Team building games are the fun activities or tasks that people tend to participate in and perform so as to improve their interpersonal skills as well as relationships with the peers. Team building skills are a set of skills that help an individual improve his/her ability to work with his/her peers in an effective manner. Team building games help lighten up the work culture, reduce stress and anxiety levels, enhance productivity, maintain positive emotionality, encourage creativity, etc. Also, playing team building games is advantageous as it helps easily resolve the conflicts (if any) between the members and helps them get to know each other better.
Examples of Team Building Games for Adults
There are numerous games that a person can play with his/her peers to gain certain team-building skills. Some of the examples of such games are listed below:
1. Birthday Challenge
The birthday challenge game is one of the best examples of the games that people can play to enhance their interpersonal relationships and gain certain team-building skills. The rules to playing a birthday challenge game are quite simple. The players playing the game are required to form a straight line according to their birthdates or birth months without verbally talking to each other. This particular game helps the players get to know each other and strengthen their bonding.
2. Balance the Ball
A balance ball is generally played among a group of five to ten players. Initially, the players playing the game tend to form a straight line in an open space. The players must stand close to each other so that a basketball can properly be fitted between the chest of one player and the back of the player standing adjacently to the are required to hold a basketball in such a way that none of the players touches the ball with their hands
3. Bounce into Conversation
To play a bounce into conversation game, the players are divided into multiple teams. Each team participating in the game has two players. Each team is provided with two basketballs. The main objective of the game is to perform double dribbling of the basketballs while running from starting point to the endpoint.
4. Two Truths and One Lie
A two truths and one lie game is one of the best examples of indoor team-building games that a player can play with his/her players. As the name itself suggests, two truths and one lie game is a guessing game that makes use of two statements that are factually correct and one statement that is incorrect or factually wrong. Each player playing the game is required to step out and state two true and one false fact about himself/herself to his/her peers without mentioning which of the statements is true or false. The rest of the players are required to guess the false statement and provide the collective analysis. The first player then
5. Blindfolded Shooting
A blindfolded shooting game is one of the prominent examples of team building games and exercises
that are suitable for adults. A blindfolded shooting is game is usually played on a basketball court. The players playing the blindfolded shooting game are generally required to randomly form groups with their peers. Each group must have at least two and at max four players. The game tends to strengthen the player’s verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills and improve the understanding between the players. One player out of each team is blindfolded and handed over with a basketball. The blindfolded players of each team step forward one by one and try to score a basket. The rest players or the members of the team are required to guide the blindfolded player about the direction and position of the basket. The main objective of the game is to perfectly land the basketball into the basket with the collective efforts of all the players playing the game.
6. Relay Race
A relay race is yet another example of the games that people can play to improve their bonding with peers and to enhance their physical as well as mental health. A relay race is a competitive racing game that is generally played among two to three groups. Each group or team participating in the relay race game has two to four players. The game is generally played on a playing ground or a running track field. The main aim of the game is to complete the laps of the ground as fast as possible while circulating the relay with the team members after the completion of each lap or revolution around the racing field or the ground boundary. One prime rule of the game is that the relay must not fall on the ground. Any team that tends to drop the relay on the ground for more than three-time tends to score a negative point and gets disqualified from the contest. The game helps the players learn the importance of team management and the significance of teamwork.
7. Swift Swap
A swift swap is one of the best examples of fun team building games that people can play with each other to get to know each other and build a strong bond with fellow members. A swift swap game can be played among twenty to thirty players. The participants of the game are initially divided into two groups and are asked to stand along two separate straight lines facing each other. All the members of both teams are then asked to observe each other for ten to fifteen seconds. After the observation time period runs out, the members of one team turn around and close their eyes for twenty to thirty seconds. Meanwhile, the opposite team members exchange ten to twelve things about themselves. The changes may include exchanging a bracelet, a watch, or any other piece of jewellery with a peer, replacing the previous hairstyle with a new one, Swapping clothing with each other, changing places with a team member, etc. After the timer times up, the first team turns back to face their opposite team players and begin to guess all the changes that have been made. After pointing out all the identified changes, the same process gets repeated for the other team. At the end of the game, the game that has identified the maximum number of changes made by the opposite players is declared the winner of the game. The game also helps improve the player’s ability to focus, concentrate, and enhances his/her observation skills.
8. Who am I?
To play a “who am I?” game, the players or the participants of the game write one basic trait of a person on a piece of paper and stick it to the back of the concerned person. For instance, the traits or the characteristics may include confidence, helpful, hardworking, punctual, etc. The players then randomly roam inside the playing area while asking their peers to give them a clue regarding their trait that is mentioned on their back. The main rule of the game is that the players can only seek the hints indirectly. As soon as a person correctly identifies the characteristic mentioned on the paper attached to his/her back, he/she is allowed to leave the room. The game helps the players get to know themselves and each other better. Also, playing the “Who am I?” game helps a player improve his/her verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills, patience, understanding, coordination, and teamwork ability.
9. All Together
All together is a simple team-building game that can be played as a game for a pair of participants as well as among multiple pairs of participants as a competitive game. To play the game the players are asked to randomly form a pair with their peers. The pairs are then asked to sit on the ground in such a way that their arms are interlocked and their backs are joined together. When the host asks the players to stand, the players are required to fulfil the command as quickly as possible without letting their posture get altered. If a team member falls on the ground, the team gets disqualified. Also, verbal communication between the players is not allowed during the game. The host of the game repeats the sit and stand instructions over and again. The team that manages to follow the instructions till the end of the game and is left after all the other teams get disqualified is declared the winner of the game. The game helps a player significantly improve his/her reflexes, concentration power, decision-making ability, coordination, and collaboration.
10. Blind Draw
To play a blind draw game the players tend to form a straight line. Each player is handed over with a piece of white chart paper or a drawing sheet. Every player places his/her paper or sheet on the back of the player standing in front. The player standing at the end of the line is known as the artist of the game. The artist begins to draw an object, a scenery, or a figure on the piece of paper step by step. The player standing ahead the artist player tries to guess and imitate the pattern that he/she chooses to draw. Similarly, the player standing at the other positions take the movement of the player standing beside them as a reference to make their art piece. At the end of the game, the pictures drawn by all the players are compared and analysed. The blind draw game helps a player improve his/her bonding, understanding, and coordination with peers. The game also helps the player understand the significance of teamwork and time management.
11. Earth Ball
An earth ball is a ball game that is generally played in an open space such as a park or a playground. The main purpose of playing the earth ball game is to keep a ball in the air with the help of only a specified number of hits. Also, one of the prime rules of the earth ball game is that all the players can only hit the ball once. For instance, suppose a team consists of ten players. Then, such a team is provided with ten chances, i.e., one chance for each individual to hit the ball and make it stay in the air.
If the ball drops to the ground
12. Human Shapes
To play a human shapes team-building game, the participants or the players are broadly divided into two to three groups each having six to twelve participants. The players of the first team are asked to creatively transform their body postures in the shape of alphabets, letters, or characters of a language. The participants then are required to form groups with each other and make up a meaningful word. To increase the difficulty level of the game, the participants are further asked to align themselves along a straight line in such a way that the arrangement of the alphabets and words represented by them leads to the formation of a meaningful sentence. The host of the game or the team members of the opposite teams attempts to guess the word or the phrase formed by the members of the first team. If the players of the second team manage to guess the word or the phrase correctly, they get rewarded with a game point. The same procedure of the game then gets repeated for the other teams participating in the game. The game helps enhance the player’s creativity, logical thinking ability, problem-solving skills, pattern-matching capability, and coordination. Also, the players playing the human shapes game tend to improve their interpersonal bonding.
13. Photo-Shoot
A photo-shoot game is one of the best examples of team-building games and exercises that adults can practice to enhance their interpersonal relationships, lighten up the mood, and build skills. Such games serve to be a great source of relaxation and enjoyment, therefore can be used as a stress-relieving activity. To play the photoshoot game, the players are randomly divided into multiple groups. Each group must contain at least two and at max five participants. The first step of playing the photo-shoot game is to draft a list of the tasks that each team wants their enemy team to fulfil for winning the game. The tasks on the list are generally constraint to the names of the objects or scenarios that the team members need to capture on their cameras. The tasks of a photo-shoot game may include pictures of a swimming pool, a half-cut apple, a person with goggles on, a person cooking food, etc. The teams then exchange their task lists and begin to click the pictures as indicated. The team that finishes the tasks on the list first and reach the start point of the game in minimum time tends to win the game. One can easily learn about the significance of teamwork and task distribution by playing a photo-shoot game.
14. Human Spring
A human spring game is a trust-building game that is generally played as a competitive game between multiple pairs of participants. The pairs are required to stand face to face close to each other with their arms raised above their heads and palms forward facing each other. When the host announces the start of the game, the players begin to lean towards their partners, hold their positions once their hands meet, maintain balance, and give a gentle push to each other to return to their initial positions. After reaching the initial position, both the players move a little back and perform the routine again. The main objective of the game is to increase the gap between the initial positions of the players as much as possible. At the end of the game, the pair that has the maximum distance between each other is declared the winner of the game. The human spring game helps the players build trust in each other and enhances their interpersonal relationships. Also, the game is a great example of a game that can be played to perform stretching and improve body flexibility.
15. Shoe Scrambler
To play a shoe scrambler game, the players are randomly divided into two or more teams. The members of all the teams are required to take off their shoes and drop them in a basket. The basket of the shoes is then shaken up to properly mix up the shoes. All the participants take their positions and form a straight line a few meters away from the basket of shoes. One member from each team comes forward towards the shoe basket, looks for his/her pair of shoes, wears them, and returns back to his/her position. After reaching the initial position, the player says ‘Go’ and gives a hi-five to the next team member. The next player repeats the process. Likewise, the same game sequence gets repeated over and over for all the team members. The first team whose all members manage to finish the task of sorting and wearing their shoes first is declared the winner of the game. The game helps people improve their coordination, observation skills, and ability to quickly respond to situations. Shoe scrambler is one of the best examples of the games that people can play at their workplaces to have fun and lighten up the mood.
16. Zombie Escape
A zombie escape is yet another example of the fun team building games that adults can play to improve their interpersonal relationships as well as to develop certain personality enhancement skills. To play a zombie escape game, the participants are broadly categorized into two groups, i.e., the zombies and the humans. The game is generally played inside a locked room. The key required to open the locked door of the room is hidden within the playroom itself. The participants that play the role of humans are required to work together and look for the clues that guide them towards the location of the key; meanwhile, the participants that play the role of the zombies try to infect as many humans as possible by attaching a sticky tag on their forehead. If the humans manage to find the key in time, they win the game. Likewise, if the zombies succeed in infecting all the humans, they are declared winners of the game. The game helps the players understand the significance of teamwork and task distribution. Certain personality enhancement skills that a person can develop by learning the zombie escape game include logical and critical thinking, decision-making ability, observation skills, coordination, collaboration, etc. To enhance the game experience, the ambience or the environment of the game can be modified by adjusting the light settings to low or dim, introducing shrill and noisy sound effects in the room, adding distractions such as a flickering light, etc.
17. Paper Plane Contest
A paper plane contest is a simple and fun game that players can play as a team-building exercise or activity. To play a paper plane contest game, the participants are divided into multiple groups of two to four players. Each group is handed over with a bunch of paper sheets. The players or the members of each team are required to make paper planes. When all the teams are ready with their paper planes, one member from each team comes forward and releases the paper plane towards the finish line. The team whose paper plane flies the farthest is declared the winner of the game. To increase the complexity level of the game, the players are also asked to think of a theme, a slogan, and a logo that represents their team and decorate the planes accordingly.
18. Bob the Builder
To play a bob the builder game, the players are required to form a group of three to five participants. The participants of each team stand along a straight line. The adjacent players have a few feet gap between them. All the players are provided with paper cups. When the host announces the start of the game, the first player begins to make the base layer of the pyramid by laying out the paper cups along a straight line on flat cardboard. The second player and the first player then hold the cardboard from the edges and take it to the second player’s position. If the cups fall off or get dislocated from their position, the players stop and rearrange the cups. After reaching the second player’s position, the second player adds another layer of paper cups over the base layer. The third player and the second player then hold the baseboard of the pyramid and take it to the third player’s position. The third player adds the next layer of the pyramid to the base structure and the same procedure goes on and on till the structure reaches the last player’s position. Finally, all the players or the participants of the game take the properly constructed paper cup pyramid to the finish line of the game. The team that makes up the pyramid structure first and places it to the endpoint of the game is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their ability to focus and concentrate. One can also develop patience by playing the bob the builder game. Also, the bob the builder game provides the players with the opportunity to improve their teamwork ability, coordination, collaboration, interpersonal relations, and understanding. ]
19. Sneak a Peek
A sneak a peek game is a team building game that is generally played as a competition or a challenge among two to four individual teams. Each team participating in the sneak a peek game consists of two to four members. Before the game begins, the host of the game constructs a structure with the help of the lego blocks or other game objects and stores it in a location that is not directly accessible to the players. One player from each team is allowed to take a look at the structure for 25 seconds after every ten minutes. The player who sneaks the peek then returns to his/her team members and describe the characteristics such as colour, shape, size, etc. of the structure to them. The team members then attempt to reconstruct a new structure that looks exactly like the reference structure with the help of the lego blocks or other game objects provided to them. At the end of the game, the team that owns the structure having a maximum resemblance to the reference structure is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their team-building skills, concentration, observation skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, mutual understanding, and creative thinking ability.
20. Last 30 Seconds
A last 30 seconds game is one of the best examples of team building games that help people to open up and get to know each other better. The game also helps the players develop an understanding and respect for each other’s viewpoints, opinions, and beliefs. To play the game, the players are asked to sit comfortably and close their eyes. The host of the game sets a one-minute timer on the clock and asks the participants to think of some of the best moments that they have lived to date. Thirty seconds later, the host asks the participants to narrow down their list of life’s best moments to one moment that they would want to relive in the last thirty seconds of their life. When the timer goes off, the host asks the players one by one to share the moments that they want to relive during the last thirty seconds of their lives with the rest of the team members. The game helps people gain positive emotionality, develop empathy, and improve their perspective towards life. Also, the game helps people take a look at each other’s personalities, passions, and desires to build a strong emotional bond.
21. Triangle Turn
To play a triangle turn game, all the players except one player are required to assemble and stand in an open space in the shape of a triangle. The left-out player is required to stand in the middle of the triangle shape formed by the players and is known as the spinner. The spinner is free to move inside the triangle, while the positions and the places of the rest of the players are fixed. The players are required to remember their positions with respect to the spinner as well as according to each other. When the host announces the start of the game, the spinner begins to spin and move randomly. The spinner then stops at a random position. The players are required to quickly align themselves and take the same positions that they had before the spinner began to move in a given amount of time. The host verifies the positioning of the players. If the players manage to reconstruct the exact formation, they are declared the winner of the game. The game helps players improve their sense of direction, collaboration, teamwork ability, coordination, information retaining capacity, and communication skills.
22. Hear Me Out
A hear me out game is yet another example of team-building games that people can play to mainly improve their listening skills. To play the game, one of the team members is provided with a document and is asked to read it aloud to the rest of the team members. The document consists of a number of phrases, dialogues, and slogans; however, the player must follow a monotonous manner of speech while reading the document. The rest of the participants are provided with paper sheets and pens. The players other than the reader are required to note down all the important points that they hear in the document and try to guess the plot of the document. At the end of the game, all the players share their experiences related to the document and try to guess the correct plot of the document. The host of the game asks all the members to have a discussion and reach a conclusion regarding the plot of the document. If the players manage to guess the plot of the document correctly, the challenge is marked accomplished. This particular game helps the players improve their communication skills, understanding, coordination, collaboration, memorising and information retaining capacity, teamwork ability, etc.
23. Perfect Question
A perfect question game serves to be a classic example of the fun team building games that helps all the players playing the game improve their critical thinking and logical reasoning ability. To play the perfect question game, two to four participants are grouped together. After forming teams, all the members take their respective places in the playing area. The host of the game selects one player from each team and assigns a role or a task to him/her. The roles assigned to the players may include the role of a soldier, a single parent, prime minister of the nation, a teenager, a monk, etc. The main objective of the game is to check the capability of the player and prove him/her to be the best fit for the role or the task assigned to him/her. For this purpose, the team members are required to ask the player a question that he/she must answer wisely as per the psychology of the person whose role is assigned to him/her. One main rule to remember while playing the perfect question game is that each team gets a single chance to question their player, hence they must work together, conduct group discussions, and select the most appropriate question that can be asked. After analysing the questions and responses of all the teams, the host of the game declares the team with the most appropriate question and response as the winner of the game. The players are able to learn the significance of teamwork by playing the perfect question game. Also, the game helps improve the communication and understanding between the players, thereby improving their interpersonal bonding.
24. What’s in the Room
The rules to play a ‘what’s in the room’ game are quite simple. The players are required to randomly form groups of two or four players. The players then select a daily use object present in the room and draft a detailed marketing strategy and product report to sell it. The team members are required to work together and draft a slogan, a logo, and a brand name for their products in a given amount of time. When the timer goes off, the players are required to submit their proposals to the judges and give a small presentation describing the highlight features of their products. The judges then assign game points to all the teams participating in the game on the basis of the product selection, the research done by the team members, the presentation content, the communication skills of the presenter, etc. At the end of the game, the team with the highest points is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players understand and acknowledge the skills and expertise of their peers in various domains, thereby allowing them to build a strong interpersonal bond and improve their interpersonal relationships.
25. Let Us Guess
Let us guess the game is quite similar to that of a dumb charades game. The only difference is that in a let us guess game, the players are required to guess the names of daily use objects and not the names of movies. To play the let us guess game, the participants are divided into two groups with each group having two to six players. When the host announces the start of the game, one player from both teams is required to come forward and volunteer for the game task. Both the players give each other a random object present in the playing area and stand away from the rest of the players. The players must not be able to look at the object held by the volunteers. When the host signals the start of the game, one by one both the volunteers are required to come forward, stand in front of their team, and try to describe the name and use of the object with the help of non-verbal communication methods, i.e., by using hand gestures and body language. The team that manages to guess the name of the game object in minimum time or within a limited number of guesses is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the participants improve their communication skills, interpersonal bonding, understanding, and teamwork ability. The complexity of the game can be increased by assigning rarely used objects to each other that are difficult to guess and describe. Also, the game helps enhance the participant’s creativity, logical thinking ability, decision-making capability, and spontaneity.
26. Classify This
A classify this game is one of the best examples of team building games and brainstorming activities that adults can practice to improve their critical and logical thinking ability. To play the ‘classify this’ game, the players are required to make two groups of five to ten members. Each team is required to give 20-25 daily use objects to the opposite team. These objects may include tissue, pencil, pen, plant, jewellery, diary, chocolate, etc. Both the teams are then provided with a pen and a piece of paper. When the host signals the start of the game, the teams begin to work together and group the available items into four broad categories. The prime rule of the game is that each category must have two or more objects in it and the name of the same product must not appear in more than one list. The team that finishes the classification of all the assigned game objects first is declared winner of the game. The game helps the players learn the technique of segregation and classification in a fun and easy manner. Also, the players are able to gain various skills such as collaboration, teamwork ability, spontaneity, decision-making ability, and task categorisation by playing the let us guess game.
27. Blind Wine Waiter
A blind wine waiter game is one of the best examples of team building games that help the players gain leadership and teamwork skills. To play the game, the participants are grouped into teams of five members. Four members of each team play the role of waiters, while one player tends to play the role of leader. The leader is required to sit on a chair with his/her hands tied, while the waiters are required to be blindfolded. The main objective of the game is to pour the leader a glass of wine and make him/her drink it. The main rule of the game is that the waiters are not allowed to remove their blindfolds and the leader is not allowed to use his/her hands throughout the game. The game objects, i.e., the bottle of wine, wine glasses, and corkscrew are placed at distinct places in the playing area. The leader is required to guide the waiters towards the game objects one by one. The game can be divided into four main tasks, i.e., fetching the bottle of wine, locating the corkscrew and opening the bottle, locating the wine glass and pouring the wine, and serving the wine to the leader. Each waiter is required to choose the task before the game begins and perform it in the minimum possible time. The waiters cannot exchange the tasks during the game, cannot use both hands to complete the tasks, and are not allowed to perform more than one task. The leader tends to provide verbal instructions to the players. The team that tends to perform the task in minimum time is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their interpersonal bonding and trust by playing the blind wine waiter game. Also, the game helps the players build certain personality development skills such as verbal and non-verbal communication, patience, confidence, collaboration, attention to detail, observation, etc.
28. Tug of War
Tug of war is a prominent example of the fun team building games that are best suited for people of all ages including children as well as adults. To play the tug of war game, the players are broadly grouped into two teams. Both the teams must have an equal number of players. The players are then handed a long and thick jute rope that has a ribbon or a piece of fabric tied to it. The ribbon or the piece of the fabric indicates the central point of the rope. Before the game begins, the host of the game marks a straight line on the ground. Both the teams participating in the game are required to stand face to face along a straight line on the opposite sides of the line marked on the playing ground or the game court. The central part of the tug of war rope is held right above a marked line. When the host of the game announces the start of the game, the team members of both the teams begin to pull the rope so as to draw the ribbon towards their side. The team that manages to completely pull the ribbon part of the rope towards their side is declared the winner of the game. To win a tug of war competition, all the players of a team are required to put in their efforts in a coordinated and collaborative manner. Tug of war is a game that requires technique more than strength, which is why it serves to be a classic example of the activities that help a person understand the significance of teamwork.
29. Bonding Belt
A bonding belt is one of the best examples of team building games that help the players improve their interpersonal relationships and build trust in each other. To play the bonding belt game, the players or the participants are randomly grouped together to form multiple teams. The members of each team are tied together with the help of a large belt, rope, tape, or a piece of fabric. The teams are required to race each other and cover the distance from point A to point B. Point A and point B are defined by the host of the game and are known as the start and the endpoints of the game. Before the race begins, the players are allowed to conduct a group discussion for 5-10 minutes and form the strategy to effectively execute the task. When the host of the game announces the start of the game, the players are required to work in coordination and move from point A to point B. The team that manages to cover the distance in minimum time is declared the winner of the game. To increase the complexity of the game the number of laps required to finish the race can be increased, obstacles can be introduced in the pathway, and the players can be assigned other tasks such as singing while running between the start and the endpoints.
30. Memory Wall
A memory wall is basically a relationship-building and enhancement game that helps improve the interpersonal bonding between the players and aims at resolving the issues and conflicts between the players (if any). To play the memory wall game, the players are required to put up a large white chart paper or board in front of all the players. Each player participating in the game is provided with a marker and a piece of paper or stick notes. The players are required to write down the significant topics or the themes related to their lives on a piece of paper and stick it onto the board. The themes or the topics may include my first pet, my first day at the office, my favourite vacation spot, etc. All the players then move past the board and write their memories according to the topic or the theme. This particular game helps the players get to know each other, enhances their trust, and creates a positive environment in the workplace.
31. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
A marshmallow spaghetti tower is one of the best examples of fun games that people of all ages can play together to improve their interpersonal bonding and trust. To play the game the participants are required to randomly form groups with their peers. Each group must have at least two to four players. The teams are provided with a packet of uncooked raw spaghetti and marshmallows. The main aim of the game is to form a tower or a structure with the help of marshmallows and spaghetti sticks in a given amount of time. When the timer goes off, the host of the game analyses the structures formed by all the teams and assigns game points to each team according to the structure’s build quality, stability, appearance, and resource utilization ability. The team that manages to score the maximum number of points is declared the winner of the game. A marshmallow spaghetti tower game helps the players improve their teamwork ability, coordination, collaboration, and various other team-building skills. One can also learn how to acknowledge each other’s opinions by playing such simple team building games.
32. Helium Hoop or Stick
A helium hoop or stick game is yet another example of the games that people can play to enhance their interpersonal relationships as well as their individual personalities. The game objects required to play the game include a hula hoop or a long stick. To play the helium hoop or stick game, the host of the game randomly divides the participants into multiple groups of two to five players. Each team is handed over with a hula hoop or a stick. The rules of the game are quite simple. The players are required to raise their hands above their heads and put the hoop or the stick on their index fingers. When the host announces the start of the game, the players are required to slowly lower their hands and put the hoop or the stick on the ground. Throughout the game, all the players are required to keep their fingers in contact with the hoop or the stick. Also, holding the game objects by grabbing or by curling the finger around leads to the disqualification of the team from the competition. The team that manages to lower the game object to the ground without letting it fall off in minimum time is declared the winner of the game. The game helps a person develop certain personality development skills such as teamwork, leadership, coordination, concentration, communication, trust, etc.
33. Scavenger Hunt
The scavenger hunt game is a classic example of team building fun games and activities that help a person build and strengthen his/her relations with peers. To play the scavenger hunt game, the players are required to randomly form two to four teams. Each team must contain at least two and at most six members. The host of the game drafts a list of the games, activities, and tasks that the players need to perform to win the game. To increase the complexity and the difficulty level of the game, the clues to locate the tasks and the activities are arranged in the form of riddles or puzzles. The team that manages to reach the endpoint of the game by completing all the tasks mentioned in the list first is declared the winner of the game. The scavenger hunt game presents the players with an amazing opportunity to analyse their strengths, weaknesses, qualities, talents, and various other traits. The game also helps the players to get to know each other better.
34. Four Way Tug of War
A four-way tug of war is quite similar to that of a tug of war competition. The only difference between the two games is the variation in the arrangement and orientation of the game equipment and teams. A tug of war game makes use of a single rope, while a four-way tug of war game requires at least five ropes to play the game. Before the game begins, the players are required to assemble the ropes in an ordered manner. For this purpose, initially, the players are required to form a loop by tying the ends of a rope together and attaching the rest four ropes to the loop at equal distances. The players of all the four teams participating in the game are required to hold one of the four ropes and take their respective positions in an open space such as a ground or a park. The initial position of the players is marked by drawing a line on the surface. When the host indicates the start of the game, all the players begin to pull the rope held by them towards their side. The main objective of the game is to pull the ropes and make the enemy players cross the line drawn ahead of them. At the end of the game, the team that manages to stay behind the line drawn in front of them while all the other teams get eliminated is declared the winner of the game. To win a four-way tug of war competition, the players are required to plan and form a strategy to eliminate the players one by one, hence playing a four-way tug of war game helps the players improve their critical and logical thinking abilities.
35. Balloon Questions
The main aim of playing the balloon questions game is to get to know each other better. The rules of the game are simple. Each player participating in the game is provided with a marker, a piece of paper, a balloon, and a piece of thread. The players are given five minutes to think of a question that they would like to know about their peer and write it down on a piece of paper. Then all the players are asked to put their chit in a balloon and blow the balloon up. Finally, the players are required to tie up the open end of the balloon with the help of a string and toss it up in the air. All the balloons are mixed up together and are placed in a room. After some time, the players are asked to randomly pick up a balloon and sit together in a circle. The players then take turns to pop up the balloons held by them, take the piece of paper out, and answer the question written on it. The game helps the players open up with each other and build trust.
36. Goodie Bag Skits
A goodie bag skit is a team-building game that is played in pairs of teams. Each team participating in the game has two to six members. The teams that get paired up are required to gather 10-12 daily use items for each other. All the teams are then required to form a short skit that includes all the goodies assigned to them in a given amount of time. The teams then present the skits to the judges. The judges assign game points as per the quality of scripting, presentation, dialogue delivery, the message, etc. At the end of the game, the team that has earned the maximum number of points is declared the winner of the game. This particular game helps the players improve their critical and logical thinking ability, decision-making skills, verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills, and enhances their creativity. Also, the game helps the players build certain team-building skills such as coordination, collaboration, teamwork, understanding, leadership, etc.
37. Human Knot
To play a human knot game, the players are required to stand in a circle facing each other. The host of the game asks all the players to extend their right arms forward and randomly hold the hand of any team member standing in the circle. After some time, the players tend to repeat the process with their left hands, thereby forming a complex human knot. some of the rules that players are required to follow while participating in the game include a player is not allowed to hold both hands of any player and a person must not hold hands of the player standing adjacent to him/her. The main objective of the game is to untwist the human knot and free the players from the knot one by one without leaving hands. If any of the players break the chain during the game, the team gets disqualified or is required to repeat the task over again. The team that manages to successfully complete the task is declared the winner of the game. The game can be played as a group task or as a competitive task between two or more teams. In the competitive human knot game, the team that manages to solve the human knot first without any foul play is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their interpersonal bonding, build trust in each other, and enhance their mutual understanding. Also, a person is able to develop certain personality enhancement skills such as logical and critical thinking ability, problem-solving skills, decision-making ability, focus, and communication skills by playing the human knot game.
38. The Barter Puzzle
The barter puzzle game is a classic example of a fun team building game that is suitable for adults. To play the barter puzzle game, the players are asked to randomly from two to four teams with each team having 4-6 members. The teams are assigned individual jigsaw puzzle sets. The complexity level of all the puzzle sets is maintained constant for all the teams. The teams are required to solve the puzzle by appropriately assembling all of the puzzle pieces together. The twist in the game is that puzzle pieces of all the puzzles contained by the players are mixed up together. This means that the players are required to locate and separate the opposite team’s puzzle pieces from their own puzzle pieces and attempt to find different ways to get their puzzle pieces back from the other teams. The team members are required to work together and think of the possible strategies and schemes that they can use to get their puzzle pieces back from the enemy teams. The strategies, plans, and schemes may include negotiation and trading. The team that manages to assemble his/her puzzle first is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their communication skills, critical and logical thinking, decision making ability, and various other personality enhancement skills.
39. Spider Web
A spider web is an outdoor game that is generally played in groups as a competitive activity. The participants are divided into two to four groups each having an equal number of team members. The host or the organiser of the game is required to form a web between two poles or trees by wrapping duct tape, rope, or string around the objects in a random manner. The web must be constructed in such a way that it contains multiple loops. The loops must be broad enough that a person can easily pass through them. The main objective of the game is to pass through the loops of the web without touching the strings. The team whose maximum number of players manage to pass through the loops of the web is declared the winner of the game. The game is one of the classic examples of the games and activities that players can perform to improve their physical strength, mental capabilities, and interpersonal relationships. Also, one can gain certain character-building skills such as patience, concentration, focus, trust, coordination, leadership, etc. by playing the spider web game.
40. Salt and Pepper
A salt and pepper game is one of the best examples of the fun team building games and activities that players can perform to get to know each other better, relieve stress, and to build a strong bond with each other. Before the game begins, the players are required to write pair words on two paper chits. The pair words generally include words such as salt and pepper, earth and sky, water and fire, sweet and bitter, etc. The paper chits containing all the words are placed into a bowl. All the players are required to randomly pick up one chit each and attach it to the back of their adjacent player. The players then work together to identify the name of the objects written on the chit attached to their back and locate the person that has the name of the pair object on his/her back. The players are not allowed to directly tell each other the name of the object written on each other’s back and can only communicate with the help of indirect guesses and yes/no responses. The players that are able to locate their pairs in a given amount of time are allowed to step towards the safe zone of the room. The game helps the players easily understand the importance of teamwork and coordination.
41. Zoom
A zoom game is a type of picture puzzle game that a person can play in real life with his/her team members. To play the game, the organizer of the game is required to divide a scenario or a story into multiple pictures. The number of pictures that describe the story must be equal to the number of players participating in the game. The pictures are properly shuffled and placed in a common container. The players are required to randomly pick up one picture and return to their initial position. The main objective of the game is to reconstruct the original scenario or story by appropriately arranging the pictures in order. One main rule of the game is that the players are forbidden to verbally discuss the exact content of the picture and can only share instances and features of the images. The game helps the players improve their verbal and non-verbal communication skills, pattern matching ability, understanding, concentration, creativity, memorising ability, problem-solving skills, etc. The game teaches the players how to value and respect each other’s viewpoints and opinions.
42. Flip it Over
To play a flip it over game, the players are required to form multiple groups of two to six members. All the teams participating in the game are given a fabric or paper sheet. The players are required to stand on the surface of the sheet and flip it over without touching the ground. To complicate the game, the players are not allowed to use their hands and are supposed to flip the sheet over with their feet only. The game helps the players understand the significance of teamwork and the importance of putting in collaborative efforts to achieve a common goal. The game also enhances a player’s critical and logical thinking ability, concentration power, problem-solving ability, and various other team-building skills.
43. Pencil Drop
A pencil drop is a classic example of the fun team building games that people can play to improve their interpersonal relationships and enhance bonding with their peers. The game is generally played in pairs. To play the game the participants are asked to randomly choose their partners. Each pair is provided with game objects, i.e., a pencil and two strings. Both the players are required to tie one end of the string to their waist and the other end to one side of the pencil. The players tend to stand in the game area while facing their backs toward each other with the pencil loosely hanging in between their backs. A bottle partially filled with water is placed in the middle of the players. The main objective of the game is to immerse the pencil in the water bottle till it touches the water surface without using hands. Also, the players are not allowed to look back to locate the position of the water bottle. The team that manages to successfully perform the task in a minimum amount of time is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their mutual understanding, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and resolves conflicts between the players(if any).
44. Penny for the Thoughts
To play the penny for the thoughts game, all the participants are required to drop a coin that they have in a common container. The coin must have the year in which it was constructed mentioned on its surface. After all the participants drop their coins in the container, the host of the game properly mix up the coins by shaking up the container. Each player then comes forward one by one and randomly take out a coin from the container. The player is then required to share a significant incident from his/her life that occurred during the year the coin was constructed with the rest of the players. All the players take turns and complete the task. If a person gets a coin that was manufactured before his/her birth, he/she is given leverage to share a significant moment or story of their own choice from their life. The penny for the thoughts mainly emphasises building trust between the players. This particular game helps the players open up and get to know each other better. The game is ideal for people who have just met or players who have trouble getting to know each other.
45. Frostbite
Frostbite is a team-building game that helps the players build trust and understanding. To play the frostbite game, the players are divided into groups of two to five members. Each team is required to mutually elect a leader or a representative of their group. Before the game begins, the host explains the scenario of the game that the players are required to follow. Usually, the scenario of the game is that the players are lost somewhere in the arctic region and they are required to build a shelter to save themselves from the cold winds. Also, the cold weather of the Arctic has caused the players and the leader to suffer from snow blindness and frostbite respectively. This means that the leader is unable to move from his/her position, while the players are not able to see anything. To simulate this scenario in real life, the players are required to be blindfolded while the leader is instructed to sit on his/her chair and not move or shift position throughout the game. Each team is given a few game objects such as poles, strings, and fabric sheets. The leader guides the players to assemble the game objects and form the shelter as soon as possible. The team that manages to complete the challenge first wins the game. Frostbite game helps the players improve their resource utilization skills, communication and active listening skills, decision-making ability, problem-solving capabilities, focus, and patience.
46. Tower of Hanoi
The tower of Hanoi is basically a mathematical puzzle game that falls under the category of three-dimensional puzzles. A tower of Hanoi puzzle game can be played both as an individual and team game. The puzzle basically contains a frame that has three vertical poles or rods fixed on one of its surfaces. Five to seven hollow circular discs are embedded in one of the three poles in ascending or descending order. The main objective of the game is to shift the stack of the rings from one pole to any of the other vacant poles in such a way that the original order of the rings is retained till the end of the game. The player is required to perform the task in (2n-1) number of moves, where n is the total number of disks. Also, the players must keep in mind that they can only remove one disk from the pole at a time, are not allowed to put a larger disk on the top of a smaller disk, and can only shift the uppermost disk to a new position. The team that manages to complete the challenge first is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their planning, observation, strategy-making, problem-solving, decision-making, and various other related skills.
47. Watch Your Step
To play the watch you step game, first of all, the players are required to set up the boundaries of the playing area by marking the start and the endpoint of the game with the help of tape. The next step of setting up the game field is to place multiple game objects such as daily use items, toys, craft objects, etc. randomly between the boundary points of the game. The organising committee or the host of the game classifies and marks the game objects randomly placed on the playing area as assets and liabilities. The players participating in the game tend to split up and form groups of two to four members. One member from each team is blindfolded and is asked to step inside the playing area, while the rest of the members stay outside the game court. The main objective of the game is to pick up as many assets as possible and avoid touching the liability objects in the given amount of time. One main rule of the game is that if the player touches the liability objects more than two times, his/her team gets disqualified from the game. For this purpose, the team members of the blindfolded player provide him/her with verbal instructions. When the timer goes off, the players submit the assets collected by them to the judging committee. The judging committee then declares the player with a maximum number of collected assets and his/her associated team as the winner of the game. The watch your step game is also known as the minefield game. The game tends to enhance the player’s ability to active listening ability, communication skills, memorising capability, understanding, trust, etc. The game serves to be one of the best activities that aim at improving the bond between the participants and resolving conflicts between peers (if any).
48. Blind Drawing
A blind drawing game is a team-building game that is generally designed for pairs. The players participating in the blind drawing game are required to sit back to back on a surface. Both the players are given a plain drawing sheet and colourful markers. One of the players volunteers to be the representative of the team, while the other opts to be the follower. The representative member begins to draw a scenery or a picture of an object on his/her drawing sheet. While drawing, the representative member keeps the other player updated with his/her drawing by describing the features of his/her drawing. The follower participant is required to silently follow the representative and try to reconstruct the representative’s drawing on his/her drawing sheet. The rules of the game include that the follower player is not allowed to speak or ask the representative player to repeat the instructions throughout the game and the representative player is not allowed to directly mention the objects that he/she is drawing on his/her sheet. At the end of the game, the host evaluates the drawing sheets of both the players of each team. The team that has the most similar paintings is declared the winner of the game. Blind drawing requires the players to have strong bonding and understanding. The game tends to help a player strengthen his/her creativity, artistic skills, and various other personality development traits such as active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, concentration, etc.
49. Two Sides of a Coin
Two sides of a coin game helps a person realise the importance of both negative as well as positive experiences in life. To play the game, the players are paired up and are asked to flip a coin. Each player calls for heads or tails while the coin is in the air. The player who wins the toss begins to describe a negative experience from his/her life with his/her partner. The partner is required to actively listen to the player’s story. After a while, the same player is required to recite the same incident by taking the positive impacts and bright side of the story. The partner helps the player to look for more positive impacts of the negative experience and help him/her get over the incident. After the first player finishes his part, the players exchange roles and repeat the same process again. The only rule of the game is that the incident shared by both the players must be true and should be connected to their lives. The game helps the players get to know their partners better and establish a strong emotional bond with each other. Also, the game helps the players groom their empathy and understanding.
50. Problem Family Tree
The problem family tree game is one of the best conflict resolution and team-building exercises designed specifically for adults. This particular game can be included as a regular activity at the workplace.
To play the game, each player is given a piece of paper and a marker. All the players are then asked to write down a problem that they face at the organisation on the top of their paper sheets. The prime rules of the game include that the problems stated on the paper sheets can not be directed towards an individual or a companion and the players cannot discuss their opinions with the other participants amidst the game. Once all the players finish the first task, they are asked to write down two possible causes of the problem on the same piece of paper and connect the problems and causes together in such a way that the resultant figure appears to be a family tree. The same process is repeated over and over for each branch of the problem family tree. The game helps the players reach the root cause of a particular problem and allows them to acknowledge the fact that most bigger problems are actually created due to small unresolved things. At the end of the game, the players can discuss their family trees with each other. The main aim of the game is to help the players understand the cause and the nature of the most common issues that tend to disturb their workplace environment and derive a possible solution to each problem. Problem family tree helps a team easily resolve inner conflicts and stimulates the workplace environment for better productivity.
51. Do The Math
To play a do the math game, the players are first required to create a list of random tasks and assign game points to each task. The tasks may include baking a cake, drawing a star, climbing mount Everest, etc. The game points are usually attached to the tasks as per their difficulty and complexity level. All members participating in the game are provided with three playing cards having the same number marked on their surface. This means that one player may get three cards marked with the number 1, while the other player may get three cards marked with the number 5 or so. The players are required to claim the tasks as completed by forming teams and accumulating the cards together in such a way that the sum of the game points mentioned on all the cards is equal to the game point assigned to the task. The players are required to bargain and negotiate with each other strategically to finish as many tasks as possible and gather the maximum number of game points. At the end of the game, the teams that have the maximum number of finished tasks and the highest number of game points is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their critical and logical thinking ability, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, strategy making capabilities, knowledge of various mathematical concepts, theories, or phenomena, calculation speed, memorising ability, etc.
52. Telephone, On a Paper
To play a telephone on a paper game, the players are required to sit along a circle and face each other. The host of the game gives a writing pad and a pen or marker to each player and asks them to draw a picture of their own choice in a given amount of time. When the timer goes off, the players stop drawing and pass their notepads to the player sitting to their right side. All the players then observe the picture drawn on the new notepad received by them and begin to configure the plot of the picture. The next step of the game is to write the information interpreted by the drawing in two to three words on the backside of the paper on which the figure is drawn and pass the writing pad to the player sitting on the right. The next players are asked to draw and try to reconstruct the original image by making use of the clues mentioned by the previous players. The same process is repeated over and again till the players get their notepads back. At the end of the game, the players compare their original drawings with the verbal and pictorial interpretations attempted by their peers. The game tends to enhance the interpersonal bonding, understanding, and creativity of the players and improve their relationships.
53. Debate
Debates are one of the classic examples of the games that help a person improve his/her communication skills, research and resource utilization abilities, presentation skills, interpersonal relationships, and many other personality-enhancement skills. To play a debate game, the players are asked to divide themselves into two or more groups with each group having two to six participants. The judging committee or the host of the game decide the topic to debate for the teams. The teams tend to select their spokesperson and a leader. The leader of both teams coordinates the overall operation and functioning of the team, while the spokesperson is chosen as the main individual that leads the debate. When the game begins, the leaders of both teams come forward and participate in the coin toss that decides which team speaks in favour of the topic and which team is assigned against the side of the topic. After the leaders make their choices, the team members begin to dig in as much information regarding the topic as possible and note down the important facts on a piece of paper. When the time amount allotted to the teams for research purposes gets over, the players take their positions on the presentation desks. The presentation desks are generally arranged in such a way that all the players are able to face each other. The host of the game announces the start of the debate and the players begin to state their point, facts, and figures in a presentable manner. The judging panel of the game tends to mark points to each team on the basis of facts, research quality, presentation skills, fluency, effective partition, etc. At the end of the game, the team with the maximum number of points is declared the winner of the game. The debate also helps its participants to understand each other better and allows them to widen their viewpoint or improve their perspective to look at things.
54. Company Concentration
Company concentration is one of the best examples of team-building activities suitable for adults working at a particular organisation. The company concentration game is typically an improved and complicated version of the traditional concentration game that is basically designed for kids. The basic rules of the concentration game for kids include flipping over the cards and locating as many similar cards as possible. The game required a clear knowledge of the probability theory subset of mathematics, sharp memory, and good information retaining capacity. To play the company concentration game, the players are initially required to form or customize a deck of playing cards. Each card must have an image or a word associated with the company. Some of the examples of the elements that can be marked on the card face include the company logo, names or images of the products and services provided by the firm, names or pictures of the employees, etc. The players participating in the game are asked to form multiple groups of two to four members randomly. The host of the game then calls all the teams one by one in the playing zone and hands over the properly shuffled deck of cards to the leader or representative of the team. The players begin to pair up the game cards as per their degree of relevance to each other. A timer is used to keep track of the time taken by each time to pair up the game cards together. At the end of the game, the time taken by each team to rearrange the cards as per their similarities is analysed and the team with minimum response time is declared the winner of the game. Also, the participants may also be asked to give the reason for which they have grouped two particular game cards together. The game helps the players improve their patience, ability to act spontaneously in situations, the skill of instant decision-making, teamwork, coordination, and enhances their interpersonal bonding. Also, the game can be used as an orientation activity for the new colleagues that helps them understand the legacy and work culture of a particular organisation in an interactive manner.
55. Company Concentration Debate Activity
The prime rules of the company concentration debate activity or game are similar to that of a company concentration game i.e., the players are asked to pair up the most similar cards together from a deck of properly shuffled playing cards in the minimum time possible. The only difference between the two games is that in a company concentration debate activity or game, two players of a team are asked to select a pair of the most closely related game cards and discuss the facts that they believe make the cards connected to each other. The facts, figures, and information associated with the cards must be presented in a well organised and calm manner. After stating all the facts regarding the relevance of the game cards, the players present their concluding points of debate to the audience or the rest game participants. If the majority of participants agree with the concluding points drafted by the players, the judging committee or the host of the game assign game points to the team. On the other hand, if the majority of participants disagree with the facts stated by the players, they get disqualified from the contest. The game points are assigned to each team according to their research and knowledge, presentation skills, communication skills, organisation of thoughts, teamwork, etc. Finally, the team that gains the maximum number of game points is declared the winner of the game. The game helps the players improve their brainstorming, memorizing, and information retaining capacity.
56. This is Better Than That
A ‘this is better than that’ game helps the players gain or improve certain character-building skills such as classification, categorisation, analysis, positive mentality, and observation. To play the game the participants are divided into two or more groups each having two to four players. The host of the game asks the teams to gather four objects of the same kind that differ from each other in some minor aspects such as colour, texture, shape, appearance, price, etc. The objects may include four coffee cups, four different sheets of paper, four napkins, four pebbles, etc. The players are then asked to collectively analyse the properties of the objects and select the object that they think is the best of all the other objects. When all the team players are done with their analysis and are ready to present their thoughts, the host of the game randomly calls one player from each team and asks him/her to share their part of the information with the rest of the participants. The team members are assigned game points as per their information content, research work, creativity, object selection, and presentation. The team that gets awarded with the maximum game points is declared the winner of the competition. The game serves to be an excellent choice to help the players get to know each other better, form a healthy interpersonal relationship with their peers, and resolve conflicts with each other (if any).
57. Perfect Square
A perfect square game serves to be one of the best examples of the fun team building games that adults can play to enhance their bonding, build trust, and relieve their stress. To play the perfect square game, the players are required to assemble in a spacious playing area and form a circle. The players are then asked to sit along the boundary of the circular shape with their backs facing each other. The next step of playing the perfect square game is to blindfold each player and hand over the players with a rope or a string. The ends of the rope or the string are tied together to form a giant loop. When the host announces the start of the game, the players are required to stand on their feet and align themselves in such a way that they are able to form a perfect square geometric shape with the rope that they are holding. When the timer goes off, the host decides the accuracy of the perfect square shape formed by each team and decides the success or failure of the task.
58. Organisational Jenga
Organisational Jenga is one of the best example of the team-building games that are suitable for adults. It is an indoor game that can be played easily inside the premises of a organisation to enhance the interpersonal relationships of people working in different departments. To play the organisational Jenga game, the participants are required to categorise and label the Jenga blocks according to the hierarchy of people at their work area or different departments at their organisation. Some of the main labels that the jenga blocks can be attached to according to the departmental classification of an organisation include the information technology department, the sales department, the production department, etc. Likewise, according to the hierarchical order of the staff, the labels can be named as managers, trainees, executives, engineers, etc. After all the Jenga blocks are properly labelled, the participants are randomly grouped together to form multiple teams. Each team contains a total of three to six members. One team member of each team comes forward and picks up 10-15 Jenga blocks randomly. The players are then asked to form their respective Jenga towers in such a way that each tower has a single type of Jenga blocks i.e. if a team decides to make an information technology Jenga tower, then they are allowed to use only the Jenga blocks that are marked with information technology department label. The teams are required to analyse the type of Jenga blocks that they have, decide the formation of their Jenga tower, and formulate strategies or plans to trade their Jenga blocks with the other teams accordingly. The first team that manages to arrange all the similar Jenga blocks of similar type and construct the tower first is declared the winner of the competition. This particular game helps the players get to know each other and develop an emotional bond with each other easily.
59. Mad Libs Mission Statement Game
To play the mad libs mission statement game, the players are initially asked to collect all the mission statements and paraphrases of their concerned organisation. The key nouns, verbs, and adjectives contained by the statements are required to be eliminated and replaced by a blank space. An instruction statement is generally attached above the blank spaces that provide the hint to locate the type of word that the blank space is required to be filled with. All the phrases and statements are arranged on a piece of paper, while the clues are arranged separately on another sheet. One of the participants reads the clues to the players and asks for the words that they think are suitable for the blank spaces in the paraphrases. Another player keeps on noting down all the words provided by the players. When the host announces the start of the game, the players go through the incomplete paraphrases or sentences, hints, and the word list to find the most appropriate word to fill the blank spaces of the statements. The competition is considered to be successfully completed if the players are able to fill the blank spaces of the statements with the exact or the original words. The players can also play mad libs mission statement as a competitive or challenge game by dividing the participants into multiple small groups. Here, the winner of the game is decided on the basis of the accuracy and the time taken by each team to finish the task. The game helps the players get to know each other and their organisation better, thereby enabling them to form a strong emotional bond, maintain positive emotionality, and enhance their productivity. The game also helps the players to improve their vocabulary and develop a certain set of personality enhancement skills such as general knowledge, communication, cooperation, teamwork, leadership, etc.
60. Find the Common Thread
As the name itself suggests, a find the common thread game helps the players discover an interest, hobby, idea, belief, habit, or theory that they all believe in. To play the find the common thread game, the players are divided into multiple groups of two to six team members. The players usually sit together by forming a circle in an open space and begin to share facts about themselves one by one. The player who shares a similar activity or feels connected to the fact stated by any other person raises his/her hand as a gesture of affirmation. The main aim of the game is to find a common fact that all of the players have in their personalities or lives. Some of the facts that players may have in common may include that all of them have a pet, all of them love to play basketball, all of them like to eat peanut butter and jam sandwich, etc. The game serves to be one of the best activities that help people get to know each other better, overcome racism, break the stereotypes, and form better interpersonal relationships with their peers. The game is best suited for adults who do not get much time to interact with each other or do not share a mutual strong emotional bond among themselves. Also, the game can be used as an orientation activity for people who have recently joined a particular organisation and do not have much knowledge of the company’s work culture.
61. Created Economy
A created economy is basically a fun business game that is suitable for children above 14 years of age and adults. The game can be played for learning purposes as well as for entertainment. To play the created economy game, the players tend to divide themselves into multiple subunits and elect a leader with mutual consent that heads and coordinates all the operations performed by the team members. The main objective of the game is to imitate the economy of a particular nation at the micro-level and introduce modifications in the existing system for the betterment of their existing game economy and for the purpose of upliftment of the people living in the society. This particular game helps the players gain a better idea of how a nation functions, what aspects affect the growth of a country, and what is the role or contribution of every individual in building up the economy of a nation. Also, the game provides the players with the ability to develop certain character-building skills such as creativity, logical thinking ability, communication skills, problem-solving capabilities, decision-making skills, the distinction between right and wrong, ethics, etc.
62. Use What You Have
A ‘use what you have’ game is basically a team-building game that people tend to play in groups for the purpose of skill-building, learning, and entertainment. To play the game the players are initially asked to write the name of any craft item, object, or project article that they can make with the help of the objects currently available in the room on a piece of paper and drop the paper in a common container. The host of the game tends to properly shake up the container and pair up the players with each other. One player from each team is then asked to step forward and randomly pick up one piece of paper from the container. The team members then begin to collect the resources required to build the project assigned to them. The team that manages to finish the task allotted to them first is declared the winner of the game. The game tends to enhance the player’s creativity, logical and critical thinking ability, problem-solving capability, proper utilisation of resources, teamwork, decision making, quick response to stimuli, coordination, verbal as well as non-verbal communication skills, presentation skills, etc.
63. Ideas As Building Blocks
To play the ideas as a fictional block puzzle game, the players or the host of the game are asked to draft a fictional problem that needs to be solved. The problem statement can either be an ethical decision making problem statement, a design or pattern making challenge, a picture puzzle, or a riddle. The players are divided into groups of two to four participants and are provided with multiple sheets containing the problem statements. The team members are required to work together and come out with the best possible solution for the problem. Each team is required to write down their solutions on the backside of the problem statement sheet and present it to the host. The host of the game keeps a track of the time taken by each time to finish their tasks and analyses the type of response given by each of them. At the end of the game, the host decides and announces the winning team of the game on the basis of the accuracy of their solutions and the time taken by each team. The game mainly aims at improving the player’s teamwork ability and problem-solving skills. Also, the game helps the players to gain various personality enhancement skills such as creativity, problem-solving ability, critical and logical thinking, confidence, ethical decision making capability, etc.
64. Shark Tank Game
A shark tank game is basically an activity that is inspired by a television series or show. To play the game the participants are asked to form multiple groups with their peers. Each team must have at least two and at most four players or participants. The main objective of the game is to come up with a revolutionary and innovative business idea and draft a proposal for the same. The players are then required to present their proposal to the jury and the host of the game with proper PowerPoint presentations, research facts and figures, financial budget requirements, examples, scope and motive of the business, limitations and challenges in the pathway, etc. The winner of the game is usually decided on the basis of the number of game points gained by each team for their communication skills, research and analysis, presentation quality, innovation, creativity, coordination among the team members, and teamwork. The team that manages to convince the jury with their business idea and obtains the necessary funds for their project tends to qualify the contest. The game points scored by the qualifying teams are then compared and the team with the highest earned game points is declared the winner of the game. The game serves to be one of the best activities that people working in a common area can play together to improve their business skills, creativity, interpersonal relationships with their peers, presentation skills, and learn optimum utilization of the available resources.
65. Werewolf
A werewolf game is one of the best team building games suitable for adults that can be played at parties for enjoyment purposes as well as at workplaces to enhance the interpersonal relationships between peers. The game is generally played among seven or more players. To play the werewolf game, the players or the host of the game is asked to form playing cards or chits. The chits or the cards are marked with the roles that the players are assigned. Some of the playing cards are marked as werewolves, while some are marked as villagers. Two special playing cards of the game are called the seer and the doctor card. The host of the game shuffles the deck of cards and asks the participants to randomly pick one up. The players then look at the cards, assume their roles secretly and put the cards back in the deck. The host of the game then asks the players to form a circle and close their eyes. After some time, the host asks the werewolves to open their eyes and mutually select a player that they want to eliminate from the game. The werewolves quietly give their decision to the host by pointing towards the player that they want to be eliminated and are asked to close their eyes. The host further asks the doctor and the seer to open their eyes one by one. The doctor is asked to guess the player that has been eliminated by the werewolves. If the doctor’s guess is correct, the player gets saved. Likewise, the seer tries to guess which of the players is a werewolf. If the seer’s guess is correct, the host or the moderator gives him/her a thumbs-up gesture and if the guess is incorrect, he/she shows the seer a thumbs-down gesture. Finally, all the players are asked to open their eyes and the host tells them which player was eliminated by the werewolves. The eliminated player does not participate in the game any further. The next phase of the game is to identify the werewolves. For this purpose, the players begin their discussion and cast a vote to one of the players that they think is a werewolf to the host or the moderator. The player with maximum votes gets eliminated from the game and is forbidden to play any further. The game goes on and on till the werewolves kill all the villagers or the villages identify all the werewolves. The game helps the players improve their non-verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and critical thinking ability.
66. Taboo
A taboo game is generally played as a competitive game among two or more teams. To play the game the participants are asked to randomly form groups with their peers. Each group must have two to six team members. A team member from one of the teams is called up in the gaming area and tends to draw playing cards from the stack of cards one by one. The playing cards typically contain a game word that the player has to explain indirectly to his/her peers in a given amount of time and a bunch of words that he/she is forbidden to use as hints known as taboo words. The other team members stand beside the volunteer player and keep a check on the type of hints used by him/her to complete the task. If the player uses any of the taboo words, the opposite team members turn on the buzzer and disqualify the card. Each disqualified card gives the player’s team a negative game point, while each qualified card gives his/her team two positive game points. The same process gets repeated for all the teams participating in the game and the team that manages to collect a maximum number of game points is declared the winner of the game. The game tends to enhance the player’s ability to understand and respect each other’s thoughts, opinions, or viewpoints, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, creativity, knowledge, vocabulary, bonding and interpersonal relationship with peers, listening skills, task distribution and categorization capability, etc.
67. Mocumentary
To play a documentary game, the players are initially asked to voluntarily take up certain roles and responsibilities required for making a mockumentary such as a camera person, editor in charge, actors, writer, director, sound technician, etc. as per their interests. The players then begin to discuss the plot of the fresh story that they want to create or the common web series, movie, or comic video that they wish to recreate. After deciding the plot of the mockumentary, the players begin to act and record their performance in proper sequence. The objective of the game is to make the mockumentary in an as effective and professional manner as possible. The game helps the players get to know each other better and discover their hidden talents and interests. Also, participating in the mockumentary game is one of the best activities that help the players build a strong interpersonal bond, cherish their skills, relieve stress, manage anxiety, and have fun.
68. Building for a Cause
Building for a cause is a prime example of team building games that help the players improve their personal skills, interpersonal relationships with each other, and provides them with the opportunity to do something fruitful for the needy or serve humanity. To play the game, the players are asked to come up with ideas of the useful objects, machinery, or devices that they can manufacture easily within a given amount of time. The players with similar ideas or interests tend to form groups and work together. When the timer goes off, all the objects, devices, or equipment manufactured by the players are then donated to people. The game helps the players develop positive emotionality and empathy. Also, one can improve his/her innovation, creativity, logical thinking ability, research and development, communication, time management, relationship building, trust, and various other related skills by playing the building for a cause game.
69. An Anything Tournament
As the name itself suggests, the players participating in an anything tournament are supposed to create their own events and games. Some of the examples of the activities that players can include in an anything tournament include racing sports, stone paper scissors game, cycling, hide and seek, cops and robbers, etc. The proposals of various events and games drafted by the players are then submitted to the judging committee. The judging committee or the hosts of the game then decide two or more events that are required to be organised as the tournament. The players whose idea gets selected for the tournament get rewarded with extra game points. The players participating in the games get rewarded with game points as per their winning status and performance. At the end of the game, the player with the maximum number of earned game points is declared champion of the tournament. The game tends to improve a player’s creativity, logical and critical thinking ability, bonding with his/her peers, ability to spontaneously respond to situations, decision-making skills, coordination, collaboration, etc.
70. Roses and Thorns
A roses and thorns game is basically directed towards inclining a person’s mindset more towards the positive side of life. To play the roses and thorns game the players are required to assemble in an open space, form a circle, and sit together with their faces towards the inside of the circle. The host of the game asks a player to volunteer and share one negative and one positive current aspect of his/her life. The positive aspect is termed as rose and can be any good thing that recently happened to him/her or an action that he/she is grateful for. The negative aspect is called thorn and can be a sad event that he/she is unhappy about or an activity that affects him/her negatively. The volunteer, after sharing his/her roses and thorns with the team members, randomly points towards his/her fellow team member and asks him/her to share roses and thorns from their lives. The game goes on and on till all the players share their stories with the rest of the group. A roses and thorns game is a classic example of a game that can help a player open up with his/her peers and form a strong emotional bond with them. The game also tends to enhance a player’s communication and listening skills.
71. Poker
Poker is one of the prominent examples of team building games suitable for adults. Poker tends to enhance a person’s verbal and non-verbal communication skills, mathematical reasoning ability, logical thinking, creativity, interpersonal bonding with peers, observation skills, creativity, and various other related skills. Also, playing poker helps the players build a strong connection and get to know one another better by discovering each other’s unique habits, facts, and traits.
72. Make a Team Playlist
Make a team playlist is a simple and fun activity that people of all ages can play to improve their team building and interpersonal skills. To play the game, the players are randomly divided into multiple groups of four to six members. Each team is then required to discuss the type or form of music that they like and create a common music playlist that has two or more songs contributed by each member of the team. The playlists formed by all the teams are then shared among all the players participating in the game. This particular game helps the players identify other players that have the same music taste like theirs. Finding similarities in interests aids the player’s relationship with his/her peers, builds trust, and improves their bonding. To ease the experience, the players may also attach their names at the end of the files shared by them.
73. Egg Toss
Egg toss is a game that is best suited for adults. The main objective of the egg toss game is to keep the egg safe with the help of proper teamwork, quick response to reflexes, and coordination with the partner. To play the game, the participants are randomly divided into pairs and are asked to form two parallel horizontal lines a few meters away from each other. The team members are asked to maintain a 3-4 meters distance between each other and take their respective positions right in front of their partners. Each team is given an egg. When the host announces the start of the game, the players begin to toss the egg among themselves. If a player misses to catch the egg and the egg collapses to the ground, then his/her team gets disqualified from the game. The team that manages to toss the egg to and fro from one place to the other for the maximum amount of time is declared the winner of the game. The game tends to improve a player’s reflexes, bonding, coordination, teamwork, patience, collaboration, concentration, and various other personality enhancement skills.
74. Silent Disco
To play a silent disco game, the players are required to assemble in a common open space such as a playground, park, hall, room, etc. The players are then asked to wear headphones, play the music of their choice from an interconnected music application, and dance to it. The host of the game randomly pauses the music abruptly at any point in time. When the music stops, the players are required to freeze and hold their positions till the host resumes the music. Meanwhile, a camera person clicks pictures of the frozen participants. The player that does not freeze in time when the music stops or moves before the music resumes gets eliminated or disqualified from the game. The game is a fun activity that helps the players bond better with each other and deal with stress, anxiety, and pressure well.
75. Frisbee Toss
A frisbee toss is a multiplayer competitive game that is generally played among two teams. Each team contains two or more team members. To play a frisbee toss the teams are required to form a tower with the help of metal cans, cardboard boxes, wooden logs, or any other material available in their surroundings. All the teams are then asked to stand a few meters away opposite each other and place the tower beside them on a tall chair or table. The players then begin to toss a frisbee to and fro among themselves. The main objective of the game is to safeguard their own team tower and cause the opposite team’s tower to completely collapse by hitting it with the frisbee. The team that manages to knock down the opposite team’s tower first is declared the winner of the game. The game requires proper coordination, teamwork, concentration, creativity, focus, sharp observation skills, strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills, problem-solving capability, etc. The game helps the players boost their confidence, interpersonal bonding, reflexes, hand to eye coordination, motor skills, and various other character-building characteristics.
76. Paint Ball
Paintball is a combat team sport that makes use of colour-filled paintball balls and compressed-air paintball guns. The main objective of the paintball game is to eliminate the opposite team players by shooting paintballs at them. To play the game, two players come forward and volunteer to lead the teams. Both the leaders then choose their team members from the participants one by one. The game requires the participants to assemble in their respective base camps and draft a strategy to eliminate the participants of the enemy team. The roles and responsibilities of the team leader include coordinating the team throughout the game. Playing the paintball game helps the players improve their logical thinking, strategy making and planning ability, decision-making skills, teamwork, coordination, focus, collaboration, task categorisation, leadership, and various other related personality enhancement skills. Also, paintball sport is a great amusement and fun activity that helps the players open up and build a strong interpersonal bonding with each other.
77. Nerf Gun Games
There are a variety of nerf gun games available in the market that a person can play with his/her peers to have fun, relieve stress, and gain various personality development as well as team-building games. Some of the most common nerf gun games include burst the balloon, nerf gun tag, tin can alley, run the nerf gauntlet, hovering target game, precision target game, etc. Most of the nerf gun games require a person to aim for a target game object and knock it down. The nerf gun games can be played individually or in teams. Nerf gun games basically help a person improve his/her focus, concentration, and shooting skills. Some of the team-building skills that a person can gain and enhance by playing the nerf gun games include teamwork, positive emotionality, coordination, task categorisation, and leadership.
78. Build a Civilization
Build a civilization is a prominent example of team-building history games designed for adults. Such games help the players improve their knowledge of certain historical events in a fun and easy manner. To play the build a civilisation game, the host of the game or the participants make paper chits and write down certain roles and responsibilities on them. The paper chits are then placed in a common container. The host of the game shuffles the paper chits properly by shaking up the container and asks the players to step forward one by one to pick up the chits. Some of the most common roles and responsibilities mentioned on the chits include leader, minister, farmer, architect, entertainer, etc. The players tend to work towards building and developing the civilisation by performing the roles assigned to them. The players are allowed to switch their roles with mutual understanding. The game basically aims at providing the players with a real-life simulation experience of how civilisation is built and how the different departments of a civilization operate. Build a civilization game helps the players gain certain team-building skills such as teamwork, coordination, collaboration, critical thinking, ethics, empathy, decision-making ability, etc.
79. Longest Shadow
To play the longest shadow game, the players are required to assemble in an open space that is properly illuminated with sunlight or any other wide light source. The game can be played as a group challenge activity or as a competitive contest among two or more teams. To play the game the players randomly take positions in such a way that their shadows collide and form a common shadow. The main objective of the game is to form a shadow that is the longest of the shadows formed by all the other teams participating in the contest. The game requires quick response-ability, patience, and coordination between the team members. The longest shadow game is a fun activity that helps the players relieve stress, create a positive environment, have fun, and form a strong bond with each other.
80. The Number Game
A number game is yet another example of the simple team-building games that people of all ages can play. To play the number game, the players or the host of the game is required to form multiple game cards or paper chits and mark them with numbers from 0 to 9. Each player participating in the game is then asked to randomly pick up one game card or paper chit. When the host of the game announces the start of the game, he/she tends to call out a multi-digit number. On hearing the multi-digit number, the players begin to align themselves in a particular order and form groups with the other players to represent the target number dictated by the host of the game. The players that manage to complete the challenge first are declared winners of the game. The number game helps the players improve their ability to quickly respond to situations, decision-making skills, information retaining capacity, memorising capability, coordination, etc. Also, this particular game serves to be one of the best activities that help the players open up and form a strong interpersonal bond with each other.
81. Mini Ted Talk
A mini ted talk game is one of the best team-building games that help the players get to know each other better by understanding each other’s viewpoints, opinions, and backstories. This helps the participants build trust and form a strong emotional bond with their peers. To play the game, the participants are asked to form a short speech on a topic of their interest and share it with each other one by one. The speech may include a life lesson that they have learnt, an ideology that they believe in, or any other experience that they feel is worth sharing. Mini ted talk is an amazing learning activity that allows the players to discover new knowledge and experiences. The game can also be played as a competitive activity that helps the players gain a healthy competitive spirit, teamwork ability, and get to know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, expertise, and qualities.
82. Secret Santa
Secret Santa is one of the most common workplace games that are basically designed to improve the interpersonal bonding between the participants and promote creativity. The game is generally played before festive or any other celebratory holidays such as Christmas, new year, regional festivals, summer vacations, etc. To play the game, the host of the game forms a list of all the team members and randomly assign each of them the role to be a secret Santa to a particular participant. The main task assigned to the secret Santa is to identify the perfect gift for his/her partner and present it anonymously. The players then gather around at a commonplace, open their gifts, and try to guess the name of their secret Santa. If a player manages to correctly guess the name of his/her secret Santa, both the players are labelled as the best partners by the host of the game. The game tends to improve the player’s creativity and empathy. The process of selecting gifts for each other helps the players get to know each other and strengthens their emotional bond. Likewise, guessing the name of the secret Santa part of the game requires the players to think logically and connect the dots, thereby enhancing a player’s pattern matching, decision making, and critical thinking ability.