18 St. Patrick's Day games for work
The best St. Patrick's Day games for work are quick, low-prep games about luck, green and spring, like a lucky coin hunt or a shamrock pass, that everyone can play with no drinking. Here are 18 for the office or a video call, with supplies, timing and a 45-minute party plan.
St. Patrick's Day is Wednesday, March 17, 2027. Pick four or five games below for a lunch-hour party, or one a day for the week. Teams of 4 to 6 play each game for points, and every game lists its supplies, its time and, where it works, a version for remote teammates on video.
4 St. Patrick's Day hunts and searches
The best openers: people get up, move around and come back talking. Each one has a version for remote teammates.
1. Lucky coin hunt
Before people arrive, hide 30 gold coins around the office. Coins with a shamrock drawn on the back are worth 5 points, the rest 1. Teams get 10 minutes.
On video: Hide 10 tiny gold coin images in a slide deck of office photos. Teams hunt slide by slide and type the slide number in chat.
You need: 30 gold foil chocolate coins or gold paper circles, a marker · about 15 minutes
2. Green item scavenger round
The host calls one thing at a time, like “something green you can write with.” The first person back with it scores for their team. Ten calls make a round.
On video: Players hold the item up to the camera. The host names the first one they see.
You need: Nothing: use the caller on this page · about 10 minutes
3. Rainbow relay
Each team finds one item in each of six rainbow colors and lays them in order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. First correct row wins.
On video: Each player hunts at home and posts one photo of their row. Fastest correct row wins.
You need: Nothing: desks and bags have plenty · about 8 minutes
4. Clover clue trail
Tape five paper shamrocks around the office, each with a clue to the next spot. The last one leads to a box of treats, the pot of gold.
You need: 5 paper shamrocks, tape, a box of snacks · about 12 minutes
Clover clue trail: five example clues
- 1. “I fill up every morning, I'm empty by noon, and I'm always running hot.” The coffee maker
- 2. “Paper goes in flat and comes out warm.” The printer
- 3. “I keep everyone's lunch and never eat a bite.” The break room fridge
- 4. “Every calendar in the building fights over me.” The biggest meeting room
- 5. “Everyone walks past me twice a day, and I'm the first thing a visitor sees.” The front desk, where the pot of gold waits
Rather not hide 30 coins before 9 a.m.? A host runs a virtual scavenger hunt with tasks that work at any desk, home or office, and swaps the teams at half time.
Scavenger caller for a shared screen
For game 2. Share this on the call or the meeting room TV, tap Next item, and the first person back with it scores.
Find something greenSomething green you can write with
Want a host to run your St. Patrick's Day games?
A live host brings the rounds, the timer, the music and the scoreboard, puts people in new small groups every round and keeps remote guests in the same game as the room. Nothing to hide, print or score, and it works for 15 people or a 150-person all-hands on one call. Hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead.
Saint Patrick's Day Fun & GamesStarting at $39 USD / person
Scavenger Hunt with a Twist!Starting at $39 USD / person
Quiz Showdown!Starting at $39 USD / person
Reserve online with a 50% deposit, or send your date and headcount for a full plan within 24 hours. More options on our virtual St. Patrick's Day party page.
5 quick St. Patrick's Day table challenges
One-minute contests with supplies from the grocery store. Send a different player from each team to every round.
5. Shamrock pass
Teams stand in a line. Pass a paper shamrock down the line on the back of your hand, no fingers. If it falls, it goes back to the start.
You need: One paper shamrock per team · about 5 minutes
6. Pot of gold toss
From a tape line six feet back, toss gold coins into a mug. Each player gets 60 seconds and ten coins. Most coins in the pot wins.
On video: Toss coins or bottle caps into any mug at home, camera pointed at the mug.
You need: A dark mug or small bucket per lane, 10 gold coins each, painter's tape · about 6 minutes
7. Coin tower
Stack gold coins one-handed for 60 seconds. The tower has to stand for three seconds after time is called to count.
On video: Use any coins at home. Hold the tower up to the camera at the buzzer.
You need: 20 gold coins per player · about 5 minutes
8. Four-leaf find
Scatter 40 paper three-leaf clovers and four four-leaf clovers face up on a table. The fastest player to pick out all four four-leaf ones wins.
You need: 44 small paper clovers, cut from green card stock · about 5 minutes
9. Rainbow sort
Sort a cup of mixed colored candies into rainbow order using two pencils as chopsticks. Most sorted in 60 seconds wins.
On video: Use paper clips, buttons or pens in different colors from around the house.
You need: A cup of colored candies and two pencils per player · about 6 minutes
Want a dozen of these run back to back with medals at the end? A host runs a virtual office olympics in about an hour, with challenges people do from their own desks.
5 word, drawing and quiz games for March 17
Seated games that work as well on a call as at a table. Good for the middle of a party, or a meeting on the 17th.
10. Irish geography map round
Read the ten questions below. Teams answer, then point to the place on a map of Ireland for a bonus point.
On video: Share a map on screen. Teams answer in breakout rooms and send the region in chat for the bonus.
You need: One printed outline map of Ireland per team, or a map on the shared screen · about 12 minutes
11. Green word race
Teams list as many green things as they can in two minutes. Only answers no other team wrote score a point.
On video: Each team writes its list in a breakout room, then pastes it into the main chat at the buzzer.
You need: Paper and a pen per team, a timer · about 6 minutes
12. Limerick lab
Teams get five minutes to write a five-line limerick about the team's week, rhymed AABBA. Read them aloud and vote for a winner.
On video: Write in breakout rooms, read on camera, vote with reactions.
You need: Paper and a pen per team · about 12 minutes
13. Draw it in green
One player draws a word from the list below with a green marker. Their team has 60 seconds to guess. No letters, no numbers.
On video: Draw on the call's shared whiteboard, or on paper held up to the camera.
You need: A whiteboard or flip chart, green markers · about 10 minutes
14. Guess the green
Before the party, snap ten extreme close-ups of green things around the office. Show them one at a time; teams guess what each one is.
On video: Ask remote players to send one close-up from home beforehand, so everyone has a photo in the round.
You need: A phone camera and a screen · about 8 minutes
Irish geography map round: 10 questions and answers
- 1. Which river runs through the middle of Dublin? The River Liffey. Bonus: East coast, Dublin.
- 2. What is the largest lake on the island of Ireland? Lough Neagh. Bonus: Northeast, in Northern Ireland, touching five counties.
- 3. Which is the largest county in Ireland by area? County Cork. Bonus: South coast.
- 4. Which is the smallest county in Ireland by area? County Louth. Bonus: East coast, north of Dublin.
- 5. Which sea lies between Ireland and Great Britain? The Irish Sea. Bonus: East of the island.
- 6. Which group of three islands off the west coast is an Irish-speaking area known for its stone walls? The Aran Islands. Bonus: West coast, County Galway.
- 7. Which scenic driving loop circles the Iveragh Peninsula? The Ring of Kerry. Bonus: Southwest, County Kerry.
- 8. Which passage tomb in the Boyne Valley is older than Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids? Newgrange. Bonus: East, County Meath.
- 9. What is the name of the touring route that runs about 2,500 km along the west coast? The Wild Atlantic Way. Bonus: West coast, from County Donegal to County Cork.
- 10. Which west coast city is nicknamed the City of the Tribes? Galway. Bonus: West coast, on Galway Bay.
Draw it in green: 16 words
Shamrock · Rainbow · Harp · Kite · Rain boots · Lighthouse · Castle · Sheep · Parade float · Fiddle · Stone wall · Puffin · Daffodil · Umbrella · Sea cliff · Gold coin
Want a longer quiz? Our St. Patrick's Day trivia has 40 more questions in four rounds. For a full hour with a host, buzzers and a leaderboard, Quiz Showdown runs on Zoom for teams of any size.
4 games that bring the whole team in
Slower, warmer games for the end of the party or the whole week of March 17. Nobody is put on the spot.
15. Green desk contest
Everyone decorates their desk in green by noon. After lunch, walk the floor and vote in three categories: most creative, most green, best use of one thing.
On video: Remote players dress up their background or home desk and post a photo in the channel.
You need: Whatever people bring, a ballot box · about 15 minutes
16. Luckiest break round
Go around the room. Each person shares the luckiest small thing that happened at work this year, like a found file or a perfect handoff.
On video: Same round on camera. Pass to the next person by name so nobody waits for a turn.
You need: Nothing · about 10 minutes
17. Rainbow thank-you chain
Hand out paper strips in rainbow colors. Each person writes a thank-you to a coworker on a strip and adds it to one paper chain for the break room.
On video: Use a shared board with colored sticky notes, then post a screenshot of the finished rainbow.
You need: Colored paper strips, tape or a stapler · about 10 minutes
18. Shamrock craft race
Cut three paper hearts and a stem, glue the points together and you have a shamrock. Neatest one in four minutes wins; the rest decorate the office.
On video: Everyone crafts at home with any green paper or sticky notes and holds the result up to the camera.
You need: Green paper, scissors, glue sticks · about 8 minutes
Want the thank-you chain to come with a small treat? See our corporate gifts under $25 for the whole team.
How to run a 45-minute St. Patrick's Day party
Five games, teams of 4 to 6 and one scorekeeper. This plan works for 12 to about 40 people in one room or on one call.
- 0:00Split into teams of 4 to 6 and explain the scoring. Anyone wearing green earns their team a point.
- 0:05Green item scavenger round: ten calls from the caller above.
- 0:15Two table challenges: shamrock pass and pot of gold toss in the office, coin tower and rainbow sort on video.
- 0:25Irish geography map round, answers after all ten.
- 0:35Limerick lab: five minutes to write, three to read and vote.
- 0:43Add up the points, hand out prizes and hang the shamrocks.
Scoring and prizes
- Points by place. 3 for the winning team in each game, 2 for second, 1 for everyone else who played.
- One scorekeeper. Not the host: someone who is happy to watch, with the board on a whiteboard or a shared screen.
- Small prizes. Chocolate coins, first pick of the snack table or a shout-out in the all-hands.
In the office, hybrid or on video
- In the office: Push tables into team islands, tape a throw line on the floor and hide the coins before 9. A lunch hour fits the 45-minute plan.
- Hybrid: Make mixed teams with at least one remote player each, run the games that work on video, and put the room's camera on the scoreboard.
- On Zoom, Teams or Google Meet: Share the caller, use breakout rooms for team rounds and keep each game under ten minutes. Ask people to have coins, a mug and green paper nearby.
Over 40 people, or no time to prep? A host-run game from our virtual St. Patrick's Day party options keeps everyone playing in small groups instead of watching one team at a time.
Keep it fun for everyone
- No drinking games. Every game here works with coffee, tea or water in hand.
- Keep the theme to luck, green and spring, so people who don't celebrate the day play just as fully.
- Skip fake accents, costume caricatures and slogan shirts. Green clothes are plenty.
- Label the chocolate coins and keep a nut-free, non-chocolate option for prizes.
- Offer a seated job, like scorekeeper or clue reader, to anyone who would rather not run around.
