60 fun Slack channel ideas, each with a first post to copy
A channel name, what goes in it and a first post with a copy button. Plus 12 games to run in a channel and how to keep one alive.
KraftyLab TeamUpdated 12 min read
Good fun Slack channel ideas start from things people already talk about: pets, food, sports, the outdoors, books, shows and small wins. These 60 channels each come with a ready name, a one-line purpose for the channel description and a first post you can copy, because an empty channel with a clever name is where most social channels die. They work just as well as Microsoft Teams channels. Below them: 12 office Slack games, naming conventions and how to launch a channel so people keep posting.
Fun Slack channels for pets and food
The two safest bets in any workspace. Nearly everyone has a pet, a snack opinion or a dinner problem to solve.
Pets
#pet-roll-call One introduction for every animal on the team.
Pet roll call! Post a photo of your pet, their name and the one thing they would complain about if they could talk. No pet? Tell us about the best animal you've ever met.
#pets-on-camera Animal cameos from video calls, after the fact.
Whose pet has walked across the keyboard or barked through a meeting lately? Share the moment, or a photo of the culprit.
#pet-advice Tips on training, gear, vets and travel with animals.
Let's pool what we know: what's one product or trick that made life with your pet easier?
#shelter-pets Animals from local shelters looking for homes, and adoption stories.
This channel is for animals looking for a home near any of us. Post a shelter listing with the city, and share your own adoption story if you have one.
Food and recipes
#snack-reviews Grocery and office snacks, rated out of 10.
Snack review time: name one snack, give it a score out of 10 and defend that score in one sentence.
#weeknight-dinners Recipes that take 30 minutes or less.
What's your go-to dinner when you have 30 minutes and no plan? Recipe links welcome, rough instructions even better.
#coffee-and-tea Beans, brewing methods, mugs and favorite cafes.
How do you take your coffee or tea, and what's the best cafe within walking distance of where you work?
#baking-club Bakes, fails and sourdough starter updates.
Welcome, bakers. Share the last thing you baked, whether it came out perfect or collapsed in the middle.
#hot-sauce-club Hot sauces, spice blends and heat ratings.
Rank your current hot sauce lineup from mildest to wildest. Bonus points for one nobody here has heard of.
Fun Slack channels: sports, outdoors, books, games, theater and crafts
Hobby channels are where people find their two or three coworkers who share a niche, from a run club to a fun Slack channel for theater events. Launch the ones your team keeps bringing up in meetings.
Sports
#sports-talk Scores, trades and big games, across every sport.
What team do you follow, and how are you feeling about their season right now? Rivalries allowed, keep it friendly.
#fantasy-football The office league: draft night, trades and friendly weekly banter.
Fantasy football league is forming. Reply with a thumbs up if you're in, and suggest a draft night that works across time zones.
#run-club Runs, races and routes, from first 5Ks to marathons.
Runners, say hi: what's your usual distance, and do you have a race coming up? Walkers and beginners are welcome here too.
#bike-commuters Routes, gear and weather calls for people who ride to work.
Who rides to the office? Share your route length and the one piece of gear you couldn't do without.
#pickleball Find partners, book courts and swap tips.
Anyone up for pickleball after work? Reply with your level, from never played to tournament regular, and your nearest courts.
Outdoors
#trail-reports Hikes worth doing, with photos and difficulty.
Post the best hike you've done this year: where it is, how long it took and one photo from the top.
#camping-and-gear Campsites, packing lists and gear that held up.
What's the one piece of camping gear you would buy again tomorrow? And the one you regret?
#veggie-patch Gardens, harvests, seed swaps and pest battles.
Gardeners, what are you growing right now? Photos of tiny tomatoes count.
#bird-sightings Birds spotted from desks, balconies and trails.
Seen anything interesting at the feeder or outside the window lately? Post the bird, or your best guess at what it was.
Books
#book-club One book a month and a short call to talk about it.
Book club starts here. Suggest one book under 350 pages for next month and we'll vote with emoji on Friday.
#audiobooks-and-podcasts What people listen to on walks, commutes and chores.
What are you listening to this week? Share one audiobook or podcast episode and who would like it.
#book-swap Finished paper books, passed along in the office.
Got a book you've finished and don't need to keep? Post the title, and the first person to reply gets it at the office.
Gaming, sci-fi and puzzles
#video-games What people are playing, on any console, PC or phone.
What game are you playing right now, and would you recommend it to a coworker who has 30 minutes a night?
#tabletop-games Board games, card games and role-playing campaigns.
What's a board or card game you could teach a new group in ten minutes? Recommendations for game night start here.
#sci-fi-and-fantasy Books, shows and films with spaceships, dragons or both.
Fellow sci-fi and fantasy fans: what's the one series you would hand to someone new to the genre?
#daily-puzzles Word, number and logic puzzles, with scores posted spoiler-free.
Daily puzzle people, post your result today. No answers in the channel before 5pm, so nobody gets spoiled.
Theater, film and comedy
#theater-nights Shows people are seeing, and group ticket plans.
Seen a great show lately, onstage or at a local theater? Share it here, and say if you would want to organize a group night.
#film-club One movie a month, watched separately, discussed together.
Film club, round one: reply with a movie you think everyone should see at least once. We'll pick from the replies.
#comedy-and-improv Stand-up specials, sketch shows and local improv nights.
What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud: a special, a sketch or a show? Links welcome, clean picks only.
Crafts and making things
#knit-and-stitch Knitting, crochet, embroidery and sewing projects.
Show us what's on your needles or hoop right now, finished or very much not.
#woodworking Shop projects, tool advice and before-and-after photos.
Woodworkers, what are you building? Share a project photo and the tool that did the most work.
#home-diy Repairs, upgrades and weekend projects around the house.
What's the best home fix you did yourself? Tell us what it was and how many tries it took.
Channels for wins, kudos and learning
Recognition and learning channels do real work for a team, and they stay friendly when the posts are short and specific.
Wins and kudos
#version-two Work that got better, with the old version next to the new one.
Show a before and after from your work this month: a cleaner slide, a faster report, a simpler form. One line on what changed.
#thank-you-notes Longer thank-yous worth keeping, from teammates and managers.
Use this channel for the thank-yous that deserve more than an emoji. Start with someone whose help you never properly thanked.
#first-week-wins New hires share the first things they got done.
New here? Post one thing you figured out or finished this week, however small. Everyone else, cheer them on.
This one is for life outside work. What's something you finished, learned or tried for the first time recently?
#we-fixed-it Problems the team finally solved, and who solved them.
Post a problem that got solved this week, big or small, and tag the people who solved it.
Learning
#lunch-and-learn Topics, sign-ups and recordings for internal talks.
Want to run a 20-minute lunch and learn? Reply with a topic you could teach, work-related or not.
#shortcuts-and-tips Keyboard shortcuts, tool tips and small time savers.
Share one shortcut or tool tip that saves you time every day. Bonus if it's in software we all use.
#language-exchange Practice partners for anyone learning a language.
Learning a language, or happy to help someone practice yours? Reply with what you speak and what you're learning.
#career-growth Courses, certifications, mentoring and career questions.
What's one course, book or habit that helped your career more than you expected?
#conference-notes Takeaways from events people attend, in a few lines.
Going to a conference or webinar? Post your top three takeaways here afterward so the rest of us learn something too.
Local, wellness and caregiver channels
Channels that connect people by where they live and what they're juggling. Keep wellness channels opt-in and free of body or diet talk.
Local and city channels
#lunch-near-the-office Where to eat within a short walk, with prices.
Best lunch within a ten-minute walk: name the place, the dish and roughly what it costs.
#commute-buddies Carpools, transit tips and travel delays.
Looking for carpool or transit buddies? Reply with your neighborhood or line and the days you come in.
#local-events Festivals, markets, concerts and free things happening nearby.
Anything good happening near you this weekend? Post the event, the date and whether it's free.
#denver-locals Everyone who lives near one office or city; copy the pattern for each.
Hi, Denver people. Introduce yourself with your neighborhood and one local spot a newcomer shouldn't miss.
Wellness
#daily-walk Walks, step counts optional, and photos from the route.
Took a walk today? Post one photo from it. No step counts required, just proof you saw daylight.
#mindful-minute Short breathing breaks, calming apps and quiet moments.
Daily reminder to pause: take one minute away from the screen, then reply with a leaf emoji when you have.
#fitness-buddies Find a workout partner or an opt-in challenge to join.
Looking for a workout buddy or some friendly accountability? Reply with what you like to do and when.
#screen-free-weekends Things people did on the weekend that didn't need a screen.
What did you do this weekend without a screen? A walk, a board game, a repair or a long nap all count.
Parents and caregivers
#working-parents School runs, sick days, recommendations and solidarity.
Parents, what's one thing that makes busy mornings run smoother in your house?
#caregivers-circle Support for anyone caring for a parent, partner or relative.
This is a space for anyone caring for a family member. Share a resource that helped, or just say hello.
#kids-art-gallery Drawings and creations from the team's kids, nieces and nephews.
Our gallery is open. Post a drawing or creation from a young artist in your life, with the title they gave it.
Random, meme and music channels
Every workspace needs somewhere for the off-topic stuff. These keep it work-safe. For more names, see our funny group chat names, and for a music channel's first month of picks, our songs about work.
Random and memes, work-safe
#mild-opinions Low-stakes takes on everyday things, nothing heated.
Share a mild opinion about something everyday, like the right way to load a dishwasher. Keep it light, no politics.
#emoji-only A channel where every message is emoji, no words.
Rules of this channel: emoji only, no words. Start by describing your weekend.
#rabbit-holes Deep dives people fell into online, summed up in a few lines.
What's the last internet rabbit hole you fell into? Give us the topic and the strangest thing you learned.
#view-from-my-desk Photos of the view from wherever people are working.
Where are you working today? Post the view from your desk, window or kitchen table.
#weird-questions Odd, harmless questions with no right answer.
Weird question of the week: if your house had a theme song, what would it be?
Music
#song-of-the-day One person posts one song each day, with one line on why.
Song of the day starts now. Post one clean song and one line on why it's today's pick, then tag who picks tomorrow.
#concert-crew Shows people are going to, and who wants to come along.
Got a concert coming up? Post who you're seeing and when, in case anyone else is going.
#musicians People who play, sing or write music, at any level.
Who plays an instrument or sings? Reply with what you play and how long you've been at it, from beginner to gigging.
12 Slack games to run in a channel
These office Slack games run on messages, threads and emoji reactions; only the GIF game needs more. Each has a starter post to copy. For a daily question, use our question of the day, and for more ideas see GIF games and games to play over text.
1. Morning question thread. Post one light question at the same time each morning; answers go in the thread all day.
Morning question: what's a small thing that always improves your day? Answers in the thread.
2. Photo prompt of the week. Post a theme on Monday, collect photos all week and react with your favorites on Friday.
This week's photo prompt is something blue. Post yours in the thread by Friday, and react to your favorites.
3. Friday caption contest. Share one work-safe photo, take caption replies until 3pm and crown the one with the most reactions.
Caption contest! Reply with your best caption for this photo by 3pm. Most reactions wins bragging rights.
4. Emoji poll. Give two to four options, each with its own emoji, and let reactions do the voting.
Emoji poll: best office snack? React with a cookie, a pretzel, an apple or a chocolate bar.
5. GIFs-only replies. Ask a question that people can only answer with a GIF. Check your workspace allows GIFs first.
GIFs only for this one: show us how your week is going.
6. Guess the project in emoji. Describe a team project, tool or office spot using only emoji; first correct guess in the thread wins.
Guess the project: [your emoji clue]. First right guess in the thread picks the next puzzle.
7. Extreme close-up. Post a zoomed-in photo of an everyday object and let people guess what it is.
Extreme close-up: what's in this photo? It's something on my desk. Guesses in the thread, reveal at 4pm.
8. Guess whose song. Everyone sends you a song by direct message; post them one a day and let the channel guess who picked it.
DM me one clean song you love by Wednesday. Next week I'll post one a day and you guess who picked it.
9. Where was this taken? Someone posts a travel or hometown photo with no landmarks named, and the channel guesses the place.
Where in the world was this photo taken? Closest guess by end of day posts the next one.
10. Count to 100. The channel counts up one message at a time; nobody posts twice in a row, and a mistake sends it back to 1.
Let's count to 100 together, one number per message. Nobody posts twice in a row, and a mistake means back to 1. I'll start: 1
11. A to Z thread. Pick a topic and go through the alphabet in the thread, one letter per reply.
A to Z, foods edition: reply with the next letter. I'll start with A for apple pie.
12. New emoji contest. Collect ideas for a new custom emoji and vote with reactions. If your workspace limits custom emoji to admins, ask one to add the winner.
Our workspace needs a new custom emoji. Reply with an idea and what it means, and the most reactions by Friday wins.
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Topical Slack channels only work when people can tell from the name what belongs there.
1Name it after what goes in it. #bird-sightings tells people exactly what to post. A clever name nobody can decode stays empty. Even a geek sci-fi Slack channel name works best plain: #sci-fi-and-fantasy beats an inside joke.
2Pick one prefix for social channels. Starting every social channel with the same word, like fun-, club- or social-, keeps them together when people browse or search for channels.
3Keep it to two or three words. Short names fit in the sidebar without being cut off. Slack channel names are lowercase with no spaces, so join words with hyphens.
4Choose names that include everyone they're for. #working-parents welcomes every parent; a name like #soccer-moms leaves out dads and anyone whose kids don't play soccer.
5Write the purpose in the description. One line in the channel's description or topic, like the purposes above, answers what belongs here before anyone has to ask.
6Use the same names in Microsoft Teams. Teams channels live inside a team and allow capitals and spaces, so #book-club becomes Book Club. The ideas work the same way.
How to launch a channel so it doesn't die
Most social channels fade because nobody owns them. If your company has a culture committee, this is a good job for it; our culture committee ideas cover the rest of its calendar.
1Give it an owner. One person posts the weekly prompt and answers questions. A channel without an owner usually goes quiet within weeks.
2Seed it before you announce it. Ask three or four people to post in it first, so the first visitor sees a conversation instead of an empty room.
3Announce it with the first post. Share the channel in your main team channel with its first question already live, so joining and answering is one step.
4Set a weekly ritual. A fixed prompt on a fixed day, like photos on Wednesday or a song on Friday, gives people a reason to come back.
5Check in after six weeks. If nobody has posted for a month, archive it or merge it into a related channel. Fewer, busier channels beat many quiet ones.
Etiquette to pin in every fun channel
Joining is optional, and so is posting. Lurkers are welcome.
Keep it work-safe: if you wouldn't say it at a team lunch, don't post it.
Reply in threads so the channel stays readable.
Skip @channel and @here in social channels; nobody needs a ping about sourdough.
No work requests in fun channels. Take them to the right work channel.
Mind time zones: schedule posts for working hours where most members are.
Feel free to mute a channel. Nobody will take it personally.
Channels are one part of a lighter workweek. For games, rituals and events, see our fun activities at work.
Slack and Microsoft Teams are trademarks of their owners. KraftyLab isn't affiliated with them.
Slack channel ideas FAQ
What are some fun Slack channel ideas?
Start with channels tied to things people already share: pets (#pet-roll-call), food (#snack-reviews), hobbies (#trail-reports, #book-club), wins (#we-fixed-it) and music (#song-of-the-day). Launch two or three with a first post ready rather than ten at once, and add more as people ask. A Slack channel for fun ideas, where anyone can suggest the next one, tells you what to launch.
What are good fun Slack channels for sports?
#sports-talk covers every team and sport in one place, and #fantasy-football gives an office league its own home. For people who play rather than watch, try #run-club, #bike-commuters or #pickleball. Keep rivalries friendly and leave any betting out of work channels.
What are some fun Slack channels about the outdoors and theater?
For a fun Slack channel about outdoors hobbies, try #trail-reports for hikes, #camping-and-gear, #veggie-patch for gardeners or #bird-sightings. For theater and performance: #theater-nights for shows and group ticket plans, #film-club and #comedy-and-improv.
How do you make Slack channel names stand out?
Name the channel after what goes in it, keep it to two or three words and give every social channel the same prefix so they sit together. Then write a one-line purpose in the channel description, so the name and its point show up together.
What games can you play on Slack?
Office Slack games that work well include a morning question thread, a weekly photo prompt, a caption contest, emoji polls, count to 100 and guess the project in emoji. All of them run on plain messages, threads and emoji reactions, so no extra apps are needed. See our GIF games and games to play over text for more.
How do you keep a fun Slack channel active?
Give it an owner, seed it with a few posts before you announce it and run one weekly ritual on a fixed day. After six weeks, archive any channel nobody posts in, so people's attention goes to the ones that work.
Should fun channels be public or private?
Public, in most cases. Members of the workspace can find and join public channels, which is the point of a social channel. Keep private channels for groups that need them, like a support space for caregivers.
Do these ideas work in Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Teams channels sit inside a team, so create a social team and add these as channels, written with capitals and spaces if you like. The first posts and games work the same way.
Bring the channel together live
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