Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

This trust-building game is simple and requires only a blindfold and players willing to work together. While you don’t necessarily need a big field to play this in, it would be better to have an open area to avoid too many hazards getting in the way.

How to play:

‍Break groups into small teams of two. One player is the leader, and the other wears the blindfold. The leader has to guide the blindfolded player to the endpoint while making sure they avoid bumping into objects.

For example, pick a start and end location; players start in the office and end at an outdoor seating area.

Materials you’ll need: Blindfold(s)

How many people: Small to mid-sized teams (8-16 people)

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A water-tight relay is a great game to get everyone active, if a little bit wet! You’ll need 2 or more teams, a cup for each player, and a source for refilling water. The objective is to carry water in a cup to a teammate, creating a relay chain until all water is collected at the end.

Set-up:

1. Carry water carefully: Create teams with an equal number of members, each member should be the same distance away from their teammate. The first person in the line is given a full cup of water. They move to the second person and pour water into their cup. They can only pour water backward over their head!

2. Continue the chain till the end: Each member repeats the action until the last person pours their water into one large container. The first member in the line then gets another full cup and repeats. Put a measurement on the final container (3 or 4 full cups of water), and the first team to reach the line wins.

Speed does not always beat a steady hand in this game. Try this one out as a fun Friday activity. Just make sure you’re away from electrical equipment!

You might be surprised how many workforces enjoy a game of chess!

How to play online chess club

Creating an online chess club is easy and free. Schedule regular games throughout the year and reward the winner with a small prize like a voucher or cash bonus - monetary rewards are a great incentive for driving online social interaction.

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.

This card game challenges the psyche and asks employees to get outside their comfort zones. A fun game for a team that is making a company retreat and one that brings out the inner actor in everyone.

How to play:

‍Split your team into large groups, around ten people, is ideal. Make a small deck of cards that includes an even amount of each suit (diamonds, clubs, etc.) which will then be evenly distributed. Team members draw a card, but without seeing it, the team-building organizer tapes it to their backs. Everyone is then instructed to go around talking to others based on the card on their back. The suit dictates the behavior:

• Spades are ignored
• Diamonds are treated well
• Act indifferent toward Hearts

After completing the game, sit down as a group and discuss how you were treated and how that made you feel. Group members will get the chance to acknowledge how they treat people as a marker of how others will perform and feel in the workplace.

Materials you’ll need: Desk of cards and ample space

How many people: Large teams (25+ people)

Do you have a keen eye for detail? Are you a spot-the-difference wizard? Then Sneak a Peek could be the game for you. In this game, your employee’s observation and communication skills will be put to the test as they attempt to recreate a structure with their team.

Great for: Observation, communication

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: A few sets of building blocks i.e. Lego Duplo

How to play Sneak a Peek

Setup: Using your building blocks, start by constructing a complex structure. The structure should be hidden from the players and positioned at an equal distance from each team. Then, divide your group into even teams and provide them with the necessary building blocks to recreate your structure.

To play: When the game starts, one player from each group will approach the hidden structure and observe it for 10 seconds. Then, upon returning to their teams, the observer has 25 seconds to explain how to recreate the structure. After one minute of attempting to recreate the structure, another observer gets up and looks at the hidden structure for a further 10 seconds. The game continues in this pattern until one of the teams successfully replicates the structure.

21 Questions is the perfect game for passing the time, learning more about each other, and exercising critical thinking skills. Here’s how it works:

One person in the group thinks of an individual (e.g. a celebrity), a place, an animal, or an object. Then everyone else takes turns asking “yes/no” questions to work out what it is! The aim of the game is to work together to find the answer as quickly as possible. If they don’t succeed within 21 questions, they lose.

Here’s an example where Player One is thinking of an elephant:

• Player Two: “Is it an animal?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Three: “Does it fly?”
• Player One: “No.”
• Player Four: “Is it a large animal?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Two: “Does it live in Africa?”
• Player One: “Yes.”
• Player Three: “Is it a giraffe?”
• Player One: “No.”
• Player Four: “Is it an elephant?”
• Player One: “Yes.”

They’d then swap roles, with Player Four (i.e. the person who guessed the answer) thinking of something for everyone else to guess.

How to play Country ambassadors

This is a lively game which only requires some knowledge of geography. Assign each player a country. You can do this by using a random country generator, or just selecting at random. Once countries are assigned, each person should take a turn describing their country without mentioning it by name. The goal is for all the remaining players to be able to guess their country. If you want to make the game competitive, then keep a running list of all the players and how many countries they’ve guessed. The person who got the most correct wins.

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.

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!

How to play Human Hungry Hippos

Do you remember the game Hungry Hungry Hippos from childhood? Bring the game to life with this super physical challenge. You’re guaranteed to get some laughs after even the longest meetings. The concept is simple: you recreate the classic game using your own bodies, skateboards, laundry baskets, and plastic balls. You can have 3 or 4 people go against each other every round.

To start, one person lays on their stomach on a skateboard, and another participant holds their feet in order to steer. The laying-down player should hold a laundry basket upside down, ready to snatch the balls. The leader should dump a basket of small plastic balls onto the floor to start the game. From there, each pair of players scrambles to grab as many balls as they can with their basket. The pair with the most balls at the end wins. This game is best suited for people who don’t mind getting physical and aren’t afraid of looking silly.

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How to play Ping Pong Tournament

As open office plans became more popular, more companies started setting up breakout rooms where employees could decompress by grabbing a coffee or playing ping pong. If you already have a ping pong table in the office, this is an ideal game to add to the Office Olympic games—a ping pong competition works well with individual players and teams.

While there is the classic two-person setup for table tennis, there are numerous games, like playing with two balls at a time or a group game that gets smaller as people must step out if they miss their turn to hit the ball.

How to play:

Create bingo cards with different safety-related actions or reminders in each square (e.g., "wore safety goggles," "reported a hazard"). Distribute these cards to employees and encourage them to mark off squares as they observe these actions throughout the day. The first person to get a bingo wins a small prize.

Safety bingo blitz makes safety awareness engaging. It's like regular bingo but with a twist that reinforces good safety practices. Everyone loves a good game of bingo, and it's a great way to keep everyone alert and involved in maintaining a safe work environment.

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The aim of this game is to boost your conflict resolution skills by diving into some video scenes that are bursting with workplace drama. We'll watch 'em, dissect 'em, and figure out the best ways to make things right. This is a hands-on, visual, and chatty way to boost your conflict resolution skills. Let's dive into those scenes, have some fun, and make our workplace a better, more harmonious space.

Materials needed

You won't need much for this - just some video clips that showcase different conflict scenarios, a way to display them (a projector or screen), and something to jot down your thoughts.

Instructions

1. First you need to choose your scenes. Think workplace disputes, customer service kerfuffles, or good ol' interpersonal clashes – scenes that you can totally relate to. Scenes from the movie Horrible Bosses or Steve Jobs could be perfect.
2. After the video's done, it's your turn to chat. We'll dive deep into the conflict we just saw. What caused it? How did emotions play a part? And what about those communication styles?
3. Split into groups or pairs and hand out some worksheets or notebooks. You'll use these to brainstorm your own ideas for smoothing out the situation. Remember, it's all about constructive conflict resolution.
4. Let's regroup and share what we came up with. We want to hear all about your ideas and strategies. Feel free to speak up – there are no wrong answers here.
5. We're not stopping at one video. Nope, we'll keep this party going with a bunch of different scenarios. Each one will have its own unique challenges and situations.
6. After we've tackled all the videos, we'll gather 'round and talk about what we've learned. What were the big takeaways? Any recurring themes? And most importantly, how can we use all this newfound knowledge in our daily work lives?

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.

How to play First Letter, Last Letter

For this game, have everyone form a circle and sit down. Choose one person to start first. That person writes or says a word and the person next to them has to come up with another word using the last letter or the last few letters of that word. This is a verbal game that doesn’t require any materials or special preparation, which makes it a great activity if you have some spontaneous time to fill and want it to be productive.

Explanation:

‍Teams bid on fictional items by describing them in the most creative way possible. Whether it’s a "self-warming office chair" or a "never-ending snack drawer," the challenge is to sell these imaginary products with over-the-top descriptions.

In-office and remote teams come together to craft the most outlandish descriptions for fictional items. Remote workers might create wild product ideas (think: an "anti-gravity backpack" or "teleporting coffee") and in-office teams will take turns describing why their made-up product is the best one. The fun lies in the creativity and the bizarre backstories teams come up with to "sell" their imaginary items. The best (or most hilarious) pitch wins the auction, and everyone has a good laugh at the absurdity.

Time to pop some balloons in balloon burst blitz! Teams race to pop balloons filled with challenges and complete the tasks inside. Whether it’s a trivia question or a physical challenge, the goal is to be the first team to finish all tasks.

It’s fast, fun, and slightly chaotic activity - but in the best way. Plus, the surprise of what’s inside each balloon keeps things exciting!

How to play:

• Fill balloons with different challenges (trivia, physical tasks, etc.).
• Teams pop the balloons, complete the challenge inside, and move to the next.
• First team to finish all tasks wins!

How to play Penguins and flamingos

This activity captures the magic of youth and gives everyone a chance to stretch their legs. One player acts as a flamingo and then everyone else is a penguin. Their goal is to “peck” one person on the head and make them a flamingo. The last person to remain a penguin wins!

How to play Lucky Charms

Give all players a large bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. Have everyone sort the charm marshmallows into categories as fast as they can (for example, all hearts together and all clovers together). Whoever sorts through the most cereal in a minute wins.

Explanation:

‍Remote workers solve clues sent by in-office colleagues to identify specific office landmarks or objects, using virtual walk-throughs or photos.

In-office workers come up with cryptic clues about various spots or objects in the office (like a quirky poster on the wall or the location of the best coffee machine), and remote workers have to figure out the location using virtual office walk-throughs, photos, or even quick video tours. The remote team submits their guesses, and the in-office team reveals the answers.

It’s a fun, puzzle-solving challenge that makes both in-office and remote workers feel like they’re part of the same environment.

How to play:

Set up an obstacle course that includes various safety challenges (e.g., wearing PPE, using a fire extinguisher, performing first aid). Employees navigate the course individually or in teams, and the fastest time wins.

This activity adds a physical element to safety training, making it dynamic and memorable. It promotes hands-on practice of essential safety skills while providing a fun and exciting challenge. Encouraging a bit of healthy competition boosts engagement.

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.

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.