Sponsored content disclosure: I'm happy to have had the chance to work with our sponsor Alliance Virtual Offices. They have an awesome list of 42 remote team-building activities I highly recommend checking out!
Team-building games can be great fun - they don't need to be cheesy!
I have collected some great games to keep handy for smaller groups.
(If you have a larger group, you can refer to my previous article about awesome activities for an epic work event.)
Here is my list:
Two Truths and a Lie
This is a great team-building game for smaller groups. You will want to set some rules so people don’t share personal details that are not work appropriate.
In this game, each person prepares three statements about themselves where two items are true and one is a lie. The group tries to guess which item is the lie.
Simple but great fun!
What’s My Name?
This is a great game to encourage lots of mingling!
Here are the rules from When I Work:
On name tags or similar labels, write down the name of a famous person or people types (e.g. doctor, athlete, nerd, etc.). Place these name tags on a team member’s back so that they cannot see who they are, but so the rest of the group can.
For a set amount of time, the entire group should mingle, ask, and answer questions. They should treat each other according to the stereotypical way based on what kind of person they have been labeled. Each team member can use that treatment as well as the answers to questions to figure out what the label is.
As each team member figures out who they are, they can exit the game and let the rest continue.
Pairs
This game is similar to "What's My Name?" above, however, assign names, types, or items that are in pairs (ex: salt and pepper, Batman and Robin, happy and sad, etc.). Not only do the participants need to figure out who they are, but they need to find their other half before they can exit.
Eat Poop, You Cat
This game is basically just telephone pictionary.
Pass out stacks of paper to the group. Make sure each person has the same amount of papers as the total number of participants. (I recommend stapling one of the corners of the stack - it keeps everything together better.)
Each person writes down a phrase (ideally something that can be depicted in a drawing) on the top sheet of paper in their stack and passes it to the person on their left.
The person receiving the phrase then has to draw a picture based off the phrase on the next page (basically making sure the paper with the original phrase is hidden and only their picture is showing). They then pass the stack to the person on their left.
Once it’s passed to the left, the next person must write a phrase based off the drawing. The next person will make a drawing based on the phrase. The cycle goes on (phrase, drawing, phrase, drawing, etc.) until you get your stack back.
There isn't a real winner in this game; it's more of a funny activity to see what your original phrase turns into.
Blind Lunch Dates
Isn't food is always a great way to bond?!
Although this is technically more of an outing than a game, I had to include it.
Assign a small group of people that either don't know each other well or don't get to work with each other a lot. Pick a place for them to meet up for lunch and have the company pay the tab.
It could be a fun regular office activity!
These activities work particularly well with remote teams and they’re a great way to get people in the right mindset before a meeting. They can also help your remote team get to know each other better.
What are some fun team-building games you have played? Please share your experiences in the comments below!
