20 teamwork challenges for work teams

Build challenges

Hands-on, a little noisy and the most fun to watch. Put a build challenge after lunch, when energy dips.

1. 5. Slowest marble run · 20 min

   Build a track from the tabletop to the floor. The run that takes longest without stopping wins. Three timed runs, the best one counts.

   Supplies:

   Per team: 10 sheets of paper, tape, 4 paper cups, scissors and a marble (a rolled foil ball works).

   On video:

   One teammate builds at home while the others direct on camera; swap the builder every five minutes.

   Debrief:

   When did your team stop adding ideas and start fixing one?

2. 6. One fold each · 10 min

   Each team builds one paper airplane, but every person makes exactly one fold, in turn, without talking. Three throws each; the longest flight wins.

   Supplies:

   A stack of paper and a tape line on the floor.

   On video:

   Each team picks one folder at home. Teammates give one instruction each, in turn, and the folder only follows.

   Debrief:

   How did you agree on a design without saying a word?

3. 7. Three-step chain reaction · 25 min

   Build a three-step chain reaction (a book tips, a pen rolls, a cup falls) that runs from one touch. Three tries for a clean run; teams that finish early add a fourth step.

   Supplies:

   Whatever is on your desks. Every teammate must add one item from their own desk.

   On video:

   Each person builds one step at home. Step one ends by rolling off one person's screen and step two starts on the next person's, in gallery order.

   Debrief:

   Whose desk item ended up doing the most work?

4. 8. One-sheet chain · 10 min

   Make the longest closed paper chain you can from a single sheet. Measure it stretched on the floor.

   Supplies:

   Per team: one sheet of paper, scissors and tape or a glue stick.

   On video:

   Everyone makes a chain from one sheet at home and the team adds up the lengths. One 60-second huddle halfway to share tricks.

   Debrief:

   What did you change after the first minute, and whose idea was it?

Want a full afternoon of events, medals and a leaderboard? Virtual Office Olympics turns challenges like these into a full hour of events, with a host keeping score across every team.

Communication challenges

No supplies, and they work as well on video as in a room. These are the ones people bring up in the next meeting.

1. 9. Summary ladder · 10 min

   Teams cut it to 50 words, then 20, then 6, keeping the action and the deadline. Another team judges whether the six words still say what to do.

   Supplies:

   One long email or memo, made up or a real one that isn't confidential.

   On video:

   A shared doc per team and a timer on screen.

   Debrief:

   What did you cut that you were sure you couldn't?

2. 10. Count to twenty · 5 min

   The team counts to 20 out loud, one voice at a time, in no set order and with no signals. If two people speak at once, start again at one. Best number in three minutes wins.

   Supplies:

   None.

   On video:

   Works as it is with mics on. Harder than in a room, which is the fun.

   Debrief:

   What changed between the first try and the best one?

3. 11. Jargon buzzer · 15 min

   Each person explains their current project in 60 seconds while teammates tap the table at every acronym or bit of jargon. Lowest team total wins. Then everyone tries again.

   Supplies:

   Paper and a pen per team to keep score.

   On video:

   Teammates type one letter in chat for each buzz, and the host counts.

   Debrief:

   Which word did we use most, and would a new hire know it?

4. 12. Doodle recipe swap · 15 min

   Each team secretly draws a doodle made of six simple shapes, then writes word-only instructions for it. Teams swap instructions, draw from them and compare with the original. One point per shape in the right place.

   Supplies:

   Paper and pens.

   On video:

   Breakout rooms for the drawing; swap instructions in chat and hold drawings up to the camera.

   Debrief:

   Which instruction caused the biggest mistake, and how would you rewrite it?

Creative team challenges

The challenges with the most laughs. Judge them by a room vote so nobody has to pick a winner.

1. 13. Ten-minute ad · 15 min

   Teams write and act out a 30-second ad for their object with a product name, a slogan and one made-up customer review. The room votes for the one they would buy.

   Supplies:

   One dull office object per team: a stapler, a tape dispenser, a mouse pad.

   On video:

   Each team shows its object from someone's desk and performs on camera.

   Debrief:

   Who had the idea the ad was built around?

2. 14. Album cover for the quarter · 20 min

   Teams invent a band name for themselves, draw the album cover for the last quarter and name three tracks after real moments from it.

   Supplies:

   Paper and markers.

   On video:

   A shared whiteboard, or one person draws on camera while the others direct.

   Debrief:

   Which track title should go on the team's wall?

3. 15. Annoyance inventors · 15 min

   Teams invent a product that fixes their annoyance, sketch it and pitch it in 60 seconds.

   Supplies:

   One card per team naming a small office annoyance: the printer queue, the meeting that could have been an email, the mystery item in the fridge.

   On video:

   Same in breakout rooms; sketches go up to the camera.

   Debrief:

   Is there a real fix hiding inside your invention?

4. 16. Out-of-office contest · 10 min

   Each team writes the funniest out-of-office reply it can for a made-up reason, like counting every plant in the building. Read them aloud and vote.

   Supplies:

   None.

   On video:

   Teams post their reply in chat and everyone votes with a reaction.

   Debrief:

   Which reply could you actually send to a customer?

Quick active challenges

Short and light on movement, standing or seated, so everyone can join. Use one to wake a room up between longer sessions.

1. 17. Who leads the move? · 10 min

   One guesser steps out. The team picks a secret leader who starts slow moves (a clap, a shoulder roll) that everyone copies, changing every 15 seconds. The guesser gets three guesses to find the leader.

   Supplies:

   None.

   On video:

   The guesser turns away from the camera while the leader is picked by private message. Gallery view makes it harder.

   Debrief:

   How did the team hide the leader, and how did the guesser find them?

2. 18. Sixty-second sync · 5 min

   Everyone stands, closes their eyes and sits down when they think 60 seconds have passed. The timekeeper notes the first and last. The smallest gap wins; in round two, teams may agree on a counting plan first.

   Supplies:

   A stopwatch.

   On video:

   Cameras on; everyone lowers a raised hand at their 60.

   Debrief:

   Did your plan help, or did one confident counter carry the team?

3. 19. Spell it with bodies · 10 min

   The host calls a short word (TEAM, GO, WIN) and each team spells it standing or on the floor. First clear photo wins the point.

   Supplies:

   A phone for the photo.

   On video:

   Each person makes one letter with their arms, in word order, one after another, while a teammate takes screenshots.

   Debrief:

   Who took charge of the layout, and was that the plan?

4. 20. Move memory chain · 10 min

   The first person does one move, like a wave or a stretch. The next repeats it and adds one. The team keeps the chain going as long as it can; longest chain wins.

   Supplies:

   None.

   On video:

   Works the same in gallery view, in the order of the tiles.

   Debrief:

   What helped the team remember the whole chain?

For moving around with a purpose, a hosted virtual scavenger hunt sends teams racing the clock to find items and finish tasks, with a host on the call.