Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

In memory lane wall, teammates write down their fondest workplace memories and pin them on a designated wall for everyone to see. It’s a simple but powerful way to spread positivity and reminisce about shared experiences that have brought the team closer.

This is a heartwarming way to boost morale and remind everyone of the good times they’ve had together in the office.

How to play:

• Provide a space for team members to write down their favorite workplace memories.
• Pin the memories on a shared wall for everyone to read.
• Enjoy the positive vibes and walk down memory lane together!

In back-to-back sketch, one person describes an image while their partner, sitting back-to-back with them, draws it based solely on the description. No peeking allowed! It’s a great way to test communication skills—and usually leads to some very entertaining (and often unrecognizable) drawings.

This game encourages clear instructions and active listening, with plenty of laughs thrown in.

How to play:

• Pair up teammates to sit back-to-back.
• One person describes an image while the other draws based on the description.
• Compare the final drawings with the original image for some laughs!

Explanation:

‍It’s just like Giant Jenga, but with each block having a fun little challenge written on it—like balancing the piece on your head or doing a dance before placing it.

For the hybrid version, the in-office team plays with the physical Jenga set, while remote workers jump in by picking the challenges for their in-office teammates. For example, as the in-office group pulls a block, a remote teammate gives them a challenge to complete before placing the block back on the tower. Remote players can also participate by tracking the game and offering ideas for wacky tasks. It’s a great way to include everyone and keep the laughs going, no matter where people are.

Skill swap workshops are all about sharing talents. Team members vote on what skills they’d like to learn—from cooking to dancing—and then someone hosts an online workshop. It’s a fun way to mix up the workday and learn something new together.

Whether it's mastering a new recipe or trying out salsa moves, it’s a great way to bond, have a laugh, and pick up a fresh skill along the way.

How to play:

• Team votes on a skill they'd like to learn.
• A team member (or outside expert) hosts an online workshop.
• Everyone joins in and tries out the new skill together!

How to play Post-it note art show

Teams are given the challenge of creating an office mural using only Post-it notes, with the mural reflecting a work-related theme. It’s easy to organize: grab some packs of colorful Post-its, assign a theme, and watch as creativity takes off. This is a fun way to encourage teamwork while bringing some color and personality to the office walls.

Top tip: Don’t stress over artistic skill! Even if it looks like a kindergarten project, it’s all about having fun together. Bonus points for those who incorporate inside jokes into their murals!

We love improv games that are lively, dramatic, and force you out of your shell. But not everybody does! In fact, for employees who are less confident in nature, these types of activities can be downright stressful.

That’s where a game like Quick-Fire Questions comes in. Not only is it well-suited to remote teams, but it’s also a great introduction to improv. Nobody’s singled out, there’s no miming/acting, and you don’t even have to turn your webcam on.

How to play Quick-fire questions

To play, all participants must do is have a conversation – taking turns to contribute a line at a time. The twist?

Anything and everything they say has to be a question!

For instance, Dave might start by asking Sally, “What type of music do you enjoy listening to?” And Sally could reply, “Where shall we go to rave this weekend?” To which Joe might ask, “What’s the name of the forest just outside town?” And Dave might respond with, “How many forests are there in this part of the country?”

Easy, right? Wrong! You have to think on your feet, be creative with your answers, and frame your reply in the correct format. If someone hesitates, asks something unrelated, or doesn’t ask a question at all, then they’re out.

You can play a round-robin tournament, with one person facing off against another. Or you could try to play all together, asking one question at a time. Whatever the case, the “conversation” should help energize the virtual room, generate lots of laughs, and boost team spirit to boot.

‍

How to play How Well Do You Know Me

Here’s a brilliant question game for a) testing how well you know your teammates and b) helping everyone learn more about each other.

To play, one person acts as the subject while everyone else is a guesser. You then choose questions (that someone has compiled in advance or found on the internet) that both the subject and guessers must answer about the subject. Potential questions include:

• “Where did I grow up?”
• “What’s my favorite food?”
• “What are my current hobbies?”
• “Who is my celebrity crush?”
• “What historical figure do I look up to?”

For example, if Dave from HR was the subject, he’d answer questions about himself; the other players would attempt to answer the questions about him. After writing down their answers, everyone would then compare what they put! You then swap roles so that everyone has a chance to be the subject.

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.

How to play Virtual gratitude wall

Utilize the power of digital whiteboards that allow you to save your groupwork, creating a mural of positivity through a virtual gratitude wall. This simple idea brings a stronger sense of unity in teams and solidifies team morale.

Look for a digital whiteboard, or go a step further and get on a collaboration platform like Padlet, letting users add sticky notes and share videos. The emphasis is on positive reinforcement and morale-boosting through remembering what we’re grateful for. Try this one out to get a positive atmosphere flowing.

‍

How to play Sound and movement

Have everyone stand in a circle. One volunteer should go into the middle of the circle and make a sound and a motion. For example, they might stop their feet and say “clomp, clomp”. That particular sound and movement should be repeated by everyone in the circle. Then a new person should enter the circle and do the same thing, until everyone has had a chance to come up with their own sound and motion for people to repeat. It’s usually easiest to go in a clockwise order, but you can also have people volunteer for a turn at random.

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.

How to play Don’t laugh

This activity is great if you have some especially funny team members. Start by having all attendees stand in a circle, and then have a volunteer stand in the middle and make some jokes. The attendees should not laugh, no matter how funny the person inside the circle is being. This is a great way to lighten the mood during heavier topics or serious meetings. One caveat: make sure that the “joker” is based purely on volunteers only. It’s not easy to stand in front of a group, particularly when it comes to trying to be funny. Not everyone will be up for this, so you need to know your team before you proceed.

How to host Costume contest

Chances are that most of the time you see your colleagues in business attire or casual clothing appropriate for your work environment. Most employees would jump at the opportunity to play dress up once in a while. Costume contests are a fun employee engagement idea, or you can take a group approach for more team-building energy. It makes sense to set a theme or parameters such as celebrities, historical figures, matching your office bestie, or famous people from your industry.

Choose any topic that spurs creativity and fun! Plus, you can create social media posts around the costume contest in order to humanize your brand and drum up more social engagement.

How to play Ranking race

Thinking critically - and quickly - is a highly coveted skill in the professional world. This game calls for creating a ranking system, which is a natural way of thinking through information and categorizing it. It’s a really versatile exercise since no materials and very little prep time are required. Start by getting people into groups of no more than 10. Then, set a timer and give each group a list of items to rank, such as the best local restaurants or top movies of the year.

Task each group with coming up with their own ranking system. When the timer goes off, everyone should present their final rankings. They can describe to the group how they came up with their ranking system and why the items are weighted the way that they are. Have teams make notes if they find a certain ranking system particularly helpful - maybe that’s a matrix that more people can use in the workplace going forward.

How to play Group Map

Are you hosting an event where people come from various locations? Try laying out an imaginary map in a room representing all the areas people may have come from. Have them stand in their “place of origin” and share a bit about where they came from. You could also print a large map and have everyone place a pin on their area. The important thing is to share some information about where they’ve come from.

Test your team’s spelling skills with a spell-off showdown! Contestants take turns spelling increasingly difficult words until someone slips up. It’s like a mini virtual spelling bee, but with more laughs and less pressure.

This game is great for keeping the brain sharp and having fun at the same time—especially when you realize nobody remembers how to spell "mnemonic."

How to play:

• The host gives players words to spell, starting with easy ones and getting harder.
• Each player takes a turn spelling their word.
• The last person standing after everyone else misses a word is the winner!

How to play Travel back in time…

In this creative exercise, ask everyone to imagine that they are able to travel back in time to a singular event. Where would they go, and why? Most important: what would they change? What would they make sure was done differently? And, with those differences, what would the outcomes be? Would our lives be different today if their version of events had happened?

In business, an important part of strategy is thinking multiple steps ahead, and understanding “if this/then that”. This exercise asks everyone to think ahead about various repercussions of certain events. It’s a great game to play if you want to flex those strategic muscles, and also leads to some really interesting conversations.

How to play Interdepartmental pitch battles

For this hybrid version, teams can collaborate online through virtual meeting platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, while those in the office can meet physically or join virtually. Remote team members can contribute their ideas via shared documents or collaboration tools like Miro or Slack. Each team presents their pitch live via video call, with remote judges participating online and in-office judges scoring live. The presentations can be recorded so that all participants can watch each team's ideas, ensuring everyone stays engaged.

The Price is Right is a legendary TV guessing game show where contestants need to guess the price of items to win prizes. But did you know, you can also adapt this for the office space?

How to play:

1. Gather your team in a room
2. Choose names out of a hat for the "contestants"
3. Gather office items or personal items of employees (make sure they are willing to let you handle them)
4. Showcase them on a table
5. Ask the contestants to guess the price of each item.
6. Whoever is closest wins!
7. Rotate contestants

This game is not only a fun way to break up the monotony of the workday, but it also helps strengthen teamwork and collaboration skills.

It can also provide an opportunity for employees to provide backstories on their items further improving presentation skills. You never know; some stories could be fascinating listen!

How to Cup toppers

For this game you’ll need some cups or tumblers and some old compact discs. Place the cup a reasonable amount of space away from the player (such as a few feet, across a table). Have them take a stack of CDs and toss them, one by one, onto the cup. Their goal is to land as many as they can flat onto the top of the cup. Whoever strikes the most landings wins.

Imagine sitting in a circle with your colleagues, weaving a story together one sentence at a time. This is the essence of the Storytelling Relay, a playful yet powerful activity that fosters active listening in the workplace.

How to play

1. Form a circle with your team members. Ensure everyone has a clear line of sight to the person speaking.
2. The game starts with one person. They utter the opening sentence of a story, anything that comes to mind.
3. The next person continues the story with a single sentence, following the lead of the previous speaker. It should make sense and smoothly connect to the previous sentence.
4. Go around the circle, with each participant adding a sentence. The goal is to build a cohesive narrative.
5. This is where active listening comes into play. Participants must pay close attention to the unfolding story to ensure their contributions fit seamlessly.
6. It's essential not to interrupt or correct others. The story may take unexpected turns, but that's part of the fun!
7. Continue until you reach a predetermined ending point or when the story feels naturally complete.

How to play 10 ways to kill a new idea

If you want to be sure everyone really has an open mind and is ready to bring creative ideas to the table, start by having everyone talk about what not to do. You can use a whiteboard or even a poster-size sheet of paper. Ask everyone to share thoughts on the best ways to kill a new idea. Make a comprehensive list and then use discussion to narrow down the top 10.

Then, make a commitment as a group that you will not do these things as you complete the day’s work. This creates an environment where everyone is open to new ideas and ready to work together.

How to play Mystery basket

In this game, blindfolded players will try to guess what’s in a basket by feel. To play, gather a bunch of items from around the office. Obviously they should be safe and not have things like sharp ends or spikes. Place everything in a basket or bowl and have blindfolded participants explore the items with their hands and try to guess what they are observing. Keep track of answers with a pencil and paper, and the person with the most correct guesses wins.

This guessing game is more than just a fun activity to pass the time; it’s a chance for your colleagues to learn about each other on a personal level.

How to play:

• Make a list of real-life or fictional characters that your employees are familiar with (celebrities, historical figures, or people in your industry).
• Divide employees into teams and assign each team a character.
• Take turns asking yes or no questions about the other teams' characters until you guess who it is.
• Once a team identifies a character, they are eliminated.
• Continue until only one team remains with a character that hasn't been eliminated.

This game promotes teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in a lighthearted way. Additionally, it is a great way to add some fun to the workday while getting to know your employees.