10 In-Office Games for Team Building
Preparing your employees to work together as a cohesive unit can have many benefits, from increased productivity to greater innovation and creativity. To help encourage team building and positive interactions between your staff, we've compiled the following list of 10 in-office games for team building and positive interactions. Try some of these games at your next staff meeting or office party and watch your office transform!
How do in-office team-building games help?
It might seem weird to have an in-office game night, but if you're looking to strengthen team bonds or improve office morale, it can be a great way to do so.
Organisations need to invest in employee engagement to increase productivity, work quality, and retain top talent. However, according to research from Gallup, only 15% of employees were engaged in 2021. That means that most of the workforce worldwide view their workplace negatively or do the bare minimum to make it through the day.
To increase engagement at your company, you need to build a positive workplace culture and hold regular in-office game nights where everyone can participate (and win). Your employees will enjoy themselves while also building stronger relationships that lead to better work!
If there's something people love more than games, it's food – so make sure you have some snacks ready for these fun events. Also, in-office games don't have to be costly or take up a lot of room! You can use your office space as a setting for some fun team-building games that will result in positive interactions and improved relationships between your employees.
Top 10 in-office games for work!
1. Blind drawing
Blind drawing is a fun game that begins with the players sitting with their backs to each other. One player is given a picture of an object or word. He/she then describes the picture using words that can help the second player identify it. The second player then draws the object based on the first player’s description along with his/her own guesses.
This game encourages co-workers to communicate, imagine, and innovate.
2. Tongue-twisters
The next time you're working with your team, pull out one or two tongue twisters to keep everyone on their toes. These in-office games are a great way to break up the monotony and create some laughs among co-workers.
Simply come up with a list of common tongue twisters — such as Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Divide your team into two or more groups, and then set timers for 15 seconds per person until everyone has had a chance.
This game is great for engaging the whole team and pushing them to have fun.
3. Virtual ‘murder mystery’
That is one of the most interactive in-office games out there, and it can also be played virtually (if you have a hybrid workplace)
To play a murder mystery game at work, divide your team into groups. Then provide each group with a set of clues and ask employees to work together to solve the case in the shortest time possible. The difficulty level of the clues can be modulated according to the skill and experience level of the participating groups.
The winning team receives money or gift cards donated by other employees (so everyone has an incentive to win!).
4. Two truths and a lie
This one is pretty popular in group settings; that's why we have listed it as one of the in-office games you should play.
In this case, participants write three statements that are then read by others. After each statement, the other person must guess whether the information is accurate or a lie. The person who makes the most correct guesses wins.
This game is perfect for acting as an icebreaking tool since individuals get to know each other more in a fun way.
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5. The barter puzzle
Split up into teams of three or four people and give them jigsaw puzzles with pieces missing. The catch is that every team's puzzle contains pieces from every other team's puzzle! Employees have to strategise, assign roles and swap/barter with other teams to complete their own puzzle first.
It's one of those perfect in-office games for team building that helps employees practice negotiating and strategising skills.
6. Reverse charades
In the reverse charades game, all team members must work together to act out a word or phrase while one person guesses what it is. It is thus the opposite of regular charades, where one person enacts the word/phrase/movie or song title, for the benefit of a group.
This games involves everyone to contribute their ideas, making it a good choice for shy or less talkative team members. Could there be a more perfect in-office game for team building?
7. Conducted story
In this game, every group member gets one sentence. Each group then creates a narrative with the sentences contributed by members.
Have your team stand in a circle and continue this game until the story is over (depending on the team size).
Conducted stories can be done on many themes, but these types of in-office games are always exciting topics that bring out good funny stories.
It is a perfect activity that requires every team member to pay attention to what the others have said. That's why it is one of the most important in-office games for team building.
8. What's my name?
Create a list of names that you can use during your writing, such as the names of celebrities and the professions they embody – e.g., Amitabh Bachhan, Ratan Tata, Nirmala Sitharaman, etc.
Use post-it notes to stick each of these names on your teams' foreheads without them seeing their name. Now make them guess what it is.
This is another one of those in-office games where people have to guess, and it's perfect for increasing interactivity and communication.
9. Balloon questions
Balloon questions aim to get people to think creatively about a question.
The basic rules are simple: have your team write down different questions on pieces of paper, put them inside balloons and blow them. Everyone gets a balloon, pops it and answers the question.
This game is perfect for helping teams learn more about one another.
10. What's in the Box?
This is a variation on a classic icebreaker game. In ‘What's in the Box?’ teammates are given a box and told to imagine what is inside of it.
One by one, they take their turn guessing what is in the box based on what they think they can hear inside of it (e.g., crinkling paper, jingling bells).
This game is good for testing and improving the team’s creativity and communication skills.
Liked this article? Do check out these fun employee engagement activity ideas as well!
We all need a break sometimes, right? Well, these 10 in-office games are perfect for giving your employees a chance to relax, blow off some steam and have fun. They have been proven to boost employee morale, productivity, and happiness, so consider adding them to your company calendar! Who knows? You might even create some office legends along the way.