15 Best Remote Team Building Games

Team building games are an important activity that helps bring new and previously existed teams closer together. However, due the the recent move to the remote working environment, some of these activities have seized altogether. To help you continue fostering the team spirit, here is a list of 15 best remote team building games. Pick some that would work for your team and enable them to achieve better results together.

Introduction team building games

No matter if you have been working with the same team for years or just a few weeks, there is always something new you can learn about each other. These team-building games will help you do just that as well as letting you feel closer to one another as a result.

1 – What’s in the name?

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 15 minutes

Materials needed: None

Get everyone on a video call and ask each team member to explain the meaning behind his or her name and nicknames (if they have any). This quick and easy exercise will let team members get to know more about their colleagues and get the conversation flowing. If team members want to add anything else to their name and nickname explanations, they should be free to do so.

2 – Penny for your thoughts

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: Coins (Should not be older than your youngest team member)

Gather some coins of varying ages, the oldest one should not be older that your youngest team member. Once in a video call, randomly select a coins from a pile and announce the year it was made. Then ask your team members to describe a memorable event that happened to them that year.

This team-building game is best played for a quick icebreaker before or after meetings. It does not require much preparation and allows team members to find out what they have been doing in different times of their lives.

3 – 3 Truths and a lie

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: None

Once in a video conference ask each of the team members to make four statements for the team – 3 truths and 1 lie. After a team member makes the 4 statements, the rest of team tries to guess, which statement was a lie. Each team member that guesses right, gets one point and at the end the team member with most points wins.

This is not only fun to play, but creates an opportunity for team members to find out interesting facts about one another.

4 – Best and worst

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: None

Ask your team members to write you e-mails with one best and one worst thing they would like to know about the group. This can be anything, like ‘What’s the best meal you ever had’ and ‘What’s the worst trip you have ever taken?’. Then read the questions to the group in a video call and have everyone give their answers. Keep this team building game lighthearted and learn something new about your team.

5 – Office trivia

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 20 minutes

Materials needed: Home office pictures

Ask your team members to send you pictures of their home offices and prepare a presentation of all of them. Then, during the group video call show this presentation and ask your team members to guess who each office belongs to. Each person that guesses right gets a point and at the end the one with most points wins.

Sharing something personal like a picture of your home office will bring team members closer together and will improve team cohesiveness.

Teamwork and communication team building games

If you need to make sure teamwork and communication increases within your team, these next team building games should be just right.

6 – Share your bucket list

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 1 hour

Materials needed: None

First ask your team if they are comfortable sharing their bucket list with the group. If most agree, organize a video call session where everyone shares their top 3 bucket list items. Go team member by team member and ask them to discuss why those items are important to them. Then ask the rest of the team if they have the same items on their list and why.

Follow a natural discussion and allow the team to compare their items and motivations. This will reveal motivations and passions of your team, allowing to build collaboration through shared views.

7 – Game of possibilities

Group size: Small or large

Time: 10-60 minutes

Materials needed: Random object

Ask your team members to take one random object from their home. You can be more specific, asking to take an object from their office or their kitchen. Then, ask each team member to demonstrate the use of their object to the group without speaking. The team must guess what object their colleague has in mind. This simple team building game allows the group to work together in trying to guess the item and have some fun with acting out different objects.

8 – Do you see what I see?

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: Paper and pen

Choose one or couple people on your team and send them a picture with various shapes on it. Use different pictures for each employee you choose. Then once in a video conference, ask that team member to describe the picture they have received and ask the rest of the team to draw what has been described. Once everyone has finished drawing, ask them show their pictures and compare them to the original.

This team building game will let the team analyze differences in perception and look for ways to improve communication.

9 – Online gaming session

Group size: Several small groups

Time: 1-2 hours

Materials needed: Chosen online game

Ask the team members what online games they like to play and pick something that everyone can participate in. Then divide team members into groups required for the game (try to mix up people that usually work closely together) and organize the gaming session. Most of the multiplayer games require good collaboration and communication and will allow your team to work on these skill in a fun environment.

10 – Pandemic

Group size: Groups of 2-5 people

Time: 1-2 hours

Materials needed: Pandemic mobile app

What could be more appropriate for your remote team than working together to fight the pandemic? Pandemic mobile app is a great option for your online gaming session as each person has a specific role they must complete in order for the team to succeed. Showing that each team member is crucial for achieving long term goals and only teams that work together can achieve required results.

Problem solving and creativity team building games

This last batch of team building games will foster creativity and problem solving skills in your remote teams.

11- Idea building blocks

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: E-mail

Come up with a fictional problem you will ask your team to solve. This can be anything from a riddle to a real issue they may encounter at work. Present this problem and ask each team member to write an e-mail explaining their solution in a couple of sentences. Then ask each team member to send their solution to a fellow team member (prepare a list in advance to avoid confusion) and come up with a new idea to solve the problem based on the solution they got. Lastly, discuss the final solutions and how they have changed having input from another person.

This activity promotes both – creativity and ability expand on others ideas.

12 – What is on your desk?

Group size: Small

Time: 1 hour

Materials needed: Various objects

Ask each team member to pick a random object from their desk (do not tell them what it is for). Then ask them to use this chosen object as a basis for a new product and create a fictitious logo, business plan and slogan for this new product. Team members can use anything in their possession to create these items and will then take turns presenting them to the rest of the group. This team building game will promote creativity and show the importance of marketing for any product.

13 – Show and tell

Group size: Small or large

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: Various objects

Ask each team member to get an object that reminds them of a positive experience in their life. Once in a video call ask the team members to present the object and share their experiences with the rest of the group. This simple display will bring out the creativity in trying to tell the story in an interesting way and will give an opportunity to learn something new about the team.

14 – Heads up

Group size: Small or large

Time: 30 minutes

Materials needed: List of famous people or characters

There are various versions of this game, from cards to apps, but the idea remains the same. Each player is assigned a card with a famous person or a character. This is known by the entire team except the player in question. Then by asking their team various yes or no questions, they must guess what is on their card. This is a fun team building game that can be easily used for remote teams. Simply send out e-mails to the group, excluding the person that is guessing.

15 – Story around the circle

Group size: Small or medium

Time: 25 minutes

Material needed: None

Gather your team in a video call and ask them to tell a story one sentence at a time. You will start the story with one pre-planned sentence and then going in a circle, each team member will add on one more sentence to the story until the last person will finish it. This will promote creativity in team members asking them to actively listen to their team members and come up with something to move the story plot forward.

Team building games is a fun activity that should not be forgotten when you are working remotely. It enhances collaboration and team spirit which can have significant effect on the end results. So keep playing to get the best out of your team!