Is there a lack of energy, communication or smiles in your workplace? Then it is time to try out some fun office team building games! Today we bring You 7 of these team building activities that are a lot of fun while also making people connect on a deeper level.
Some of these games can be played during lunch break, some after work, some for extended periods of time. For more serious and time consuming ideas we suggest you to take a look at after-work team building activities.
1. Mystery friend
This is a game that needs to be played over a period of time. We suggest trying it out for a month. At the start everyone anonymously pulls out a paper with a written colleague’s name. That is your mystery friend and your task is to simply secretly give him letters, candies, compliments etc. Employees can decide on how frequent this gifting process will be. You can do that by leaving presents on his table or agreeing altogether of creating mailboxes beforehand. At the end of the month the mystery friend can be revealed and then switched up again. This game is heart-warming and spreads kindness and positivity between each other.
2 – Forehead detective
For this game You will need sticky notes. Everyone writes the name of a famous celebrity, fictional character on the sticky note. Then stick these notes on the forehead of the person next to You without them seeing the name. The task is to guess which character is written on your sticky note/forehead. You can also play a round of writing names of colleagues. This activity tells a lot about how people think of different celebrities and what are their thought processes to unveiling the answer.
3 – Marshmallow challenge
In marshmallow challenge employees are separated into teams that are fighting for any kind of prize. Then these teams receive a limited number and types of materials found in the office (such as spaghetti, marshmallows, erasers) and a time limit. The task is to build the tallest possible structure between the teams. In this activity, all the employees can showcase their architecture, engineering and building skills. The game turns out fun, because of the competitive time limit and oftenly very unstable final structures.
4 – Egg drop challenge
This game is a bit similar to marshmallow challenge in terms of necessary skills to excel at winning it. Employees split into teams are required to build a platform/contraption that will protect an egg without breaking when dropped from a height. Once again, there is a time limit but you can use any useful materials in the office. This mini game brings out creativity and competitive spirit with one small minus – broken eggs will have to be cleaned up afterwards.
5 – Mine field
This is a game most people probably already know. Blindfold a colleague with a piece of clothing and send him to a different room. Then change out the layout of the room by moving furniture and adding other obstacles with even tying up wires everywhere.
After the room has been decorated, call in the blindfolded colleague. Now your task is to guide him through the obstacle course without him touching anything that You have set. Everyone can communicate with him only vocally. This game is a great communication exercise. You can also prank a new colleague by not actually moving anything in the room and giving fake verbal instructions.
6 – Two truths and a lie
This is a short and simple game that can be played when meeting new people or onboarding employees. Have everyone write three statements on a piece of paper. The catch however is, that one of these statements are false. Let other players guess it. This game lets you learn a lot about people who you spend time with on a daily basis.
7 – Board games evening
Nothing beats a cozy evening playing your favorite board games. Gather your colleagues, let everyone bring their board games and have a simple yet effective team building evening. Test everyone’s strategic abilities, quick thinking and competitiveness by having a small tournament.
We hope you found this article useful and will give these office team building games a shot. This can also serve as an inspiration to improve your office team building games more seriously. We suggest You try all of the mentioned above and improve team spirit in the workplace. This will help in building a strong internal communication culture in the company.