Team BridgeTeam building activities for work
The team building activities that work are the ones a team does every week, not once a year: short, in work hours, and easy for whoever is organising. Here are activities by how much time you have, a plan for the first team meeting of the year, and the games that run them in Teams, Zoom or Meet with one link.
Trivia, Mini Escape and the other premium games are included with a TeamBridge pass. Spy Words, Two Truths, One Lie and seven more games are free to play.
What these activities look like
Mini Escape: The Owls escape the Haunted Office first in 9:42, and the end screen shows how every puzzle was solved 
Trivia: The reveal for “In The Hobbit, what is the name of the dragon?”: four of five picked Smaug, and Sofia leads the standings 
Top Answers: The reveal for “Name something people say instead of ‘I don’t know’”: Team Aqua clears the board (Get back to you 3, I’ll check 3) and banks 8 points
A 30-minute first meeting back in January
The first team meeting of the year sets the tone. This one needs no slides and works for 5 or 30 people.
- 0–5 min
Warm up: Who Said That?
Add one prompt, “The best thing I did over the break”. Everyone answers anonymously, then guesses who wrote what.
- 5–15 min
Look ahead: Top Answers
Type your own prompts, like “Name one thing our team should try this year”. Two teams guess the most common answers, and the board is your team’s wish list.
- 15–25 min
Work together: Mini Escape
Set the timer to 10 minutes: an escape room where every player sees different clues, so the team has to talk to get out.
- 25–30 min
Close
Read out the top three answers from the board and pick one thing to try this quarter.
Games that run team building activities
Trivia
Premium24 categories and a live leaderboard.
2–100 players
5–10 min
Mini Escape
PremiumA 15-minute escape room where everyone sees different clues, so the team has to talk.
2–40 players12–20 min
Top Answers
PremiumYour own survey questions answered by the team, then two teams guess the top answers.
3–100 players10–15 min
Who Said That?
PremiumAnonymous answers to your own prompts, then guess who wrote each one.
3–30 players8–15 min
People Bingo
PremiumFind the teammate who…: about 230 facts in 5 packs, 3 to 100 players.
3–100 players8–12 min
Team Awards
PremiumPositive awards the team votes on, with your own awards and an award card for everyone.
3–50 players8–12 min
Spy Words
FreeTwo teams, one grid of words, one-word clues.
4–10 players5–15 min
Team building activities by the time you have
5 minutes
An icebreaker question at the start of a weekly meeting, a round of This or That, or a one-word check-in (“Your energy today, one to ten?”). Small, every week.
15 minutes
A round of Trivia with a leaderboard, Spy Words in two teams, or People Bingo to learn something about everyone. Fits the end of a team meeting.
30 minutes
A warm-up, one longer game and a short close, like the plan above. Good for a monthly team social or a new joiner’s first week.
60 minutes
A quarterly session: two or three games, a look back at the quarter with Top Answers, and Team Awards to celebrate people. Book it in work hours.
Activities that are not games
Games are the easiest thing to run every week, but they’re not the only kind of team building. These need nothing but a calendar slot.
A team “user manual”
Everyone writes five lines: when they focus best, how they like feedback, how to reach them, what they’re learning. Share them in one document and revisit every quarter.
Show and tell
One person a week shows something they made, learned or fixed, in five minutes. Rotate so everyone has a turn.
Lunch and learn
Someone teaches a skill in 20 minutes over lunch: a spreadsheet trick, a language, a recipe. It doesn’t have to be about work.
A team retro
Once a quarter, ask three questions: what went well, what didn’t, what we’ll try next. Pick one change and do it.
Volunteering together
A morning or afternoon of volunteering, in person or remote. Many companies give paid time for it.
Pick by what the team needs
A new team or a reorganised one
Two Truths, One Lie, Speed Meet and People Bingo: everyone learns a little about everyone, fast.
A team that needs to work together better
Mini Escape and Spy Words: nobody can win alone, so people have to listen and explain.
A tired team
Trivia or Scribble: no thinking about work, a laugh and a winner in 15 minutes.
A team that did something big
Team Awards with your own awards: everyone votes, adds an anonymous reason and gets an award card.
How to make team building stick
Same slot every week
Fifteen minutes at the end of the Friday meeting beats a big event once a year. Put it in the calendar as a recurring slot.
In work hours
Activities during the work day get more people than evenings, and they work across time zones.
Optional, but easy
Nobody should have to perform. Pick activities where people can answer on their own screen or play in a team.
Rotate the organiser
Let a different person pick the game each week, so it doesn’t always fall on the manager.
Questions
What are good team building activities for work?
Short ones the team can do every week in work hours: an icebreaker question, a 15-minute game like Trivia or Spy Words, and once a quarter a longer session with a look back and team awards.
What are good team building activities for remote teams?
Activities where everyone takes part from their own screen: Trivia, Mini Escape and Top Answers run in the browser next to the call, with one link in Teams, Zoom or Meet and nothing to install.
What should we do in the first team meeting of the year?
Thirty minutes: a light question about the break, a look ahead where everyone suggests one thing to try this year, a game to play together, and one thing the team agrees to try this quarter. The plan above does that with three games.
How long should a team building activity be?
Five to fifteen minutes every week does more than a long event once a year. Keep 30 to 60 minutes for a monthly or quarterly session.
How often should a team do team building?
A short activity every week, in the same slot, and a longer one each quarter. Regular and short beats rare and long.
Are the games free?
Spy Words, Two Truths, One Lie, Scribble and six more games are free to play. Trivia, Mini Escape and the other premium games are included with a TeamBridge pass.
Team building games for workEmployee engagement ideasHow to play Mini Escape
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