Online team-building games: 20 fun virtual games best for remote teams

Online team-building games: 20 fun virtual games best for remote teams

Online team-building games are activities designed to unite remote teams and foster collaboration through virtual platforms. These games encourage interaction and teamwork among team members who may be geographically dispersed. They range from fun icebreakers to strategic challenges to enhance morale and build trust in virtual work environments.

A gaming designer trying a new driving simulator (L), a young woman wearing a virtual reality headset (R)
A good virtual team-building session goes beyond fun; it helps remote employees understand each other's thinking. Photo: Visualspace, Luis Alvarez (modified by author)
Source: Getty Images

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Virtual teams benefit from team building in terms of staying engaged and developing skills. Using activities and games at the start of a virtual meeting is a great way to engage your team. Additionally, online team-building games offer productive, enjoyable ways to keep employees happy and committed to the company.

Online team-building games

A good virtual team-building session goes beyond fun; it helps remote employees understand each other's thinking, working styles, beliefs, and interests. Whether you're orienting new hires or strengthening team bonds, these creative activities will successfully engage your team in quick virtual sessions.

1. Would You Rather?

Read also

30+ Presentation topics and ideas that will make anyone listen to you

Would You Rather? This is a great team-bonding idea for working-at-home employees. It is simple to play and great for breaking the ice. Participants choose between moving to different sides of the room or using a poll slide deck in virtual meetings. You can explore a wide range of Would You Rather questions related to your work and office environment.

2. Lightning Scavenger Hunts

Lightning Scavenger Hunts are dynamic online team-building games for remote employees that ignite creativity. Participants race against the clock to find specific items or complete quirky challenges within their homes. They capture their findings via video or photo and share them in real time on a virtual platform like Slack or Zoom.

3. Two Truths and a Lie - 2 Ways!

Encourage team bonding with a game of 2 Truths and 1 Lie. Use a prepared deck for virtual play: have team members email you their facts and falsehoods. Duplicate the deck in your account, insert everyone's details, and launch it during a Zoom call. All players join using their smartphones, and scores are automatically tracked.

Read also

Gifts for nurses: 30 Thoughtful and unique gifts that will make them feel pampered

4. Typing Speed Race

A man typing on a laptop
Online office games promote creativity and problem-solving, benefiting overall team productivity. Photo: Westend61
Source: Getty Images

This is one of the loved online team games for work. Use a free tool like TypingTest for a one-minute challenge. Each team member shares their results on Slack or email. For added teamwork, try a Typing Speed Relay: form teams and combine scores for a collective total. Fast typing skills benefit everyone in remote work, making it a win-win game for all.

5. Never have I ever

It's an online adaptation of the classic party game tailored for professional settings. Participants start with five fingers raised. Teams take turns saying things they haven't done at work, like Never have I ever taken a colleague's snacks. If someone has done what's mentioned, they lower a finger. When all fingers are down, they're out of the game.

6. Tea vs. Coffee

Get to know your teammates better with a simple icebreaker on Slide Deck Wars (SFW), covering topics like tea vs. coffee. Copy the deck to your free or pro account, customise it for your team, and launch it to see where everyone stands on ten this-or-those questions. The deck also includes trivia for a competitive twist.

Read also

20 thoughtful gifts for a 4-year-old girl: Fun and educative toys

7. Virtual Werewolf

Werewolf is a top remote team-building game filled with deceit and strategy. It's great for remote teams as it mainly relies on speaking. To play, nominate a narrator and assign roles such as werewolf, villager, medic, seer, and hunter via private message. The game starts with the narrator announcing that the night has fallen and players closing their eyes.

8. Who Is It?

This is a perfect 5-minute team-building game for quick and fun engagement. In this fun game, each participant anonymously submits a fun fact about themselves to the organiser. The organiser reads each fact aloud, and the team guesses who the point belongs to. This game encourages interaction and strengthens team bonds among the participants.

9. Heads up

In this game, one person guesses the word a teammate describes without seeing it themselves. To play, download the Heads Up! app, create an account, and form teams of 4-5 people on Zoom. The guesser holds the phone to their head, and teammates take turns describing the word until it's guessed.

Read also

50 Fun office games to promote teamwork: Curated for all occasions

10. Virtual Pictionary

A young man wearing virtual reality glasses and gesturing in the office
Online office games promote creativity and problem-solving, benefiting overall team productivity. Photo: Alvarez
Source: Getty Images

This is one of the free online team-building games. It is easy to play virtually with free online drawing tools. To play Pictionary, get your team on Zoom and have them open Sketchpad on Sketch.io. Send a prompt from Pictionary Generator to the assigned drawer in the chat, and have them share their screen.

11. Virtual Typing Competition

A relaxed way to start team building is with a virtual typing competition. All you need is a program everyone can access and the ability to share your screen on Zoom. This lets the entire group participate and showcase their typing skills together. It's a simple and engaging activity that everyone can enjoy.

12. Guess the Emoji Keyboard

This is one of the fun online team-building games for remote employees. In this game, team members take screenshots of their emoji keyboards and share them. The group then tries to guess whose keyboard is whose. It's a simple and enjoyable way to connect and engage with your remote team.

Read also

What is the easiest sport? 10 easiest sports to learn and play

13. Chair Up! (Positive Powerup)

Chair Up! is one of the best online team-building games, bringing fun and energy to virtual meetings. In this game, participants race to find and sit in specific types of chairs within their homes, following instructions from the game host. This activity encourages physical movement and fosters quick thinking and creativity.

14. Can You Hear Me Now?

This is a popular online team game suitable for virtual conference calls. One person acts as the describer, while others are artists. The describer explains how to draw an item using only geometric terms, like "Draw a large square," without direct references. Each round lasts about three minutes. Points are awarded to both players for correct guesses, with prizes for the winners.

15. Virtual tell a tale

This activity serves as a quick icebreaker to boost creativity and communication. One person starts with a phrase like Once upon a time in my city, and others continue adding lines. The exercise is often super hilarious, and the host can control the duration. Structure it with an intro, plot, and ending for added interest while the host ensures the story stays on track and fresh.

Read also

25 fun challenges to do with friends both at home and in transit

16. Spreadsheet Wars

A woman playing a computer game on a laptop at night
Online games provide a fun break from work, reducing stress and preventing burnout. Photo: Thana Prasongsin
Source: Getty Images

Spreadsheet Wars is one of the most engaging team bonding games. In this challenge, team members compete to create the most effective and creative spreadsheets within a time limit. This game enhances Excel skills and promotes collaboration and quick thinking. It's fun to build team spirit and camaraderie through a shared goal.

17. A World of Risk

Risk is one of the classic games, especially for the young generation. It is known to be a game of global domination that perfectly matches your aspirations. It involves intense collaboration, friendly competition, resource management, and strategic planning, making it ideal for online team-building.

18. Sudoku Throw-down

The Sudoku Throw-down game is an exciting addition to virtual games for team building. In this challenge, participants compete to solve Sudoku puzzles within a set time limit. The game encourages collaboration, strategic thinking, and quick problem-solving, making it a fun and effective way to strengthen team bonds and enhance communication skills in a virtual setting.

Read also

Boss Day 2024: Creative ideas on how to celebrate and gift your boss

19. Guess the Refrigerator

To play this game, you must submit refrigerator photos to an organiser, who shares them in a channel for guessing. Players match photos to owners, submit guesses, and the organiser tallies scores to declare a winner. Sharing fridge contents adds a fun, vulnerable element to the game, enhancing virtual team engagement.

20. Virtual Scavenger Hunt

This is an exciting addition to online team-building activities for small groups. Participants join a video call and receive a list of items to find within their own homes. They race against each other to locate and show the items on camera, earning points for each successful find. This game promotes teamwork and creativity while fostering a sense of fun among players.

Online team-building games are essential for creating bonds and boosting morale among remote teams. These games break the ice and foster collaboration and communication in virtual work environments. By engaging in these activities, teams can strengthen relationships, enhance problem-solving skills, and increase productivity.

Read also

25 top places to go with friends: Fun places to visit with your friends on a budget

Yen.com.gh featured an informative piece about the latest Metro games in order. Metro are a series of post-apocalyptic first-person shooter video games that are part of a larger franchise that includes novels.

If you are an avid gamer, you might be familiar with Metro. It contains various chapters, making it difficult for new players to know which chapter to begin. So, how many chapters does it have? And, what is the best way to play Metro in order? Discover more details in this post.

Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Peris Wamangu avatar

Peris Wamangu (Lifestyle writer) Peris Wamangu is a reporter with more than four years of experience as a content writer. Peris joined Yen in 2024. Before that, she worked with Legit's team from 2021 to 2024. Peris graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Nairobi in 2019. She enjoys writing about various topics such as fashion, currency, biographies, entertainment and business. In 2023, Peris finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. Email: wamanguperis@gmail.com

Tags: