26 Office Team Building Activities For Work in 2024

Here is our list of fun office team building activities.

Office team building activities are games that build unity among in-person teams. Examples include lip-synch idol, potlucks, and happy hour yoga. These games and challenges help team members relate better to each other and build confidence.

These activities are a type of indoor team building activity and are similar to team building games. These ideas are in-person versions of hybrid team building activities and virtual team building exercises.

This list includes:

• office team building ideas for small groups
• office team building ideas for large groups
• quick office team building activities
• office meeting team building activities
• team building for offices

Let’s get to it!

List of office team building activities

From paper airplane contests to Chopped to video game tournaments, here is a list of activities to build stronger teams within offices.

1. Ninja

Ninja is a childhood classic that makes for a great office game because it does not require any materials!

You will need a big, open space and a referee.

Steps:

1. Have participants stand in a circle facing each other.
2. The ref will say, “Three, two, one, go!”
3. Players strike their best ninja pose.
4. One at a time, ninjas get one chance to strike at their opponents. Players can take one step forward or backward if needed.
5. If another player attacks you, then you can move to avoid their strike.
6. If an attacking ninja hits your limb, then that limb is out for the remainder of the game.
7. Once the attack is over, players must freeze in their positions.
8. Each ninja attacks until only one player is left standing.

To provide some extra motivation for this game, you can offer a prize to the most nimble ninja!

2. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are classic office team building ideas for large groups. Planning out a challenging and enjoyable scavenger hunt takes up-front work and preparation. However, the effort will pay off when team members work together to solve problems.

What you need:

• Items to search for
• Clues that build on each other
• Pen and paper

Steps:

1. Decide on a set number of objects for team members to find.
2. Hide items as needed.
3. Write creative, solvable clues to lead players to objects.
4. Hide progressive clues around the venue.
5. The first group to find the final location or item wins!

These games are a great way to learn that teammates’ ideas are valuable and that individual input can lead to collective wins.

For a little extra fun, have teams take photos along the way and post them to a productivity app or page for your organization. With this method, participants can follow along and relive the excitement later.

Here are more scavenger hunt ideas for adults.

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3. Tier List

For a fun afternoon activity, consider making a tier list together! Figuring out office likes and dislikes can show colleagues who they relate to best.

What you need:

• Computer with a way to share or display screen
• TierMaker website

Steps:

1. Go to TierMaker’s website.
2. Choose a premade tier list or create your own.
3. Share or display your screen.
4. Have colleagues rank each item.
5. At the end, close ranks and decide if the team wants to move any items.
6. Review your top and bottom picks.

By ranking items as a team, you can discover who has the same tastes as you. You can even use a tier list to help make decisions for future gatherings. For example, if you rank the team’s favorite types of ice cream, then you can throw a sundae party and buy all the top flavor picks.

Check out TierMaker.

4. Lip-Synch Idol

This activity is an example of office team building ideas for large groups suitable for outgoing audiences.

What you need:

• Speakers
• Music
• “Microphone,” or anything you can hold and sing into
• “Instruments,” or anything you can pretend to play

Steps:

1. Divide your group into teams of three to five.
2. Teams will come up with a song and practice performing.
3. Instead of playing or singing the song, performers act out a lip-sync skit for the judges.
4. Teams may use any items they can find as props.
5. Each team performs its chosen song for the judges.
6. Judges select the winning team!

You can also make this activity into an airband competition. In this case, the teams would simply pretend to play the instruments.

If you have a reserved group, then playing Lip-synch Idol will encourage them to let loose in a safe environment. This exercise will let teammates see a new side of each other, grow a little closer, and laugh together.

5. Paper Airplane Contest

Paper Airplane Contests are one of the most unconventional examples of team building for offices. Letting adults act like kids is a fantastic way to develop relationships. Kids make fast friends, and adults can learn something from this example.

What you need:

• Cardstock or thick paper
• Ruler
• Tape
• Markers or stickers to decorate

Steps:

1. Group colleagues into teams of two or three.
2. Give each group the same supplies.
3. Optionally, give teams examples, pictures, or instructions.
4. Set a timer.
5. Teams will build a paper airplane they think will fly the farthest.
6. Set up a launchpad.
7. Let teams throw their creations.
8. Mark where each plane lands.
9. The plane that flies the farthest wins!

To have more winners, you could have multiple judging categories, like best folding technique, most colorful, or most beautiful!

Teams will collaborate to formulate, decorate, and execute the best designs. Participants will listen to each other and compromise, which are essential workplace skills.

6. Deserted Island

Getting trapped on a deserted island is not enticing, yet the idea is less scary if you have the proper supplies. You will quickly find that what players deem essential can be quite different!

What you need:

• 30 minutes to an hour
• Paper and pencils

Steps:

1. Divide your team into groups of four to six.
2. Set a timer.
3. Each group will agree on a set number of items needed to survive on a deserted island for a year.
4. Hint: the fewer allowed items, the more debate that will follow.
5. Have the groups present their lists.

Even though this game is relatively simple with few supplies, it will encourage teamwork and communication. For example, if a group of five is only allowed four items, then not all employees will get to bring an essential object.

7. Blindfolded Collaboration

If you have never been completely reliant on a colleague for guidance or direction, then it can be an uncomfortable feeling. However, losing your sight makes teamwork essential.

What you need:

• Blindfolds, like a bandana or sleep mask
• A room or open space with obstacles, such as chairs, desks, boxes, or trees

Steps:

1. Divide the group into pairs.
2. Blindfold one participant and have the other give instructions.
3. The sighted player will move the blindfolded player through an obstacle course.
4. The directing team member must give clear instructions to the blindfolded teammate to successfully navigate the obstacles.
5. Optionally, time the teams and award a prize to the fastest group.

Both the blindfolded teammate and the guide learn valuable skills. The speaker must articulate clear commands that encourage the blindfolded player to listen. The blindfolded player must trust their guide and listen carefully.

For best results, let participants experience both roles. Very likely, this activity will improve office communication and, hopefully, relationships too!

8. Trivia

Trivia hour can happen anytime, anywhere! When it comes to office meeting team building activities, trivia is a blast.

What you need:

• Trivia questions
• Board to keep score
• Pens and paper

Steps:

1. Write your own trivia questions, like office trivia, or choose some premade ones.
2. Create teams of five or six.
3. Have the host ask trivia questions.
4. Assign points for every correct answer.
5. The team with the most points wins!

To get a few extra laughs, make the prize a very mundane office supply, such as a stack of Post-its or a box of paper clips.

Each group will have to collaborate to come up with answers, which develops communication skills. Additionally, playing this game in a fun, low-stress way allows team members to relate to each other casually rather than as colleagues.

Check out more trivia games for team building.

9. Potluck

Family or friend get-togethers often feature potlucks, but you can still enjoy one at work!

What you need:

• An open day for a group lunch
• Tables and chairs
• Pen and paper
• Plates, cups, and utensils
• Crockpots and extension cords (optional, but helpful!)

Steps:

1. Choose your team’s best free day to schedule the event.
2. Create a sign-up sheet for dishes.
3. Tell volunteers to bring a dish that represents themselves or their culture.
4. Set up the tables, chairs, and Crockpots.
5. Create labels so employees can share their names and their dishes’ names.
6. Enjoy the meal!

With potlucks, employees get to try many different kinds of delicious food while only making one thing! The beauty of this potluck is that your team will learn a little bit more about each other in the process.

10. Trading Puzzles

Puzzles have long been a favorite pastime of many folks. In this twist, puzzles meet boardroom negotiations.

What you need:

• One unique puzzle per group
• Tables
• A couple of hours

Steps:

1. Gather unique puzzles for each team.
2. Remove a few pieces from each puzzle and put them in a different box.
3. Divide employees into groups of two to three.
4. Tell each group to solve their puzzle.
5. When teams realize their puzzle is missing pieces, they will need to barter with each other to get their pieces back.
6. The first team to assemble their puzzle wins!

Bartering for puzzle pieces encourages collaboration between colleagues. Additionally, solving these issues together promotes relationship building.

11. Happy Hour Yoga

Happy hour and yoga are two of the best ways to unwind after a long work week, so this activity gives attendees the best of both worlds! So invite your team to bring their coziest workout clothes, yoga mats, and favorite drinks to this move-and-booze event.

What you need:

• Big, open event space
• Yoga mats
• Instructional video and projector or yoga teacher
• Speakers
• Alcohol selection
• Optional nonalcoholic beverages

Steps:

1. If you follow a video tutorial, then set up a projector and screen.
2. Set up yoga mats in your large event area, or have attendees lay out their own mats.
3. Put on some relaxing background music.
4. Have yogis grab a drink of their choice.
5. Start the video, or if you hire an instructor, they can begin the class.
6. Participants will do a yoga practice and sip their beverages.

With the combined restorative powers of happy hour and yoga, your team will leave your event feeling refreshed and invigorated.

12. Cup Stacking

This schoolyard classic is a quick activity for your team building event.

You will need 12 cup-stacking cups per participant, and a stopwatch or speed stacking mat

Steps:

1. Give each participant their cup stacks and mats.
2. If you are playing with stopwatches instead, then assign an employee to time each player.
3. Arrange the cups in piles of three, six, then three.
4. Build the left-hand three-cup pyramid.
5. Build the middle six-cup pyramid.
6. Finish with the right-hand three-cup pyramid.
7. Slide the cups back to their original position.
8. The fastest builder wins!

Cup stacking tests speed, agility, and accuracy. This activity is quick, so you can play multiple times or start a tournament.

13. Book Club

Book clubs are relaxing ways to get colleagues involved in the workplace community.

What you need:

• Designated meeting space and time
• List of books to read
• Book of the month

Steps:

1. Send out a form to see who is interested in joining the book club.
2. Establish a regular meeting time and place.
3. Have participants send in a short list of books on their “To Be Read” lists.
4. Use polls or a picker wheel website to decide which book to read.
5. Give readers a set amount of time to complete their book.
6. Meet at the designated time and discuss the novel.

You can have readers choose whichever novels they would like, or you could curate a list of work-related books to encourage office productivity. Whichever route you go, participants will enjoy discussing the details of their reads.

Here is a guide on running an office book club.

14. Cranium

Cranium is a fun board game that plays to all participants’ strengths. This game works best for four to eight players, but you can create larger teams or buy more boards as needed.

What you need:

• Cranium board game
• A scheduled hour or two

Steps:

1. Divide into teams of two or more.
2. Place your piece on the Start space.
3. Draw a card that corresponds with your space’s color.
4. Your team will work together to solve trivia, word puzzles, acting prompts, or artistic challenges.
5. If you correctly solve the card, roll the die.
6. Move to the next space indicated on the die.
7. Continue to take turns until one team reaches the middle.
8. Whoever gets to the middle first wins!

Cranium is a great game to encourage collaboration and problem-solving. Plus, it allows each player to show off their talents!

Check out Cranium.

15. Personality Quizzes

You may already know if you are an INTP or an ENTJ. That info might be helpful, but knowing what kind of sushi you are is probably more important! To find the answers to your burning personality questions, check out some fun quizzes on Playbuzz.

All you need is computers or phones and the Playbuzz website

Steps:

1. Talk amongst your team to decide which quiz to take.
2. Take the same quiz simultaneously.
3. Share your results!
4. Repeat as many times as you would like.

Taking silly personality quizzes together is a good way to understand your colleague’s preferences better. Plus, maybe you can bond over both being maki rolls!

Check out the quizzes on Playbuzz, and browse more personality tests.

16. Video Game Tournament

Many employees enjoy video games in their pastimes, and you could play plenty of competitive games for a tournament! Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, or Fortnight are all great game options.

What you need:

• Video game console and controllers
• Video game
• Projector or large screen
• Tournament bracket
• Prize

Steps:

1. Have employees vote on which game they want to play.
2. Bring in the respective game, console, and controllers.
3. Project the game so viewers can all see.
4. Have players write their names on the first bracket tier.
5. Compete head-to-head and add winners to the next bracket.
6. The last player standing wins a prize!

To spice up this competition, you can start a reasonably priced betting pool once the match heats up. A video game tournament is a relaxing way to encourage friendly competition and camaraderie.

17. Clay Pinch Pots

Pinch pots are simple functional or decorative clay bowls. These pots are easy to make, and they are a great way to get colleagues’ hands moving!

What you need:

• White air-dry clay
• Acrylic paint
• Newspaper or other surface covering
• Optional gloves
• Sealant

Steps:

1. Cover a large work surface with newspaper.
2. Set out the clay and paint.
3. Have participants choose their favorite paint colors.
4. Artists can wear gloves if they wish and mix the acrylic paint into the clay.
5. Once participants dye the clay, they can begin molding.
6. Start by creating a ball.
7. Push your thumb into the center of the ball and start squishing the sides.
8. Maintain this motion until you form a small pot.
9. Once you are happy with the shape, leave the pot out to dry.
10. After the pots are dry, spray them with a sealant.

Once artists get the hang of pinch pots, they can mold the clay into other shapes as well. Creating pinch pots is a relaxing way to unlock creativity. Plus, participants get a functional piece after the activity!

18. Marshmallow and Spaghetti Tower

A marshmallow and spaghetti tower challenges teams to build the tallest possible structure using only those two materials.

What you need:

• Set number of marshmallows (1 to 2 per team)
• Set number of uncooked spaghetti noodles (20 to 40 per team)
• Set length of string (1 to 2 yards per team)
• 1 roll of masking tape per team

Steps:

1. Break employees into teams.
2. Give each group a set of materials.
3. Each team will construct a tower with only the given supplies.
4. The tallest tower left standing wins!

As teams work through the building process together, colleagues must listen to each other’s ideas and learn to collaborate. This camaraderie will help teams solve future workplace problems.

19. Charity Event

Planning an event is one of the best team building activities because it requires strong collaboration, decision-making, and leadership.

What you need:

• Charity of choice
• Event-planning software
• Budgeting software
• Venue space
• Catering services
• Tables, chairs, utensils
• Decorations

Steps:

1. Create a planning committee.
2. Establish clear roles and responsibilities.
3. Decide which charity to partner with.
4. Create timelines and goalposts.
5. Come up with a budget.
6. Send out invitations.
7. Find a venue space.
8. Choose a catering service.
9. Collect setup materials, like tables, chairs, and utensils.
10. Buy or make decorations.
11. On the day of the event, set up the space.
12. Party on!

Planning an event encourages team building, and your team will also give back to the community.

Here are more charity team building ideas.

20. Egg Drop

Egg drop challenges participants to build a structure that will keep an egg from breaking when dropped.

What you need:

• Carton of eggs
• Construction materials, like scrap paper, tissue paper, newspaper, tape, rubber bands, sticks, balloons
• Drop cloth

Steps:

1. Divide your group into teams of three or four.
2. Instruct teams to create a protective egg holder.
3. Set a timer.
4. Teams will build a carrier to protect an egg from at least a two-story drop.
5. Place the drop cloth in the egg-drop zone.
6. Drop eggs in their carriers and increase the height until you have a winner.
7. The last team with an unbroken egg wins!

An egg drop is a fun and productive learning opportunity for your group. Your team must navigate different opinions and ideas to develop the best plan.

21. Mock Trial

In this courtroom game, colleagues practice their defense and persuasion skills by defending fictional enemies. The sillier the idea, the better!

Here are some ideas for court case themes:

• Three Little Pigs v. Big Bad Wolf
• Ariel v. Ursula
• Pineapple on Pizza v. No Pineapple on Pizza
• Dogs v. Cats
• Hot Dog is a Sandwich v. Hot Dog is Not a Sandwich

What you need:

• Employees to act as a judge, prosecutor, and DA
• Employees to act as a defendant and plaintiff
• 12 employee jurors
• Pen and paper for the jury
• Gavel for the judge
• A space to act as a courtroom

Steps:

1. Assign your team the roles of judge, prosecutor, DA, defendant, plaintiff, and jury.
2. Give your teams time to prepare their cases.
3. Have your lawyers present their cases.
4. Ask the jury to come to a decision.
5. Have the judge assign a sentence.

Optionally, you can give a prize to the winning team!

22. Magazine Interview

Conducting interviews is a surefire way to encourage colleagues to get to know one another.

What you need:

• Sheets of interview questions
• Pen and paper or computer
• Optional recording device
• Open space with desks or tables

Steps:

1. Create a list of interview questions, or find a premade one.
2. Print out the questions and distribute them to the participants.
3. Group your team into pairs.
4. Give each group time to interview each other.
5. Ensure team members write down or record each other’s answers.

Once your team has finished their interviews, you can ask them to type up short articles detailing the responses. Then, collect all the articles and compile them into your own Times-inspired publication. You can even add pictures, print the magazines, and distribute them around the office!

23. Sports Bracket

From the Superbowl to March Madness to the World Cup, there are plenty of professional sports to create brackets for.

All you need is a chosen sport’s schedule and blank brackets

Steps:

1. Have your team choose which sport they would like to watch.
2. Pass out blank bracket sheets to each participant.
3. Have players write their names at the top of the sheet and fill out their season predictions.
4. Collect the brackets.
5. Watch each game and see which team wins.
6. Eliminate players once their predictions are wrong.
7. The closest player to the correct bracket wins!

If you would like, you can establish an entry fee to participate in the bracket. Alternatively, the company could sponsor prizes like sports merch, tickets to a game, or even a day off of work. Creating sports brackets gives employees something to look forward to each week and gives them a built-in conversation starter.

24. Paint and Sip

Paint and sips are popular group activities, and you can host one in your own office!

What you need:

• Example painting
• Small canvases
• Small easel
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Paint palette
• Cups to clean brushes
• Paper towels
• Newspaper
• Beverage of choice

Steps:

1. Set up painting stations with newspapers, easels, canvases, paint, palettes, and water cups.
2. At the front of the class, display your sample painting.
3. Before the artists start, pass out beverages.
4. Give artists step-by-step instructions on how to paint the example.
5. Check on progress, refill drinks, and enjoy the art!

If participants prefer, they could paint something unrelated to the example painting. The real point of the exercise is to allow colleagues to interact and relax! Once the art is dry, you can even hang the pieces in the office.

25. Chopped

Chopped is a popular cooking show where chefs must create dishes in a limited amount of time from four mystery ingredients. For the culinarily inclined, you can have your own workplace Chopped competition!

What you need:

• Cooking space
• Hot plate for each contestant
• Cooking utensils, like a cutting board, knife, and pan
• Basic pantry items, like seasoning, oil, and flour
• Baskets with four mystery ingredients (the weirder, the better!)

Steps:

1. Have chefs line up at their stations.
2. Ask chefs to open their mystery baskets.
3. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
4. Chefs will create their best dishes using all four mystery ingredients.
5. A panel of judges will critique the dishes.
6. The best dish wins!

Chopped is a great team building game because you can play it again and again. The results will be completely different depending on the mystery ingredients. This exercise is perfect for the restaurant industry, but any business could host this competition with a little setup!

26. Watch Party

Water-cooler talk often revolves around the latest TV show. If your whole team is watching the same series, then a watch party is a great way to encourage bonding.

What you need:

• A popular show colleagues want to watch
• A projector
• Comfortable seating
• Snacks and beverages

Steps:

1. Poll employees to find out their favorite show.
2. Make sure all watchers are on the same episode.
3. Set up the space with comfortable seats and pillows.
4. Set out tasty snacks and beverages.
5. Set up the projector and pull up the episode.
6. Watch, snack, and relax!

A watch party is one of the simplest team building activities you can host. After the episode, colleagues can even stay behind to discuss the plot and their fan theories!

Conclusion

Office team building activities are more than a fun way to pass time. Each game can teach essential skills like communication, corroboration, collaboration, problem-solving, and bonding.

Your team will have fun playing these games, and you will reap the benefits for a long time to come. Your group will be able to function at a higher level, communicate more effectively, and get along better.

Next, check out these lists of creative meeting ideas and holiday team building activities.