Library of teambuilding games & icebreakers

DISCLAIMER: sushi-lovers will have an unfair advantage.

Frustration is a fun, interactive game in which players race against the clock to transfer as many sweets as possible into their bowls using only chopsticks.

Great for: Energising your team, remaining calm under pressure

Duration: 5-10 minutes

Players: 3+

You’ll need: Bowls, small sweets (e.g. M&Ms, Skittles, etc.), chopsticks

How to play Frustration

Setup: Place one large bowl of sweets (something small like M&Ms or raisins) in the centre of the table and position the players in a circle, at equal distances to the bowl. Give each player a small bowl and a pair of chopsticks.

To play: When the time starts, players attempt to transfer as many pieces of candy into their bowl as they can. The players can ONLY use the chopsticks—their free hand must remain behind their back. The winner is the person with the most pieces of candy in their bowl after the time runs out.

How to play Where I'm from

‘Where I’m From’ is a fantastic no-prep game that enables team members to get to know each other better. With smaller teams, ask one person to begin by sharing three quirky facts about their hometown. For globally remote teams, home countries might work better.

Everyone has the chance to guess the speaker’s hometown or country from the three guesses, with a point awarded to any correct guess. The results might surprise you, as you find out your favorite musician comes from a land far, far away.

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 Phone Booth

This game is great for small teams of 4-6 people, so if you have larger groups you’ll want to break them up. You also need to create separate “phone booths” for each team, where they won’t be in direct contact with each other. You can do this with various partitions or cardboard pieces. Ideally, the booths should fit everyone, and they won’t hear or be able to chat with the other groups. Set a timer for about 20 minutes, and give the teams a problem to solve. For example, you might want to say “Find some new ways to increase customer satisfaction.”

Each team will spend some time on this problem (remember, while not speaking to other teams). At the end of the designated time, have the teams come together and discuss their strategies. Then hold a discussion for everyone where you talk about what worked well and what didn’t. How did everyone work together? Did the best ideas float to the top? Did a natural leader emerge in discussions? If you want to enhance the team-building aspect of this game, you can have the teams work together to build their phone booth before getting started.

How to play Impromptu Shark Tank

If you’re building a multi-day agenda and have a couple hours to kill, put together a short-notice shark tank. The key is not to give too much notice - remember, these activities don’t require prep work and the last minute nature of idea generation is sure to lead to more creativity and laughter. Have small teams brainstorm and come up with a few ideas, and then present their best idea to a panel of judges who will decide if it’s worth investing in.

Cool off and blow off some steam with super soaker showdown! Teams engage in a friendly water gun fight, battling it out while dodging sprays and soaking each other. It’s a fun, refreshing way to unleash some energy and enjoy the outdoors.

This is perfect for adding a bit of action-packed excitement to a team day out—and there’s nothing like a good water fight to get everyone laughing.

How to play:

• Equip each team with water guns and create boundaries for the battle.
• Teams strategize to soak their opponents while staying as dry as possible.
• The team with the driest members (or the most soaked fun) wins!

Discover more funny team-building activities for small groups to add energy and excitement to your next team event.

Gossip? Nah, we're all about good vibes. Avoiding gossip keeps the workplace drama-free and the focus on what truly matters.

Avoid gossip activity - Positive news sharing:

• Set up a designated time, such as a weekly meeting or a designated chat channel, for sharing positive news and uplifting stories.
• Encourage colleagues to bring forward news articles, personal accomplishments, or inspiring anecdotes to share with the group.
• Facilitate discussions around the shared news, allowing participants to express their thoughts and reflections.
• Emphasize the importance of maintaining a positive and supportive atmosphere by focusing on constructive conversations.
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This activity shifts the focus away from gossip and fosters a culture of optimism, inspiration and meaningful interactions.

Get ready for a wild ride as your team navigates public transport to conquer checkpoints. It's not just about reaching your destination; it's about making quick decisions and adapting on the fly. You'll need to work together to figure out the best routes and timings. This challenge sharpens your problem-solving skills and shows you the power of collaboration. Plus, you're in for a fun-filled adventure that will leave you with unforgettable memories.

Instructions

• Create teams and assign a starting point.
• Provide a list of checkpoints around the city.
• Teams use public transport to reach checkpoints in a set order.
• They must decide on routes and timings.
• Time penalties for missed checkpoints.
• First team to finish or most checkpoints in time wins.
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Bonus Tip!

You won't believe the transport paradise that London is – metros, taxis, the iconic underground, and buses galore, making it an absolute dream for the Transportation Challenge. It's the ultimate playground for this adventure!

How to play Moral dilemma

Similar to a “would you rather” game, this activity centers on ethical dilemmas. Players should try to flex their moral problem-solving muscles by tackling a social issue. For example, Scruples is a popular board game that can be played. Or, you can look online for versions of games like Dilemma or Quandary. This is a great way to learn more about your colleagues while getting a peek at the way they think.

How to play the super story

This is another game focused on group wordplay, and one that can be done virtually as well as in person. It’s also really fun, so a great exercise for boosting team morale. To begin, let each person know they’ll take a turn as the story-teller. They should grab an object around them - like a pen or pad of paper - and spend one minute telling the most exaggerated story they can come up with around the object.

For example, if their object is a pen, they might talk about how this was the pen used to sign a deal for the most famous athlete in their city. It’s also a game that puts people on the spot and makes them come up with something under pressure, so it’s an especially helpful activity for management level team members.

This indoor game is super simple yet strangely addictive. Played in small teams, you stand at a distance and take turns tossing rings at a pole on the ground. If the ring slots successfully over the top, then your team gets a point! Whoever has the most points after a certain number of attempts, wins.

Want to make things more interesting? You could have multiple targets spread across the office, with some that are closer/easier and others that are further away. You can purchase actual ring toss equipment, but it isn’t essential! Frisbees (or anything else you have that’s ring-like) and empty water bottles work just as well.

Office FM is an ongoing team-building activity that boosts morale and encourages employees to collaborate.

Great for: Company culture

Duration: N/A

You’ll need: Access to a music streaming service (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)

How to organise:

• Create a collaborative playlist and invite everybody as a contributor. If you like, you can create a theme such as “90s Party Classics”.
• Ask each employee to contribute a maximum of two songs to the playlist.
• Hit “play” on the playlist whenever a morale boost is needed!

How to play Name that product

Remember the memory games that you used to play as a child? A variation of this activity can help new hires to learn about your product offerings. You don’t need anything besides a pen and paper! Begin by making a list of the products that your company sells. On the same page, list product features and price points. Then, on separate papers, write a short product description for each of the items. Have sales reps match the products with the short descriptions. Or, as another variation, instead of descriptions you can use customer needs or wants, or another indicator that would help people to better understand your product breadth and keep them straight.

Frostbite’s an effective trust-building exercise that encourages strong communication and listening skills – not to mention teamwork as a whole. Like the other activities in this section, it works best if you’re in an open space, so head on down to the local park (or clear an area in the office!).

How to play Frostbite

When you get there, break your employees into smaller teams of 5 to 6 people and ask each group to choose a leader (or do this for them if there are certain people you think would benefit from this role). Their objective?

To build a makeshift “tent” using newspaper, string, tape, and other office supplies*! But there’s a catch...

The leader of each group has “frostbite” and can’t move. And, to make matters worse, the other members have “snow blindness” and can’t see. In reality, this involves asking the leader not to do anything practical and putting blindfolds on the others. The only way to pitch the “tent” is to listen to the leader’s directions.

Spice things up even more by setting a time limit. The team with the best tent at the end wins a prize.

*Of course, this same principle can apply to any task, which is good news if you’re short on time and/or want an easier activity!

What you need:

• Blindfolds
• Office supplies to build the “tent”
• Stopwatch

How to play:

Provide each team member with a journal or notebook and encourage them to engage in creative journaling. They can write, draw, or use any form of artistic expression to capture their thoughts, ideas, and reflections.

Materials needed: Journals or notebooks, art supplies (optional)

Benefits:

• Encouragement of self-expression: Open the floodgates of creativity and provide a safe haven for your team members to unleash their inner artists. This activity embraces the exploration of personal thoughts and emotions, transforming journals into captivating canvases.

How to play Snowball fight

This activity is pretty simple and straightforward. If you live in a climate where snow is on the ground, get outside and dig in! Organize your larger group into smaller teams and have an old-fashioned snowball fight outdoors. For maximum fun, you can set up barriers or partitions in advance for people to hide behind, or set out supplies for building a “fort” for protection.

How to play Giant Jenga Tournament

Instructions: Build a tower using giant Jenga blocks. Each player takes turns removing one block at a time from the tower and placing it on top without causing the tower to collapse. The player who causes the tower to collapse is eliminated, and the game continues until only one player remains.

Materials needed: Giant Jenga blocks.

Giant Jenga encourages focus, strategy, and problem-solving skills. It promotes friendly competition and creates a sense of anticipation and excitement as the tower becomes more unstable.

Nine times out of 10, asking your team “How are you guys doing?” returns this answer: “Good, thanks.” If you’re looking for an alternative way of checking in with your team, Draw Your Mood is a great solution.

Great for: Expressing moods

Duration: 10 minutes

Players: 6+

You’ll need: Paper, pens

How to play Draw Your Mood

Setup: Draw your mood is another game that can be played in person or online. If you’re playing in person, hand each player a piece of paper and a pen. If you’re playing online, players can use the integrated whiteboard feature on their video conferencing software such as Zoom Whiteboard.

To play: Ask each player to draw a visual representation of their mood. They can use words, images and symbols—you name it! After 5 minutes or so, ask your employees to present their drawings one by one.

How to play GIF challenge

This exercise is particularly fun for people who use communication tools like Slack. Provide the group with prompts, and ask them to find a GIF that demonstrates their reaction to it. Examples of prompts could be “How you feel when someone schedules a meeting at 4pm on Friday” or “When you figured out you stayed up too late binging Netflix before your big presentation.” The more creative, the better!

How to play Work haiku

Haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 phonetic units in a 5, 7, 5 pattern. For this exercise, have everyone come up with their own work-related haiku. They can be funny, observational, or even emotional - but they should all fit the haiku pattern. This is especially important because without materials like pen or paper, you want the poems to be short and easy to memorize and recite. Have everyone tell their poem to the group.

This is another activity that is fun as an icebreaker activity, but can also be turned into a competition. You can always give a prize to the most creative entry. Another bonus for this activity is that it can be done in a virtual environment - for example, everyone can play on Zoom.

How to play Blindfolded Obstacle Course

Instructions: Set up an obstacle course with various challenges. Divide participants into teams of two, with one person blindfolded and the other providing guidance. The sighted team member must guide their blindfolded partner through the course using verbal instructions.

Materials needed: Obstacles (cones, ropes, hula hoops, etc.), blindfolds.

Behold the Blindfolded Obstacle Course, where communication, trust, and teamwork collide in a spectacular display of stumbling and fumbling. Your intrepid team must conquer this treacherous path through sheer collaboration, active listening, and the occasional hilarious misstep. It's a crash course in empathy, where understanding is gained one blindfolded blunder at a time. If you liked this game, make sure to check out more of our tips on how to improve team cohesion!

How to play:

‍Set up a relay race course with different safety-related tasks at each station (e.g., putting on personal protective equipment, bandaging a wound, fire extinguisher drill). Divide employees into teams and have them race to complete each task as quickly as possible.

The safety relay race combines physical activity with safety training, making it a fun and dynamic way to learn. It encourages teamwork and quick thinking, all while reinforcing essential safety skills. A great way to get the blood pumping and learn.

Note: Make sure this is in an outdoor setting! We don’t want accidents whilst playing a safety-based game… Facepalm…

‍How to play:

Ask team members to individually envision and design their ideal workspace. Provide art supplies and encourage them to create visual representations of their dream work environment, including furniture and decoration.

Materials needed: Art supplies (paper, markers, colored pencils, etc.)

Benefits:

• Visualization for inspiration: Let imagination take the lead as your team members sketch out their dream workspaces. This activity transforms ordinary offices into extraordinary spaces, all while inspiring a culture of creative thinking.

• Alignment of values: Take a tour through the team's creative designs and uncover the common threads that weave their visions together. This activity fosters a sense of shared purpose, creating an environment where everyone's design dreams harmonize, resulting in an inspiring and collaborative workspace.

How to play Confess then guess

This is a simple “getting to know you” game for groups of all sizes, especially people who are just getting to know each other. In every round, participants write down the answer to a prompt (that was previously created) and then put the answer into a bowl. A host will read out each reply and players have to guess which person wrote the answer. Some prompts to try are:

• Your greatest fear
• Your favorite animal story
• Who you were in a past life
• Your favorite activity for relaxing
• What you were voted in high school
• What you wanted to be when you grew up
• The first item on your bucket list
• Your personal hero
• Something you’re allergic to