Hey team leaders, HR pros, and everyone steering the virtual ship! Team-building doesn’t have to be a logistical nightmare. Here’s a list of 26 plug-and-play activities perfect for remote teams. Each one comes with a quick guide and handy tools so you can get the ball rolling without breaking a sweat.
Play this interactive group game designed to happen over Zoom. It's a slide deck with three rounds of activities that are made for Zoom: Live polling, a trivia competition, and one on one breakout room conversation prompts.
How to play: Grab this deck by copying it into a free account on Slides With Friends, and launch it like a slide deck presentation. You share your screen over Zoom and everyone in your team joins in on their phones to interact and play along.
Use Puzzle Break or Trapped in the Web to play a virtual escape room over a video call! Bring your team together on a video call, share your screen with the escape room option you picked, and let the problem-solving begin! Escape rooms stimulate critical thinking and promote team collaboration. Dive into immersive challenges together.
Rediscover the joys of Pictionary with a digital twist. Grab a Google Jamboard, share the link, share your screen, and start doodling. You can play classic Pictionary by dividing your group into teams, giving the drawer private prompts through the Zoom chat, and then having their team guess as they draw on their screen and your screen showing the Jamboard is shared with the group through zoom's screen share. Or you know, you can all just doodle together. This activity is not just fun but also helps showcase your team's creative side.
One person thinks of an object, person, or concept related to your industry. The rest of the group has 20 chances to ask yes-or-no questions to figure out what it is. The thinker responds with only "yes", "no", or "sometimes". If the group can't guess in 20 questions, the thinker wins and reveals the answer. For larger groups, definitely use breakout rooms. This classic game is an excellent exercise for probing and deductive reasoning. A brain teaser that encourages thoughtful questions.
Get your group together to compete in a trivia battle! Here's a collection of great ready-to-play trivia games that you can present (like a PPT) to your group.
How to play: Create a Slides With Friends account, pick a trivia game, and launch it like a slide deck presentation. You all join in on your phones, and then you advance the game like a slideshow, answering questions as you go. The game auto tallies score and shows winners!
Present participants with intriguing work-related scenarios where they must choose between two distinct options. Some good "would you rather"s include:
This game helps to understand team values, priorities, and decision-making processes, all while fostering insightful discussions on work preferences and styles.
Play this built-for-remote/virtual scavenger hunt that brings teams together to chat about their finds. You launch this deck like a PPT presentation and advance through slides one by one. Each one has your group get up and find somethign (interesting) in their house, then send in pictures. Then you get to show pics one by one and let your team discuss all together. Scavenger hunts inspire creativity and a playful break from routine. Plus discover quirky corners of your colleagues' spaces.
Discuss where your industry or company might be in the next 5, 10, or 20 years. Use tools like to collect and display predictions. This sparks insightful discussions about industry trends and directions.
In this activity, participants have 2 minutes to speak about a work-related topic without preparation. Use Zoom's 'Spotlight' feature to highlight the speaker. This activity improves public speaking skills and allows participants to share knowledge in a concise manner. Use Zoom and an online stopwatch. It’s an amazing platform for team members to share their passions and interests. Learn something new from your colleagues in minutes.
Drop a list of random products in Zoom. Provide participants with a random object or abstract concept. They have a set time (e.g., 3 minutes) to come up with a sales pitch for it. This can be done individually or in small teams. The pitches are then presented live on the call.Great for honing pitching skills and thinking on the feet. Get creative and sell that "air guitar" or "pet rock."
Dedicate a segment of the meeting where team members can offer positive feedback or praise for their colleagues. It’s a morale booster and strengthens team bonds. You could even give out awards using a "award ceremony" presentation.
Invite an industry expert or use internal talent to host a short webinar on a topical subject. Ensure there's a Q&A session at the end. This not only educates but provides a platform for dialogue and discussion. It integrates learning into team meetings and promotes a culture of continuous development.
Pick modules on Duolingo. An excellent way for the team to bond over new phrases and cultural insights. Explore languages together and share your learning experiences.
Members share a favorite recipe via screen share or in the chat. Optionally, you can even have members prepare the dish and present it. This could be a fun weekly segment, with a different team member presenting each time. It taps into personal tastes and can lead to delightful culinary discoveries, adding a personal touch to virtual meetups.
Play an interactive game of "which is better?" where all the questions are quite inflammatory (but still SFW). Controversial Questions is an office-friendly game to ruin friendships) asks your team the important questions like, "Does Pineapple belong on Pizza". Controversial Questions 2 picks up where the first icebreaker game left off, with friendship-ruining queries like "How do you pronounce Gif"? You can copy and try this interactive game for yourself.
This is a good way to end a zoom meeting — announce a day off (maybe different days for different team members) for a bonding excercise — and to get folks out of their chairs. Create a Proxi map for your group and send them on a point-to-point excursion. You can add coffee shops, museums, bookstores, and tons of interesting locations for them to travel to in small groups with coworkers who live nearby.
Break out into teams and challenge each to design a mock product relevant to your company or a chosen theme (the sillier or wackier the more outlandish and fun this process can be). Group your folks into teams in breakout rooms, to spend 10-15 minutes brainstorming a completely fictional product, coming up with its name, unique features, target audience, and even a catchy slogan. Once done, everyone regroups in the main room to pitch their invention in 2-3 minute presentations. Encourage feedback and questions after each pitch, fostering interaction and deeper thinking about the viability or hilarity of each product. Wrap up by voting on the most intriguing or entertaining concept.
Pick a book, read it. A chance for team members to dive deep into storytelling and share unique insights. Discuss and explore different perspectives on the chosen book.
Use this simple "who did X thing best" live wordcloud creator to run a simple DIY award ceremony with your team. Just launch the deck like a presentation, share your screen on Zoom, and let your group send in their votes!
Spice up the usual happy hour with a drink. You can host a tasting that's hired out with an expert for best results (and so they do the work of shiping the drinks to your crew for you). There are a ton of options to choose from: check out a list of great beer tastings and this list of excellent wine tastings.
Set topics and stances in advance. A platform to sharpen argumentative skills and promote healthy discussions. Delve deep into topics and respect diverse viewpoints.
Assign historical scenes. A fun way to delve into history and showcase acting skills. Relive and enact significant historical moments together.
Play color by numbers in a shared google sheet or Excel doc! Start by choosing an image or pattern for teams to replicate in gSheets or Excel, where each cell represents a pixel. Share the sheet with participants and set a color coding system (e.g., 'A' for blue). Participants color the cells accordingly to create the image. After a set timeframe, everyone showcases their digital artwork via Zoom screen share. This activity allows teams to flex their creative muscles using an everyday tool, turning spreadsheets into a canvas for art. A relaxed way to combine creativity with familiar software. Combine artistry with spreadsheet skills.
Share a theme. A chance for team members to capture and share their perspectives on a shared theme. Snap, share, and appreciate the beauty around you.
Emulate a 'Clue'-like game where participants get roles and clues. Over the course of the meeting, they ask each other questions and try to figure out the mystery. Platforms like Mystery Party have templates for such activities. It encourages problem-solving in a fun environment, requiring everyone to think critically and collaborate.
You can have everyone some with these on the fly on a zoom call, then Spotlight individuals and have them announce their three options. Have the rest of the group vote on which they think is the lie by show of hands, or if you want to actually tally results, you can use a live poll tool that allows you to prep this in advance.
There you have it, 26 no-fuss activities tailored for virtual teams. Pick what aligns with your team's goals, and you’ll have a fun, engaging virtual session in no time. Enjoy!
