36 office competition ideas your team will actually want to play
One-day contests, month-long challenges and remote competition games. Plus the rules, scoring and prizes that keep it friendly.
The best office competition ideas are quick to explain, cheap to run and fun to lose. Below are 36 of them: 12 one-day competitions for the office, 12 week- and month-long office challenges, and 12 team competition games for remote and hybrid teams. Each has the time it takes and what you need. After the list: rules that keep competitions friendly, how to score them and prizes people actually want.
One-day office competitions
Contests that fit in a lunch hour or an afternoon. Good for a Friday, a team day or a holiday party.
1. Desk decorating contest
Pick a theme, give everyone an hour and a small budget, and have another team judge. Photos go in the team channel. Rules and judging sheet: office decorating contest.
1 to 2 hours · decorations, a theme
2. Chili cook-off or bake-off
Volunteers bring a dish, everyone tastes blind and votes with tokens. Have a prize for best dish and best name.
Lunch hour · numbered bowls, voting tokens
3. Team trivia showdown
Teams of four to six, five rounds of ten questions, answers on paper. Mix company questions into general knowledge. Run it yourself: how to host a trivia night. Book it hosted: Team Trivia (in person) or Quiz Showdown!.
60 to 90 minutes · questions, answer sheets
4. Minute-to-win-it games
Sixty-second challenges with cups, balloons and cookies. Teams send a different player to each game. 33 games with setups: minute-to-win-it games.
45 to 60 minutes · cheap props
5. Paper airplane distance contest
Ten minutes to design, three throws each, longest flight wins. Add a prize for most creative design.
30 minutes · paper, tape measure
6. Office scavenger hunt
Teams race to find items and complete photo tasks around the office. Points for speed and creativity. Printable list: office scavenger hunt.
45 to 60 minutes · a printed list
7. Family Feud-style face-off
Survey the office in advance, then two teams guess the top answers. Funny questions beat hard ones. Book it hosted: Feud Night (in person) or Fun-Filled Feud.
45 to 60 minutes · survey answers, a buzzer
8. Pumpkin decorating contest
No knives needed: paint, markers and craft supplies. Categories for scariest, funniest and most on-brand.
1 hour · pumpkins, craft supplies
9. Ugly sweater contest
A December classic. Runway walk, applause vote, and a prize for the person who made their own.
20 minutes · a runway, a prize
10. Lip sync battle
Teams pick a song and get a week to rehearse. Judges score lip sync, costume and crowd reaction.
45 minutes · speakers, a playlist
11. Tower build challenge
Each team gets the same pile of office supplies and fifteen minutes. Tallest tower that stands on its own wins.
30 minutes · paper, tape, clips
12. Office Olympics
Chair races, trash-can basketball, sticky-note relays. Teams march in with a country name and a flag they made. 24 events with rules and scoring: Office Olympics games.
2 to 3 hours · simple props, a podium
Week- and month-long office challenges
Slow-burn office challenges ideas that run in the background. A few minutes a day, a leaderboard and a finale.
13. Step challenge
Teams log daily steps for four weeks. Post the leaderboard weekly and count team averages, not totals. More ideas: workplace wellness challenges.
4 weeks · phones or a shared sheet
14. Healthy habits bingo
A bingo card of small habits: drink water, take the stairs, eat lunch away from the desk. First full line wins.
2 to 4 weeks · printed cards
15. Reading challenge
Count pages or books per team for a month. Finish with a short swap where everyone recommends one book.
4 weeks · a shared sheet
16. Shout-out challenge
Points for shout-outs given to coworkers, not received. Everyone can win, and the habit sticks.
4 weeks · a Slack or Teams channel
17. Learning challenge
Teams earn points for finished courses, talks or new skills shown to the group. Share one lesson each Friday.
4 to 6 weeks · a learning platform or list
18. Office fantasy league
A free fantasy sports league for the season. Keep it free to enter, and give the last-place finisher a funny trophy.
A season · a free fantasy app
19. Bracket challenge
Sixteen entries, one matchup a day: best snack, best movie, best office mug. Everyone votes, and the bracket fills up.
2 to 3 weeks · a bracket poster or poll
20. Photo of the week
A new theme each Monday, entries by Thursday, a vote on Friday. Themes like 'view from my desk' or 'best lunch'.
4 weeks · a team channel
21. Spirit week
Five themed days with points for participation. Teams compete for the best-dressed department. Themes and a planner: spirit week ideas.
1 week · a theme schedule
22. Volunteer hours challenge
Teams log volunteer hours for a month. The winning team picks the charity for a company donation.
4 weeks · a shared sheet
23. Green office challenge
Points for bike-to-work days, reusable cups and lights off at night. Measure what you can count honestly.
4 weeks · a points list
24. Daily trivia leaderboard
One question posted each morning, first correct answer gets a point. Crown a champion at the end of the month. Questions to use: question of the day.
4 weeks · a question a day
Remote team competition ideas
Competition games that work on Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, for remote and hybrid teams.
25. Hosted virtual game show
A live host runs rounds of games straight out of TV game shows, with teams playing for points. All formats: virtual game shows. Book it hosted: Your Favorite Game Shows!.
60 minutes · a video call
26. Virtual Office Olympics
A live host leads three Olympic-style challenges in breakout rooms and the main room, with music and medals. Book it hosted: Office Olympics.
60 minutes · a video call
27. Online trivia
Teams answer in breakout rooms or a shared form. Mix picture rounds and music rounds into general knowledge. Book it hosted: Quiz Showdown! or Trivia with a Twist!.
45 to 60 minutes · questions, a form
28. Virtual escape room
Teams race the clock and each other to solve the same set of puzzles. Fastest escape wins. Play one free: free online escape room. Book it hosted: Beach Vacate-tion Escape Room.
30 to 60 minutes · a video call
29. Baby photo match
Everyone sends a baby photo in advance; teams match photos to coworkers. Most correct matches wins.
20 minutes · photos on a slide
30. Home desk setup contest
Show your workspace on camera or in a photo. Categories for coziest, most organized and best view.
20 minutes · cameras on
31. Virtual scavenger hunt
The host calls out an item; first person to show it on camera scores. Mix easy items with odd ones. Lists to use: virtual scavenger hunt ideas. Book it hosted: Scavenger Hunt with a Twist!.
30 minutes · a list of items
32. Emoji movie quiz
Post movie titles as emoji strings in chat. Teams race to decode them; bonus points for the year it came out.
15 minutes · a list of titles
33. Pet photo contest
Pets on camera or in a shared album. Vote for best name, best nap spot and best cameo during a meeting.
15 minutes · a shared album
34. Jeopardy-style quiz board
Teams pick categories and point values on a shared screen. Wrong answers lose points, so teams have to think. A free board: online Jeopardy-style game.
30 to 45 minutes · a quiz board
35. Two truths and a lie tournament
Each person shares three statements; teams score a point for every lie they catch. Play in rounds, then a final. How to play: two truths and a lie.
20 to 30 minutes · nothing
36. Kit decorating contest
Everyone gets the same kit at home and decorates on a live call. The group votes on the best design at the end. Book it hosted: Cookie Decorating.
60 minutes · kits shipped about 3 weeks ahead
Rules that keep a team competition friendly
Competition brings energy. These rules keep it from turning into rivalry.
- Compete as teams, not individuals. Mixed teams across departments build connections; solo rankings build resentment.
- Keep it optional. Make it easy to cheer or judge instead of play. Nobody should feel they have to.
- Make the stakes small. Bragging rights and a silly trophy beat cash. Big prizes change behavior in the wrong way.
- Reward effort, not just wins. Add categories like most creative or best team name, so more people take something home.
- Keep it inclusive. Avoid contests built on physical ability, drinking or spending money, or offer an equal alternative.
- Set the time limit up front. A clear end keeps energy high and stops a contest from eating the workweek.
- Never tie it to performance. Office games are for fun. Keep them away from reviews, bonuses and sales targets.
How to score office competitions, and what to give as prizes
Scoring
- Post points rules before you start, and keep them to three or four lines.
- Award points for taking part, so every team gets on the board.
- Use team averages for anything people log, so team size doesn't decide it.
- Pick judges from outside the competing teams, or let everyone vote.
- Update a visible leaderboard daily for long challenges.
- Save a bonus round for the end, so trailing teams stay in it.
Prizes people actually want
- A traveling trophy the winners keep until the next contest
- First pick of the next team lunch
- A long lunch or an afternoon off
- A donation to the winning team's chosen charity
- A parking spot or the best meeting room for a month
- Gift cards or a small gift box for each winner
- Naming rights for the next contest
For prizes that ship to remote winners, see our corporate gift boxes. Want winners for every personality, not just every contest? Try office superlatives.
Want someone to run the competition for you?
A host keeps score, keeps the energy up and lets the organizer play too. Our virtual Office Olympics and virtual game shows run on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. In the office, our in-person games run at your office in 17 US cities. Book about 2 weeks ahead.
Hosted competitions, with live prices.
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