Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play “Follow the leader” dancing

If your colleagues are comfortable getting a little silly, you can create a fun game using the “follow the leader” format combined with a dance-off. You’ll have to choose one team member as the leader to direct the dancing. Put on some music, and everyone should dance just as the leader is doing. You can make this more competitive by breaking the game into rounds, where the last player to copy the leader is “out” every time.

Spruce things up by having a judge available to watch the dancers and call out the slowest people or those who are missing the mark on the moves. We guarantee you’ll share some laughs.

Fun, fast, and easy trust-building exercises don’t get much better than this one. A true classic, “Three Truths and a Lie” helps teams learn more about one another, show off their individual personalities, and become closer friends in the process.

How to play Three truths and a lie

With 3 or more people sitting together in a circle, you ask each person to come up with 4 facts about themselves. But there’s a catch! As the name of the game suggests, only 3 of those facts should be true.

The other should be a lie that’s framed in such a way that it sounds true. The more feasible it seems, the better.

From there, each participant takes turns revealing their facts – keeping their best poker face on at all times. The group has to decide which statement’s the lie, using what they know of the individual to determine their answer. When they’ve finished guessing, the person reveals the truth!

We like this exercise for a host of reasons, but its accessibility is one of its biggest benefits. You can do it anywhere and at any time, with no tools required.

Every team's got its hiccups, but conflict resolution is the superhero cape. It saves the day by smoothing things over and turning tense moments into learning experiences.

Conflict resolution activity - Role play resolutions:

• Develop fictional workplace scenarios involving conflicts or disagreements.
• Pair colleagues and assign each pair a scenario to role-play.
• Partners take turns assuming the roles of individuals in the conflict and work together to find constructive solutions through communication and negotiation.
• After role-playing, each pair presents their conflict and proposed resolution to the larger group.
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This interactive activity hones conflict resolution skills, encourages creative problem-solving and enhances communication strategies.

Ever had the fantasy of basking in the glory of a well-deserved standing ovation? Well, guess what – you're about to live it! In this activity, team members take turns stepping into the limelight, imagining they've just knocked it out of the park and achieved something monumental. Remember that celebrating success is not just reserved for the grand finale – it's an integral part of the journey. This activity cultivates a positive and supportive atmosphere motivating participants to conquer their goals.

Tips For Facilitators:

• Remind everyone that this is a space to celebrate successes and lift each other up. High-fives and virtual confetti are totally encouraged!
• Encourage participants to share their achievements. The more specific, the better!

How to play Family portraits

A group of people creates a tableau of a specific group member. Everyone must work together to put together an image that closely resembles the subject.

How to play 1-2-4 share

Everyone learns differently, and some people learn best by quietly absorbing information, while others need to talk through ideas. For this activity, start by asking a question and having everyone quietly contemplate the answer. Then, have them get into pairs and discuss their answers. Next, have two pairs sit together (forming a group of 4) and talk about their takeaways.

Finally, have each group present their ideas to the larger team as a whole.  This ensures that no matter what type of learning style each attendee has, they get a chance to absorb information in that way.

Your team is transforming into urban explorers armed with cameras, ready to capture the essence of the city. The Urban Photography Expedition is a creative challenge that combines sightseeing with storytelling. As you traverse the streets, squares, and alleys, you'll not only snap stunning shots but also collaborate to craft a visual narrative of the city's soul. It's an opportunity to flex your artistic muscles, enhance your communication skills, and develop a keen eye for detail—all while fostering camaraderie within your team.

Instructions

• Form teams, ensuring a mix of photography skills.
• Provide a list of themes or subjects for the photos.
• Teams interpret themes creatively and capture captivating images.
• Collaborate to curate a photo collection that tells a compelling story.
• Share your insights and learnings from the photography experience.

Bring your team outside for a day of friendly competition with ultimate field frenzy! This is a mix of classic outdoor games like tug-of-war, sack races, and team challenges that will get everyone moving and working together.

It’s the perfect way to boost team spirit and break up the office routine. With a variety of games to suit everyone’s skills, it encourages teamwork, healthy competition, and plenty of laughs. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get the entire team involved, no matter how large!

How to play:

• Organize outdoor games like tug-of-war, sack races, and obstacle courses.
• Split the group into teams and have them compete in various challenges.
• The team with the most wins at the end of the day is the champion!

We love Fizz Buzz. A classic energizer game you may remember from your school days, it involves standing in a circle and taking turns to count upward from 1. However, there’s a mathematical twist that complicates proceedings…

How to play Fizz buzz

Every number that’s divisible by 3 is replaced with the word “fizz” and everything divisible by 5 is replaced with “buzz”; numbers divisible by both 3 and 5 are replaced with the words “fizz buzz”. For instance, a typical round would look like this:

“1, 2, Fizz, 4, Buzz, Fizz, 7, 8, Fizz, Buzz, 11, Fizz, 13, 14, Fizz Buzz, 16…”

The idea is to go around the circle as quickly as possible. If someone hesitates or makes a mistake, they’re eliminated. The last person standing is the winner!

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.

How to play Apple, orange, banana

Sometimes simple is best and with a larger group you likely want a fun activity without a lot of complexity. For a fast, active game, ask everyone in the group to stand in a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. Then have everyone jump forward when you say apple, jump backward when you say orange, and turn around when you say banana. Work your way up to combining multiple commands so that participants make several moves in one round. This game keeps everyone on their toes and generates lots of laughter too.

How to play Egg and Spoon Race

An egg and spoon race is another game that’s as fun for adults as it is for children! It’s also incredibly simple. As the name suggests, all you need is an egg and spoon for each participant. From there, you set a start and end point, line everyone up with the egg balanced on their spoon, and blow a whistle for the race to begin!

The first person to cross the finish line with their egg still intact wins. If someone drops their egg on the way, they must stop and pick it back up using only their spoon (no hands allowed!) before continuing.

Want to make the game less messy? Consider boiling the eggs beforehand. It’ll stop them from cracking when dropped, reducing the amount of cleaning up you’ll do when everyone’s ready to go home. You’ll be able to re-use the eggs, too – a bonus if you’re running multiple egg-and-spoon races throughout the day.

Oh, and don’t hesitate to combine this Field game for adults with the three-legged race we mentioned earlier! Making participants balance an egg on a spoon while their leg’s also joined to a teammate’s is a recipe for fun.

Upgrading office equipment regularly to show gratitude to employees is a thoughtful gesture that can improve morale, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

Here are some ways to provide the appropriate equipment based on employees' unique needs:

• Ask what your employees need. Conduct a survey or host a feedback session to understand which office equipment or tools employees want or need upgrades so that you can prioritize your investments.

• Don’t skimp on equipment. Provide employees with the latest tech, such as tablets, laptops, and dual monitors, to help improve comfort and efficiency. Speaking of comfort, whether your employees are in the office or remotely, offering a budget or upgrading chairs and desks to ergonomic options can enhance employee comfort and reduce the risk of work-related injuries. Remember, additional office equipment, such as printers, upgrade software, and collaboration tools, are needed to do a good job and should be provided by the company.

It’s about providing the equipment and creating a work culture that values and appreciates employees, leading to a more balanced professional environment and higher retention rates.  

Make sure to conduct regular feedback sessions to find out what your employees like and what they need more of to show that you care about their well-being and are grateful for their commitment and work.

Paper Chains is a simple game that can be played by small or large groups. The aim of the game is for teams to build the longest paper chain without talking while using ONLY their dominant hand.

Great for: Communication, problem-solving, leadership

Duration: 5-10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: A4 paper, sticky tape, scissors

How to play Paper Chains

Setup: Separate your group into teams of 4-5 players and hand each team several sheets of A4 paper, a roll of sticky tape and a pair of scissors. Then, ask each team to allocate a team leader.

To play: Escort the team leaders from the room and explain the rules of the game in private. The rules are as follows: Teams must attempt to build the longest paper chain without talking while using only their dominant hand. Once the leaders understand the rules, they have 30 seconds to convey them to their team and devise a quick strategy. Then, teams have just three minutes to start building their paper chains. The team with the longest paper chain at the end of the three minutes wins.

How to play Nature Collage

Want to do a creative Field Day activity? Try making nature collages. You’ll need glue, thin wooden boards (or pieces of card), and access to somewhere like a local park, forest, or beach – anywhere with an abundance of natural materials lying around, such as twigs, leaves, grass, and flowers.

Next, split into teams and spend 15 minutes gathering your items. From there, you can work together to design an attractive layout with them before sticking everything down onto the wooden boards (or cardboard, if you’re using lightweight items, like leaves). By the end of the activity, you should have a set of attractive natural collages to put on display at home or in the office.

Is bad weather at risk of spoiling your Field Day?

Don’t worry. You can take the fun inside and turn this activity into a tissue paper collage instead. For this version, you’ll need lots of colored tissue paper, large pieces of thick cardboard to act as the “canvas,” glue, paintbrushes, and scissors. After dividing into your teams, work together to cut out tissue paper shapes and then glue them to the card to create tissue paper masterpieces!

In speed stack showdown, teams race to stack cups into pyramids and then break them down as quickly as possible. It’s a fast-paced, high-energy competition that tests agility, coordination, and the ability to keep cool under pressure!

This game is perfect for bringing some excitement into the office and getting everyone moving. Plus, it’s a great way to build team spirit with a little bit of chaos.

How to play:

• Split into teams and give each team a set of cups.
• Teams stack the cups into pyramids and then break them down as fast as possible.
• The fastest team to complete the challenge wins!

Discover more team-building activities for adults to energize your team and spark some friendly competition.

How to play Treasure hunt

Similar to a scavenger hunt, a treasure hunt is a lot of fun but with a bit more intention. Rather than collecting a random list of items, participants use clues to find more prompts and hints, until the group solves a mystery (or finds a treasure). You can also create a treasure map if you want to play into the “pirate” fantasy a little more. The important thing is that only clues point toward the next stop - areas of the map should not be spelled out, but involve some problem solving and critical thinking to figure out what the clue means.

How to play Penny stack

Players should try to stack 25 pennies in under one minute using only one hand. This game works best for small groups and is ideal for groups of three players competing in rounds of play. You’ll need to make sure you have a few rolls of pennies to start the game.

How to play:

Challenge employees to write and perform parodies of popular songs with safety-themed lyrics. Record the performances and have a voting process to select the best ones. Offer prizes for the top performances.

This activity combines music and humor with important safety messages, making it memorable and entertaining. It encourages creativity and team spirit while reinforcing safety concepts in a fun way. Plus, who doesn’t love a good song parody?

“Hey! Team mate! Leave those unsafe things alone! All in all you’re just a ‘nother slip in the hall” 🎶

Teams will navigate a web-like course blindfolded, guided only by verbal instructions from their teammates. This task sheds light on the importance of clear communication, active listening, and trust. As participants navigate the course, they'll realize that effective communication is the cornerstone of successful collaboration.

Instructions

• Set up a course with obstacles, twists, and turns.
• Divide participants into pairs – one blindfolded and one giving instructions.
• Teams take turns guiding their blindfolded partner through the course using only verbal cues.
• Encourage descriptive language, patience, and adaptability.
• Evaluate based on successful navigation and the quality of communication.

How to play Pitch a desk item

This is an improvisation game that can help everyone with communication skills while getting to know each other better. To begin, simply have everyone pick one item from their desk. Their goal is to “pitch” the item as if they are the manufacturer, sharing the marketing strategies they would use to entice customers to purchase. They should include information like their perfect consumer and how they plan to reach them. You’ll need a panel of judges to pick the perfect pitch and announce a winner.

How to play Baamboozle!

In this online game, everything is already set up for you. Baamboozle is a great website with thousands of topics ready to go, all you need is one host to screen-share. 2 to 4 teams can compete, with topics from videogame trivia to icebreaker games.

Allocate more than 3 teams for a more tactical game, as 2 teams can decide to gang up on 1 unfortunate team. Remember to make use of the ‘power up’ function for point-stealing mischief and leader-swapping bonus cards.

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How to play Wikirace

The Wikirace is a simple game, loved by college students bored in class. In the chat, send one Wikipedia article hyperlink and call it ‘start page’, then another hyperlink titled ‘target page.’ The rules are that the player must get from the start page to the target page in a limited number of mouse clicks. It might be as random as going from ‘pizza’ to ‘Apollo 13.’

Try it out in teams to have everyone strategizing frantically. Try making it even more difficult by decreasing the amount of allowed clicks between pages. There’s no going back once a new hyperlink is clicked. Share your screen and try this one out for a laugh in a virtual meeting.

Otherwise referred to as “Life Raft”, this is a superb indoor team-building game that, at first glance, seems like nothing but a bit of fun. However, look closer and you realize everybody’s working together, laughing, encouraging one another, and using strong communication skills to complete the task.

Want to give it a shot? Start by making a square on the floor with strips of tape. That’s your life raft! When you call “All Aboard”, participants have to squeeze themselves inside the square as quickly as possible. To spice things up a bit, why not split the team into 2 groups to see who can do it first?