude and recognition for their hard work, dedication, and contributions to the organization. It's an opportunity for employers to express their appreciation and for employees to feel valued and motivated.

Here are some ideas and suggestions for celebrating Employee Appreciation Day:

1. Write personalized thank-you notes to each employee, highlighting their contributions and efforts.
2. Offer gift cards to employees to take themselves to lunch or coffee.
3. Hand out employee awards that highlight outstanding employees with awards or certificates, such as "Employee of the Month."
4. Host a company-wide employee breakfast where employees can relax and bond with one another.
5. Take the day off for team-building activities that encourage employee bonding and camaraderie.
6. Take the day off to volunteer day and use all that appreciative energy to do some good. Volunteer for a charitable cause or support a community project as a team-building activity.
7. Acknowledge each employee's unique interests and preferences, which can make the recognition more meaningful.
8. Share employee accomplishments on social media, the company website, or a company newsletter to highlight their contributions.

Employee appreciation day is all about celebration and showing gratitude and should be made an ongoing practice within the workplace to maintain a positive and motivated workforce.

How to play Tug of War Challenge

Instructions: Divide participants into two teams and provide a long rope. Each team holds onto one end of the rope and pulls in opposite directions. The team that successfully pulls the other team over a designated line wins.

Materials needed: Rope.

Tug of War encourages teamwork, communication, and friendly competition. It promotes unity, camaraderie, and creates a sense of strength and determination among team members.

Looking for a quick mental warm-up? The Desert Island Game is a classic icebreaker that pushes your team to make difficult decisions. You’ll also learn more about the priorities of your employees.

Great for: Decision-making

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 4+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play The Desert Island Game

Setup: Make a list of eight random items such as a shovel, string, sticky tape, a canvas bag, etc.

To play: The rules of the game are simple. Your team must imagine they’re about to take a one-way ferry to a deserted island and they can only take three items with them. Present your team with your pre-prepared list of eight items and ask your employees to choose which three items they would take. Then, go around and ask what everybody chose and why.

Alternative Application is the game that challenges players to think outside the box—you’ll be surprised by the innovative ideas your employees will come up with!

Great for: Creative thinking

Duration: 5-10 minutes

Players: 4+

You’ll need: Various office items (at least one per player)

How to play Alternative Application

Setup: Before play begins, gather a variety of random office objects (at least one, preferably two, per player). Objects might include a stapler, flipchart, kitchen kettle etc.

To play: Taking turns, pass one of the objects to a player and ask them to mime an alternative use of that object. Meanwhile, the other players try to guess what action is being mimed.

For example, the player with the flipchart might stand it on its legs, drape a sheet of paper over their head, and mime taking a photograph on a vintage view camera. Once somebody guesses correctly, play moves to the next player.

How to play All alike

This game encourages players to find common ground, which can be really helpful before collaborative sessions. Break everyone up into groups of 3 or 6 and have them separate physically (such as into different meeting rooms) from the other groups. Set a timer for five minutes - that’s how long everyone has to come up with a trait that they all have in common. For example, everyone studied abroad, everyone lived in a certain neighborhood at some point, or everyone dislikes a specific food.

Do you have anyone in the office who is an absolute pro on a bowling alley? Maybe you do, but you haven’t realized it yet. 10-pin bowling with cups demands precision and a little strategy. It works well in small teams too, with each teammate helping the bowler plan out their attempt.

You’ll need 10 cups per team, with each team member taking turns to bowl. Cups placed the right-way-up make knockdowns a lot easier! Here’s how to get it started:

Set-up:

1. Prepare an “alley” for bowling: Set up your cup formation, 10-pin style, at the end of a flat, smooth table (the longer the better!). To replace a 10lb bowling ball, just use a tennis or ping-pong ball.

2. Roll to your heart’s content!: Each player has 2 attempts to roll the ball along the narrow table and knock over as many “pins” as possible. Not everyone is going to bowl a “spare” or “strike,” so you might need someone keeping careful tabs on the scoreboards. Play over 10-frames to find and crown your winner.

It doesn’t take much to set up this cup and ping-pong ball game, so bring the excitement of a bowling alley to the workplace for teambuilding fun! Serve some popcorn and play the sound of pins being hit with each roll too, to get the atmosphere right!

How to play Six thinking hats

If you want your team to focus on coming up with more creative solutions, this activity can help. You’ll need to organize people into groups of no more than 10, and have several different color paper hats. Each hat represents a different perspective. Here are some sample colors and what they correlate to:

• White: Facts and information
• Red: Emotions and feelings
• Black: Critical analysis
• Yellow: Benefits and positives
• Green: Creativity and alternatives
• Blue: Big picture thinking

Give each group a problem to solve and tell them to approach the issue from their unique “hat” perspective. Using these different philosophies, the group should come up with a solution that works for everyone and takes all of these positions into account. You can have a debrief where everyone discusses the process and what they found most challenging. If you have time, you can always add a second or even third round where people switch their hats and approach a new issue from a different perspective. This is also a great exercise for managers to observe closely. It’s a great way of seeing how people think and where their strengths lie.

Soccer was the first team sport to be introduced to the Olympic games in 1900, so in the spirit of teamwork, it’s a great game to integrate into your Office Olympics.

How to play Office soccer

You can use desks, or even chairs set apart from one another, to serve as the goal.

If you’re pressed for space, you can play Desk Top Soccer. Find a tabletop with enough length to set up two goals and crumple some paper to create a soccer ball.

This event allows coworkers to team up and play a friendly match of office soccer, promoting play and teamwork.

How to host Company quiz

Who knows the most about your organization? Come up with a quiz to find out. Put together a fun list of questions based on company mission, values, history, and staff. Grade the quizzes and the employee with the highest score wins. If you want to up the ante, have every team member write a question about themselves to incorporate into the quiz. Have them make it as challenging as possible!

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.

How to play Night watchman

Both small groups and big groups can benefit from this exercise. The game involves players imitating a statue under the watch of a “night watchman”. They should try to move without getting caught. You’ll have to choose a night watchman at the beginning of the game; this person can move about freely while everyone else should behave like a statue. Players can try to take steps, but the night watchman must not see them move. If they see someone move, that person is out of the game. In some variations, the night watchman can do things to make the players move, but they shouldn’t touch them directly. You can also make this a no-winner game where the last person caught moving becomes the new night watchman.

How to play Kiss, Marry, Kill

Looking for a quick and funny way to start a meeting? Try Kiss Marry Kill. A perennial crowd-pleaser, this question game involves choosing which of three people you’d rather kiss, marry, or – you guessed it – kill.

They can be fictional (e.g. characters from well-known movies) or real (e.g. singers, sports stars, or people in the office) and you take turns presenting three names for the other players to choose from. Expect light-hearted debate to rage as each participant justifies who they’re kissing, marrying, or killing!

If you want to make this game slightly more PC, then consider the alternative: “Kiss, Marry, Avoid.” The process is the same, just with slightly less offensive language.

It's time for the Goal Reflection Circle – a huddle of progress, challenges, and collective wisdom. Allow participants to form a circle, each taking a turn to share one of their recent exploits. It's a chance to share challenges, reflections, and receive constructive feedback from your cohesive team. This activity is like a group therapy session for your goals, promoting a sense of community

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Foster an atmosphere of trust and support. As the facilitator, guide the circle with a gentle hand. Encourage active listening and constructive feedback. This activity is about building a community where vulnerability is a strength, and everyone is not just cheering for success but helping each other navigate the hurdles.

How to play “Speed dating” icebreaker

In this game, you want to facilitate a series of rapid conversations among everyone in a very short amount of time. Have everyone sit in pairs with people they don’t know well or work with directly. Set a time limit (we recommend 3 minutes) and every time the timer goes off, one part of the pair should move to the next person. It’s usually easiest to have people move in a set pattern, such as everyone moving to the right each round. This is a great way to get people out of their comfort zone and sharing with people outside of their usual circle.

Explanation:

‍Teams are presented with rapid-fire problems to solve, ranging from everyday office issues to totally wacky scenarios (like planning for a zombie apocalypse!). The goal is to come up with creative solutions as fast as possible.

In this hybrid version, teams—both in the office and remote—can get hit with rapid-fire challenges through video calls or chat. Each team works together to brainstorm and present their solutions as quickly as possible. In-office workers might tackle more physical challenges, like figuring out how to fix something in the room, while remote teammates might handle tech or creative scenarios. It’s a fun, fast-paced way to get everyone involved, thinking on their feet, and laughing at the wild scenarios they come up with!

How to play Trivia

Questions games don’t get much better than good old-fashioned trivia! A classic way to test people’s knowledge on a range of topics, you can ask questions on everything from science and current events to religion, sports, and history.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from playing a “personal trivia” game too. Take this tack, and you’d ask questions to test the team’s knowledge about each other instead! For example, who did what at the last Christmas party? Which team member was born overseas? And who has a middle name that starts with “K”?

You get the idea!

Whatever type of trivia game you choose, the idea is to play in teams and compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. Award prizes to the winner to incentivize participation.

How to play Three-Word Check-In

This isn't exactly an activity but rather a practice you can encourage your employees to adopt on a daily basis. People come to the office with varying moods every day. It could be due to a challenging workload that makes someone feel on edge and emotional, or it might be personal issues like a recent breakup that leave them feeling angry. In reality, it's not your role to pry into the reasons behind someone's mood unless they choose to share with you.

So, if they don't open up to you, how can you gauge how they're feeling? This is where the "Three-Word Check-In" comes into play. Encourage individuals to express their emotions for the day using just three words.

For instance:

Imagine Martin is having a particularly difficult day where everything seems to be going wrong, leaving him agitated and frustrated. If a co-worker asks him how he's feeling, Martin can simply respond with "Agitated, frustrated, sad." In this way, his colleagues now have a better understanding of his emotional state and can give him some space and support until he begins to relax.

This could be perfect for preventing a potential conflict and is great for team cohesion!

This 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.