Word games for adults: a free word scramble and 30 games to play with coworkers
Hint: At the office · 4 letters
First team to shout the word wins the point.
Team A0
Team B0
Word games for adults work at work because everyone can play: no art skills, no sports, no trivia specialists. The free word scramble above has 217 words in seven categories and three levels, built for one shared screen and two teams. Below it you'll find how to run it on a call, 30 more fun word games to play with coworkers (party games, word puzzles you can make yourself and games for a team chat), a few puzzles to try right now, and the best published word games for a team night.
How to play the word scramble with a team
One host, two teams, one screen. A round of ten words takes about five minutes, so it fits at the start of a meeting.
- Split into two teams. Any size works. One person hosts and runs the screen; everyone else plays.
- Share the screen. Open this page and share the browser tab on Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, or put it on the meeting room TV.
- Pick a level. Easy words have 4 or 5 letters, medium 6 or 7, hard 8 or more. Start on Easy so everyone gets a win.
- Shout it out. The first team to say the word gets the point. The host taps +1 for that team, which also reveals the word.
- Next word. No word comes up twice in a game, and the category hint changes so no topic runs three times in a row.
- Add the timer for pressure. With the 30-second timer on, the word reveals itself when time runs out. Ten words make a good five-minute round.
30 word games for adults to play with coworkers
All of them work-safe and all of them free. The first two groups work in a room or on a video call; the last runs in your team chat.
Party word games (12)
Spoken games with no prep. Any party word game here works around a table or on a video call.
1. Word association
Go around the group, each person saying the first word the last one makes them think of. Pause for more than three seconds or repeat a word and you sit out.
4 to 15 players · 5 min
2. Last letter
Pick a category such as cities. Each answer must start with the last letter of the one before: Denver, Rome, Edinburgh. No repeats.
3 to 12 players · 5 to 10 min
3. Initials race
The host calls a category and two initials, such as food and P.B. The first player to name a match, like peanut butter, scores.
3 to 30 players · 10 min
4. Homophone hunt
The host says a word that sounds like another, such as pair. The first player to name the sound-alike and spell both, pear and pair, scores.
3 to 20 players · 10 min
5. No-E challenge
Players answer easy questions about their weekend without using the letter E. Anyone who slips is out; the last one talking wins.
4 to 15 players · 5 min
6. Hink pinks
Give a clue whose answer is two rhyming words: a cheerful father is a glad dad. The first person to say it scores, then writes the next clue.
3 to 30 players · 10 min
7. Spoonerism swap
The host reads a phrase with its first sounds swapped, like belly jeans. The first player to say the real phrase, jelly beans, scores.
3 to 30 players · 10 min
8. Opposites race
The host calls out a word and the first player to shout its opposite gets a point. Speed it up every round.
4 to 30 players · 5 min
9. Synonym chain
Start with a word like happy. Each player adds a word that means the same: glad, cheerful, upbeat. Stall or repeat and the chain restarts with you.
3 to 12 players · 5 min
10. Pun-off
Two teams trade puns on a topic such as coffee or the weather. The first team that can't come up with one in ten seconds loses the round.
4 to 20 players · 10 min
11. Tongue twister relay
Each player says a tongue twister three times fast, then passes it on. Teams score a point per clean run.
4 to 20 players · 10 min
12. Syllable hot potato
The host names a letter pair such as "st." Players take turns saying a word that contains it while a 30-second timer runs; whoever is talking at the buzzer is out.
4 to 15 players · 10 min
Word puzzles for adults you can make yourself (10)
Five minutes of prep with a whiteboard or a slide, then teams race to solve them.
13. Word ladder
Turn one word into another by changing one letter at a time, with a real word at every step: cold, cord, card, ward, warm. Fewest steps wins.
Any size players · 5 to 10 min
14. Rebus puzzles
Write phrases as pictures made of words: "stand" above "I" is I understand. Show five on a slide and teams race to decode them.
Any size players · 10 min
15. Anagram relay
Teams pass a word down the line. Each player must rearrange its letters into a new word, or add one letter and rearrange: tea, eat, late, steal.
6 to 30 players · 10 min
16. Hidden words
Write sentences that hide a word across their gaps, like "call a cab at the door" hiding "bat." Pick a theme, such as animals, and teams find the hidden word in each.
Any size players · 10 min
17. Letter grid hunt
Draw a 4 by 4 grid of random letters. In three minutes, players list words built from touching letters; words nobody else found score double.
2 to 20 players · 5 to 10 min
18. Nine-letter challenge
Pick nine letters with at least three vowels and give teams 60 seconds to find the longest word they can make. Longest valid word wins.
Any size players · 5 min
19. Compound links
Build a chain of compound words where each one starts with the end of the last: sunflower, flowerpot, potluck. Longest chain in two minutes wins.
2 to 20 players · 5 min
20. Palindrome hunt
Teams list words that read the same backward, like level, radar and kayak. A point per word, three for a palindrome phrase.
Any size players · 5 min
21. Team five-letter guess
The host picks a secret five-letter word. Teams take turns guessing five-letter words, and the host marks letters that are right and in place or right but misplaced. Fewest guesses wins.
4 to 30 players · 10 min
22. Mini crossword swap
Each team builds a five by five mini crossword with clues about the office, then swaps with another team. First team to solve theirs wins.
6 to 30 players · 30 min
Word games for Slack or Teams chat (8)
Games that run in a channel over a day or a week, for teams that rarely meet live.
23. Morning scramble
Post one scrambled word with a hint each morning. The first correct reply earns a point, and the host keeps a weekly leaderboard.
Any size players · 1 min a day
24. Missing vowels
Post an office phrase with its vowels removed and the spaces moved, like MRN NGM TNG. The first reply with the real phrase, morning meeting, scores.
Any size players · 2 min
25. Spell it backwards
The host posts a long word and players reply with it spelled backwards. The first correct reply wins; typos don't count.
Any size players · 2 min
26. Twenty-word story
Post a prompt like "the day the printer came alive." Everyone replies with a complete story of exactly twenty words, and reactions pick the winner.
Any size players · A day
27. Fill-in-the-blank stories
Ask the channel for a noun, a verb, a place and an adjective without saying why. Drop the answers into a short story you wrote and post the result.
Any size players · 15 min
28. Word of the week
Post an unusual real word on Monday, like "brouhaha." Anyone who works it naturally into a meeting by Friday gets a point.
Any size players · All week
29. Rare word poll
Post a rare word with four possible meanings as a poll. Reveal the real one at lunch, with a sentence that uses it.
Any size players · 2 min
30. Two-word reviews
Name a topic, like the new coffee machine or the office playlist. Everyone reviews it in exactly two words.
Any size players · 5 min
Want word games built around guessing? Our Taboo game and charades generator are free to play on a call, and Scattergories lists make a ready category round. For something with a pen, try our drawing games.
Word puzzles for adults: try these now
A few ready-made adult word puzzles to put on a slide. Tap Show answer to check.
Hink pinks: two rhyming words
- An unhappy father
Show answer
Sad dad
- A large hog
Show answer
Big pig
- A home for a mouse
Show answer
Mouse house
- A soaked dog or cat
Show answer
Wet pet
Word ladders: one letter at a time
- cat to dog in 3 steps
Show answer
CAT, COT, COG, DOG
- cold to warm in 4 steps
Show answer
COLD, CORD, CARD, WARD, WARM
- head to tail in 5 steps
Show answer
HEAD, HEAL, TEAL, TELL, TALL, TAIL
Rebus puzzles
- STANDI
Show answer
I understand
- MANBOARD
Show answer
Man overboard
- CYCLE CYCLE CYCLE
Show answer
Tricycle
Liked these? Connection games has a new word-group puzzle for your team every day.
Best word games for adults
When your team wants a game night instead of a quick round, these well-known published word games are worth having in the office cupboard.
- Scrabble (Hasbro in the US and Canada, Mattel elsewhere). The classic crossword tile game for 2 to 4 players. Play it in pairs to bring a bigger group in.
- Boggle (Hasbro). Shake the letter cubes and hunt for words against a 3-minute timer. Short rounds suit a lunch break.
- Codenames (Czech Games Edition). Two teams, two clue-givers and one-word clues for 4 to 8 or more players. The publisher's browser version lets remote teams share a room link.
- Bananagrams (Moose Toys). A fast race to build your own word grid from letter tiles. No board, so it travels to an offsite easily.
- Upwords (Spin Master). Like a crossword tile game, except you can stack letters to change words already on the board.
- Letter Jam (Czech Games Edition). A cooperative game for 2 to 6: you see everyone's letter but your own, so the table spells clue words to help each other.
- Quiddler (PlayMonster). A card game where you turn your hand into words. Up to 8 players, and each round adds a card.
- Wordle (The New York Times). One five-letter word a day in six guesses. Teams post their results in a channel and compare every morning.
These names are trademarks of their owners. KraftyLab isn't affiliated with any of them, and every game, word and puzzle above is our own.
Want someone to run it for your team?
A live host takes the prep off your plate. Quiz Showdown! is an hour of quick-thinking rounds where teams race against the clock and each other, and Team Discovery Challenge mixes a scavenger hunt with show and tell, so people learn something new about each other. Both run on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request.
See all our virtual trivia games and virtual game shows. Book about 2 weeks ahead, and teams split across time zones can book two sessions.
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