40 Icebreaker Games for Team Building

Icebreaker games for team building

Fun icebreaker games for meetings, video calls and team events

In this article, we cover why icebreakers matter, 40 icebreaker games to kick off any meeting, team building session or corporate event, and fun check-in questions to get everyone talking.

Icebreaker games can be such a great addition to your meetings, team-building sessions, or corporate events. Whether your team is remote, hybrid or in the same office, icebreaker games allow us to build rapport among teams, connect through a fun activity and build a sense of camaraderie among colleagues. As leaders, carving out the time to include icebreaker games in our schedule can benefit us in the following ways:

• Team Cohesion: Icebreaker games can help foster relationships, help break down communication barriers and get to know each other better.
• Employee Engagement: Employee engagement is crucial to building culture, and participating in fun activities like virtual icebreaker games can encourage active listening, communication and boost overall engagement, which will lead to greater team collaboration.
• Morale Boost: Enjoying some fun non-work related activities provide a stress relief outlet, and gives your team a mental and literal break. For the duration of this game, their whole job is to have fun! These games can help energize teams, and also be a fun reward to look forward to after a deadline, project completion, or achievement.

Games 1 to 5 are hosted games our team runs for you, live. Games 6 to 40 are free to run yourself, and each one notes where it works: on a video call, in the room, or both. Our hosted games run on Zoom by default, with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request (Music Bingo is Zoom only). Now, get ready to start playing!

Hosted and classic icebreaker games

1. Scavenger Hunt

In this fun and exciting game, your team will go on a journey around their home or office as they race against the clock, and each other, in the ultimate Scavenger Hunt. Led by a professional and hilarious host, your team will get prompts on screen and hunt for matching items nearby, from random household items and fun themes like ‘cold items’ or ‘cozy items’ to challenging prompts like ‘the oldest thing in the room’ or ‘the most yellow item’. Scavenger Hunt is easily customizable for any holiday or season and can be crafted to suit your team’s needs. Where it works: on a video call, from home or the office.

Learn more about KraftyLab’s Scavenger Hunt experience today!

2. Music Bingo

This Bingo experience will test your music knowledge unlike ever before! Our spin on the classic Bingo is a crowd-pleaser as the energizing music will have your team pumped. This experience is a fun way for your teams to get to know each other’s music tastes and help them get to know one another. Music Bingo is hosted by a professional DJ with 20+ years of experience, who will guarantee this experience is energizing, inclusive, and ridiculously fun. Just want a quick round in your next meeting? Our virtual bingo game page has free get-to-know-you and meeting bingo cards you can play or print. Where it works: on a Zoom call, or in person in 17 US cities.

Learn more about KraftyLab’s Music Bingo experience here!

3. Murder Mystery

In this game, your team turns into online detectives on an old murder case. You will solve riddles, collect evidence and debate theories together, then make your final verdict: who did it? Nobody has to act out a character, so quieter teammates can join in comfortably, and it’s an opportunity to laugh, have fun and bond together. See both of our cases for remote murder mystery team building. Where it works: on a video call, and it suits hybrid teams too.

Learn more about The Psychiatrist, our murder mystery escape room.

4. Creative Fun & Games

Creative Fun & Games is a highly interactive virtual game, perfect for energizing and engaging teams! A lively host guides your team through quick mini-games like Famous Scenes and Mad Gab, plus challenges that have people build, invent or act out fun scenarios with whatever is lying around, from markers to cereal boxes. Teams rotate with each new game, so colleagues from different departments get to play together. Where it works: on a video call.

Book your Creative Fun & Games session today!

5. Team Trivia

Trivia is a long-time KraftyLab favorite, and it’s a great way to inspire a little friendly competition among your teams. Our trivia games are led by a hilarious MC and host and are a great way to challenge and educate your teams. They need no kits, and there are editions for holidays and occasions like Pride, Hispanic Heritage Month, Halloween and the winter holidays. Where it works: on a video call, or in person in 17 US cities.

Check out our virtual trivia nights for teams for more details!

6. Guess Who: Desk Edition

Guess Who is a spin on the classic MTV Cribs show, and a fun little way to get to know your remote workers. Have your team send you a picture of their desk or workspace ahead of this session, and get ready for your team to over-analyze everyone’s space! This simple but super effective game can lead to conversations about our unique quirks and likes and how we have adapted to remote working. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

7. Show & Tell

Invite your team to bring along something they would like to show off to the team ahead of your call! This can be an incredible opportunity to show off something you love, something you are proud of yourself, or even something you think is cool! Encourage your team to describe why they chose this item in particular and how they got it. This can be a great way for teams to bond and get to know each other better, building empathy and team rapport. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

8. Movie Pitch

Movie Pitch is simple: you are being offered a major motion production opportunity, but you only have five minutes to convince the studio that they should pick your movie. Your team must come up with the greatest movie idea and try to sell it in under five minutes. This includes plot, twists, main characters, and maybe even the actors you’d like to cast in your movie! Whoever can sell their movie best, wins! Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

9. Song Association

Inspired by ELLE’s Song Association, your team will be invited to name, sing or rap a song based on a word they are given in under 10 seconds. If your team is up for a challenge, this is a super fun icebreaker to get everyone loose and laughing. Find out who among you has the largest repertoire, and can think on the spot the quickest! Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

10. Emoji Song Title

Emoji Song Title is a classic icebreaker! To make this game more challenging and depending on your group, you could choose subcategories like TikTok trends, Pop Princesses, or even 2000s throwbacks. Seeing your teams scramble to make sense of these emojis is hilarious, and can kickstart a great virtual event. You will feel great after the first few easy guesses until you see how hard this game can be! Where it works: on a video call, or in the room with the clues on a screen.

Quick icebreakers for any meeting

These take five to ten minutes and need no prep, so they fit at the top of a regular meeting. For more short games sorted by how long they take, see our team meeting games.

11. Two Truths and a Lie

Each person shares three statements about themselves, two true and one false, and everyone votes on the lie. On a video call, have people post their votes in the chat at the same time so nobody just follows the crowd. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

12. Would You Rather

Ask one would-you-rather question, like “Would you rather present every update as a song or never use slides again?”, and have everyone pick a side before two volunteers defend their choice. You’ll find plenty more in our would you rather questions for work. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

13. This or That

Call out two options, like mountains or beach, and have everyone answer with a raised hand or a quick reaction. It’s fast, and it gives quieter people an easy way to join in. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

14. One-Word Check-In

Ask everyone to describe their week in one word, then give each person one sentence to explain it. It takes a couple of minutes and tells you a lot about how the team is doing. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

15. Rose, Bud, Thorn

Each person shares a rose (a recent win), a bud (something they’re looking forward to) and a thorn (a challenge). It works especially well at the start of a weekly team meeting or a project retro. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

16. Hot Takes

Everyone shares a harmless unpopular opinion, like “breakfast for dinner is the best dinner”, and gets 30 seconds to defend it before the group votes. Keep the topics light and away from work debates. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

17. Desert Island Picks

Each person names the three things they would bring to a desert island, then explains one of them. For a work twist, one of the three has to come from their desk. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

18. Mood Check in the Chat

Ask everyone to post an image, GIF or emoji in the chat that sums up their mood today, then invite a few people to explain theirs. It’s a low-pressure opener for teams that keep their cameras off. Where it works: on a video call.

19. Guess the Baby Photo

Collect baby or childhood photos before the meeting, share them one at a time, and let the team guess who is who. Keep a running tally to crown the best guesser. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

20. Finish the Sentence

Start a sentence like “The best advice I ever got was...” and have everyone finish it in turn. Rotate who picks the sentence each week so the prompts stay fresh. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

Get-to-know-you games

These games help new teammates and cross-team groups learn more about each other. They’re a good fit for onboarding sessions, offsites and the first meeting of a new project.

21. Common Ground

Split into groups of three or four and give each group five minutes to find five things they all have in common, with work topics off limits. Each group then shares its most surprising match. Where it works: on a video call with breakout rooms, or in the room.

22. Never Have I Ever: Work Edition

Read out statements like “Never have I ever hit reply-all by mistake” and have people raise a hand if they have. Keep the prompts work-safe and funny, and let people share the story behind their answers. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

23. Find Someone Who

Hand out a sheet of prompts like “find someone who has lived in another country” and let people mingle to find a colleague who matches each one. The first person to fill the sheet wins. Where it works: in the room.

24. Hometown Map

Share a map and have everyone mark where they grew up, then take turns naming one thing a visitor should try there. Use a shared online map on a call, or a printed map and sticky dots in the office. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

25. The Story Behind Your Name

Each person shares the story of their first name, a nickname or how their family chose it. It’s simple and personal, and it helps everyone remember names in a new or large team. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

26. Photo Roulette

Each person picks a recent photo from their phone that they’re happy to share and tells the story behind it in 30 seconds. On a call, people can share their screen or hold the phone up to the camera. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

27. Team Playlist

Ask everyone to add one song to a shared playlist before the meeting, then play short clips and have the team guess who picked each track. Save the playlist for your next team event. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

28. Hidden Talents

Give everyone 30 seconds to share or show a hidden talent, from juggling to reciting the alphabet backwards. Anyone who would rather not perform can simply describe theirs. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

29. Superpower at Work

Each person names the superpower that would help them most at work, like pausing time before a deadline, and the team votes on the most useful one. It’s a light way to learn what people find hardest about their day. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

30. Speed Chats

Pair people up for three-minute conversations on a set question, then rotate partners for a few rounds. On a video call, breakout rooms handle the pairing, and for a hosted version where a platform matches people one-on-one automatically, see Speed Networking. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

Team games and energizers

Once people are warmed up, these games get teams working together. Most take 10 to 15 minutes.

31. Pictionary

One person draws a word while their team races to guess it before the timer runs out. Use a whiteboard in the room, or a shared online whiteboard on a call. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

32. Charades

Act out a word or phrase without speaking while your team guesses. Work-themed prompts like “the Wi-Fi just dropped” or “quarterly review” usually get the biggest laughs. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

33. Categories

Pick a category, like things you’d take on a picnic, and go around the group naming items until someone repeats one or runs out of time. The last person standing picks the next category. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

34. Scattergories

Choose a letter and a short list of categories, then give everyone two minutes to write an answer for each. Players only score for answers nobody else came up with. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

35. Lightning Trivia

Read ten quick questions and let teams answer in the chat or on paper, with a point for each correct answer. Our trivia questions and answers make an easy starting set. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

36. Survey Says

Send a short survey a few days ahead, then have teams guess the most popular answers, Family Feud-style. Prompts like “name something people forget to bring to a meeting” work well. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

37. Riddle Relay

Give each team a chain of three riddles, where each answer unlocks the next one. The first team to solve all three wins. Where it works: on a video call with breakout rooms, or in the room.

38. Marshmallow Challenge

Give each team dry spaghetti, tape, string and one marshmallow, and challenge them to build the tallest freestanding tower with the marshmallow on top before the timer runs out. It’s a quick lesson in planning, testing and teamwork. Where it works: in the room.

39. Line Up Without Talking

Ask the group to line up by birthday, or by how long they have worked at the company, without saying a word. Gestures are allowed, and the group checks the order together at the end. Where it works: in the room.

40. Paper Airplane Contest

Give everyone one sheet of paper and three minutes to fold a plane, then hold contests for the longest flight and the best design. On a call, everyone throws from their desk and reports the distance. Where it works: on a video call or in the room.

Fun check-in questions to start a meeting

Not every meeting needs a game. A quick check-in question works just as well: ask one at the start of the call and give everyone a turn to answer. Here are some to try:

• What’s one small win from your week?
• What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently?
• If today had a theme song, what would it be?
• What’s something you’re looking forward to this month?
• What’s a skill you’d learn if you had a free month?
• What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
• What’s your go-to snack on a busy day?
• Which fictional character would make a great coworker?
• What’s a hobby you picked up recently, or want to try?
• What’s one app you couldn’t work without?
• Coffee, tea or something else to start the day?
• What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
• If you could work from anywhere for a week, where would you go?
• What’s an object on your desk with a story behind it?
• What’s a song you never skip?

Need more? Try our 100 icebreaker questions for work meetings.

How to pick the right icebreaker

• Time: A check-in question or a quick game fits the first five minutes of a meeting. Save team challenges for longer sessions and offsites.
• Place: When people join remotely, pick games marked for video calls. For hybrid meetings, choose games that work both ways, so remote and in-room colleagues play on equal footing.
• Group size: Big groups do best with games everyone plays at once, like trivia or bingo, or with breakout rooms for smaller-group games.
• Energy: Match the mood. A calm check-in suits a Monday morning, and a competitive game suits a Friday afternoon or a team celebration.

CHECK SOME OF OUR OTHER POPULAR ICEBREAKER POSTS:

• Trivia Questions And Answers For Work
• Icebreaker Questions For Work
• Get To Know You Questions For Work
• Holiday Icebreaker Questions For Work
• Fun Trivia Questions And Answers For Work
• This Or That Questions For Work