From Icebreakers to Brain Teasers: 10 Creative Team Building Games for a Healthier Complany Culture

Are you tired of the usual mundane process of hiring new employees? 

Just finding a new hire is not enough, you need to make sure they blend in well with your existing team to create a harmonious and productive work environment. That’s where team-building comes into the picture.

Don't be put off by the idea of team-building games being tedious or uninteresting. They can serve as an essential component of building a strong and cohesive team in any company. If done right, these games help improve communication and teamwork, as well as build problem-solving and leadership abilities among team members.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg…

Team-building games can come in many different forms, from trust-building activities to creative problem-solving challenges. Whether you’re a corporate organization or a community group, these games can be a perfect fit for any setting, including corporate organizations like yours.

By incorporating intellectual, fun, and collaborative elements into these games, you can change your employees' attitudes towards these activities and create a truly enjoyable and interactive experience. 

If you're looking to encourage your employees to engage with one another and build strong bonds, read on!

11 Creative Team-Building Games to Try

Without further ado, let's get started.

Here is a proven list of the 11 best creative and super fun team-building games that will keep your team members hooked till the end!

1. Two Truths and a Lie 

Two Truths and a Lie is a classic icebreaker game that doubles as a team-building exercise.

Here's how it works — each participant shares three statements about themselves: two truths and one lie (aptly named, isn't it?). The other team members must then try to guess which statement is the lie.

Why does this work? This team-building game facilitates communication between team members by helping them get to know each other better. Sharing “outside work” information takes away from the seriousness of corporate life, building trust and establishing a stronger sense of camaraderie.

Two Truths and a Lie also encourages participants to come up with creative and believable statements about themselves — and requires them to listen and pay attention to the details of each statement, improving their listening skills.

2. The Marshmallow Challenge

No, it doesn’t involve eating marshmallows (despite clearly being a tastier alternative).

The Marshmallow Challenge is about teams working together to build the tallest structure possible using only spaghetti, tape, string, and — no points for guessing — a marshmallow. 

When it comes to building a towering structure with limited resources, team members must band together and put their heads together. Through a series of brainstorms, designs, and builds, they'll discover each other's unique talents, strengths, and weaknesses while honing their problem-solving skills. It's a challenge that demands clear communication, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose — and with a healthy dose of competition and excitement thrown in, team members will be motivated to work harder

3. Escape Room Challenge

Shoutout to all the puzzle lovers on your team. It’s your time to shine!

Escape Room Challenge is a team-building game that simulates an escape room experience where players are locked in a room and must solve puzzles and riddles to escape before time runs out. 

Players use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to solve puzzles and escape the room. They must communicate with each other effectively to share information and solve puzzles.

If you’re looking for a fun and engaging team-building game that can help teams develop essential skills like problem-solving, communication, and collaboration, give this one a try!

4. Blind Drawing Challenge

Imagine a game where one player's eyes are closed, and the other player is frantically trying to describe how to draw a picture. It's called the Blind Drawing Challenge, and yup, it's a hoot. 

In this team-building game, two players team up to play. To win the game, the player who's giving instructions needs to use clear language and provide precise details to guide their blindfolded partner's hand. On the other hand, the player who is drawing needs to actively listen and interpret the instructions to create the intended image. 

If they get it right, they win.

If they don't they still have a lot of fun doing it.

The Blind Drawing Challenge is not only fun but also promotes creativity and trust-building among team members. By relying on each other's unique abilities, this activity encourages teamwork and collaboration. The players must work together to achieve a shared goal, which helps develop crucial communication skills and fosters trust and dependence on each other.

5. Scavenger Hunt

Don't be fooled into thinking that scavenger hunts are just for kids — in fact, this game can be a fantastic way to encourage problem-solving and creativity in adults too. 

To get started, define the rules, objectives, and theme of your scavenger hunt. Think about how you can tie the theme to your company's values, products, or services to make the game more meaningful and engaging for your employees.

Next, divide your workforce into smaller groups, ideally with 4-5 members each. Try to mix up people from different departments or who don't know each other well to encourage team bonding. To make sure the team-building activity runs smoothly, plan the route and clues in advance, and test them before the day of the event. Keep in mind the time limit, difficulty level, and safety precautions when planning the hunt.

When it's time to start the scavenger hunt, kick things off with an energetic introduction and countdown to get everyone excited. Assign a monitor to keep track of each team's progress and provide hints if they get stuck on a clue or can't find an item. While you're at it, ensure all teams are following the rules and safety guidelines throughout the game.

And after all the excitement of the scavenger hunt is over, reward the victors with some sweet loot! Don't forget to give some love to the other participants. After all, everyone gave it their best shot, even if they didn't quite make it to the top of the podium. 

Note: You can check out our gift ideas for employees on a budget guide for some gifting inspiration.

6. 6. Barter Puzzle

Barter Puzzle challenges teams to work together to solve a puzzle using limited resources.

Divide the participants into teams of 4-6 people, ensuring that each team has a mix of personalities and skill sets. Select a puzzle that is challenging enough to require teamwork, but at the same time, it should not be too difficult, making it impossible to solve. We recommend using jigsaw puzzles or any other type of puzzle that requires assembling.

To ensure a smooth game, it is essential to establish the rules beforehand. Think: the time limit, the number of trades allowed, and the mechanism of resource trading between teams. This will provide structure and clarity to the participants, setting the stage for a fair and enjoyable experience.

As the game progresses, allowing teams to trade resources with each other creates an opportunity for collaboration and building relationships among participants. This then facilitates teamwork and strategic thinking.

After the designated time has passed, evaluate the puzzle completion time, the number of resources used, and the quality of the finished puzzle. What's more, you can also hold a debriefing session once the game is over to allow participants to reflect on the challenges they faced, share their problem-solving strategies, and provide feedback. 

7. Show and Tell

The Show and Tell team-building activity to encourage communication, creativity, and storytelling skills among participants, paving the way for stronger employee relationships. 

Have all team members bring in something meaningful or that they are passionate about to start discussions from outside of the workplace. To kick off the activity, start by introducing the rules and selecting the first participant to present. Each participant should be given a specific amount of time to present their item and share the story behind it. 

Following each presentation, encourage other team members to ask questions and engage in a discussion about the item. This will help to strengthen relationships and promote communication.

Carry on with the Show and Tell session until all participants have had a chance to present their items. After the session, conduct a debriefing with the team, discussing what they learned about each other, what surprised them, and what they enjoyed the most. Doing this will make it easier for you to assess the effectiveness of the activity and gather feedback for future team-building activities.

8. Common Book

Do you have avid book lovers for employees who enjoy nothing more than discussing and sharing their thoughts about what their latest read? If so, A Common Book is one activity that they will absolutely love. 

It's a popular team-building game where a group reads the same book and then comes together to discuss it. To get started, choose a book that aligns with your team or organization's goals and values. Make sure it's a book that everyone can access and read within a reasonable time frame, and set a timeline for reading the book, along with scheduling regular meetings to discuss it.

Assign different roles to each participant, such as discussion leader, note-taker, or timekeeper, to keep the discussion organized and ensure everyone participates.

During the meetings, discuss the book chapter by chapter or in sections. Encourage participants to share their thoughts, opinions, and questions about the book, using open-ended questions to facilitate discussion and keep the conversation flowing.

Finally, identify the key takeaways from the Common Book activity, and discuss how you can implement them in your work or personal life. This will help ensure that the knowledge gained from reading the book is put into practice and can benefit everyone involved.

11. Mission Statement — Mad Lib Style

How does the idea of injecting some humor and creativity into your team's goal-setting process sound? That's right, it's time to transform the corporate-sounding, bland, and boring mission statement into a fun game of Mad Libs.

Start by taking your company's mission statement and stripping it of all its key nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Then, create a worksheet with blank lines and instructions for the types of words needed.

Next, divide your team into groups of two and have one team member ask for the correct type of word while the other supplies it. Or, if you prefer, ask the team as a whole to contribute one word at a time. With each word added, watch as your once-serious mission statement transforms into a hilarious jumble of words.

But don't stop there! Once you have enough words, read the statement back to the team and ask for the same types of words they supplied. This time, the team will likely be more invested in the exercise and provide more thoughtful and creative responses.

Keep repeating the process until you arrive at a mission statement that truly resonates with the team. And if you really want to mix things up, try categorizing the types of words beforehand without revealing that you're working on a mission statement.

By stripping away the jargon and stiffness of a typical mission statement, you allow your team to help you create a more relaxed and honest statement that truly represents them. Plus, you'll have some (read: a lot of) laughs along the way!

10. Organizational Jenga

Remember the good old days of playing Jenga as a kid? Well, buckle up because Organizational Jenga is the grown-up version designed to take your team collaboration, communication, and adaptability to the next level.

Picture this: a towering Jenga structure made up of game blocks with each block labeled with a specific task, challenge, or question related to your organization or team goals. Divide your participants into teams of 4-6 people and assign each member a role such as a tower builder, a task reader, a timer, and a scorekeeper.

Now, the real fun begins. Each team takes turns pulling out a block and completing the designated task or challenge within a set timeframe. But here's the catch: they must work together to complete the task before the time runs out. Talk about teamwork and problem-solving skills at its finest!

As the game progresses, increase the difficulty level of the tasks and challenges on the blocks to keep everyone on their toes. And at the end of the game, evaluate the results to determine which team worked together most effectively and completed the most tasks and challenges.

So, next time you're looking to spice up your team-building activities, ditch the trust falls and give Organizational Jenga a try.

11. What’s My Name?

Ready for a team-building game that's both fun and collaborative? Say hello to "What's My Name?" -— the game that challenges players to work together to uncover the name written on their foreheads!

Here's how to get started: write the name of a famous person, movie character, or any other well-known figure on each name tag and stick one on the forehead of each participant. 

Simple, right?

But here's the catch: participants can't see the name on their own forehead, only the names on others. That's where the "Yes" or "No" questions come in. By asking clever queries like "Am I a singer?" or "Do I have blonde hair?" players must use their detective skills to figure out their own identity.

And the best part? Players can help each other out by sharing information they've gathered from their own questions or giving helpful hints. And to keep things moving, set a time limit of 5-10 minutes per player so everyone gets a chance to participate.

Once the time is up, those who correctly guessed their identity can take a seat, while the rest of the players continue until everyone has had their turn. 

And there you have it!

Our list of the 11 most creative and fun games and activities to encourage team building in your workspace. But do you know what can take your team-building to another level?

Hoppier!

Boost Team-Building Game Participation With Hoppier

Not to toot our own horn, but Hoppier can become your go-to tool to help you host the best team-building games yet, thereby improving your company culture.

Our virtual credit cards are the key to unlocking a world of catering, entertainment, experiences, and corporate gifts — all for a truly global audience. So even if you have employees working remotely on another side of the planet, Hoppier will deliver.

And we're not just talking about any old virtual cards — Hoppier's process is swift, seamless, and designed with ease of use in mind. Simply create and customize your program in moments, then schedule your cards to be sent just before your event.

With Hoppier, you have the power to personalize your cards with your brand colors and logo, set a spending budget, and decide when your guests can spend their balance. And any leftover credit? It's returned to you at the end of the event.

Couldn't get easier than this, right?

What's more, Hoppier's user experience is top-notch. Your employees are led to a stylish page that displays your branded card and all the details they need to order refreshments, buy a subscription, or even treat themselves to a gift. It's the ultimate way to give your game winners and runner-ups a practical award that also feels personalized and goes beyond the usual coffee mugs and journals.

So why settle for boring team-building activities when you can go Hoppier? See it in action today.

Signing Off…

Team building games are a great way to strengthen relationships within a team. By encouraging collaboration and communication, boosting morale and team spirit, enhancing problem-solving skills, improving leadership skills, and fostering inclusivity and diversity, team-building games can help to create a positive work environment. 

There are many different types of team-building games, including icebreakers and energizers, trust-building activities, problem-solving challenges, communication games, and creative team-building games. 

By setting clear goals and expectations, keeping activities fun and engaging, and following up with the next steps, team-building games can be an effective tool for building strong and successful teams. 

Whether it's through physical challenges like the Barter Puzzle or intellectual exercises like Organizational Jenga, team building games can help to break down barriers and foster a sense of trust and camaraderie among team members. 

By organizing team-building games, organizations can create a positive and supportive team culture that promotes creativity, problem-solving, and productivity.

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