Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Instructions:

1. Divide players into teams.
2. Provide each team with a set of materials such as blocks, cards, straws, cups, and tape.
3. Set a time limit of 10-15 minutes for the teams to build the tallest tower.
4. Ensure that each team follows the same rules and uses the same materials.
5. Once the time is up, measure the height of each tower and declare the winner.
6. Discuss the strategies used by each team and how they could improve in future rounds.
7. Repeat the game with different materials or variations to continue challenging the players' leadership skills.
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This game unleashes potential leaders' creativity, teamwork, and strategic thinking. Just like a tower, leadership requires a solid foundation, balance, and the ability to reach new heights. It challenges leaders to allocate resources efficiently, communicate effectively, and inspire their team to elevate their performance.

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?

How to play Case study problem solving

Many consulting firms and other businesses include small case studies as part of their interview process. You can do the same by having a single small group (or even smaller pairings) consider a particular problem and come up with a solution. This can be something a bit silly, like “How would you survive if you were stranded on a desert island?” but it’s more effective if the issue is centered on your real work.

For example, if sales of a certain product line are lagging, have the team discuss strategies for what they would do to fix it. It’s a good way of getting everyone’s brains channeling the right energy before digging into more complex work.

Kanban is a Japanese word literally meaning “visual card.” It is one kind of agile methodology first developed by Toyota, and in this system, teams use visual cues to keep all tasks flowing in a process. One of the best ways to make an agile game with this system is by creating a simulated pizzeria. Let’s break it down:

Set-up:

Create a pizzeria with stations for each pizza-making step (e.g., dough rolling, cheese sprinkling, baking), represented by sticky notes as orders move through. Your teams will iterate with each order to speed up every round. Improving each round and redesigning how many workers are at each station makes great practice for agile methodology.

How to play Pitch tournament

An important part of selling is understanding customer needs: what they want or what drives them to buy something. Help your team to hone these skills by pitching items to you or another panel of judges. Pick a few regular objects, such as things from around the office. Then, pair people up (or work as individuals if your group is already small) and have them take turns pitching the item to your judges. Give everyone a few minutes to come up with a unique presentation and make sure they understand the product. Add a prize for the winner to up the ante a bit.

How well do your team really know each other? Team Trivia is a fun and simple game that will put your employee’s relationships to the test.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Team Trivia

Setup: Before you can play Team Trivia, you need to compile interesting facts about your employees. The easiest way to do this is to send out a survey designed to extract as many cool facts as possible.

To play: Team Trivia can be played online or in person, making it a great solution for remote teams. Bring your team together and start asking questions to your team. These can be things that they might already know, like, “Who is the tallest member of the team?” Or things they will need to guess at, like, “Who in the office has eight siblings?” The player with the most correct answers is the winner!

Team-building doesn’t only need to be about silly games. Sometimes, you strengthen your team while contributing something valuable to your local community.

Great for: Company culture, company perception, job satisfaction

Duration: 2–3 hours

You’ll need: N/A

How to start:

• Consult your team about the type of community service they’d like to get involved with. It could be anything from a beach cleanup to helping out at an animal shelter.
• Once you’ve settled on an activity, reach out to your chosen organisation and inform them you’d like to offer a helping hand.
• Don’t forget to document the event by taking photos or making a video—these images will make additions to your employee breakroom!

A memory wall is a space for spreading good vibes and positivity in the workplace. Here, you’ll create a collage of good memories that your team can appreciate every time they pass by.

Great for: Company culture, job satisfaction

Duration: N/A

You’ll need: Paper, various coloured pens

How to organise:

• Give each employee a pen and piece of paper and ask them to write down some of their favourite memories from previous experiences like Christmas parties and offsite retreats. These can be personal memories or experiences they shared with colleagues.
• Then, ask your employees to create colourful drawings of these memories. If the memory is shared with a colleague, they can pair up and make the drawing together.
• Collect the drawings and use them to make a colourful collage somewhere in the office. It should be in a shared space where it can be appreciated throughout the day.

“It’s 11.30am on a midsummer’s day and your plane has just crash-landed on a remote desert island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Your task is to rank these 20 items that were salvaged from the plane in order of their importance to the survival of you and the team.”

That’d be one way to introduce the classic team and trust-building exercise called Desert Survival! A powerful way to demonstrate that teams outperform individuals and that collaboration’s key to success, this activity always goes down well.

There are three ways to play:

• With actual items that the team can hold and put in piles
• With pictures of each item or
• With items simply written down on a board or piece of paper

In any case, the team gets around 40 minutes to discuss each item, reflect on their respective pros/cons, and work together to decide what they’re going to keep. In the process, they’ll realize the:

• Need to speak up if they wish to make a point
• Problem with stubbornness in a collective environment
• Value of compromise and sacrifice in search of unity
• Gaps in their personal knowledge/reasoning that others can help fill

From a managerial perspective, the Desert Island scenario also reveals how well the team works together and how easily they find solutions to a problem. You’ll see how rapidly they approach a state of synergy – where collaboration enables them to leverage their individual strengths and become greater than the sum of their parts.

What you need:

• A selection of items to be used on a desert island (or pictures of them) – unless you choose to write them down instead.

How to play Living map

This is an enlightening game for companies with geographically scattered teams. If you have people working throughout the country (or world), and you have the opportunity to get everyone together, it can be fun to get a visual of where everyone is from. Buy or create a large paper that you can spread on the ground. Challenge everyone to place themselves on the paper according to their location on a map. This requires some creativity and also geographical knowledge. It’s extra fun to see everyone mill around trying to find their “spot”.

How to play Creative Introductions

A more fun version of “around the horn”, this exercise has everyone introduce themselves to the group, but with a twist. Give people a few moments to prepare their introduction with a unique spin. Perhaps they might compose a short poem or sing their introduction to music. Someone might choose to introduce themselves using their favorite movie character voice. Give people freedom to come up with something fun and enough time to be creative, and this is sure to be an icebreaker that people remember.

How to play Around the horn

About as simple and traditional as it gets, this icebreaker involves a facilitator simply asking everyone to introduce themselves to the group. Keep things concise by asking everyone to share their name, role, region, and maybe one fun fact or otherwise light-hearted bit of information. Some people have people state what they are excited to learn in the session or what is most on their minds, work-wise.

Minefield is a fun energization game that improves communication and listening skills. All you need is an open space and a bunch of soft-edged objects.

Great for: Listening skills, communication, energization

Duration: 10–15 minutes

You’ll need: Various soft objects like balloons, foam blocks, plastic cups, etc.

How to play:

• Divide your group into teams of about 4–5 players and blindfold one player from each team.
• Spread out your soft-edged objects throughout the space.
• Ask the teams to stand at one end of the room.
• When you shout “Go!” the blindfolded player must make their way to the other side of the room without touching any of the objects on the floor. The players without blindfolds are allowed to give verbal commands to the blindfolded player. They are NOT allowed to touch or guide the blindfolded player in any way.
• The team to reach the other side of the room first without touching any of the objects wins. If a team touches an object, they must return to the start.

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.

Quick, easy, engaging, and ideal for getting to know one another, Roulette Questions is an energizer/ice-breaker that’s sure to go down well before virtual meetings – especially for new teams.

How to play Roulette questions

The game involves using an online roulette wheel that’s full of different questions. Co-workers take turns “spinning” the wheel and answering whichever one they land on.

Simply work your way through the questions until there are none left (many roulette tools allow you to eliminate questions as you do, ensuring you never land on the same one twice) or until everyone has answered something!

Try playing with a time limit to inject more energy into the activity. For instance, depending on its size, you could challenge the team to get through the questions in 10 minutes or less. This should stop the game from dragging on too long and make it more enjoyable to boot.

Obstacle sprint is a high-energy game where blindfolded team members navigate through a “minefield” of objects, guided only by their teammates’ verbal directions. It’s all about trust and communication, and watching people stumble around makes it a lot more fun!

This game is great for building trust and sharpening communication skills—plus, it’s always good for some laughs.

How to play:

• Set up an obstacle course with random objects in a designated area.
• Blindfold one team member, while the others give verbal instructions to guide them through the course.
• First team to navigate the course successfully wins!

Find even more team building activities for small groups to strengthen teamwork and communication in your office.

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.

How to play:

Fill a box with random objects, such as office supplies, toys, or miscellaneous items. One participant selects an item from the box and describes how it can be repurposed or used creatively in a different context.

Materials needed: Box, various objects

Benefits:

• Creative problem-solving: Stimulate participants' ability to think creatively and find innovative uses for ordinary objects, fostering resourcefulness and adaptability.
• Divergent thinking: Encourage participants to explore multiple perspectives and consider alternative uses or functions for everyday items.
• Perspective shift: Develop the skill of looking beyond the obvious and seeing the potential in the ordinary, which can translate to finding innovative solutions in the workplace.

Get ready for a wild ride as your team navigates public transport to conquer checkpoints. It's not just about reaching your destination; it's about making quick decisions and adapting on the fly. You'll need to work together to figure out the best routes and timings. This challenge sharpens your problem-solving skills and shows you the power of collaboration. Plus, you're in for a fun-filled adventure that will leave you with unforgettable memories.

Instructions

• Create teams and assign a starting point.
• Provide a list of checkpoints around the city.
• Teams use public transport to reach checkpoints in a set order.
• They must decide on routes and timings.
• Time penalties for missed checkpoints.
• First team to finish or most checkpoints in time wins.
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Bonus Tip!

You won't believe the transport paradise that London is – metros, taxis, the iconic underground, and buses galore, making it an absolute dream for the Transportation Challenge. It's the ultimate playground for this adventure!

How to play Failing success

Sometimes the best way to learn how to be successful is to fully understand what not to do. For this game, have everyone right down their goals, and then write several ways they could not reach them. For instance, you might have people list their goals for this particular training. Then have them write down a few things that would ensure they don’t meet those objectives, like not paying attention or skipping note-taking.

Scrabble is a household classic that has brought people together for years. After building a word, countless people have scrambled to check their dictionary, and shout to their opponent “There’s no such word!” It’s a word-building game that comes with more than a handful of strategic play.

How to Play:

1. 2 to 4 players set the board up
2. Each player gets seven letter tiles.
3. Take turns forming words on the board, building off existing words.
4. Rack up points by placing words on bonus squares for extra scores!

Get your thinking-caps on and your dictionaries on standby for this classic letter game!

Unleash creativity and teamwork by having each team create a story together, one sentence or paragraph at a time.

Materials needed:

• A whiteboard or flipchart
• Markers or a digital platform for recording the story

Instructions on how to play:

1. Start the story with a sentence or paragraph and have the first team member contribute.
2. Continue around the circle, with each team member adding to the story.
3. Aim for a fun and collaborative narrative, encouraging everyone to build on each other's ideas.
4. Once the story is complete, read it aloud and revel in the team's collective storytelling prowess.

Why it's a great team building game:

• Creative synergy: Fosters creativity and cooperation as the team weaves a tale together.
• Communication boost: Enhances communication skills by requiring active listening and contribution.
• Laughs guaranteed: Often results in a hilarious and memorable story that bonds the team.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly: Keep it lighthearted and encourage a "yes, and..." mentality, where each contribution builds on the previous one. The goal is to create a collaborative masterpiece, no matter how silly or unexpected it becomes!

Building stories together can help an agile team practice iteratively expanding ideas. Building stories has been helping teams grow in corporate events and quickfire meetings, so keep the focus on agile principles and you’ll be improving your employees’ collaborative skills.

Set up:

Dedicate some time to creating prompts beforehand, to make each step in the story open-ended and adaptable. Start with an opening that instigates conversation like “Our new app just launched…” The first team member adds to this line, which can turn the story in any direction, such as “Users flooded in on day one, and our servers went caput.” Encourage the next member to weave in some challenges or a milestone, with a line like “Our support team scrambled to handle user questions.” Keep iterating and adding and see where it leads. When the story ends, reflect as a team and focus on agile practices that helped them to adjust.

Bull Ring is a popular game that demands teams work together on a shared goal. You will need to purchase some materials, but this is considered one of the best games to encourage cooperation and teamwork, so it’s likely worth it! Bull Ring is more involved than some previous games, which require little more than a blindfold or some markers.

How to play:  

‍Teams must transport a small ball from one post to another using a string system with a circle in the center. The ball rests in the center, and teams must ensure it doesn’t roll off during transport from one area.

Team members must communicate consistently throughout the process, as each body movement significantly impacts the ball moving, so each individual must listen carefully and be aware at all times.  

Materials you’ll need: Strings, a small ball, and two stands to mark the start and finish.

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