Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

Everyone knows the classic TV phenomenon of Wheel of Fortune. Add your own corporate twist onto it to bring TV show vibes to the event.

Set up:

1. Wheel it up. You’ve got to get craft and create the biggest, most standout wheel you can. Add workplace pictures to it too.
2. Create your list of winning answers, and make them workplace-themed, or popular mottos among your staff Use some brain teasers for SOS clues.
3. Create teams and get spinning. Your teams can shout out letters to fill in the blank space letters in the answer.
4. Add the occasional bonus round for double points, and create your finale with a one-on-one showdown. Who will wager big and take home the ultimate prize?

How to play “Secret word” game

For this game, divide your group into two teams. Give each of them a different, “secret” word. The members of each team will try to incorporate the word into conversation as often as possible, without the other team guessing what their word is. For example, maybe one team is using the word “avocado”. Members would try to sneak in that word as often as possible, but organically, so it’s not easy to pick out. If someone orders a salad, a member might say “I love to put avocado in my salad.” Whichever team picks up on the other team’s secret word first, wins.Note: You obviously want to make sure the secret word is work appropriate!

Boost creativity, spontaneity, and teamwork through engaging improv exercises.

Materials needed:

• A spacious room for movement
• No props required – just the team and their imagination

Instructions on how to play:

1. Gather the team in a comfortable space.
2. Lead the team through various improv exercises, encouraging creativity, quick thinking, and collaboration.
3. Focus on activities that require participants to build on each other's ideas and support one another.
4. Reflect on the experience afterward, discussing how the skills learned can be applied to the workplace.

Why it's a great team building game:

• Think on your feet: Improv sharpens creative thinking and adaptability.
• Team harmony: Encourages teamwork as participants must rely on each other's ideas.
• Fun factor: Injects a dose of laughter and enjoyment into the team dynamic.

Top tip to help the game run smoothly:

• Create a comfortable and non-judgmental environment. The goal is to have fun and build camaraderie, so ensure everyone feels supported and encouraged to participate.

This game doesn’t take very long, but it’s a great warm-up for the beginning of your meeting. It’s a great ice-breaker, especially for teams who already know each other a little.

How to play Guess the emoji board

To play guess the emoji board, you’ll need to ask each participant to send you a screenshot of their “most recent” emoji board on their phone. Once you’ve gathered all the screenshots, you can share your screen and display them one by one to the group.

It’s now the participant’s job to try and guess who’s board it is based on the emojis they see. Some will be easy, while others will test your team’s powers of deduction.

How to play:

Create a word search puzzle using safety-related terms (e.g., "first aid," "PPE," "emergency"). Distribute the puzzles to employees and offer a small prize for the first person to complete it.

This quick office game is a simple yet effective way to familiarize employees with important safety vocabulary. It’s a relaxing activity that can be done during breaks, reinforcing key terms and concepts in a fun way. The satisfaction of finding that last hidden word is a great bonus.

In this fun icebreaker game, your team will need to read the lips of their teammates and guess the phrase.

Great for: Energisation

Duration: 5 minutes

Players: 8+

You’ll need: Nothing

How to play Read My Lips

Setup: Split your group into teams. The bigger the groups are the more difficult the game will be.

To play: The host provides the first player of each team with a simple phrase such as “I work harder than everybody else in my team.” The longer the phrase is the more difficult the game will be. Make sure the other players don’t hear or see what the phrase is. The first player then turns off their microphone and says the phrase, making sure their mouth is visible. The second player guesses what was said, turns their microphone off and says the phrase to the third player. Play continues like this until the last player has “heard” the phrase. The last player then guesses what the original phrase was. Teams that guess the phrase (more or less) correctly win a point.

Our final minute-to-win-it cup game is a hilarious way to round off the list. It also takes a steady hand and a surprising amount of patience! You’ll need a few rolls of toilet paper, some cups and refillable water. Here’s how to play:

Set-up:

1. Prepare your contestants: Each player should be given 1 roll of toilet tissue. At the end of a long table, place one cup per contestant. Fill the cups up (it shouldn’t be too heavy, as the paper will rip). Under the filled cups, place the end of the toilet tissue roll, and let the toilet tissue unravel all the way to the other end of the table.

2. Wind the cup towards you: On your mark, each player then carefully rerolls the toilet tissue, slowly dragging the filled cup toward them. Things can get really fun when a player is losing halfway through the race. They start to panic and speed up the rolling process. This often causes a bit of spillage, tearing the paper. When that happens, they need to clear up and reset their roll.

This super simple game is a barrel of laughs, so try it out with your teams today. It’ll bring team members closer together and keep everyone on a roll!

How to play Blind square-build

This is a fun, problem-solving game that’s often used in business environments to support teamwork and critical thinking. To begin, tie a long piece of rope into a circle. Let attendees know that their job is to turn the circle into a square - while blindfolded. Break the session up into two, 15-minute sessions. In the first session, they can plot and plan but must not touch the rope. In the second session, they can work together moving the rope. This game is simple and effective and has materials that are easy to come across and cheap to buy.

This Pencil Drop activity ticks all the right boxes. Short and sweet? Check. Fun-filled from start to finish? Check. Great for breaking the ice and boosting bonds between colleagues? Check!

Oh, and it’s nice and easy too…

How to play Pencil drop

All you need is a ball of string, a bunch of pencils, and some empty water bottles. With the supplies sorted, you can crack on with the task itself.

Start by dividing your team into pairs and asking them to stand back to back. Next, tie one end of both pieces of string around the eraser end of a pencil and the other end around their waists. They then have to walk forward (i.e. away from each other) until there’s no more slack in the string and the pencil’s suspended in the air.

Now the fun can begin! Their job is to work together, walking backward in a bid to lower the pencil into a water bottle that you’ve placed on the floor between them. To make things trickier, they’re not allowed to use their hands.

Want to add some fuel to the fire? Make it a race! Pit 2+ pairs against each other at the same time, awarding prizes to whoever wins.

What you need:

• Ball of string, cut into enough lengths for each pair to have two pieces
• One empty water bottle and one pencil between two people

In rapid book reviews, team members get five minutes each to present key insights or takeaways from a shared book. It’s quick, to the point, and a great way to hear different perspectives—without anyone having to sit through a long book report.

This is a fun way to mix learning with speed and keep things lively. Plus, you might just find your next favorite read!

How to play:

• Choose a book for the team to read.
• Each person presents their insights in a five-minute mini-presentation.
• Keep it snappy and enjoy hearing different takes on the same book!

Explore more fun team-building activities for work to spark learning, laughter, and great conversations within your team.

Where Do You Stand? Is a simple energizing game that’s perfect for large groups and easy to set up. All you need is an open space and a handful of ‘this or that’ questions.

Great for: Energization, session icebreaker

Duration: 10–15 minutes

You’ll need: Cones to divide the room

How to play:

• Divide the room in half with a line of small cones and then ask your group to stand more or less along the line.
• Ask a ‘this or that’ question to the group such as “pizza or pasta?” and assign an answer to each side of the room. For example, if a player wants to answer “pizza”, they need to run to the left side of the room.
• Keep the energy up by asking questions in quick succession. The idea is to get your group moving and acting impulsively.
• By the end of the game, your employees will know a little bit more about their colleagues’ preferences.

How to play Miniature problem solving

Teams use small objects like paperclips, rubber bands, or sticky notes to devise a solution to an everyday office problem, such as tangled wires or tricky door handles. It’s a playful way to encourage innovation while improving problem-solving skills. Plus, you might even come up with a practical fix for those annoying little issues!

How to play Competitive Human knots

Human knot is a popular team-building activity that requires at least 6 people. To play, everyone stands in a circle, puts their hands into the center, and grabs somebody else’s hands with their own (ensuring they’re holding 1 hand from 2 different people).

The group then attempts to untangle themselves without letting go – ducking, twisting, and climbing over each other as they go. It’s fun, chaotic, difficult, and great for uniting teams, having fun, improving communication, and honing leadership skills.

In Competitive Human Knots, we take things to a new level.

This time, you separate your large group into separate teams of 6+ people and pit them against each other! The first team to untangle themselves wins. Alternatively, you could set a time limit to stop the activity from taking too long. The team that’s made the most progress by the end, wins.

Ever feel like time is running faster than you can list your goals? Well, brace yourself for the whirlwind excitement of Speed Goal Sharing! Participants team up, and they've got a mere minute to spill the beans on their current goals to a partner. It's like goal-setting on fast-forward. Why? Because sometimes, brevity is the key.

This quick teambuilding activity isn't just a time crunch; it's a crash course in concise communication and prioritization. So, get ready to share your aspirations at lightning speed – clarity and alignment within the team await!

Top Tip for Facilitators:

• Keep the vibe upbeat and the clock ticking. Encourage everyone to channel their inner auctioneer – goals on the fly, people!
• Guide the conversations to make sure it's not just a blur of words but a meaningful exchange.
• This activity is like a goal-driven race, so set the pace, cheer them on, and let the concise communication marathon begin!

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.

Popular in interview settings and among new teams, Pass the ball is an effective ice-breaker that both unites and energizes employees. It couldn’t be simpler to play either.

How to play Pass the ball

Standing in a circle, one person starts by throwing a ball to a colleague and asks them a question as they do so.

The catcher answers, then repeats the process with another teammate. This continues for as long as you wish to play. Potential questions include:

• “What’s your fondest childhood memory?”
• “Where did you grow up?”
• “What was the last movie you watched at the cinema?”
• “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?”
• “Would you rather have legs for arms or arms for legs?”
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To keep people entertained and inject more energy into proceedings, try to pass the ball and ask/answer questions as quickly as possible. You could also set rules (e.g. “if you drop the ball you have to do a dare” or “only open-ended questions allowed”) to add another level of fun to the game.

How to play Defy gravity

For this game each player needs two balloons. Using only one hand, each player tries to keep them both from touching the ground for a whole minute. If you want more of a challenge, increase the amount of balloons to three per player. No holding onto the balloons! Tip: Use different colored balloons so you can better keep track of which have touched the ground.

How to play:

Organize a debate on various safety topics (e.g., the importance of PPE, the best ways to handle emergencies). Divide employees into teams and assign them different positions to argue. Judges score the debates and the winning team receives a prize.

Debates of any kind encourage critical thinking and effective communication in your workplace, so why not have a debate about important safety issues? They provide a platform for employees to express their views on safety and learn from each other. Plus, it’s a lively and engaging way to discuss safety.

Not something that can be played as a group, but something that can really help with setting goals. Habitica is an online platform and mobile app that gamifies goal-setting and task management. It transforms your goals and habits into a role-playing game where you create a character, set goals, and earn rewards for completing tasks.

In this game, you begin by crafting a character to embody you. Input your tasks, habits, and daily goals, each linked to a specific achievement. Successfully completing these earns in-game rewards, like experience points and virtual currency, allowing your character to level up, unlock new features, and face challenges. Neglecting tasks or failing incurs consequences for your in-game character.

This game shows the person first-hand what it’s like to set a clear goal and how it feels to reap the rewards. It also shows the person that not meeting your goal will result in consequences. In theory, this can be then applied in real-life work!

Top Tip: Set this as homework for all the group!

How to play Team bingo

This is a really fun way to break the ice in a competitive way. Participants can get information on each other in a more engaging way. To begin, create a bingo card with a statement or question in every square. Make sure they are things that will apply to at least one person in the gathering. Try to pick a few things that are aligned with your work or the event. Every player will get a bingo card and then they should mingle around chatting with the other participants. The goal is for them to find people to sign each square based on what they learn. Pro tip: the signatures should only be from one or two people each, to avoid having the same people filling up all the squares for an instant bingo. When everyone has reached bingo (or is close), stop the game and have everyone share something they learned about their colleagues.

You would be surprised how competitive colleagues become over a typing speed race. This game is a great way to kick off the fun.

How to play typing speed race

The best way to play the game is for the competitors to take turns completing a typing test and sharing their screen as they do so. This way, spectators can cheer them on as they type.

Once they’ve completed the test, their scores are entered into a league table. Fancy upping the stakes? Encourage the team to ‘place bets’ on who they think will be the fastest before starting the competition.

Building forts inside the office might sound juvenile. And it is! But that’s the point. Fort building is fun, silly, and creative – a perfect antidote to the usual stress and responsibility associated with work.

For this game, get everyone to bring things like bed sheets, cardboard boxes, and string to the office. Then divide the group into teams and give them a 30-minute time limit to construct the best possible fort! Each group then presents what they’ve built for you – the judge – to decide who won.

Answering a single question about yourself is great. But what if you could spend 5 entire minutes telling the team about something that makes you unique? Or a topic you’re passionate about?

Wouldn’t that be a more effective way to help people get to know you?

Of course it would! That’s why some managers and CEOs ask their remote employees to prepare brief presentations to share with everyone. An empowering trust-building activity, it gives team members a voice – a podium from which to tell their colleagues about who they are and what they enjoy doing outside work.

This brings people together for two main reasons. Firstly, the more you know about someone, the more you care about them! And secondly, the more you open up to others, the more comfortable you feel around them.

The end result is a stronger and more trusting relationship.

How to play 5-Minute presentations

As for practicalities, you can approach these 5-minute presentations in a few different ways. For example, why not set aside an entire afternoon to let every team member give their presentation at once? Alternatively, you could start the mornings with one – asking different people to present on each day of the week.

What you need:

• Nothing by way of tools, but you’ll want to give people enough time to prepare their presentations – especially if they’re nervous about public speaking.

Here’s another awesome improv game that hones team collaboration through group interaction and shared contribution. This time, though, it involves storytelling.

Have you ever reminisced about a past event with a close friend or family member? Feels good, right? It sparks nostalgia, puts a smile on your face, and solidifies your bond with whoever you’re talking to in the process.

Remember When takes that idea and puts a new spin on it…

How to play Remember when

Sitting as a team, you go around the group “remembering” an event that you’re actually making up on the spot! Begin the game by introducing a make-believe memory that the team experienced together. For instance, “Remember when we went to see the Super Bowl together?”

Each person then adds another detail, creating a story of your time together as you go. The more creative, random, or outrageous the details, the better! Taking left turns and adding funny nuances to the “memory” helps bring out people’s personalities, sparks giggles, and brings the team closer together.

Want to add a twist to this improv game? Why not make a rule that you have to keep a straight face throughout it? If you smile, laugh, or even chortle to yourself – whether you’re adding the detail or hearing someone else’s – then you’re out!

As you’d expect, adding this competitive element invites employees to say funnier and more outrageous things in a bid to up the ante and make their colleagues giggle. It should also lead to greater engagement and a more enjoyable experience overall.