101 Awesome Virtual Team Building Activities for Remote Teams
With the amount of remote teams ever-increasing, it’s important to ensure that team building isn’t falling to the way-side. Not only does team building allow for iconic stories but it also dramatically increases communication, productivity, and overall involvement in the company!
But finding good team bonding events for virtual teams can feel like trying to find toilet paper at the start of a pandemic: overwhelming and sh*tty (pun intended). Dad jokes aside, we’re here to make the process go smoothly and provide you with a list of epic team bonding activities to choose from!
The last virtual team-building event we ran had 92% engagement with 98% of the 134 person company attending the final happy hour re-cap! The Zoom Chat was going off, literally!
Now, more than ever, companies are trying to find ways to engage the workforce while working remotely. We’ve seen a huge demand in turning our client’s annual meet-ups into fun virtual conferences.
A recent study from Co-worker.com suggests that a whopping 34% of employees have suffered from a lack of accountability since the Work-From-Home orders were put in place. Even more staggering, 72% of colleagues feel less connected to their teams and projects since working entirely remote.
We talked to over 100 of our clients about how they have been running virtual and video conference events and there are a few things to note off the bat:
The top 5 reasons Virtual Team Activities Don’t Work
People are burned out on zoom meetings.
“Happy-Hour” events without much structure fall flat.
Tech isn’t tested before launching the virtual meetup.
Planning one event leaves the team wanting more.
Events have low employee engagement.
So how do we plan and execute the most effective and fun virtual team-building activities?
Take the event offline - or at least off of video conferencing.
Build some structure into every team meetup online.
Do a run-through with your friends or a small group of colleagues before launching.
Plan out a series of events on the calendar.
Build some hype around the event by customizing the games and getting internal influencers involved.
To make this guide easy to follow, we have separated the virtual team-building events into a handful of categories.
Ice Breaker Virtual Events, Happy-Hour Activities for Remote Teams, The Top Online Games, Offline Virtual Team Building, and THEN SOME
Tables of Contents:
Picking the Platform
Top Ice-Breaker Events for Remote Teams
Happy Hour Activities for Virtual Team Building
Online games for Employee Engagement
Offline Team Building Activities while Working From Home
Picking the Platform
There are plenty of platforms you can choose to host your virtual happy hour including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangout, and House Party. Each offers its own set of benefits. So, make sure to pick a platform that is best suited for your team.
Zoom
Along with live video chats, Zoom also allows you to access meeting analytics, screen-share during a call, record and document your meetings, and use an on-screen whiteboard feature. However, if you choose to use the free version, there is a 40-minute limit per call. No need to worry though, you can embrace the full happy hour experience by making it a bar crawl and switching to different hosts when your time runs out.
Microsoft Teams
If your company is already using Office 365, Microsoft Teams might be the platform for you. The app gives you a central hub for chats, video meetings, audio calling, and Office apps. If you have Office 365, Teams is already available to you, if not there’s a free version you can download here.
House Party
House party is perfect if you’re looking for a less conventional meeting style. The app combines video chatting with access to popular games like trivia and Heads Up. You can download versions for iOS, Android, MacOS, and Chrome here.
Skype
Skype is great if you’re a global corporation, as its IM and video chats can be made international. Similar to Zoom, Skype has screen-sharing and whiteboard tools. You can also use Skype to post polls and host a Q&A session. Skype For Business will soon be merging with Microsoft Teams, so you will have access through your Office 365 account.
Top Ice-Breaker Events for Remote Teams
Hosting an ice-breaker event for your team while working from home is a great way to engage your people in a fun and casual environment.
We have highlighted the top Ice-Breakers we have found from talking with over 100 clients.
1. High’s and Low’s
Sometimes it’s hard working from home, but talking out the highs and lows of the week can help your remote team appreciate that everyone goes through the same struggles, and there is always a bright side! At your next virtual event, have everyone take a turn and explain the best and worst moments of your week.
Time: 1-3 minutes per person
2. People Trivia
How well do you know your teammates? Getting to know each other better creates more open lines of communication and collaboration on projects! Pick a Team Captain. Everyone sends an interesting fact about themselves to the team captain. At the beginning of your meeting read the facts and everyone has to match the fact to the correct employee.
Time: some prep, time varies by team size
3. Show-and-Tell
We all remember the days of elementary school show and tell, trying to decide whether to bring your beloved ballet tutu or your favorite elephant stuff animal. For your next virtual meeting, let’s go back in time and relive those glory days, even if it means trading up your tutu for a photo of your kid at their piano recital.
Time: 20 minutes
4. Story Time
If you’re really looking to time travel back to elementary school, you can also throw in storytime for good measure. Maybe you’ve heard about Ken’s backpacking trip in passing, but do you really know about all his crazy adventures. Everyone can take turns telling their own story; you’ll get to know a lot about them just by which story they choose to share.
Time: 30+ minutes
5. Gibberish
Sure, these words may make no sense when read individually, but when blurred together they just might create a coherent thought. Let’s just hope you can figure it out.
Time: 30 minutes
6. Stuck on an Island
You’re ship’s crashed. With a broken sail and no way to repair it, you and your team are left stranded on an island. Each person is allowed to bring one object. What would you choose in why? Spend time discussing your choice. Who knows, with a bit of teamwork you might even be able to fix your ship and escape! Hell, maybe even take the suspense to the next level and challenge your remote team to an adventure with Offsite virtual escape rooms.
Time: 15 minutes
7. Row-Sham-Bow Tournament
We missed out on March Madness this year and many other sporting events for that matter. You can all be professional athletes when it comes to a good ole’ game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Depending on the number of people playing, you can split into teams or play as an individual. Visit this Bracket Generator site to get your team set up. Fill out the bracket and Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT your way to victory.
Time: 15 minutes
8. Thumper
We played this recently with a team at RevLocal for a virtual retreat. It’s a classic drinking game from the film Beer Fest. Everyone picks a word. We like to use a theme of something from the company. Maybe try ‘Clients’. Once everyone has the word - make up a quick intro for everyone to sing together - then one person says their “word” and then someone else’s “word”. That person then says their word and then someone else’s word. It keeps going until someone messes up. Once they mess up they have to answer a trivia question. Everyone starts with 5 points (depending on the team size) and you lose a point for a wrong answers.
Of course, it doesn’t have to incorporate drinking, try these mocktails for a less boozy event.
Time: 40 minutes
9. Who Da Baby
Prior to your next meeting have everyone send in a baby photo, preferably around the ages of 2-3 years old. During the meeting share your screen and take turns showing the photos. Make sure not to attach names as each team will be writing down their guesses as to who they think matches the photo. Whichever team guesses the most right, wins.
Time: 30 minutes
10. The Ruined Paradise Game
Start by dividing players into two teams: The Paradise team and the Ruined team. Each person will go around adding sentences to the story, alternating between the teams. The Paradise team is responsible for jazzing up the story with positives, while the Ruined team has to make the story take a dark turn with negatives. Once the story is complete a judge will determine whether the Paradise is ruined or not.
Time: You decide!
11. Snapshot
Ever wonder what fills peoples camera roll? Well, here’s your answer. In the beginning of the meeting give everyone 5 minutes to share a picture. It can be their kids, outfit, or even their office space. Spend a few minutes explaining the pictures. This short glimpse into each other lives will boost team connectivity.
Time: 5 minutes
12. Meme Chat
Is it possible to talk completely in memes? Find out with this fun icebreaker. Start with a theme. In the virtual chatroom send a meme related to the theme. The rest of the conversation must continue only through memes!
Time: 10 minutes
13. Most Likely to
Remember high school superlatives? You know the ones who denoted who had the best style or who was most likely to becoming president; let’s bring those back. Prior to your next meeting send out a poll and have everyone vote on their coworkers superlative. At the next meeting show up with virtual certificates. Maybe Brian’s Most Likely to Steal Food out of the Communal Fridge or Susan’s constantly rocking a runway outfit despite the athleisure attire everyone adopted around the 5th zoom meeting.
Time: 20 minutes
14. Majority/Minority
What’s better: Chocolate of Vanilla? Coke or Pepsi? Morning or Night? Find out the answers to these much-debated questions at your next after work event with a game of Majority/Minority. Take turns posing questions and see what side your coworkers fall on. If you want to up the stakes, those who land on the minority side have to drink, a sip of beer or a shot, interrupt at your own risk.
Time: You decide!
15. Where I’m From
Want to get to know your employees better? Let’s start by finding out about where they’re from. Each player will think up three unique quirks about where they’re from and everyone takes turns guessing where it is. If your team already knows where everyone is from you can turn it in to imaginary hide and seek. Instead of guessing where the person is from, you’ll guess where they are “hiding” based on their clues.
Time: 20 minutes
16. Link
Have someone start out with sharing a random fact about themselves. While it doesn’t have to be something too generic like hair color, make sure it’s broad enough to allow for similarities. For instance, you might mention that your favorite TV show is Friends or that you’re an only child. If someone also has that in common they’ll say “link” and tell a new fact about themselves. If more than one person says “link” it goes to the first person. This continues until everyone has been “linked.”
Time: 20 minutes
17. Company Bingo
Start by sending out the bingo cards to your remote team ahead of time. Make sure to include a variety of squares ranging from having a tattoo to having traveled out of the country. During the game, participants will try to get bingo by getting to know their coworkers better. You scratch off a bingo square by talking to someone and seeing which square they apply to. Next, write their name in the box and continue until you get bingo; you can’t use a name more than once! By the end of this, you’ll know a lot more about your employees. Sure, you knew Susan liked to travel but did you know that she used to live abroad?
Time: 15 minutes
18. Logo Love
Is your team full of creatives? Then this is the perfect virtual icebreaker for you. Have everyone show up with paper and a pen. Next, have them draw their favorite logo. Take turns sharing what logo they chose and why. This is also a great exercise if you’re still in the branding phases of your company.
Time: 10 minutes
19. Pass the Roll
For this icebreaker, we’re taking advantage of a current hot commodity… toilet paper that is! Have everyone show up to the meeting with a roll. Warning: you may be met with some confusion, but it’ll be worth it. At the meeting ask everyone to rip off how much they would normally use. Ignore the strange looks. Have everyone count their squares; the amount of squares each person has is the number of fun facts they have to share about themselves.
Time: 10 minutes
20. 10 things
Start by dividing everyone into pairs. The pair will have 10 minutes to find 10 things that they have in common with each other. Encourage everyone to reach beyond the obvious such as “hair color” and “job company.” Perhaps you and your pair have the same favorite fruit and both know how to play the ukulele! After you can choose to have them share their similarities or move onto the next activity; you can even repeat it with different pairs!
Time: 10 minutes
21. Resurrection
They say your birthmark tells you how you died in your last life. How did you spend your past life? As a pirate, commandeering the English ships, or perhaps a neanderthal, fighting beast and scratching your story into cave walls? In this fun icebreaker, challenge your virtual team to dream up the craziest fantasies of their past lives!
Time: 20 minutes
22. Don’t Judge Me
Break the ice with this fun activity. Have coworkers anonymously send in something they’ve done this week that they haven’t told anyone. It could be something as simple as “I stole my roommate’s leftovers” or “I stayed in the same sweatpants for three days.” This will automatically help relieve some of the tension as well as give everyone a good laugh.
Time: 15 minutes
23. Virtual Game
With this virtual icebreaker, you can play trivia that’s personalized to your staff. Have them send in lesser-known facts about themselves ahead of time! Do you really know you, coworkers? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
Time: 20 minutes
24. Plane Ticket
Bummed about all the trips that got canceled? Encourage everyone to set a picture from their favorite vacation or their next dream destination as their background. Sure, you’ll have great scenery, but you’ll also get everyone talking about their favorite memories.
Time: 10 minutes
25. Work From Home
With everything changing, it can be helpful to blow off some steam by talking about it. Start your meeting with a quick check-in. What’s one negative and one positive of working from home. Coworkers will get to vent while still looking at the bright side and practicing gratitude
Time: 5 minutes
Socializing between team members is shown to improve communication patterns by 50%. This doesn’t stop with remote teams. In fact, a study done by Frank Siebdrat found that if given enough support, communication, and of course online team building, virtual teams could exceed the productivity and communication of in-person teams! And what better way to socialize and promote communication than with the happiest of hours?
Happy Hour Activities for Virtual Team Building
26. Pet Show
A shout-out to all of those furry parents out there! Get your colleagues together and involve their pets for a happy hour party! Add in some categories and prizes to get more people involved. Put a Pet Show on the calendar! Depending on how excited your remote team gets, you could turn this into a full-on costume contest.
Time: 40 minute+ Happy Hour
27. Doppelganger Dinner
Host a dinner party where your people dress up as a celebrity. You can also have your team dress up as their favorite piece of art. Send each attendee a gift card to support their local restaurants and have dinner paid for by your company.
Time: 60 minutes
28. Costume Contest
It doesn’t have to be Halloween for you to get dressed up! Set the mood with a traditional costume party. Pirates, disco dancers, football players, they’re all welcome. Don’t forget to snap a few pictures for the company's gram, and tag us when you post!
Time: 1 hour
29. Jukebox
It’s like karaoke, but better. Take turns going around, making sure everyone has a song in their head. When it’s your turn you’ll hum/sing part of the song as your coworkers try to guess the artist and song name. Not only will you walk out with a killer playlist, but a good laugh too. The best part? It doesn’t matter if your voice resembles a rabid cat, it’ll just make the song harder to guess and up the stakes!
Time: You decide!
30. Never Have I Ever: Quarantine Edition
With quarantine forcing us to slow down, you might have a greater appreciation for the simple things, like those middle school sleepovers at Tiffany’s, the ones complete with face masks and countless rounds of Never Have I Ever. Turn it into a fun happy hour by making this classic sleepover game quarantine themed. Watch as hands rise to “Never Have I Ever spent three days in the same sweatpants” or “put on athletic wear only to opt for trying a new baking recipe.”
Time: You decide!
31. Riff-Off
This happy hour we’re going to kick it Pitch Perfect style. This activity calls for one moderator and a bunch of random words. After dividing into groups the moderator will give a word. The groups then have 30 seconds to silently come up with as many songs as they can that use that word. After the thirty seconds, the moderator will go around the room having each group sing a portion of their song with the given word until a group can no longer think of a song. When this happens that group is kicked out and a new round begins with a different word.
Time: 30 minutes
32. Bob Ross Painting Session
Trying to refine your painting skills? Why not learn from the master himself: Bob Ross. This team bonding activity might not leave you with a masterpiece, but it will definitely leave you feeling closer to your coworkers. For an added bonus, grab a bottle of wine and make this a sip and paint party!
Time: 1 hr
33. Cooking Show
If there’s anything quarantine has done, it helps to awaken everyone’s inner Iron Chef. Take advantage of this and turn your happy hour into a cooking show. Designate someone to run the meeting and pick a recipe. They’ll be the “chef” responsible for teaching everyone to cook. You can even designate multiple people for multiple dishes, just make sure not to overcomplicate it. Email out the ingredients so everyone can stock up prior. If you really want to embrace the happy hour theme, stick to cocktail recipes!
Time: 1 hour
34. Quarantine Cocktail Hour
While cooking has been all the rage this quarantine, it’s okay if your staff is more likely to be labeled “bartender” than “chef.” You can start your cocktail hour with a Quarintini or when you share your virtual happy hour invitation, share your favorite cocktail recipe/brand of beer, and ask others to send back their own recommendations. This way everyone shows up ready to discuss their new favorites. Who knows, failed recipe attempts might even bring a few laughs!
Time: 20 minutes
35. The Useless Talent Show
Need an excuse to show off how you can twitch your ears up in down or rap every word of your favorite Kanye West song? We got you! This useless talent show is the perfect way to get to know your coworkers better and get a good laugh. It’s like the nephew’s talent show you're forced to attend every year except completely talentless, well at least the talent is debatable. During their time everyone will have a chance to show off a completely random and useless talent, like balancing a book on their head. Decide who deserves the Useless Talent Show certificate with an anonymous poll. While the talent level may be debatable, one thing is for sure, you’ll know your coworkers a lot better by the end of it!
Time: 1 hour
36. Morning Meditation
Looking to find your inner Zen? Like the cooking show, morning meditation works best if you designate a specific person to lead it, even if you opt to follow a YouTube video. You can choose to use the meditation as an opener for your morning meeting, or as the whole meeting itself, whichever works best for the flow of your company.
Time: 15 minutes
37. Horror Happy Hour
Remember those scavenger hunts that filled your childhood summers, well it’s like that but scarier. *insert ghost sounds*. At the beginning of your virtual happy hour set a timer, 5-10 minutes should do. By the end of the time, everyone should come back with an object and tell a scary story to go with it. It can be that great aunt’s old teapot that always seems to be in a different place than you left it or a picture from that emo phase you went through in high school, trust me it’s plenty scary.
Time: 30 minutes
38. Hawaiian Laua
We’re all missing those trips that got canceled because of COVID. Spend your next virtual happy hour on a tropical getaway. Encourage your employees to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt, switch their zoom background to a far-away beach, and if they’re really feeling it, stick an umbrella in their drink.
Time: 1 hour
39. Suns out…
With summer here, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of the weather. Take your next virtual happy hour outside, whether it’s your backyard or the local park; just make sure to check the weather ahead of time!
Time: 1 hour
40. Bring Your Pet
One of the struggles of zoom meetings is the awkward ambiance, you know the chihuahua barking in the back or the tabby cat stepping on the keyboard and exiting Hannah out of the video call, but let’s embrace it. Host a “Bring Your Pet to Work” meeting. After all, with the amount of time Edna spends obsessing over Mr.Snuggles you might as well get to meet him.
Time: 45 minutes
41. Murder Mystery Night
You open the zoom call but wait, that’s not your coworker. It’s Michael Scott. The Office theme song plays and in a low voice, he says… “There’s been a murder.”
Okay so maybe this murder mystery night might not involve as many finger guns, but it will feature a ton of team bonding! Prior to the meeting, you can email out identities for your virtual team so that they can come in character. Bonus points if this includes costumes and accents. Throughout the night everyone will stay in character while the investigation is lead. Who's the murderer? I guess we’ll just have to find out!
Time: 1+ hour(s)
42. College Night
With all the stresses of adulthood, it can be easy to find yourself daydreaming about the “good ole’ days.” Spend this happy hour blowing off steam like how you used. Encourage everyone to show up in their alma mater merch and fill the night with red solo cups and virtual drinking games. You can opt for non-alcoholic beverages.
Time: 1 hour+
43. Scavenger Hunt
Join in Offsite’s own virtual Not Your Granny’s Scavenger Hunt! In this high-energy happy hour activity coworkers duck, dive, dodge and dash to collect the clues with your team while racing against teams, and the clock.
Time: 1 hour
44. Name Swap
Name swap is great if you want to carry happy hour out normally…well almost. At the beginning of the meeting, everyone will be given a new name. It can be Karen or something crazy. After, continue with happy hour, chit-chat on summer plans, and the latest binge sessions. The catch: participants can only respond to the name they were given in the beginning. This will become harder as the happy hour goes on.
Time: 45+ minutes
45. Escape Room
Let’s take it back to the OG team bonding event: escape rooms. After all, what better way to get to know your team than by locking yourself in a room with them; even if it is just a virtual one? Offsite offers a Virtual Escape Room package, complete with team bonding and a trip to the mountains! Explore Treasure Mountain virtual escape room.
Time: 1 hour
46. Fixer Upper
Quarantine has inspired the entirety of the internet to hone their DIY skills, and this virtual team building activity is no exception. Start by sending out a guideline several days before your next meeting. In the email include the theme, this can be different for each person or an over-arching theme, and the time limit, two hours should suffice. Then coworkers will get to work remaking their at-home office to match the theme. They can even get their families involved; after all, someone needs to cut paper snowflakes for the office winter wonderland. At your next meeting have everyone show off their new space with a virtual tour!
Time: 2 hrs
47. Identity Thief
Let’s take ‘em back to the nineties with this modernized classic Guess Who. Using an online secret Santa generator, or an old fashion ball cap and paper scraps, each coworker will be assigned another coworker. It’s best to do this a day before your virtual happy hour so they have time to prepare. Along with their “new” identities, players will also receive a series of questions that have been answered by the coworker they’ll be impersonating. During happy hour, players will use costumes and their answers to help others guess whose identity they’ve stolen.
Time: 1 hr
48. Sneak It In!
Divide your coworkers into groups. It’s best to send these groups in the happy hour invitation that way the groups can meet and decide their word ahead of time. The zoom meeting will resume like normal, talk of that show you binged in one day or how you’ve resorted to learning tic tok dances just to keep your kids entertained; only each team will have to sneak their word into the conversation without the other teams guessing. How many times can you bring up potatoes in a conversation? I guess you’ll just have to find out.
Time: 1 hr
49. Everything But the Kitchen Sink
Quarantine switching your weekly grocery shop to a monthly one? We know the struggle, but why not turn it into a fun team-bonding activity? The rules are simple, you can use whatever ingredients are lying around your kitchen, but no shopping ahead of time. Whoever comes up with the most creative, and at least slightly edible, concoction wins!
Time: 20 minutes
50. Campfire
Nothing says bonding quite like smores and scary stories. With this virtual campfire, you feel like you’re in the mountains. Tell everyone to come equipped with scary stories and campfire songs for the ultimate night of fun, fire, and bonding!
Time: 1 hour
“There is nothing more important in a group remote project than casual communication. Not just official emails and work updates, but the ability to sit back and chat.”
Online games for Employee Engagement
51. Jeopardy
What better way to release some stress than with some good ole’ fashion jeopardy. Find out how smart your coworkers are with these virtual jeopardy categories ranging from “space” to “Valentine’s Day.”
Time: 30 minutes
52. Playingcards.io
Reenact 90s-style family game nights with these virtual board games. From checkers to crazy 8, playcards.io has all the necessities for the perfect game night. Don’t forget to bring the popcorn!
Time: 30+ minutes
53. Get Quizzical
Weekly quizzes will help your team get to know each other better and stay connected! Sign up for QuizBreaker and you and your team will fill out a set of icebreaker questions- then those quizzes will be sent to other team members who have to guess who said what.
Time: 15 minutes
54. Scattegories
Scattegories is the perfect game to get your team thinking, and you can play it virtually! The goal of the game is to name objects within a category, letter, and time limit. Players with unique answers score points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins; you can also play to a point limit.
Time: 30 minutes
55. Picolo
Looking for a personalized game for your next team-bonding event? Picolo is just what your ordered! After entering the player’s names it generates random questions/commands like “Have everyone dance. Rate their performance on a scale of one to five.”
Time: 30 minutes
56. Apples to Apples
It’s like Cards Against Humanity, but slightly more job appropriate. Take turns judging different categories. What’s more exotic “Darth Vader” or “the Grand Canyon”? I guess you’ll just have to decide!
Time: 30 minutes
57. Pysch
After entering all the players names Pysch will come up with customized questions. Like “what would Jerry’s first words be after awakening from the dead” or “How would Karen survive the zombie apocalypse?” Each player will then write a witty response and at the end of the round everyone votes who had the best answer. Points are rewarded by ranking. The goal is to have the most amount of points at the end of the game.
Time: 45 minutes
58. GIF Game
If your ideal game night consists of a big glass of wine and Cards Against Humanity, this is the perfect game for you. The game is divided into rounds; each round with a topic like “My perfect Sunday___” or “Quarantine got me like___” . The players will then have 2 minutes to find a GIF that they think best matches the topic. Like cards against humanity, each round will have a new judge in charge of crowning the winners.
Time: 30 minutes
59. Wikipedia Relay
Remember how your high school teachers use to always harp on you not to use Wikipedia, well by the end of the night you’ll have gotten your fill of Wikipedia. The goal: Be the first to get from one topic on Wikipedia to a different one. Only catch: the back button and search bar are off limits! After agreeing to a starting topic, bees, stripes, etc., and end topic, jello, school-bus, etc., share your screen and watch as the chaos ensues.
Time: 20 minutes
60. The Movie Pitch
Think you could make it as a director in LA? Let’s find out! Start the meeting by splitting up into groups. Each group will have to come up with a short pitch, no longer than 10 minutes, on the movie they’d like to film. Maybe it’s Star Wars meets High School Musical with a twists of It. After each team makes their pitches, everyone will vote on which movie deserves “funding.”
Time: 30 minutes
61. Ocean’s 11
What’s the heist this time, your traditional bank vault or an overpopulated jewelry gala? For this activity, you’ll split up into small groups. Each group will decide on a high-profile target and plan a scheme for an ambitious heist. After the plans are developed and everyone’s ski masks are ready to go, the groups will present their scheme and vote on who is most likely to succeed.
Time: 15 minutes
62. Netflix Party
Nothing quite says bonding like a movie night. Netflix party makes this easy with a small chat box to keep the community feeling of movie night while still allowing you to snuggle up in your favorite pajamas without your boss seeing.
Time: 2 hours
63. Heads Up!
With this twist on charades you’re sure to get the party started. To play heads up, players take turns holding their screen to their head. Different words appear on the screen that the other players must act out to get the player to guess. With categories ranging from “Blockbuster Movies” to “Accent and Impressions” there’s something for everyone!
Time: 30+ minutes
64. Company Blog
Starting an internal company blog will help to build strong relationships within your team. Employees will have access to write and share content ranging from personal stories to favorite recipes or work from home tips. Make sure to set a schedule to keep consistency, perhaps having a post biweekly!
Time: You decide!
65. Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg Machines are all the rage on TikTok right now. We’re building machines and connecting coworkers around the country and even the world. Build a company-wide Virtual Rube Goldberg Machine.
Time: 30 minutes
66. Fantasy Family
It’s time to meet the family! It’s like Fantasy Football, but better. For this bonding activity, you’ll take turns picking who would be part of your fantasy family. Perhaps Betty White is your grandma, or Chris Pratt is your third cousin twice removed, you decide! You can leave it simple or choose to provide an explanation on who you picked and why.
Time: 20 minutes
“In a world that is constantly changing, it is to our advantage to learn how to adapt and enjoy something better.”
67. Virtual Dance Party
There’s no stress reliever quite like a dance party. For your next party throw on a killer playlists, have your employees email in suggestions ahead of time, and let loose. These little parties can be the perfect way to boost energy and moral during a long company meeting or can be a completely separate event!
Time: You decide!
68. Bingo
If you want your virtual happy hour activity to feature low-energy team building, bingo is the perfect solution! Continue your happy hour as you have in the past, but be on the lookout for bingo prompts to cross off, like the family member that walks in the background or the dog that barks.
Time: 30 minutes
69. Mini Museum
Because of COVID shutdowns, many museums have opened their doors virtually. Take advantage of this by taking your team on the field trip of a lifetime…after all when else will you stroll through the halls of the Louvre together?
Time: 30 minutes
70. Scavenger Hunt
If you’re the type to get spooked when the latest thriller trailer comes on, maybe the Horror Happy Hour isn’t for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to rule out all scavenger hunts. Instead focus on grabbing as many non-haunted items as you can before the 5-minute timer goes off. At the end you’ll have another 5-minutes to build a tower. Tallest tower wins! Better yet, join in Offsite’s own virtual Not Your Granny’s Scavenger Hunt! In this high-energy happy hour activity coworkers duck, dive, dodge and dash to collect the clues with your team while racing against teams, and the clock.
Time: You decide!
71. King’s Cup
Looking for a fun drinking game to add to your college theme happy hour night? This virtual King’s cup is a twist on a classic card drinking game. Going clockwise, each player will take turns flipping over a card. Each card will have an action that the player will have to do to. It’s a great way to loosen everyone up and get your minds off work.
Time: 30 minutes
72. Penumbra
Quite possibly one of the most annoying feelings is when you can’t remember the name of something so it just sits on the tip of your tongue. This game is dedicated to that. After dividing into groups, a player will say the name of a well-known person. Next, they’ll pick someone in the group to say how they know that name. The goal is to pick a name that is recognizable, but not easy to identify. If everyone is able to identify the person or no one has heard of it, the player drinks. If they’ve heard of the name but can’t identify it, they drink.
Time: 30 minutes
73. The Masked Singer
It’s like the show! Everyone shows up to the meeting with masks on, or you can record it ahead of time. They will then take turns learning and showing a dance to the group. Everyone will take turns guessing who’s behind what mask.
Time: 40 minutes
74. Lip Sync Karaoke
Karaoke is one of the most requested activities on our retreats. So we’re bringing it to your team virtually. Each team picks a song and creates a music video!
Lip Sync Karaoke by The Offsite Co. | Avg. Company-Wide Engagement is 91%!
Time: 30 minutes
75. Read My Lips
It’s like telephone, but in reverse! Instead of saying something through a cone and trying to figure out what you said, the participant will turn off their microphone and say a phrase. Everyone will take turns guessing what they said.
Time: 15 minutes
Offline Team Building Activities while Working From Home
76. Karma Wall
Surprisingly, 21% of workers do not receive recognition, yet recognition is the number one motivation for increased employee interaction in the workplace. We use an app called Prezi to put the Karma Wall together. Then invite your entire workforce to collaborate on it. Let people give shout-outs to products, people, or whatever they feel they would like to recognize. Review it together over a happy hour. And, when your office opens back up, you can actually print this out and hang it on a wall in the office.
Time: A few minutes!
77. The Fake Podcast
Have you run out of podcast to listen to; why not make your own? The challenge: each team member will have to be a podcaster for a day. You can choose to pair off into groups and have the podcast interview style or go for it solo. While topics can vary it’s best to have each “podcaster” talk about their role in the company to help encourage team-bonding and give your employees a better overview of your company!
Time: 45 minutes
78. Virtual Time Capsule
Picture this. It’s 5 years from now and you called a meeting. Today’s the day. It’s time to open the time capsule. The new intern sits in the back excited for a glimpse into the company. In it, you find a team picture from your Offsite virtual retreat. There’s also a letter and a list of everyone’s quarantine favorites. You spend the rest of the meeting reminiscing and filling the new team members in on some of your great memories. The best part about a time capsule is that it creates memories for both your current team, as you make it, and your future team, when you open it and reminisce.
79. Step It Up
It can be hard to stay motivated and healthy during these times, but making it an office challenge can help! Start a fitness challenge. Have everyone send in their step counts at the end of the day; whoever has the most by the end of the challenge gets a paid day off.
Time: You decide!
80. Book Club
Have a book you’ve been meaning to get to? Host a book club; this can be sent through emails or create a chat in your communication program. You can choose to opt for books that would help with company productivity or fiction books that are unrelated. Since book taste can be subjective make sure to send out a poll for book suggestions and don’t make it mandatory.
Time: You decide!
81. Binge Sess
If you’re not much of a book person, don’t worry. You can apply the book club concept to a show. Whether you decide to spread it out over a couple of weeks or binge it all in one night, that’s up to you!
Time: You decide!
82. Duolingo Dash
While 2020 might not have gone as plan that doesn’t mean all your new years goals should fly out the window, even if it is learning a new language. In fact, you can make it a company challenge. Denote a specific time for your Duolingo dash where each player can choose a language they want to learn and track which level they reach by the end of the time. Friendly competition and a resume booster, what more can you ask for?
Time: You decide!
83. Horse Around
Have a little fun with an unexpected trip to the farm during your morning meeting. The site DangRooster can drop into any zoom call with a hilarious animal guest! Just don’t tell the rest of the team to really make them the ass of the joke.
84. Workspace Cribs Photo
Some of us are used to working from home and have their space dialed in, think- soothing music, and candles. Others are figuring it all out for the first time, think- screaming children and working in the middle of the hallway. Kick things off by sharing a photo with your team of your current workspace. NO EDITING! Get real with each other and show your teammates how you’re making it work from home.
85. Spotify Playlist
Music is good for the brain and the soul- both of which you need for a productive workday. A team leader starts a Spotify Playlist and shares it with the team. Everyone add their favorite work day (or maybe happy hour) songs for all to enjoy.
Time: 5 minutes
86. Company Cribs
A throw-back to one of the all-time best shows, MTV CRIBS. Time to show-off those at-home workspaces. Run this event as a twist on Trivia and we will work with your team to showcase videos of some of your employees at-home workspaces.
Time: 30 minutes
87. Mister Rogers
Biweekly, randomly group the team off into sets of two. The pair will then have the two weeks to schedule and have a video call for at least 30 minutes. During the call they can talk about anything except for work. This will encourage your employees to get to know each other better and form a tighter community in the work place!
Time: 30 minutes
88. Pen Pals
If phone calls aren’t your style, or your company’s an international company penpals might be better suited for you than Mister Rogers calls. Like the calls you’ll divide your employees into groups, however, it’s best if the groups don’t switch. Encourage everyone to get creative with their letters; include a sample of your favorite tea, a list of your must-read books or a Polaroid of your favorite local spot!
Time: You decide!
89. Poem Club
In this short activity your team will take turns writing a poem, one-by-one. Someone starts. It can be with a word, line, or whole stanza! The next person has to continue on the poem, until passing it on to the next person. Again and again, until your out of coworkers and the poem is complete. Emily Dickinson were coming for you!
Time: 15 minutes
90. Human Powered
It’s time to go the distance! For this team-bonding activity everyone will compete against each other to see who can travel the furthest distance in a week. Get active; whether it’s running, walking, cycling, etc., we don’t care, just start getting those miles!
Time: A week
91. Gratitude Journal
Start the day off with some gratitude. This can be a 10-minute conversation at the beginning of your daily meetings or a separate chat box. Whether it’s finding out you have a niece on the way or your morning coffee, nothing’s too small! Not only will this help your team to feel like they’re in contact with everyone, but it’ll also start your day off on the right foot.
Time: 10 minutes
92. Sweat It Out
Still want to be active, but don’t want to commit to a long challenge? No worries, make a meeting out of it! At the next meeting, share your screen with a YouTube workout video or support the local gym with group virtual session. Not only will your team do some serious bonding, but exercise is proven to increase productivity!
Time: 1 hour
93. Brain Teaser
If you live in a one story house made entirely of redwood what color would the stairs be? You live in a one-story house; there are no stairs. Brain teasers are the perfect way to get everyone thinking and have a good laugh. After all, how else are you suppose to figure out what has six faces, but does not wear makeup and has twenty-one eyes, but cannot see?
Time: 15 minutes
…it’s a dice
94. Care Package
We all could use a little pick-me-up during these chaotic times. Boost team moral by sending care packages. This activity is especially great if your an international company. In a small package, wrap up some of your daily favorites, it could be a pack of tea from your local tea shop or a book you just finished reading and loved. The idea is to spread appreciation while also getting to know each other on a deeper level. In order to encourage everyone to participate, it’s best to provide a company reimbursement or a monthly stipend.
Time: You decide!
95. Company Trivia
Missing weekly bar trivia? Bring it to your happy hour! Sure, you can stick to your traditional jeopardy topics like Geography and Current Affairs or you can personalize to your company. Go serious with the company mission statement or make it fun by asking questions like “who was drunk Santa at our holiday party?”
Time: 45 minutes
96. The Jingle
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. You sang that, didn’t you? The jingle game is the perfect way to get your employees singing and dancing. After splitting up into small groups, each team will have 10 minutes to come up with a theme, rhythm, and words for a product jingle, before showing it to everyone. Good luck coming up with one that beats subway’s…any any any five…five…five dollar foot long!
Time: 20 minutes
97. Inside the Actor’s Studio
For this team-bonding activity you’ll divide into two groups, the fans and the actors, and one person will be the press. The press will ask a question to the actor group. It can be anything along the lines of “What does love smell like” or “What’s your favorite word?” The actors will submit their answers to the press. The answers are then read out loud and the fans team has to guess whose answer goes with which actor group member. If they guess right, they get points, if not the actor groups get points. Groups will rotate so everyone gets interviewed!
Time: 30 minutes
98. The Playlist
Prior to the meeting everyone will pick a song they want to add to the playlist. When a new song comes on everyone will try to guess who added the song to the playlist. The reason for adding the song can be that they simply liked the song or something more complex like it reminded them of that time they spent the summer in France.
Time: 20 minutes
99. Infomercial
We all have those vague memories of flipping through the channels only to land on the one that plays infomercials all day long. You know the one advertising the obscure kitchen tool that kind of makes you wonder if you really need a cucumber slicer? Maybe they were on to something. At the beginning of the meeting give everyone 5 minutes to run around their house and pick up a random object, the more obscure the better. The participants will then have 5 minutes to try to sell you on the item!
Time: 30 minutes
100. Act it Out
We all know those classics characters, you know the Chandler Bings of the world, but would you be able to act them out? If this virtual team-bonding activity, teammates will take turns acting out their favorite character from a popular Netflix/Hulu show. Not only is it a great way to encourage employee involvement, but you’ll also get some amazing suggestions to add to your watch list!
Time: 30 minutes
101. Van Gogh
In this modern take on pictionary, everybody will take turns drawing their coworkers. You can designate pairs to draw each other or use a collaborative drawing tool and have everyone work collectively on the portrait. For an added thrill have all the team members draw at the same time. Who knows, by the end you might even have some great, abstract art work to hang up in the office!
Time: 20 minutes+
Here’s to having the most epic team bonding experience; don’t forget to let us know which one of these activities is your favorite in the comments and tag us in your pictures on Instagram!
