You found our list of games to play at work with coworkers.
Games to play at work are activities that bring your coworkers together to have fun and bond. Examples include Guess the Baby, Circles and Shapes, and The Story Game. The purpose of these games is to boost employee morale, foster camaraderie, and help workers have fun outside of work.
This article is similar to fun office games to play at work, competitive team games, team challenges, office challenges, and team building exercises. These ideas are methods of improving cooperation in the workplace.
This article contains:
- games to play at work with coworkers online
- games to play at lunch with coworkers
- board games to play at work with coworkers
- games to play with coworkers on teams
- games to play with colleagues at work
Here we go!
List of games to play at work with coworkers
Any group of coworkers, new or old, may benefit from playing these games as icebreaker activities. Likewise, your staff will enjoy these activities and leave feeling like they know each other better.
1. Cubicle Mini Golf
Cubicle Mini Golf brings a playful twist to the office environment by turning it into a miniature golf course! Coworkers design and set up creative holes using office supplies as obstacles and challenges. Employees take turns putting their golf balls through the course, aiming for the holes in the fewest strokes possible. This game adds an element of fun and competition to the workspace. Additionally, this game encourages colleagues to think creatively about their surroundings and collaborate on designing imaginative golf holes.
2. Circles and Shapes
To play “Circles and Shapes,” you will need at least four coworkers and a long string. You will make a massive circle by tying the ends of the strings together and having all players stand within it. The players will pick up the string and try to make various forms with it, including a square, an infinity sign, or a triangle. Employees must then reposition themselves while still hanging onto the string to manipulate it into the desired shape. You may increase the game’s difficulty by blindfolding the players or limiting their ability to communicate with specific players.
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3. Desk Origami Competition
The Desk Origami Competition combines creativity and precision into one fun game. Coworkers engage in a friendly contest to create intricate origami designs using common office supplies like paper, sticky notes, and paperclips. Participants follow origami instructions or come up with their own designs to fold and sculpt unique creations. From cranes to modular designs, this game encourages participants to show off their artistic skills. Desk Origami is a relaxing way to foster a sense of achievement and mindfulness amid the busy workday.
4. Guess the Workspace
Guess the Workspace challenges coworkers to test their observation skills and knowledge of their colleagues’ offices. The game involves taking close-up or unique photos of various workspaces or cubicles around the office. Participants then must identify whose workspace is in each photo. This game encourages coworkers to pay attention to their surroundings and promotes a deeper understanding of each other’s work habits and preferences. This game is a lighthearted way to spark conversations about how folks personalize their workspaces.
5. Guess the Baby
If you are considering games to play with colleagues at work, then Guess the Baby is a great choice. Each participant will provide a photo of themselves as a baby. Then, employees view the pictures and try to match the infant image with the correct coworker. This game is great since it facilitates lighthearted, pleasant talk between coworkers and allows them to discover fascinating information about their childhoods.
6. Spaceteam
Spaceteam is one of the games to play at work with coworkers online. We have seen some wild collaborative games on mobile apps, but Spaceteam takes the cake. Spaceteam is the perfect game if you like yelling at your coworkers while collaborating for survival.
In a Spaceteam game, players shout bizarre commands like “honk the Space Horn” and “set the Chemical Quartz to 2.” Then, once in a while, players will abruptly tilt or shake their phones at the same moment. The goal is to cooperate to prevent imminent death.
The game’s aim is to keep your spacecraft operational, yet each of you has command over a particular section of the ship. Even more confusingly, instructions for modifying settings and hitting buttons suddenly appear on random players’ phones, with no clear indication of who is in charge. Players can only hope that the remainder of the gang hears them shouting this warning and avoids a catastrophic collision by doing so themselves.
The stakes may be high, but the payoff is worthwhile if you and your coworkers learn to communicate effectively under a time constraint and get a deeper mutual understanding of one another.
Check out Spaceteam.
7. Daredevil
Two teams compete against one another in an easy-to-understand yet challenging game. Each group has one blindfolded member. The unmasked team member must follow the group’s directions to locate and gather items from the field. Effective communication and mutual trust are essential to winning.
How to play:
- First, prepare a play space by placing various items around it, such as water bottles, shoes, and books. The items must be distinct enough so players can tell them apart only by touching them.
- Then, put a big basket in the middle of the court.
- Afterward, sort the team into two groups and put in at least twice as many props as there are players per team.
- Next, the teams will group up at opposing ends of the playing area.
- Each team volunteer will wear a blindfold, and their group will announce an item randomly from the play.
The blindfolded volunteers have two to three minutes to collect their team’s items and place them in a central basket. Since the player cannot see or ask questions, they must depend only on the guidance of their comrades. No one on your team can call the item by name. Instead, the team must specify the object’s size, shape, and function, then show the volunteer how to insert the item into the basket. The winning team is the one that puts most things into the basket first.
Given the importance of following verbal directions, this game fosters communication skills. Leadership and decision-making skills are also required, as teams must select who will take the initiative to volunteer and provide guidance.
Check out more communication games.
8. The Story Game
To play The Story Game, employees sit in a circle with blank paper and a pen or pencil. Then, each participant comes up with the opening line of a story. As soon as every participant in the circle has a sentence written, they should transfer their papers to the person on their right so that they may continue the story. Next, continue adding sentences as you pass the papers around the group until every player has their original paper back. Participants can then read the results out loud.
9. Paper Plane Race
To prepare for the Paper Plane Race, tell every participant to scrounge together everything they need from their desks to make a paper aircraft. Participants will fold any paper, such as printer paper or notebook paper, into a paper airplane. Once every participant has made a jet, they compete to see who can go the furthest by throwing their planes and recording the distance they landed. Players whose paper aircraft fly the furthest should get a reward after the game.
10. Artistic Renditions
Artistic Renditions is a creative and collaborative game. During this challenge, coworkers transform their workspaces into miniature art galleries. Participants select a famous piece of art or iconic image and construct it using only the office supplies on hand. The goal is to recreate the artwork so colleagues can recognize it. After artists finish their creations, coworkers can walk through the office and guess which piece of art folks recreated. As an added bonus, you can have players write their guesses down and award a prize to the artist with the most accurate artwork! From Post-it Note mosaics to paperclip sculptures, this game fosters creative thinking, teamwork, and a shared appreciation for art.
11. Guess My Name
This game is common, and the more participants, the better. Guess My Name involves assigning each participant the name of a famous person, living or dead, and having them wear the name somewhere visible to the other participants, like their backs or heads. Index cards or Post-it notes might work well for this exercise.
After every group member has a name, the participants mix and mingle, treating their colleagues as they would treat the person whose name is on their card. Players can also ask different questions until they figure out their secret identity.
Guess My Name has little strategic depth or competitive potential. Instead, the game is a simple exercise in empathy, a necessary component of any thriving workplace culture, that gives employees a taste of what it is like to get someone else’s treatment for a particular day.
12. Steal a Glimpse
Steal a Glimpse is what happens when you combine Pictionary with a memory game. The players divide into groups of at least four and take turns replicating an item from memory. An employee acting as the game’s leader will design an object or structure out of construction materials like LEGOs, clay, and building blocks. Then, one team member will get ten seconds to “steal a glimpse” of the now-hidden structure and report back to their respective teams with as much detail as possible to replicate the design.
Whether it be LEGOs, clay, or other construction materials, every group has the resources they need to create. If the replica is not finished after one minute, another player from each group takes a quick glimpse at the item the game leader is guarding for ten seconds before returning with more instructions.
This process continues until one team is satisfied that they have successfully replicated the item. This exercise aims to see which group can recreate the item first. This game gives team members experience in project management and demonstrates how to complete tasks using information from various sources. The game is a great approach to test your team’s knowledge and discover who can remember the most information.
13. The “Suddenly” Tale
Anyone who has ever told a tale around a campfire has probably done their version of The “Suddenly” Story. You can think of this exercise as a team-building version of a pick-your-own-adventure novel. In contrast, you add different scenarios. Besides telling the story, the tale comes together from your colleagues’ creative and humorous imaginations. This activity is one of the games to play with coworkers on teams.
You may tell the “Suddenly” Tale by sitting in a circle with your team and taking turns sharing the first three lines of a story on any subject. After saying three sentences, say “Suddenly…” and the colleague sitting next to you will continue from where you stopped.
The player will add another three before saying, “Suddenly…” The plot can change direction whenever the word “suddenly” is used. It is the responsibility of the next participant in line to decide how that story plays out. Teams can use the “Suddenly” Tale to think of methods to expand upon already established material and come up with fresh ideas as fast as possible. The event is an excellent way to get a good chuckle out of your team during your next work social event.
14. Concentration
This activity offers a modern take on the classic game show from the ’60s. In the original version of the game, titled “Concentration,” there is a board with 30 numbered tiles, and each tile had a matching tile on another part of the board. The tiles match and have similar prizes at their backs.
As the game progresses and players reveal more tiles, players may choose tiles they were certain would pair up and earn the corresponding reward. Companies, particularly their marketing teams, may have a blast by printing their logos, slogans, and business names on the back of their own tiles and challenging participants to find all of the matching pieces.
You can use this game to test employees’ familiarity with the firm by listing goods, workers, and positions on the back of the tile. Concentration is one of the board games to play at work with coworkers.
15. Jigsaw Puzzle Race
Putting together a jigsaw puzzle by yourself might be a time-consuming task. However, if you are deliberating on team social events for work, you can have your colleagues work on a jigsaw puzzle as a fun problem-solving event. Dividing the workforce into teams for a series of puzzles is a certain way to get the workplace buzzing with excitement and an actual test of collaboration. This puzzle race is one of the games to play at lunch with coworkers.
To spice up your weekend, get a few sets of identical puzzles and race to see which group can finish theirs first. You should ensure that each group has an equal number of players and choose an appropriate puzzle size based on the team’s size.
16. Catch Phrase
Team members take turns explaining words or phrases to one another without actually using the words or phrases themselves in this popular party game. Words might refer to well-known people or phrases, or they can refer to commonplace items about the home.
For instance, if the catchphrase is “needle,” the player may give the team a hint like “a pointed item used in sewing.” Playing Catch Phrase may help your staff bond and learn to communicate more effectively with one another. You can play by using the game cards or writing several phrases or words on paper slips.
17. Impromptu Office Auction
Impromptu Office Auction turns the office into a vibrant auction house! During this game, hosts will give coworkers a set amount of play money they can use to bid on a collection of small and fun office items. Items could range from quirky office supplies to delicious treats. As the auctioneer presents each item, participants will bid against each other to buy their desired object. This game brings a touch of entertainment and spontaneity to the office. Additionally, this activity is a unique way for coworkers to bond over friendly competition and shared interests.
Conclusion
Playing some lighthearted workplace games together may be a great way to boost morale and encourage employee communication. Great teams are the bedrock upon which a thriving corporate culture is buildable. However, a team’s performance can only reach its full potential if its members share a remarkable level of trust and camaraderie.
However, such connections are less likely to form naturally and without any preceding team engagement activities and some fun. In today’s fast-paced business environment, it may be challenging for new and existing team members to integrate successfully. Playing fun games with coworkers is a great way to break the ice and get to know one another.
For more ideas, check out these lists of large group icebreaker games, connection games, relationship-building games, and problem-solving games.
