9 first-rate online games for team building …that aren’t lame

It can be tricky trying to build a team. Every group’s dynamic is different — and by extension, so are their needs. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re breaking the ice with a fresh group of coworkers, helping leaders hone their skills, or giving a veteran squad a well-earned break. There are two things that many modern groups consistently have in common:

• At least some of them are working remotely.
• They all like to play games.

No matter what stage your group might be in, there’s a good chance it can benefit from an online game for team building.

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9 team building virtual activities

If you’re aware of the need to find an online game for team building, but you aren’t sure which one to pick, go no further. We’ve curated this list with a few of the most common team building needs in mind. These cover three different categories:

• Quick team building activities
• Fun team building games
• Constructive team building activities

Consider the current needs of your group and choose an option from our cultivated list of the best cheap team building activities for modern remote and hybrid teams.

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Quick team building activities

These are good team building activities for regular Zoom meetings, conference calls, or really any time you might need quick ice breaker activities that are virtual.

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1.  Connect the dots

Best for: Bridging the digital divide with remote teams.

One of the biggest struggles with remote teams is the lack of common ground — literally. This first game helps bridge the digital gap between each of your team member’s remote office spaces by:

1. Choosing a portion of each home office — a desk, chair, computer, laptop bag, or even a favorite mug.
2. Having everyone upload pictures to a common online workspace, like Google Docs, Miro, or Trello.
3. Asking everyone to guess which picture belongs to each team member.

This is one of those quick virtual team building activities that can help a remote team operate as if they’re all in an office together.

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2.  Have a typing speed race

Best for: Stoking competition and improving group performance.

A little competition never hurt anyone — and in this case, it can be a dynamic way to boost your team’s output. If you have a few minutes at the start of a meeting, have everyone engage in a speed typing test. Compare results and see who won!

Creating a low-stakes game that pits team members against one another in a friendly fashion is a good way to wake up everyone’s brains at the beginning of the day. It falls under the category of free virtual team building games, too, which makes it that much better.

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3.  Conduct a life story photo challenge

Best for: Learning more about team members.

A life story photo challenge is sweet and simple. All you need to do is ask each team member to dig around and find a photo that best sums up their lives.

Have everyone share their photos one at a time. Ask them to explain their choice. This is a quick and effective virtual team building option for your team to learn more about one another.

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Immersive team building games

Quick games can be helpful if you need an ice breaker or a way to build some momentum early in the day. But there are times when you need a longer, more immersive chunk of time to really let your group relax and unwind together.

Here are a few ideas for more immersive virtual team building games.

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4.  Host a virtual trivia night

Best for: A fun, relaxing way for a team to unwind and bond together. 

Sometimes you might find that your team is feeling tired, or everyone needs a chance to check out for a bit and enjoy some virtual team bonding time together. When that’s the case, hosting a trivia night online can be a sleek, engaging, and immersive way to bring everyone together.

There are many different options for virtual trivia team building. Some are free but require some extra leg work from a team leader. Others can be pricey but offer excellent options for everyone to come together for a shared virtual experience. 

Either way, trivia is one of those fun virtual team building activities that can be perfect if you have the time for your team to invest in it. To make it easier for you, we curated a list of the best quiz questions for your next round of trivia.

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5.  Engage in a mysterious round of Avalon

Best for: A cooperative-yet-competitive group game.

Everyone and their mother has heard of Werewolf. But what about Avalon? The popular card game takes the Werewolf concept back to the Dark Ages. It’s also one of those virtual team building games and activities that is worth its weight in gold.

Everyone splits up into two teams that try to undermine one another within King Arthur’s court. You can get the physical card game for in-person groups, but there are also sites that make playing Avalon online a great option.

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6.  Invite your team to a virtual murder mystery event

Best for: Helping your team operate in a hypothetical crisis scenario.

Most professional teams are used to solving problems together. But what if you throw murder into the mix?

Hosting a virtual murder mystery event is a fun way to challenge your team to overcome the odds and survive any number of different situations. 

We say “any number” because there are literally countless different virtual formats for the murder mystery concept out there. We’ve rounded up several of our favorites, including some themed on the Wild West, holidays, and even a zombie apocalypse. 

Whatever the setting, murder mysteries are one of those virtual team bonding activities that just keeps on giving.

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Other immersive games that might be up your alley:

• Minute-to-win-it variations for work
• Virtual family-feud for teams
• The top online game shows

Constructive team building activities

Sometimes, what you need is a chance for your team to not just bond but grow together. This next group of suggestions facilitates team building while also helping hone your team’s collective skills.

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7.  Play a round of 5 Clicks or Bust

Best for: Helping your team learn to problem solve and research more effectively.

There are many different problem-solving team building activities out there, but “5 Clicks or Bust” has to be one of our favorites. This one once again falls under the category of free virtual team building activities. Even better for busy team leaders, the affordable concept is as simple as they come:

1. Choose two random topics — anything from buttered bread to Victorian England.
2. Have your team start on the Wikipedia page for one of those topics.
3. Challenge them to get to the other topic’s Wiki by only clicking on 5 links.

This one can function as a group activity where everyone shares a screen and discusses each click. It can also be a competition where individuals are racing to get from one topic to the next before the rest of the team.

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8. Try Healthy Habit Builder …shots edition

Best for: Building healthy working habits together from afar.

Just because you’re engaging in online team building doesn’t mean you have to ditch everything outside of the digital realm. On the contrary, this next game is a great way to help your team build healthy remote-work habits together.

Let’s use water as an example. It’s recommended to drink at least 4 to 6 cups of water a day. To help establish this habit:

1. Have everyone bring a glass of water (or even individual shot glasses of water, if they have them) to your next online meeting. 
2. Choose a “trigger word” or “trigger action” such as saying “umm” or asking someone to mute themselves.
3. Whenever a trigger event takes place, everyone needs to take a sip of their water.

You can tailor this game to different healthy habits, such as stretching or looking away from the computer screen at something far away for 10 seconds.

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9.  Set up a communication challenge

Best for: Helping your team learn to communicate better.

Communication is a bedrock element of any team — especially when operating in a virtual workspace. One communication-focused team building game that can help with this is engaging in a communication challenge. You can do this by:

1. Inquiring if any of your team members speak a different language.
2. Having them say something random in that language — preferably something unique, like an idiom.
3. Asking your team to decipher the phrase.

You can also have someone send a message with only emojis. Either way, the challenge to understand one another will directly translate into your team’s ability to operate more efficiently while they work together.

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Using online games for team building

Most modern teams operate in some sort of remote-friendly capacity. Whether your team is partly on-site or fully remote, it’s good to have online team building games ready to go for any occasion. 

This list of 9 totally not lame virtual team building activities can bring your team together, keep everyone connected, and help them grow as a unit focused on a single goal.

So, bookmark the list in an easy-to-find place. That way, the next time you feel everyone needs a laugh and a chance to bond, you can pull this out and get everyone connecting without making them feel embarrassed or dumb in the process.

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Learn more about team building with Gomada

Did you know that, at Gomada, we take team building very seriously? We’re not just interested in introductory lists like these. We like to push boundaries and take team building to the next level.

That’s why we’ve designed our team building platform to serve three crucial functions:

• Help leaders diagnose their group’s biggest team building concerns.
• Generate the best possible team building ideas to address those concerns.
• Help implement those suggestions via our innovative team building platform.

Team building is a complex process that requires thought, time, and resources — three items that many leaders don’t have in excess these days. Our platform can help by streamlining the team building process and helping leaders and teams alike learn to operate more efficiently.

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