There are many avenues organizations can take when it comes to this type of professional development, but team games stand out as a fun and exciting way to build on your group’s skills.
Most team games provide a laid-back atmosphere where your group can gather away from work and get to know each other better. Specifically, virtual games offer a way to connect remote or hybrid workforces and create an inclusive space where your entire team can participate equally. Here are some of the best virtual team games you can sign up for, as well as a guide to understanding the ins and outs of these unique activities.
A Quick Summary of Virtual Team Building Games
- Escape Rooms for Groups: Experience a fast-paced race against the clock as teams must complete challenges and solve intricate puzzles to “escape” a virtual room in a certain amount of time.
- Trivia for Groups and Teams: Trivia games provide a touch of friendly competition for team experiences. Work together to answer questions in different categories through quick thinking and collaboration.
- Group Scavenger Hunts: Watch your team work together as they work on fun tasks and search for specific items in an attempt to be named the winners. Ideal for groups looking to work on their problem-solving skills.
- Brick Building Challenges: These challenges find groups working with Lego building kits to follow prompts and earn the title of best build. The exercises require creativity, the ability to work as a team, and outside-the-box thinking to succeed.
- White Elephant Gift Exchange Experience: This is a fun and unique twist on the holiday game where teams exchange quirky gifts and have a chance to steal gifts from other players. This is a festive and lighthearted game that’s perfect for the holidays.
Most Popular Virtual Team Building Games
Escape Room: Murder Mystery
- About: Become an official CourseHorse Puzzle Detective in this murder-mystery-inspired escape room. You’ll have to work together with your fellow trainees to solve the crime and outsmart the murderer.
- Length: Up to 75 minutes
- Group Size: Up to 200 people
- What You’ll Do: After learning the rules of the game, the host will walk mini-teams through the puzzles to decode the mystery. You’ll have to brainstorm and work together to solve riddles and complete challenges to get more clues. Does your group have what it takes to find the killer before he strikes again?
Brick Building Team Challenge
- About: Put your team’s collaboration skills to the test with a fast-paced brick building challenge. They will have to put their creative thinking hats on and work together to complete the prompts and win the title of best build.
- Length: Up to 75 minutes
- Group Size: Up to 80 people
- What You’ll Do: This challenge begins with a host walking participants through a quick welcome and covering the game’s instructions. Next, everyone will break into smaller mini-groups to complete unique prompts such as creating a zoo scene or building the largest tower. It concludes by working together as a group and determining the winners.
Private Trivia for Groups
- About: Take your group on an adventure through four rounds of fun trivia, including a traditional round, a music round, an image round, and a surprise round. There are plenty of twists, turns, and surprises to keep everyone engaged and the energy up!
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 200 people
- What You’ll Do: Experience sixty minutes of virtual trivia that covers a range of topics like music, movies, history, ice cream flavors, and pop culture, among countless options. Your team will break into smaller groups to tackle the questions and have some friendly but competitive fun.
Virtual Feud Frenzy
- About: Virtual Feud Frenzy is a fun take on the beloved television game show with a digital twist. There are fast-paced rounds filled with laughter and silly survey-style questions to make your team feel like a part of the show.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 100 people
- What You’ll Do: This game opens with a high-energy host covering the rules of the game before kicking off the feud rounds. Players will work their way through three rounds and an exciting lighting round to try and guess which answer matches the survey results. When the clock runs out, only one team will be named the winner!
Mini Game Showdown
- About: The Mini Game Showdown is an exhilarating game filled with challenges, opportunities for teamwork, and friendly competition. It’s more than just a game; it’s a rollercoaster of fast-moving rounds and different types of exercises.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 200 people
- What You’ll Do: Teams will work through four gameplay rounds: trivia, speed-type racing, Feud Frenzy, and escape room-style puzzles. The energetic hosts will keep things moving and help determine which team will be the champions.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
- About: This scavenger hunt is a completely virtual event that will get teams racing to try and unravel clues to be named the winners. The adventure is held over Zoom and is designed for hybrid workers working on their team building skills.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 150 people
- What You’ll Do: After breaking into mini-groups, teams will receive a series of clues they must solve using items from around their home or office. The goal is to complete all tasks as quickly as possible and outpace the competition to be crowned the ultimate scavenger hunt champion. The game concludes with a show-and-tell round to finish things off and help everyone reflect on the experience.
Game Show Bingo
- About: This fun and reimagined take on the classic game gives your team a chance to shine with their pop culture knowledge. It’s a fast-paced and energetic game utilizing video clips, images, and riddles as a means to fill in squares.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 100 people
- What You’ll Do: There’s no need to wait for numbers to be called in this exciting version of Bingo! Your team will learn the rules from a high-energy host before jumping right into the fun with the digital gameplay. It’s every participant for themselves as you try to complete prompts and be the first to call out Bingo!
Virtual Team Olympics
- About: Can your team work together to take home the gold? Virtual Team Olympics will put their skills to the test through fun and engaging challenges. A portion of the event is completed in mini-groups before coming back together as a whole for the final rounds.
- Length: Up to 75 minutes
- Group Size: Up to 200 people
- What You’ll Do: Get ready to show off your best skills during silly events like building the tallest marshmallow tower or creating balloon animals. This is a fast-paced set of hands-on challenges using fun props that are provided. The Olympics-style game concludes with announcements for the bronze, silver, and gold medalists!
Virtual Pictionary
- About: Are you up for the challenge of playing a digital take on the classic game Pictionary? Teams will need to think on their toes and work quickly to guess their opponents' drawings in the speed-style rounds.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 50 people
- What You’ll Do: Teams will be split into smaller groups for this head-to-head gaming experience. Similar to the traditional gameplay, participants will use virtual whiteboards to create illustrations based on silly prompts while other players will try to beat the clock and guess what they are drawing. Things kick off with easy prompts before moving into more challenging territory to keep everyone engaged.
Icebreaker: Get to Know Your Teammates
- About: Help your team bond and learn more about one another with a virtual icebreaker game! Discover their hidden talents and fun facts about the people you work beside every day in a fun and laid-back atmosphere.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 80 people
- What You’ll Do: This is a fast-paced event where participants will gather facts about their coworkers. They will then break into smaller groups to interview one another and try to complete as many prompts as possible. Things conclude with the group coming back together to share what they learned about their teammates and their thoughts on the experience.
Virtual Game Show: the Ultimate Quiz Showdown
- About: This quiz showdown is a Jeopardy-style trivia game that tests participants' knowledge of topics like science, history, and literature. Held in a convenient virtual format, this game is excellent for fans of the show or colleagues looking for a bit of friendly competition.
- Length: Up to 1-hour
- Group Size: Up to 100 people
- What You’ll Do: This game follows the format of the popular show and takes players through rounds of trivia with a game board filled with clues. Correct answers will help teams accumulate points, and the group with the most points at the end of the game will be named the quiz showdown champions!
A Guide to Understanding Virtual Team Building Games
When choosing a team experience for your group, it can be overwhelming to navigate through all of the different options available. Experiences can range from hands-on offerings like pottery throwing or a cooking class to games that require teams to work together to succeed. These can be anything from creative thinking-based challenges like team brick building to beating the clock in a high-stakes escape room. Here’s a quick guide to team building games as a whole and tips for integrating the right activity into your group's work schedule to make sure it’s impactful.
How to Choose the Right Game for Your Team
Choosing the right game for your team is a process best achieved by taking some time to think about your group and the types of activities they enjoy most. With this, it’s also important to look at areas of their performance that could benefit from professional development such as a boost in morale or improved collaboration skills between teams. Planning and taking time to ensure both of these elements are incorporated into the game you choose is a practical way to select the activity that will leave a lasting impression on your group.
Evaluate Team Dynamics
Team dynamics are an integral factor when it comes to finding team-driven activities for development. This is a term that encompasses many elements, including how employees communicate with one another and those outside of their direct group, collaboration within departments, and how each member handles conflict. For example, there are specific activities like Pictionary or trivia where individuals have to put aside any personal differences to achieve goals as a team. These experiences can help any type of group build stronger communication and collaboration skills.
Competitive Vs. Collaborative Games
When choosing games for a team, especially a large or remote workforce, the question of whether the game should be competitive or more collaborative is going to come up. It may not seem like it on the surface, but there are significant differences between the two that can impact the team building efforts. When you choose a competitive type of game, it opens the door to rivalry, which can help with things like motivation and inspiring your team to do their best. On the other hand, competitive games can sometimes cause tension between players, especially if there are already existing conflicts. In this case, collaborative games may be more appropriate, as they focus on healthy teamwork.
Team Size and Location
Does your team all work together in the same office, or do you have members spread out in different areas? Both large and small teams can benefit from choosing virtual games that accommodate remote participants, as this is a great way to make sure that each member of your group feels valued regardless of their work environment. Most team building games are flexible, meaning they can be customized to meet your unique needs when it comes to scheduling, time zones, and total number of participants. Larger teams should choose games that offer an option to break out into mini-groups so that everyone has a chance to participate, while smaller teams can opt for nearly any type of game that promotes bonding.
Balancing Fun and Professional Development
One key way to try and balance fun and professional development is by choosing games that offer both skill-building elements and entertainment. This can help those who may not be open to this type of professional development feel more willing to participate. Choosing games that have a balance between intention and fun can also make the entire experience less like a work requirement and more like a casual activity with friends. It’s important that each participant is open to learning and getting the most out of the experience, whether that be strengthening their skills or bonding with teammates. It can be helpful to choose educational content with fun gameplay, like strategy activities or hands-on workshops, to create an encouraging team culture.
Tips to Integrate Team Building into Work Schedules
If your team is new to having these activities integrated into their schedules or you are struggling with engagement during these events, there are some things you can do to make the process smoother for everyone. Consider trying these tips when scheduling your team’s next event:
Set Clear Expectations
It’s important that each member of your team understands the purpose of team building and how it can affect not only their work but the group’s dynamics as a whole. When you clearly communicate expectations and plans, each team member will know what to expect and eliminate any confusion about the process. Many times, it’s just the unknown that causes people to feel reluctant to get involved with new things. By setting clear expectations, you can create a welcoming environment where your team feels comfortable to participate.
Repeat Successful Events
If you’ve held team games in the past that resonated with your group and had a positive outcome, consider hosting the same event again or put a fun twist on it to make it somewhat new. Familiarity with a well-liked event can boost engagement, as individuals are more likely to participate in something they associate with good memories. This is also an excellent opportunity to build on the skills worked on during these games for a continued cycle of growth and development.
Create a Consistent Schedule
Establishing a set schedule for these activities can help integrate them seamlessly into your team’s workflow. Try to decide whether you want to host the games on a monthly or quarterly basis and then keep it consistent so that it’s easier for everyone to prepare. Having events on a set schedule can also help keep your team motivated and engaged, as they will have something fun to look forward to that can break up the monotony of daily tasks.
Consider Extra Prizes
Most team games hosted through a trusted provider will clearly state whether or not all the materials needed to participate will be provided. However, including extra rewards like gift cards or extra time off can add an extra layer of excitement to the activity and may encourage more people to get involved. The prizes are more than just showcasing game winners; they symbolize acknowledgment of their effort and communicate that they are valued members of your team.
How to Measure the Impact of Team Building Efforts
Measuring the impact of your team building efforts requires a strategic approach and a willingness to listen to employees' feelings on the matter. Nearly 53% of remote workers find it hard to connect to their coworkers, which can lead to decreased engagement and overall dissatisfaction in their role. It can be challenging to determine exactly where to start when it comes to measuring how successful a team activity was, but there are some factors you can analyze to gauge effectiveness.
Start by looking at key metrics like absenteeism rates and overall productivity both before and after hosting these events. A noticeable drop in attendance issues or higher engagement can show that the event had a lasting impact on your team. Another overlooked way to determine how much your team liked a certain team building game is to ask them directly. This can be in the form of a quick employee survey or even a one-to-one meeting. Their feedback is what you can use to determine what’s working well and areas for improvement.
Future Trends for Virtual Team Building Activities
As remote work continues to grow in popularity, the prominence and importance of team building will continue to evolve. This is necessary to combat the challenges of managing a remote or hybrid staff and can help reduce the likelihood of future issues arising. For example, a 2025 HR Trends survey found that nearly 65% of employees are suffering from burnout, a concern in environments where boundaries between work and personal life are blurred.
In an effort to combat this for workers, companies are focusing on wellness-centered team building activities to alleviate stress and create a sense of connection for their staff. Popular wellness events can include group stretching, peaceful meditation sessions, or decompression exercises, all designed to keep your team feeling balanced and harmonious. These types of activities can reduce stress and shine a light on the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Add in the benefit of going through the experience as a team, and it’s clear these activities are great for both individual well-being and professional development.