24 fun team-building activities to energize your workday

Each team is as unique as the individuals they contain. So what can you do to bring everyone together and bolster team spirit and foster a sense of comradery? We have a few ideas on how to help your team gel and become a stronger group.

A rising tide lifts all boats, making each part of the whole better. The same goes for teams: the stronger the team, the better they’ll navigate rough waters and celebrate calm seas. That’s why team building is so important. 

But we often focus so intently on our day-to-day roles that we don’t take time to refine processes, try new ways of working, or improve team relationships. 

That’s why it helps to carve out time to prioritize team building activities. Whether virtual or in person, these activities can help teams improve resiliency, get past moments of tension, and perform at a high level. Dedicated team building activities are invaluable in improving our relationships with co-workers and how we collaborate and work in unison.

The best team building activities are simple, engaging, and fun. We’ll walk through some easy team building exercises, how to tell if they’re the right fit for your team, and how to get started. 

Virtual team building activities

Chances are, we’ve all experienced the challenges of learning how to collaborate virtually. While the idea of remote work is no longer novel, it can still be tricky to foster the same level of camaraderie as you could with everyone in the office. 

But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible! If you’ve got a remote team or a team that’s split across offices, using team building software and trying these team bonding ideas may be a great addition to your week. 

1. Play trivia

Trivia and interactive quizzes are great ways for your team to bond. Split your team into sub-teams and let them go head to head in a general knowledge quiz. You can also pick a specific topic that everyone has an interest in — this can be a great way to stoke some competitive spirits. 

If you want to add a unique element, you can add some facts about one another into the quiz and see who knows the most about their colleagues. This one works great with teams that have been working together for a while and who have built a strong connection.

• Best for: friendly competition, working as a team, and sharing knowledge
• Average time needed: 10-60 minutes
• Number of people: 4-40
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: medium

2. Schedule a fun show and tell

If you’re looking for fun, free virtual team building activities, lean into the nostalgia of school days with a “show and tell” to let your team get to know each other better and relate on a more human side. 

There are a few ways to do it. One option is for a single person to share each time, giving them a moment in the spotlight to share a work-related project or introduce a fun hobby. Or, make it a round-robin and have each team member take turns sharing their win for the week, what they did over the weekend, or anything else. 

• Best for: learning more about each other 
• Average time needed: 5+ minutes
• Number of people: 2-20
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

3. Plan long-term challenges

Foster friendly competition with an ongoing challenge the team can complete remotely. Even better: you can focus the challenge on increasing wellness, such as hydration or exercise challenges. You can also make small teams compete in something work-related, such as reaching and exceeding quarterly goals. 

You won’t need to do too much prep for these challenges, either. And it’s always nice to offer prizes to the winners — or even those who reach a personal milestone in a challenge. 

• Best for: friendly competition, wellness, or productivity 
• Average time needed: Varies
• Number of people: 2+
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: medium

4. Take personality tests

Personality tests are a great way for people to get to know each other — and themselves. Have your team take personality or aptitude tests like MBTI, DISC, or the Enneagram, then compare results. Give the team a chance to talk about similarities and differences, any surprises, and how they think their results inform their work style. 

DISC is the most professionally focused test, so if you’re looking for something specific to the workplace, that’s your best bet. The only preparation is simply to decide on a test and ensure everyone has the link.

• Best for: learning about each other’s working styles
• Average time needed: 15-30
• Number of people: 2-30
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: medium

Team building activities for small groups

Even with a small team, you’ve got plenty of options. Whether you choose a word game, a pitching competition, or a complement circle, your team will love these team building activities for small groups. 

5. Try the word guessing game

Wondering how to use up the endless piles of sticky notes on your desk? We’ve got you covered.

Start by gathering sticky notes, writing a different word on each, and handing them out. Each participant should put a sticky note on their forehead without glancing at the word.

Then, each person tries to guess the word on their forehead by asking yes/no questions to their teammates. This can be done as a group, with everyone guessing their own, or by designating a single person to guess. 

You can also do this virtually without using any office materials. Simply designate one person as the guesser, message the word to everyone else, and let the guesser start asking questions. 

• Best for: fostering interaction
• Average time needed: 10-30
• Number of people: 3-15
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

6. Compete with quick pitches

Looking for a way to boost meeting engagement? Try a pitching exercise. This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill project pitch, though: instead, have team members pitch an item that’s not obviously useful.  It might be easy to sell a stapler, but what about a broken pen or a fax machine left over from decades past? They’ll flex their creative muscles, build presentation skills, and have a great time.

This works for several group sizes. With a small team, each person can present their own pitch. With a large group, have them break into small teams to brainstorm a pitch together. Whoever has the best pitch wins the game.

• Best for: improving presentation skills 
• Average time needed: 15-45
• Number of people: 5-30
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: low

7. Take part in a compliment Circle

You’re probably already using employee feedback software to collect feedback from your team, but why not have them give feedback to each other? They'll feel seen, supported, and appreciated with a compliment circle. 

A simple way to play is to have team members go around a circle and share a compliment with the person to their right. 

Another variation is to grab a piece of paper and have each person label it with their name. Then, pass the papers around so that every participant can write their compliments for that person. 

• Best for: bolstering confidence and camaraderie
• Average time needed: 5-45
• Number of people: 2-30
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

Large group team-building activities

Being part of a large group can be nerve-racking, but team building icebreaker questions or group activities give the team a chance to get to know each other and feel more comfortable. Whether learning about each other through check-ins or human bingo, or participating together in an outdoor activity, you’ll come away with a stronger team. 

8. Do a group check-In

A group check-in can be a great brainstorming icebreaker and give the team a way to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions, even in a big group. 

Have the team participate in a questionnaire or survey (Mentimeter offers a great survey maker), then review the results during your meeting. The team will enjoy seeing their commonalities and differences presented on each slide, and they’ll learn fun things about each other (go-to karaoke song, anyone?). 

This one does call for a bit of prep, as you’ll need to prepare the survey and the slides, but using Mentimeter’s team check-in template takes a lot of the work off your plate.  

• Best for: creating psychological safety 
• Average time needed: 15-30
• Number of people: No limit
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: medium

9. Try a question mingle

A question mingle is an easy team building activity for groups of any size, but it’s especially fun with a big group. It's a great way to encourage the team to get to know others and get out of their comfort zone.

Ask each person to write down about three questions they want to ask others. Then, have everyone go through the room, asking their questions. They’ll get to know each other better and spark interesting conversations. 

This can be fun for an end-of-year meeting, too, giving the team a chance to talk to each other about the best parts of the year and what they look forward to next year.

• Best for: learning about each other and getting better acquainted 
• Average time needed: 15-30
• Number of people: 10-50
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: medium

10. Organize a round of human bingo

Looking for a way to help your team uncover their similarities? Bingo! We’ve got your winner right here. Create a bingo card tailored to your team — or download a pre-made one — and send the team out to mark their cards. 

Each box should include a prompt like “has traveled internationally this year” or “is an only child.” The goal is for everyone to ask around the room until they find someone who fits the criteria and mark off the box. The first filled line gets a BINGO!

• Best for: finding commonalities 
• Average time needed: 20-45
• Number of people: 10-75
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: medium

11. Do an outdoor activity or a class

Team building activities at work can be fun, but simply gettout out of the office can be the perfect way to get people to relax and start chatting. Instead of the same old happy hour, try an outdoor activity like a chill round of mini-golf or something adventurous and adrenaline-fueled like paintballing. 

Or, sign the team up for a class to learn something new.  Learning together will be a shared experience for everyone. There are plenty of classes and courses your team could take together, like cooking, cocktail and mocktail making, or even an art class.

An added bonus is that these options need little preparation on your part; simply identify and sign up for the event or activity. 

• Best for: having fun and learning offsite
• Average time needed: 60-120
• Number of people: 10-50
• Difficulty: medium-high
• Prep needed: medium

Quick team-building activities

If you’re short on time but still want to encourage the team to bond, there are plenty of quick team building activities to try. You can do these with any amount of time, and they all offer a great bang for your buck. 

12. Play two truths and a lie

Got a team of mystery buffs? Looking for 15-minute team building activities requiring minimal prep or setup? Two Truths and a Lie is a great choice. A team member shares three personal “facts,” but with a twist: only two are true. It’s up to the rest of the team to guess which is the lie.

You can play this in just a few minutes, or make it into a longer game depending on the number of participants. It’s a great way to foster creativity (someone has to come up with those lies, after all!) and see how well the team really knows each other. Plus, it works great for hybrid meetings.

• Best for: testing coworkers’ knowledge of each other
• Average time needed: Depends on the number of participants
• Number of people: 5-50
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

13. Count to 20

If your team is too busy for anything beyond quick and easy team building activities, try this short and fun one: Having your team count to 20 — as a team. 

The rule of the game is your team has to count to 20 together. Sounds simple, right? Think again: The trick is that they can’t just count in unison, and no one can repeat the same number. Instead, they have to figure out a way for each person to count a unique number without anyone speaking over each other. This is an excellent way to infuse energy into a meeting and encourage the team to work together. 

• Best for: a quick and easy challenge
• Average time needed: 5-15 minutes
• Number of people: 40-20
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

14. Host a round of speed networking

Speed dating may have gone the way of the dodo with the adoption of online dating apps, but speed networking is one of the best easy team building activities out there. It’s easiest to do in person, but if you have the time, you can also run this activity virtually by leveraging breakout rooms in your video conference software of choice. 

Simply have team members pair up and set a timer for two minutes. They’ll ask each other rapid-fire questions or just chit-chat. When the timer goes off, they’ll switch and meet with someone else. If your team already works closely together, focus these conversations on fun topics instead of work. But if they don’t yet know each other well, this gives them a chance to share who they are and what they do. 

• Best for: building new connections 
• Average time needed: 10-45
• Number of people: 4-20
• Difficulty: low
• Prep needed: low

15. Set up minute to win it games

One of the most fun five-minute team building activities is a “minute to win it” game. This works especially well if you’re short on time but still want to do some team bonding. 

Split the team into groups and have them designate a representative. That person will then compete in a one-minute game like creating anagrams, building a block tower, or listing as many state capitals as they can. The next representatives can play a new game, or if you need to keep it quick, just select a single one-minute game. 

• Best for: maximum fun in minimal time
• Average time needed: 5-15
• Number of people: 5-30
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: medium

Leadership team-building activities

A strong leader keeps the team running like a well-oiled machine, but a good leader can be hard to find. The good news is that anyone can build their leadership skills, whether or not they’re in a formal leadership role. Leadership team building activities are an excellent way to cultivate these talents on your team, whether by solving creative scenarios or finding their way out of an escape room. 

These activities work well for any group, but they are especially helpful for those who are trying to develop new leaders or encourage leaders to work better together. 

16. Take the deserted island challenge

Luckily, you don’t have to actually ship your team off to a deserted island to benefit from this activity. Instead, with some imagination, they’ll find new ways to collaborate and solve challenges together by brainstorming island life. 

Start by making a list of 10 items the team will have on the island. The catch is that the team can only keep three, so they need to band together and discuss what to keep and how to divide the responsibilities. This activity mixes creativity, imagination, negotiation, and delegation. 

• Best for: driving collective problem-solving and debate
• Average time needed: 20-45
• Number of people: 3-25
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: medium

17. Visit an escape room

Looking for a mind-boggling and deviously tricky way to improve your team's problem-solving skills? Consider an escape room! These excursions prompt team members to ask questions and explain their reasoning while also requiring them to listen, participate, observe, and discuss. 

Escape rooms can be nice for in-person team building activities or virtual ones, where your team can find creative ways to “escape” from virtual settings over video conference. Either way, they’re great options for bringing a team together and adding a nice little competitive element too.

• Best for: solving unique challenges together 
• Average time needed: 45-60
• Number of people: 3-10 per team
• Difficulty: high
• Prep needed: medium

18. Ask, “What if?”

Get creative juices flowing with a “what if?” exercise. Colleagues can work together — or break into smaller teams if you have a big group — and put their heads together to design a solution to a random scenario. 

The only preparation you need is to come up with a scenario or two. Alternatively, you can start the activity by sourcing scenarios from the team themselves. They’ll work together to brainstorm a solution and then discuss it as a group. 

• Best for: creative brainstorming 
• Average time needed: 20-60
• Number of people: 3-20
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: low

Communication team-building activities

Without strong communication, a team is just a group of people working alongside each other. Great communication can bring everyone together as an effective team that works to achieve more than a single individual could. 

Everyone has their own style, so communication team building activities give teams the chance to learn each other’s communication styles and find better ways to work together. 

These activities can also help team members grow into better facilitators or presenters, which is helpful in any role. 

19. Do the silent lineup game

The goal of this game is to get the team to line up in a particular order, but with one caveat—they have to do it in complete silence. Everyone receives specific instructions, like “Line up in order of birth month”’ or “Line up from shortest to tallest height.” Feel free to get creative with the cards and give really specific instructions — the wilder, the better! Then, let the team figure out how to get in the right order without saying a word. 

This game will test communication and reasoning skills and will encourage everyone to work together, even when they can’t communicate out loud. 

• Best for: working on nonverbal communication
• Average time needed: 15-20
• Number of people: 10-15
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: low

20. Try out the blindfolded directions game

You never want to leave your team in the dark regarding important business updates. But to build a successful team, sometimes that’s exactly what you want to do! 

We’re talking about a blindfolded directions game. Your team will learn to delegate tasks and coach each other, all while working closely together. 

Start by handing out blindfolds to one or a few team members (depending on the group’s size). Team members who aren’t blindfolded will direct their blindfolded colleagues to complete an activity. The activity doesn’t matter:  The purpose is to foster communication and partnership. 

• Best for: delegating and helping each other 
• Average time needed: 20-45
• Number of people: 2-15
• Difficulty: high
• Prep needed: low

21. Play the team roles game

Who didn’t love to play imaginative games as a kid? Give your team a taste of childhood with this fun role-playing game. Your team will pretend they’re part of a fictional crew of some sort — think pirate ship, superhero squad, space crew, etc. — then break down what role each of them will play. From there, they’ll discuss the unique contributions they can make. 

This game gives everyone a fun and creative way to understand how members of the team see themselves, what strengths they bring to the table, and how it can benefit the team as a whole. Plus, the imaginary aspect will help people think outside the box, revealing more insights than by simply focusing on their professional roles.

• Best for: understanding strengths and contributions 
• Average time needed: 30-45
• Number of people: 5-15
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: low

Team building problem-solving activities

Help your team strengthen their problem-solving muscles through team building activities. Whether directly related to their day jobs or more focused on fun, these creative team building activities will get their brains working. 

22. Tackle puzzles or brain teasers together

Puzzles and brain teasers are a great way to keep the brain strong, and who doesn’t want a team that knows how to use their brains? Plus, with countless puzzles like this out there, you can easily find activities for any skill level.

Have the team work together in small or large groups to tackle a brain teaser. They’ll enjoy sharing knowledge, solving problems, and feeling a sense of accomplishments when they crack the code.

• Best for: fostering critical thinking
• Average time needed: 5-30
• Number of people: No limit
• Difficulty: medium to high
• Prep needed: medium

23. Schedule a hack day

A hack day allows your team to spend an entire day building something new. Activities like these started with engineering hackathons, where software developers would carve out time to work on technical projects, but you can use them in any job that has challenging problems to solve.

There’s not a ton of prep needed, but you’ll need to designate time for the team to be away from their regular work. You’ll also want to decide if hack day projects should be relevant to current professional challenges or if they can be more “pie in the sky” ideas the team wouldn’t normally get to work on.

• Best for: creative problem solving
• Average time needed: a workday
• Number of people: No limit
• Difficulty: high
• Prep needed: high

24. Send them on a scavenger hunt

Send your team on a scavenger hunt to find anything related to the workplace, a specific topic, or even household goods if your team is remote.

Get ready by deciding on the items for the hunt and letting the team know. Then, just set the amount of time they should spend searching and turn them loose. 

If your whole team is in person, you can break them into small teams that scavenge together for even more team building.

• Best for: fun competition and thinking outside the box
• Average time needed: 20-45
• Number of people: 5-30
• Difficulty: medium
• Prep needed: medium

Qualities of an impactful team building activity

As you can see from the variety of activities we’ve shared here, there’s no one-size-fits-all plan when it comes to team building — from playing pretend to solving real-world problems to simply being silly, they all have their time and place. 

That said, there are a few qualities you’ll want to focus on to get the most impact out of your team building activity for work: 

• Relevant to the team: Work-related activities should tie into areas the team needs to strengthen, whether it be enhancing communication, bonding, or blowing off steam.
• Dedicated time to reflect on learnings: Save time to close out the activity and talk through what everyone learned and how they’ll use their newfound knowledge going forward. 
• Inclusivity: You want everyone to be able to participate comfortably in any activity you choose, so consider the backgrounds, skill levels, and accessibility needs of your team. You may need to make some adjustments to make your activity accessible to all. 

Why are team-building activities important?

Team building activities for employees cultivate the skills we often associate with high performance: adaptability, performing at a high level, and producing results even during trying times. The stronger your team, the more they can accomplish together. How do team building activities accomplish this? There are several ways, including: 

• Increasing team morale and collaboration: A fun and rewarding activity brings the team together and builds a positive foundation. 
• Boosting creativity: Activities focused on problem-solving help teams break out of old habits, find new ways to work together, and brainstorm new ideas.  
• Improving communication: Communication-focused activities help your team discover and improve communication challenges. 

Spice up your team-building activities with Mentimeter

With a better understanding of team-building activities, the benefits, and why they’re important, you’re well on your way to an engaged, high-performing team. 

Remember that team building activities work best when done regularly. You should also strike a balance between sessions that focus on work and strategy and chances to simply have some fun. It may take some trial and error to find the right team building activities for your team, so have fun trying out some different options and see what works best.

If you’re looking for the best way to excite and engage your team, check out Mentimeter. With polls and surveys, plenty of templates, and interactive activities, you’ll be equipped with everything you need to foster a strong team. Get started today!