35 get to know you games for new teams and new hires
Games that help a team learn who’s who, without anyone feeling put on the spot. In person and remote, with 30 questions to use in any of them.
The best get to know you games are short, low-pressure and repeated. A five-minute round at every meeting does more than one long session. Below are 35 getting to know you games and activities for new teams and new hires: quick games for meetings, activities for someone’s first weeks, in-person games for a kickoff and remote games for teams that have never met. Each one lists players, time and what you need.
Quick picks by situation
Under 10 minutes
A new hire's first week
A new team in one room
A team that's never met
Quick getting to know you games for meetings
Five to ten minutes at the start of a meeting. Light enough for a Monday, useful enough to repeat every week.
1. Two truths and a lie
Each person shares three statements about themselves, one false. The group guesses the lie before the reveal. Rules and 100 example statements.
4 to 15 players · 10 to 15 min · Nothing
2. Rose, bud, thorn
Everyone shares a highlight from their week (rose), something they're looking forward to (bud) and one small frustration (thorn).
3 to 12 players · 10 min · Nothing
3. This or that
Read quick pairs, like coffee or tea, early bird or night owl, beach or mountains. People answer with a hand or in the chat, and you ask one person to explain each round.
4 to 50 players · 5 min · A list of pairs
4. Hot seat
One volunteer answers five rapid questions from the group, no skipping and no long answers. Rotate a different person each meeting. 100 hot seat questions.
4 to 15 players · 5 min · A question list
5. First job
Everyone shares their first paid job and one thing it taught them. Expect lifeguards, paper routes and at least one mascot costume.
3 to 15 players · 10 min · Nothing
6. Desert island picks
Each person names one book, one food and one tool they'd take to a desert island, and why.
3 to 12 players · 10 min · Nothing
7. Mug and object stories
Everyone holds up the mug or object closest to them and tells where it came from in 30 seconds.
3 to 15 players · 10 min · Nothing
8. Harmless hot takes
Each person shares a mild unpopular opinion about food, movies or habits, like 'breakfast for dinner is better than breakfast'. The group votes agree or disagree.
4 to 20 players · 10 min · Nothing
9. One-word check-in
Around the room, one word for how the week is going, then one sentence on why. Fast, honest and a good read on the team.
3 to 20 players · 5 min · Nothing
10. Question of the day
Open every meeting with one light question, like the best meal you had this year. Everyone answers in a sentence. 260 daily questions for work.
3 to 30 players · 5 min · A question list
Get to know you activities for new hires
For someone's first weeks. These help a new person learn the team, and the team learn them, without a spotlight.
11. Personal user manual
The new hire fills in a one-page 'how to work with me': best hours, how they like feedback, what they're learning. Teammates share theirs too, so it isn't one-sided.
Any team size · 20 min · A one-page template
12. Buddy coffee chats
Pair the new hire with a different teammate for a 20-minute chat each day of their first two weeks, with three starter questions so nobody stalls.
Pairs · 20 min each · A calendar
13. Ask me about
Everyone lists three topics they could talk about for ten minutes, work or not, in a shared doc. The new hire picks two people to ask.
Any team size · 10 min · A shared doc
14. Fact match
Collect one surprising fact from each teammate. The new hire gets the list and the team photos and has a week to match them all.
5 to 30 players · 15 min · A fact list and photos
15. Week-one bingo
Give the new hire a bingo card of squares like 'find someone who has worked here five years' or 'learn the best lunch spot'. Prize for a full line by Friday. Make free icebreaker bingo cards.
Any team size · One week · A printed card
16. Career timeline
Each person draws a line with five points: jobs, moves and turning points that led them here, then talks through it in three minutes.
3 to 10 players · 20 min · Paper or a whiteboard
17. Teach me in five
Each teammate teaches the group one small thing in five minutes: a keyboard shortcut, a recipe, a card trick. The new hire goes last.
3 to 10 players · 30 min · Nothing
18. Welcome video round
Before day one, each teammate records a 30-second hello with their name, role and one non-work fact. The new hire watches them on their first morning.
Any team size · 5 min to record · Phones
In-person games for new teams
For a kickoff, an offsite or the first week a new team shares a room.
19. Common ground circles
Form groups of four. Each group finds something they all share that isn't work, then one thing only one of them has done.
8 to 60 players · 10 min · Nothing
20. Speed chats
Two lines face each other. Ask a question, give pairs two minutes, then one line shifts one place. Five rounds covers five new people.
10 to 60 players · 15 min · A timer and questions
21. Silent line up
Line up by birthday, then by length of commute, without talking. Check the order out loud at the end.
8 to 40 players · 10 min · Floor space
22. Map pins
Hang a world map and have everyone place a pin where they grew up and one where they'd love to go next. Leave it up for the week.
Any group size · 10 min · A map and pins
23. Name and gesture
In a circle, each person says their name with a gesture. The group repeats every name and gesture before the next person goes. Names stick.
6 to 20 players · 10 min · Nothing
24. Marshmallow challenge
Teams get 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string and one marshmallow. In 18 minutes, build the tallest standing structure with the marshmallow on top.
Teams of 4 · 25 min · Spaghetti, tape, string, marshmallows
25. Show and tell table
Everyone brings one object that says something about them and puts it on a table. Guess the owner of each before they tell the story.
6 to 25 players · 20 min · One object each
26. What's in your bag
Each person pulls one item from their bag or pocket and explains why it's there. The stranger the item, the better the story.
4 to 15 players · 10 min · Nothing
27. Lunch roulette
Once a week, draw names for lunch tables of four from across teams. One rule: no talking about current projects for the first ten minutes.
8 or more · 45 min · A name draw
Remote get to know you games for Zoom and Slack
For teams that have never met in person. Some run on a call, some run in a chat channel all week.
28. Coffee roulette
Pair people at random every week for a 15-minute video coffee. Post the pairs in a channel with one starter question.
Any team size · 15 min · A chat channel
29. Photo of the day
Post one photo prompt a day in a channel: your view right now, your lunch, your pet or plant. Everyone replies with a picture.
Any team size · 2 min a day · A chat channel
30. Team map
Share a blank online map and have everyone drop a pin where they work from and where they grew up. Talk through the surprises on the next call.
Any team size · 10 min · A shared map
31. Breakout question cards
Send groups of three or four to breakout rooms with three questions each. Eight minutes, then each room shares one answer that surprised them.
8 to 100 players · 15 min · A question list
32. Guess whose desk
Collect desk or window photos ahead of time. Show them one at a time and let the team guess the owner in the chat. More guessing games for teams.
5 to 40 players · 15 min · Photos sent ahead
33. Emoji intro
Each person introduces themselves in five emojis in the chat. The team decodes them before the owner explains.
4 to 50 players · 10 min · Nothing
34. Something that says you
Give everyone 60 seconds to grab one thing from their home that says something about them, then go around the call.
4 to 20 players · 15 min · Nothing
35. Team playlist
Everyone adds one song to a shared playlist without saying which. Play it during the next call and guess who added each track.
4 to 30 players · 15 min · A shared playlist
30 get to know you questions for work
Work-safe questions for speed chats, breakout rooms, the hot seat or a question of the day.
- What was your first paid job?
- What's a skill you'd love to learn this year?
- What's the best meal you've had recently?
- Morning person or night owl?
- What's your go-to order at a coffee shop?
- What's a place you'd go back to tomorrow?
- What did you want to be when you were ten?
- What's a small thing that makes your day better?
- What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
- What's a hobby you've picked up as an adult?
- What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday?
- What's a book, show or podcast you'd recommend?
- What's one app you couldn't work without?
- What's your most-used emoji?
- Where did you grow up?
- What's a food you refuse to eat?
- What's your favorite season and why?
- What's the most interesting job you've ever had?
- If you could have any office perk, what would it be?
- What's a talent most people don't know you have?
- Which fictional character would make the best coworker?
- What's your favorite thing about where you live?
- What's a trip you're planning or dreaming about?
- What's the best concert or show you've seen?
- What's a goal you're working toward outside work?
- Cats, dogs, both or neither?
- What do you do to switch off after work?
- What's your favorite snack at your desk?
- What's a tradition from your family you still keep?
- What's one thing you'd like the team to know about how you work?
Need more? Try our hot seat questions or a question of the day for every workday.
How to run get to know you games without the cringe
Most people don't hate icebreakers. They hate being put on the spot. Six rules that fix it:
- Go first yourself. Your answer sets the tone and the length. Keep it short, a little self-deprecating and work-safe.
- Let people pass. Say it out loud before you start. Nobody should have to share something personal to fit in.
- Keep questions light. Skip anything about family plans, health, money, politics or religion. Food, travel and first jobs work for everyone.
- Use small groups. Three or four people talk more freely than twelve. Split up, then ask each group to share one highlight.
- Repeat it. A five-minute game every week does more than one big session. People get to know each other a little at a time.
- Follow up. Mention what someone shared next time it fits. That's the moment people feel known, not just asked.
A first-month plan for a new hire or new team
Spread the activities out so getting to know each other happens a little at a time.
- Before day one: a welcome video round and a personal user manual template in their inbox.
- Week one: a quick game at every team meeting, week-one bingo and the first buddy coffee chats.
- Week two: fact match, an ask me about doc and a teach me in five session.
- Month one: a full team event where the new person plays on a team, not in a spotlight. A hosted game works well here.
For more ideas beyond the first month, see our team bonding activities.
Want a host to run it for your team?
Our hosts run get to know you games, networking rounds and game shows live on your video call, on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request). New hires play on a team, so nobody is in a spotlight. See our new hire onboarding activities.
Hosted get to know you games, with today’s prices. Book about 2 weeks ahead.
Onboarding a whole cohort? Get a free quote with your date and headcount.
