Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Recall quiz (at the end of an event)

How about a little icebreaker to wrap things up? Most icebreakers are at the beginning, but with longer events, we suggest interspersing them throughout - including the end. Have everyone go around the room and share their biggest takeaway from the day. Or, have a list of quiz-style questions that you ask everyone and see who can remember the most answers. Recall is an important part of memory, so this is a great time to reiterate the concepts that you really want people to take away.

Instructions:

‍Pair people with different levels of experience in a reverse mentoring relationship. The less experienced individuals mentor the more experienced ones, sharing fresh perspectives and knowledge.

It's like flipping the leadership script and giving the underdogs a chance to teach the old dogs some new tricks. By pairing less experienced individuals with seasoned leaders, reverse mentoring unleashes a whirlwind of fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and the wisdom of youth. It's a leadership shake-up that challenges status quo and ignites mutual learning, making it a win-win for all involved. Perhaps consider involving yourself in this activity and allowing a newbie to mentor you. You never know, you could be mentored by the rising stars of tomorrow!

Comic craze is a creative and collaborative activity where teams build a comic strip together. Each person draws a panel, passing it along to the next person to continue the story. It’s a fun way to let imaginations run wild and see how a simple idea can evolve into something hilarious.

This game is ideal for encouraging creativity and team bonding, with lots of room for unexpected twists in the storyline.

How to play:

• Provide each team with blank comic strip panels.
• The first person draws a panel, then passes it along for the next person to continue.
• Once complete, the team presents their comic strip for some laughs!

Explore more team building ideas to spark creativity and collaboration within your team.

Ready to turn setbacks into stepping stones? Welcome to the Failure Analysis Workshop, where we don't just talk about success – we dissect failure, pull it apart, and find the golden nuggets within. Participants gather around the metaphorical "lessons learned" table, discussing past hiccups, pitfalls, and fiascos.

Make people understand that learning from failures isn't just a skill; it's an art. This exercise transforms the not-so-great moments into valuable insights, fostering a positive attitude toward setbacks. It’s also the perfect chance to learn from past mistakes in order to prevent future mishaps, a perfect aim for goal-setting!

Top Tip for Facilitator:

• Be the guide, not the judge.
• Encourage participants to share openly and guide the discussion towards extracting lessons rather than dwelling on the negatives.
• The goal here is not just to analyze failure but to turn it into a powerful tool for future success.

Time to network, fast! In speed connections, team members pair up and exchange quick introductions within a time limit. Once time’s up, they move to the next person and repeat. It’s fast-paced, fun, and perfect for breaking the ice.

This fun team-building activity is ideal for fostering connections in the workplace, especially when there are new faces around. It helps people practice communication skills and learn interesting things about each other—all in a short time. Plus, it’s a great way to add a burst of energy to the day.

How to play:

• Pair up and introduce yourselves to each other.
• Set a time limit (e.g., 1-2 minutes per conversation).
• When time’s up, switch partners and repeat.

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.

Setting up a challenge for your teams using LEGO is a simple and playful way to kickstart an agile session. Tasking them with the challenge of building a specific structure shape using LEGO bricks. Stick a twist on it by giving them limited instructions

Set-up:

Simply create small teams, 4 or 5 members per team will do. Each group gets a set of LEGO bricks and only partially completed instructions. Give them a time limit for preparing and see who builds closest to the desired structure. Variations on the game can include:

• One person being a blindfolded builder
• A “tower of Babel” - biggest tower winds
• Limited communication (like only hand signals)
• Earthquake-proof designs that can withstand a gentle ‘shake’

Prioritizing work-life balance is one of the best ways to show gratitude to employees. Implementing ways for employees to rest and understand that they have their own lives will lead to more quality output and happier employees.

How:

There are many ways to create a balanced workplace. Here are a few of the major ones currently being implemented by many companies as the workplace shifts:

1. Encourage employees to take their vacation days and use them to relax and rejuvenate. Additionally, work continuously to ensure employees are given ample time off, revisiting vacation policies to meet today's standards.
2. Don't push for overworking. Even with a tight deadline, don't send a message that employees are expected to work late or take work home consistently. Show gratitude for the work-life balance by completing your work during your designated hours. Articulate to workers that you respect the time needed to spend with family and friends.
3. Ensure employees are given time to turn off work-related notifications and emails outside work hours, respecting personal time to promote a healthy work-life balance for your colleagues.
4. Delegate work fairly and encourage workers and teams to share the workload and responsibilities with colleagues.
5. Set aside a budget for employees to benefit from, such as an amount each month toward wellness activities, like exercise, meditation, or hobbies. Improved well-being is one of the best ways to demonstrate gratitude for your employees' hard work.
6. Regularly evaluate your company's work-life balance and adjust when necessary.

Remember that work-life balance is not just a personal benefit; it can lead to increased productivity, creativity, and overall well-being, which can benefit your work and relationships. By prioritizing work-life balance, you show gratitude for your life and the people and opportunities that make it all possible.

Picture your team exploring global cultures in a hands-on way. The Cultural Traditions Race isn't your typical history lesson; it's an immersive experience. You'll cook, dance, and dive into traditions from various corners of the world. The catch? You're in it together. As you step into unfamiliar shoes and embrace new customs, you'll learn to communicate across differences, adapt on the fly, and appreciate the beauty of diversity. It's like a crash course in teamwork that leaves you with a deeper connection and a broader perspective.

Instructions

• Form teams to represent a range of cultures.
• Dive deep into the assigned cultural traditions to truly understand them.
• Engage in activities like cooking, dancing, or crafting as indicated.
• Reflect on the experience and share insights as a team.
• Approach each tradition with respect and an open-minded spirit.

How to host a video contest

Short-form videos have become extremely popular - just look at the success of platforms like TikTok. Let everyone bring their inner influencer out by creating their own video to share with everyone. This can be a really exciting competition and great for team-building. It works best with smaller teams. Break people into groups and give them one hour to script, produce, and polish their video content.

You can either let their imaginations run wild or choose a theme for everyone to work with. Make sure everyone has access to necessary video editing software or other tools so that they can make their video even if they’re beginners. Have a great prize ready for the winner - bonus points for a movie-themed gift like theater tickets or “movie night basket” with an Amazon card, popcorn, and snacks.

How to play Salt and pepper pairs

In this activity, you’ll break everyone into pairs of 2. Each group is labeled with one side of a pairing - salt and pepper, macaroni and cheese, Batman and Robin, etc. Each team member should have their item name taped to their back. Have everyone scatter, and then start asking questions of their colleagues to figure out what each one is. Only then can they figure out what they might be and who they belong with. When everyone is properly grouped into their pairs, the exercise is over.

Some of the simplest trust-building exercises for new teams involve asking good old-fashioned ice-breaker questions. Case and point?

“You Get One Question”.

This super quick and easy game requires minimal preparation, which makes it ideal whenever you want the team to connect and/or unwind. It’s a good way to kick off morning meetings, for instance, or to use when onboarding new employees.

How to play You get one question

To play, you need to create or acquire some cards with different scenarios or roles written on the back. Examples might include “starting a company”, “babysitting your nephew”, or “being a world leader”.

You’d then split your team into pairs and let them choose a card from the deck. Their task is to come up with one perfect question to determine if the other person would be a good fit for that specific role.

After a few minutes of thinking and talking, you can then reconvene and discuss the questions and the process of creating them as a group. By the end, your team will have had a stimulating chat in which they learned more about each other.

What you need:

• Pre-written cards with different scenarios on them

How to play Blind Volleyball

Volleyball’s always fun to play with friends. However, this version of the game adds a memorable twist that makes it even better! Rather than playing with an ordinary net you can see through, you place a cover over the top that stops you from seeing the team on the other side.

This simple change completely alters the volleyball experience! It becomes something like Battleships. You have to guess where the opposition is so you can place the ball where you hope they aren’t. In essence, you’re playing blind.

Assuming you can find a volleyball net and ball, this Field Day game for adults is nice and easy to organize as well. The rules are exactly the same as normal, other than the cover you’ll put over the net (an old bed sheet does the trick nicely). Just be conscious of hitting the ball too hard! You don’t know where people are on the court, so smashing it over the net is asking for trouble.

How to play Office “Great race”

Have you watched The Great Race? It’s a competition show where teams race around the world competing various tasks, finding out what their next task is when they complete one. You can create your own version in your office and have teams go on a quest before ending at a finish line. You can make a day of it, or break things up over a few weeks.

This simple game tests your historical knowledge and is a great way to spark conversation outside the office. While organizing a company retreat that emphasizes relaxation, this game is a great way to get people talking.

How to play:

‍Hand out several coins, around five max, to each person. Go around in the group and have them start with one currency and tell a personal story that was meaningful for them.

If they are the only person with that experience, they can place the coin in the center of the table. If another team member shares a similar experience, they must put theirs.

The game is played until someone gets rid of all their coins.

Materials you’ll need A handful of pennies or equivalent coins in whatever currency you use. Just make sure the currency is recent (not older than 20 years old)

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

How to host a Wine (or whiskey) tasting

If you’ve ever attended a wine tasting, then you know it’s a much bigger experience than just sipping on some wine. Having a sommelier (or mixologist or curator for other types of alcohol) can be really beneficial in learning about different types of drinks, what foods go with them, best practices for serving, etc. A good wine tasting will include 6 different versions ranging from white to red, as well as a palette cleanser and a few light snacks. If your team favors whiskey, you can research the best ways to serve and pair samples. Performing a quick Google search will help you learn the best ways to execute a tasting, but we suggest just reaching out to a local winery or distillery and setting up a group tasting.

Note: You may also want to arrange safe transportation, since the alcohol can really add up in tasting situations.

Channel your inner "Survivor" with the corporate survival challenge! Teams compete in a series of physical and mental challenges inspired by survival shows, testing their problem-solving, strategy, and endurance. Who can outwit, outplay, and outlast?

This is ideal activity for larger groups, giving everyone the chance to shine. It promotes teamwork, leadership, and resourcefulness—all while adding a fun, competitive edge. It’s great for building resilience and camaraderie in the workplace, with some light-hearted rivalry thrown in.

How to play:

• Organize physical and mental challenges, like obstacle courses or puzzles.
• Divide participants into teams to compete against each other.
• The team with the most points at the end of the challenges wins!

Listening is a huge part of communicating, and it’s hard to step back and hear what others say when we get stressed at work. This group exercise encourages teams to practice their listening skills, allowing others to speak and respecting their voice.

How to play:

‍Team leaders will choose a topic that will be discussed in subgroups, ideally of two, with an assigned speaker and listener. After the speaker is done, the listener will summarize what they said and subsequently switch roles.

Afterward, the group gets back together to review the process and talk about what it felt like to speak without interruption and what positives came out of that experience. Listeners are also encouraged to give feedback on how it affected them.

Materials you’ll need: Just your team and various seating areas to break them up into groups and a stopwatch/timer.

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

How to play “Hot takes” break

During breaks, encourage people to share unpopular opinions around a certain topic. You start by announcing a subject that is normally non-controversial. Then, let people raise their hands and share a “hot take”, which is an opinion not usually shared by others in general. Here’s an example: the topic is “movie villains”. Someone might raise their hand and say that their hot take is that a certain movie villain is misunderstood and shouldn’t be viewed as bad. Or, maybe the topic is “ice cream”.

A hot take might be someone claiming that chocolate ice cream is the worst flavor. It’s important to keep these topics light and fun so that everyone is comfortable and finds the situation humorous. Now is not the time to bring up politics, religion, or even sports teams if you have a particularly passionate group. You can do a few rounds of this throughout the day whenever you need a pause or refresh.

How to play “I expect”

You can kick off a training session and spur engagement with this simple exercise. You’ll need a blank wall and a few colored post-it notes. Break the white board or chalkboard into 4 quadrants and label them “the training”, “the trainer”, “from myself”, and “from attendees”. Each participant should take a turn filling out 4 post-its that begin “I expect”. For example, “I expect from the training to learn how to better resolve customer conflicts.” Everyone should place their sticky notes in the appropriate quadrant. Then the moderator should go through and read them, highlighting which ones are repeated often.

Looking for a team-building game that never has to end? Try Question Tag. It’s simple, accessible, and unites the team without having to take time off work or arrange an actual event.

How to play Question tag

To play, team members “tag” each other by asking one of their colleagues a question. The recipient answers it, repeats the same question and answer to another colleague, and then asks them a new question. You can play by passing notes, but we think it’s best as an ongoing email exchange. Just make sure everyone gets involved, rather than a few individuals who keep asking themselves questions!

How to play Build A Shelter

How would you survive if you were stranded in an isolated place with a blizzard coming? Use this activity to find out! As an added complication, you can pretend that everyone is blinded by frostbite (by using blindfolds). The team leader must give the group instructions for building a shelter that can withstand the arctic winds. To play, you need a large space and some supplies. Then, select a leader (who can see) and blindfold everyone else.

You’ll also need a large fan. The leader guides everyone in putting together their shelter (remember, while blindfolded). When everyone feels confident that their shelter is up to the test, turn on the fan and see if the structure can withstand the wind! This game is sure to lead to a lot of laughs and you’ll be surprised at some of the clever ideas that people come up with. This is also a powerful exercise for effective leadership - it’s not easy to reach a goal with a group that is blindfolded!

How to play Trivia

Questions games don’t get much better than good old-fashioned trivia! A classic way to test people’s knowledge on a range of topics, you can ask questions on everything from science and current events to religion, sports, and history.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from playing a “personal trivia” game too. Take this tack, and you’d ask questions to test the team’s knowledge about each other instead! For example, who did what at the last Christmas party? Which team member was born overseas? And who has a middle name that starts with “K”?

You get the idea!

Whatever type of trivia game you choose, the idea is to play in teams and compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. Award prizes to the winner to incentivize participation.

Instructions:

‍Create a space for leaders to express appreciation for each other's contributions and strengths.

Gratitude is the secret ingredient of exceptional leadership. The appreciation circle allows your team to acknowledge and celebrate the strengths and achievements of their coworkers. It creates a positive and uplifting environment, fostering a culture of appreciation and recognition. By expressing gratitude, leaders build stronger relationships, boost team morale, and inspire their team to give their best. Gather in a circle, shower each other with praise, and watch your leadership bonds grow stronger.