Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

How to play Pitch tournament

An important part of selling is understanding customer needs: what they want or what drives them to buy something. Help your team to hone these skills by pitching items to you or another panel of judges. Pick a few regular objects, such as things from around the office. Then, pair people up (or work as individuals if your group is already small) and have them take turns pitching the item to your judges. Give everyone a few minutes to come up with a unique presentation and make sure they understand the product. Add a prize for the winner to up the ante a bit.

How to play Watermelon Eating Contest

Instructions: Provide each participant with a slice of watermelon. The objective is to eat the watermelon slice as quickly as possible without using hands. The first person to finish their slice wins.

Materials needed: Watermelon slices.

The Watermelon Eating Contest is a fun and delicious game that promotes friendly competition and brings out the laughter. It adds a lighthearted and entertaining element to the picnic while allowing team members to bond over a shared experience.

Explanation:

‍Teams build different sections of a complicated Rube Goldberg machine. In-office teams work on physical pieces, and remote workers create virtual sections using online tools.

In-office workers can start by building something physical—like a series of dominoes or a ball rolling down a ramp—while remote workers come up with digital elements (animations or recorded videos of their contraptions). The challenge is to connect these sections into one long, wacky machine that works seamlessly together. Remote workers can submit their videos or ideas, and in-office teammates figure out how to physically incorporate them.

This brings remote and office workers together in a super creative way!

Explanation:

‍Teams brainstorm and design the ultimate office gadget that solves an everyday problem, like a self-cleaning desk or a coffee cup that never gets cold. The goal is to sketch out the concept and explain how it works.

In this hybrid version, remote and in-office workers team up to brainstorm their gadget ideas. Remote workers can use virtual tools to create digital sketches and presentations, while in-office workers can build mockups or create physical prototypes using whatever’s available. Everyone collaborates on how the gadget would work and why it would make office life easier (or just more fun). At the end, each team shares their gadget ideas via video call, showing off both the digital and physical aspects of their creation.

It’s a fun way to mix creativity and problem-solving across both work environments!

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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How to play:

Divide the team into pairs. One person in each pair chooses an object or concept and mimes it without using any words or sound. The other person tries to guess what the mime represents.

Materials needed: None

Benefits:

• Enhanced nonverbal communication: Encourage your team to sharpen their ability to communicate effectively without relying on words. This activity fosters creativity in finding innovative ways to convey messages through facial expressions and body language.
• Boosted team spirit: Experience moments of laughter and joy as you witness your team members' hilarious and creative interpretations of various mimes. It's like a comedy show where your employees become silent performers, fostering camaraderie and a positive team atmosphere.

After gathering everyone together in a remote arena, a game of Emoji Communication is a great way to get teams working together. This game highlights how easy it is to misinterpret digital messages and the importance of thoughtful communication. It helps members build agile skills where tone and context need extra clarification.

Set up:

One person in the remote meeting is chosen as the messenger. They create a message, a clear and cohesive sentence using only emojis. No words allowed! Everyone else works by a timer and writes down their guesses. Dish out points for correct guesses and rotate the messenger. Some example sentences to start you off could be:

"Let’s grab coffee and chat" ☕👫💬
"Team celebration tonight!" 🎉🍻🎶🕺
"Emergency! Need a quick solution" 🚨🧠⚙️⏳

How to play Secret word

Insert some fun and laughter into your everyday office work by playing this silly game. To play, start by writing down any word on a piece of paper (An object or action is usually easiest). Choose your first participant and have them place the paper on their forehead (without looking at it). It’s key that the player doesn’t know what word they are displaying! Other players should gesture to try to get them to guess the word without actually speaking. The person with the card will try to guess the word based on the actions of everyone around them.

How to play Speed networking

This quick team-building activity breaks large groups into pairs, giving them three minutes to talk about anything other than work. Whether it’s their favorite hobby, vacation plans, or a fun fact about their pet, the goal is to find connections outside the office. After three minutes, everyone rotates to the next partner, continuing until all participants have met.

Speed networking helps people break the ice quickly and can lead to lasting friendships. It’s an excellent way for new hires to get to know their coworkers or for team members who don’t usually interact to find common ground. Since the conversations are short, it keeps things moving and avoids any awkward pauses, making it an easy and effective way to strengthen team bonds.

Top tip: Encourage team members to ask fun questions like “What’s your dream vacation?” to keep the conversation light and engaging. It’s amazing how fast friendships form when you find out someone shares your love of 80s action movies!

Robots takes the basic premise behind Human Objects (from earlier in this article) and pushes it a step further. This time, rather than individuals imitating random items, the entire team works together to embody a robot!

How to play Robots

This funny improv game begins with everybody standing in a circle. You then invite someone to walk into the center – pretending they’re a robot every step of the way.

After a few seconds, someone else jumps in and pretends they’re a new part of it, complete with their own movements and sounds. Repeat this process until you have an entire machine made up of colleagues in various body positions performing different functions, but ultimately operating as one.

Think: “The Office” meets “Transformers”. You’ll feel as if you’re back at school, giggling like little kids as your workmates manipulate themselves into ever more unusual positions (making robot noises as they go).

When it’s fully assembled, you can then ask the “robot” to complete a task or dismantle itself bit by bit. Heck, you could even get the team to build a robot that’s designed with a specific task in mind.

Whatever happens, the end result is a high level of collaboration. They’ll be joining arms, holding hands, and moving in sync in their effort to make and imitate a machine. The fun, physicality, and humor involved should forge tighter relations too.

How to play Balloon stomp

For this game, you’ll need tons of balloons in two different colors. You need to be outside or in a large space, and divide your large group into two smaller groups and assign them each a color. Set a timer for one or two minutes, and the goal of the game is for each team to pop all the balloons of their own color - without accidentally hitting the other color. At the end of the game, the team who popped most of their own color balloons 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.

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 What’s new (in my office)?

If you have a lot of virtual meetings with the same people, it can be a fun idea to throw in some changes now and then. For this game, send out a note prior to the meeting instructing everyone to add one new thing to their normal working space or background. Then, during the meeting, everyone should take turns observing the work space of their colleagues and seeing if they can point out what’s new.

The new item can be anything from a plant on the desk to a silly poster on the wall. Obviously, this game only works well for people who are used to being in virtual events in the same space with their camera on. For that reason, it’s a nice way to mix up daily status meetings or weekly department meetings.

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!

How to play Pick an accomplishment

For most people, it feels really awkward to share their successes. For your next meeting, break the ice by having everyone on the call share their latest accomplishment. Whether that’s a work related achievement or a personal goal like their best time in a 10k, you can create a safe space for people to brag and learn more about what their co-workers care about.

How to play the floor is lava

Light-hearted and more than a little bit silly, The Floor is Lava is another excellent indoor game that’s sure to get people giggling! More importantly, they’ll be working together, listening, demonstrating leadership skills, and solving problems.

The idea’s simple: break your team into 2 groups and challenge them to take turns crossing the room together without touching the floor (…because it’s lava). While one group attempts the crossing, the other can try to sabotage their efforts – moving items they’d otherwise use as stepping stones and/or placing obstacles in their way.

Ready to see where your team’s creativity lies? In idea spectrum, everyone writes down ideas related to a topic or challenge on sticky notes. Then, the team arranges them in order from conventional to wild, out-of-the-box thinking.

This exercise is one of those simple yet effective teambuilding activities for work that helps teams explore new perspectives while understanding the balance between practicality and creativity. It’s a fun and collaborative way to get everyone thinking and bouncing ideas off each other - perfect for brainstorming sessions when you need to mix things up.

How to play:

• Give everyone sticky notes and a topic or challenge to brainstorm ideas.
• Write down one idea per note.
• Arrange the notes in order from conventional to out-of-the-box thinking.

How to play Linkword

Here’s a letter game that has some great online worksheets to get teams started. This fast-paced brain teaser has teams thinking laterally. You might want to create teams for this one, as some examples can really get people scratching their heads.

Your teams will look at three words and have to decide on one word that connects all three. Common words are the aim of the game. Let’s say for example you show them the words “POINT,” “SAFETY,” and “CUSHION”. All three of these words can be connected with the word “PIN,” forming “pinpoint,” “safety pin,” and “pin cushion.” Try this one out with your teams.

Oh, Scattergories - that hilarious game that always leaves you scratching your head and laughing until your sides hurt. But did you know that this party favorite can be used in the office setting too?

How to play:

1. Choose a category and a letter.
2. Set a time limit for players to come up with answers.
3. Each player writes down as many answers as possible starting with the chosen letter.
4. Compare answers and eliminate any duplicates or invalid answers.
5. Award points for unique and valid answers. Repeat with a new category and letter.

Not only is Scattergories great for building team chemistry and boosting morale, but it's also a sneaky way to get everyone thinking outside the box and flexing their problem-solving muscles. So the next time you're stuck in a meeting that feels like a snooze-fest, bring out the Scattergories and watch the magic happen!

How to play Tug of War Challenge

Instructions: Divide participants into two teams and provide a long rope. Each team holds onto one end of the rope and pulls in opposite directions. The team that successfully pulls the other team over a designated line wins.

Materials needed: Rope.

Tug of War encourages teamwork, communication, and friendly competition. It promotes unity, camaraderie, and creates a sense of strength and determination among team members.

Setting clear goals involves defining your objectives with precision, making them more achievable. The SMART criteria are a useful framework for goal-setting:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to accomplish.
• Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress. This might involve quantifiable metrics or milestones.
• Achievable: Ensure that your goals are realistic and attainable.
• Relevant: Align your goals with your overall objectives and values
• Time-Bound: Set a timeframe for achieving your goal.

Instead of a wishy-washy goal like "be better at work," let's get as specific as a project deadline. Say something like "we will increase project efficiency by 20% in the next three months by focusing on XYZ "

SMART Activity:

Introduction (15 minutes):

• Explain SMART goals and its components in simple terms.
• Stress the importance of clear and realistic goal-setting.

Examples and Discussion (20 minutes):

• Provide examples of SMART and non-SMART goals.
• Engage in a discussion on why goals meet or fail to meet SMART criteria.

Breakout Session (30 minutes):

• Divide participants into small groups.
• Assign each group a broad goal (e.g., "improve productivity," "enhance communication").
• Instruct groups to break down the goal into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound components.

Group Presentations (20 minutes):

• Each group presents their SMART goals.
• Encourage constructive feedback and group discussion.

Reflection and Adjustment (15 minutes):

• Facilitate a reflection session.
• Participants share insights and challenges.
• Discuss adjustments to make current goals SMART.

Individual Goal Setting (20 minutes):

• Participants set a personal or professional SMART goal.
• Provide guidance and support as needed.

Transform your office into a puzzle paradise! Puzzle stations are strategically placed around the workplace, offering employees a mental workout during breaks. It's like a treasure hunt for your brain, with puzzles ranging from crosswords to brainteasers waiting to be conquered.

Puzzle stations provide a refreshing break from screens, encouraging mental agility and problem-solving skills. Employees can collaborate, share tips, and revel in the satisfaction of cracking a challenging puzzle. It's a break that stimulates the mind and promotes a sense of accomplishment.

Instructions:

1. Set up puzzle stations in common areas or designated break spaces.
2. Include a variety of puzzles, from crosswords to Sudoku and brain teasers.
3. Encourage employees to tackle puzzles individually or collaborate with colleagues.
4. Consider hosting puzzle challenges with small prizes for those who conquer the most puzzles within a given time frame.

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!