Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Riff off

This word game is for all the music aficionados in the office. Riff Off is a popular game that plays on famous song lyrics. If you need a little help, search for the online lyrics to a really popular song. Tell your teammates one word from the song. We’ll make an example, the first lyric is “never.”

If your partners can’t guess it, give them another word (our next example is “give”) until someone shouts out the song. Hopefully, nobody gave up and you guessed ours; “Never Gonna Give You Up”!

Here we can bring a little bit of strategic thinking into our corporate teambuilding activities. Flip It Over! It's a hoot of a game where teams stand on a blanket and aim to flip it over without anyone touching the ground.

Set up:

1. Grab a sturdy blanket or tarp big enough for your teams. Think big, up to 10 people.
2. Team everyone up, making groups from 5 to 10 work best.
3. Lay the groundwork, spreading the blanket flat on the ground. Each team hops on, making sure no one’s cheating by sneaking a foot off!
4. Explain the game. Flip the blanket without a single soul touching the ground. Teamwork is the name of the game.
5. Let the flipping begin. Teams will be rapid-fire brainstorming moves to turn the blanket. Flip, flip, hooray!

If your team is on the creative side - or you want to encourage them to be - this is a smart activity for you. You’ll need plenty of recycled materials like paper, cardboard, or plastic items.

Here is what to do:

1. Split up your group into smaller teams.
2. Give each group a set of recycled materials. Try to give a good mix of whatever you’ve come up with.
3. The goal of each team is to come up with a unique and creative piece of art in the time allotted. The other objective is to use as many of the recycled materials as possible.
4. Once the time you set is up, each group will present their creation to the larger team.
5. Either one judge or a panel of judges will assess each art piece based on factors like creativity, teamwork, and the best use of the materials provided. The team with the highest score is the winner.

Every now and then, differences crop up. Conflict management skills are like the superhero toolkit to sort things out, keeping relationships smooth and stress levels low.

Conflict management skills activity - "Resolution theater":

• Prepare several workplace conflict scenarios with varying levels of complexity.
• Divide participants into small groups and assign each group a scenario to act out.
• Instruct groups to perform a role-play where they present the conflict, pause at critical points and discuss potential resolutions.
• After the role-play, encourage groups to share their proposed resolutions and engage in a constructive dialogue.
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This interactive activity provides a safe space for practicing conflict resolution strategies, sharing insights and learning from different approaches.

A water gun fight is an opportunity for your employees to leave the stresses of the office behind them and enjoy some harmless fun.

Great for: Interpersonal bonding, relieving stress

Duration: 30 minutes

You’ll need: An open space, various water guns (at least one per person)

How to organise:

• Mark approximate boundaries for your water gun fight. If you’re in a park, this might simply be the approximate confines of the park itself.
• Scatter various water guns through the space for your employees to discover once the fighting begins.
• When you say “Go!” players will scatter to find a water gun and start firing at other players.
• There are no fixed rules here—the idea is simply to have fun!
• Blow a whistle to signify the end of the game.

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 “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.

How to implement insights (following event)

If you want to go beyond recall, have each person describe how they will implement what they learned in their daily lives and tasks. Hearing important concepts is one thing; knowing how you can practically apply them is something else!

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How to play Jenga unstack

Try a condensed take on the popular game Jenga. Start by building the tower according to game instructions. Then see who can remove the most pieces in one minute without knocking everything down. You can do this as a large group and simply set the timer for a minute and see how far you can get, or you can have a Jenga tower prepared for smaller groups or pairs and have them compete to see who can remove the most. Either way, watch out for the falling pieces!

How to play Sales pitch

This exercise not only gets the creative juices flowing, but can also help with sales skills. Have everyone grab one item from around them - like a pen from their desk - and craft a brief sales pitch to present to the larger group. People should spend about 15 minutes coming up with a logo, a slogan, some talking points, etc. Then they give the sales pitch of their item to the larger group. If you want to make it competitive, you can announce a winner and even grant a prize as part of this sales game.

Bring a little mystery into your next event with this game. This one can add some comedy, but also become a sort of brain-teaser. It's fun for teams who don’t know each other that well (yet) since you don’t need to really know anything about each other to play. Obviously, as the name suggests, gauge your audience before playing - a game with pretend murder in it might not appeal to all audiences.

To play:

1. Create a circle with room for people to move around, and have one person in the center of it.
2. Secretly, select one person who is part of the circle (not in the center of it). You can just pick someone at random or maybe draw names in advance. Regardless, remember this should be a secret.
3. Once the game is started, the selected person is the “killer”. They “kill” people by winking at them. When they make eye contact and wink at someone, that person is down and should fall over onto the ground. They can be as dramatic as they want, but obviously bigger reactions will get more laughs.
4. The person in the middle is going to try and figure out who the “killer” is by observing the behavior of the group. They can have three guesses on who the culprit is. If they guess correctly, then the previous murderer is up in the center role. If they guess incorrectly, then they stay in the center and play another round.

How to play Worst job ever?

Many icebreakers involve simply answering a question, and this is a fun one to get the responses to. As everyone introduces themselves, have them say what their worst job ever was, and why. Laughter is sure to ensue and you might find out some amazing backgrounds of your coworkers.

How to play Dice game

Sales is a numbers game, and the more thoroughly that your reps understand this, the more motivated they'll be to keep making calls and taking meetings. You’ll need teams of 8 players, so either keep your group small or break larger groups into smaller ones. Give each 8-person team one dice and a timer (set to 30 seconds). Have each person take a turn rolling and have one “secretary” in the group write down the results for every roll. In particular, they should write down each time someone gets a “6”, and record how many tries it takes to get that result.

The key is that the players can roll as many times as they want in the 30 second interval. You’ll quickly see people moving a lot faster in order to have more tries at getting the “6” - just the way the overall sales process should work. The faster you move, the more prospects you have, and the more likely you are to get your desired result. It’s a quick visual representation to drive home what makes a truly productive sales person.

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How to play Rice bowl

Everyone could use more practice with chopsticks. Have players use them to transfer as much rice as possible from one bowl to another with only one hand (and their chopsticks). If you want to make things more difficult, you can use uncooked rice, which is much harder to maneuver.

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!

How to host Virtual hackathon

This is a great option for remote teams or teams who are spread out geographically. Online hackathons are one of the most popular and effective team competition ideas.  A hackathon is a marathon competition where teams compete to sketch or design a new product over the course of a few days. To host one, pick a theme (like sustainability or pop culture) and announce it at the beginning of the competition. Make sure to announce the contest in advance of starting it so that teams have time to gather supplies, implement the right collaboration tools, etc.

Divide your group into teams and let them get started! Then, at the end of the allotted time, wrap up the competition and set a time for everyone to present their finished products. Then judges will pick a winner and award a prize. Maybe the product ideas could even be implemented someday!

How to play:

Create a list of safety-related trivia questions covering topics like fire safety, first aid, and workplace hazards. Organize a trivia contest where employees compete individually or in teams to answer the questions. Keep score and offer prizes for the top scorers.

Safety trivia battle turns learning into a competitive and enjoyable experience. It encourages employees to brush up on their safety knowledge and rewards them for their efforts. Trivia is always a crowd-pleaser and can be a great way to break up a training session.

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Get ready for a storytelling showdown, emoji-style! Each participant receives a handful of those tiny expressive symbols, and their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to concoct a tale or spill the beans on a personal experience using these digital hieroglyphics. It's like writing a story, but with smiley faces and thumbs up emojis stealing the spotlight!

Emoji storytelling is an exercise in creativity and interpretation. It's like decoding a secret language. As the stories unfold, the hilarious attempts at translating emojis into real-life adventures begin. It's a light-hearted, laughter-inducing journey into the world of shared imagination.

Instructions:

1. Grab your personalized emoji set - it's time to flex those creative muscles.
2. Cook up a short tale or spill the beans on a memorable experience.
3. Present your emoji masterpiece to the eager crowd.
4. Witness the guessing chaos unfold, crown the emoji storytelling champion, and bask in the glory of a well-told tale.

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Many people might remember this game from their childhood. Commonly used as an exercise to get kids to enhance their listening skills, this simple yet effective game still works just as well in adulthood!

How to play:

‍Gather everyone on your team and have them line up or sit in a big circle. There is a group leader who whispers a sentence into the first person’s ear. That next person whispers that same (hopefully) sentence into their neighbor's ear, and the game continues as such.

This is a perfect game for large teams, as not much is needed, and it’s more challenging to get the message across perfectly the more people it goes through.

Materials you’ll need: Just your team and space to the lineup, or sit in a circle.

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

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:

Choose thought-provoking topics or issues and divide the team into two groups: one supporting the topic and the other opposing it. Engage in a lively 1 minute debate where participants use their creativity and persuasive skills to make their case. Choose a judge to pick a winner.

Example: a poor person stealing food to feed their family.

Materials needed: None

Benefits:

• Critical thinking champions: Sharpen your team's critical thinking skills as they analyze and present arguments with a creative twist. This game is your intellectual battleground, where creativity becomes your secret weapon.
• Confidence boosters: Embrace the art of persuasive communication and witness your employees' confidence soar as they present their arguments with flair and creativity. It's like a TED Talk where your team members become eloquent speakers with powerful messages.

Paper chain power is a fast-paced, hands-on activity where teams race to create the longest paper chain in just three minutes. The catch? Each person can only use one hand! It’s all about coordination, quick thinking, and maybe a little friendly chaos.

This game is perfect for breaking up the workday and injecting some fun competition into the office.

How to play:

• Split into teams and provide paper, scissors, and tape.
• Each player can only use one hand to build the chain.
• The team with the longest paper chain after three minutes wins!

Looking for more team bonding activities to energize your office? Explore our full guide for more ideas.

How to play Growing sentence

In this game, everyone in the room contributes one word to a growing sentence. You can have everyone stand in a group or in a line, as long as everyone can hear each other properly. Pick one word to begin the sentence and have everyone add one more word to keep the sentence going. Have someone write it down on paper or a chalkboard so you can all get a laugh at the final result.

Regardless of how cohesive your team is, at some point, you’re going to encounter disagreements. Online office debates are a playful way of developing public speaking, communication and listening skills that will come in useful during real-life debates.

How to play Online office debates

To organise an online office debate, select two people to go head-to-head in a meaningless debate. The topic could be silly, such as “No one should ever tell a lie” or “Pineapple belongs on pizza.” One person argues “for” the topic while the other argues “against.”

The two presenters can argue their case using any means necessary, they might want to create a PowerPoint presentation and share their screen or back up their points with YouTube videos. After the presentations have been delivered, it’s time for the audience to decide the winner.