35 Team Building Activities to Boost Teamwork and Workplace

Teamwork isn’t built in meeting rooms; it grows through laughter, shared challenges, and small moments of connection. That’s the true power of team building. Whether your team works together in the office, across time zones, or in a hybrid setup, the right activities can turn ordinary colleagues into a united force.

From clever office trivia and the classic human knot to exciting scavenger hunts and strategic board games, each idea in this list helps people bond while having fun. In this blog, get ready to turn your workplace into a hub of collaboration, creativity, and culture as we explore 35 of the best Team Building Activities for 2025.

Table of Contents

1) 35 Team Building Exercises to Boost Collaboration

2) Icebreaker Team Building Activities

3) Teamwork-oriented Team Building Activities

4) Quick Team Building Activities to Get to Know Each Other

5) Virtual-friendly Team Building Activities

6) Team Bonding Activities

7) Strategic Team Building Activities

8) Fun Team Building Activities

9) Conclusion
 

35 Team Building Exercises to Boost Collaboration

From high-energy challenges to reflective moments, the following list of the 35 most powerful Team Building Activities will transform your team into a powerhouse of collaboration and innovation. Let's dig in.
 

Icebreaker Team Building Activities

Icebreaker activities are a great way to welcome new employees and help them settle into the workplace. Here are some creative icebreaker activities that can make introductions feel natural and enjoyable:
 

1) Two Truths and a Lie 

Group size: Five to Eight

Purpose: Build familiarity between colleagues

Time: 30 minutes

A round of Two Truths and a Lie can make starting a new job easier. Each participant shares two true facts and one falsehood about themselves, and the group guesses which statement is the lie. This light-hearted game can be played during breaks or over lunch. It can quickly spark laughter, curiosity and conversation. It’s a simple yet effective way to help new colleagues bond with the team.
 

2) One-word Icebreaker

Group size: Four to Five

Purpose: Understand employee perspectives on workplace topics

Time: 20 minutes

This activity provides a relaxed way to gauge employees' feelings about a specific work topic, such as a new policy or company culture. Each participant chooses one word to describe their feelings and then explains their choice in a short discussion. After a few minutes, each group selects a final word to share with the larger team, sparking honest, open dialogue across groups.
 

3) Office Trivia 

Group size: Five to Twenty

Purpose: Create a welcoming atmosphere for new recruits

Time: 30 to 45 minutes

Joining a new workplace can feel intimidating, but a light trivia session can change that. Questions might cover fun facts about the office, like its favourite coffee brand or quirky colleague habits. The tone remains playful, so it helps newcomers see the workplace as friendly and approachable while encouraging interaction in a relaxed setting.
 

4) Who Did it?

Group size: Five to Ten

Purpose: Learn more about teammates’ hobbies and achievements

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

This game gives colleagues a peek into each other’s lives outside of work. Each person writes down an interesting fact about themselves like winning a food-eating contest or going skydiving. These are placed into a container, and everyone takes turns guessing which fact belongs to whom. It’s a fun, revealing way to start conversations and discover unexpected sides of colleagues.

Want to build teams that think big, move fast and win together? Our Team Development Training will show you how - Register now!
 

Teamwork-oriented Team Building Activities

Teamwork-oriented activities strengthen the fundamentals of a healthy team. Through the right exercises, team members develop stronger communication skills, while building trust as they work together to complete tasks and achieve common goals. Here are some examples:
 

5) Human Knot 

Purpose: Build communication and collaboration

Participants:  Eight to Sixteen 

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Perfect for larger groups, this activity challenges teams to untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands. Standing in a circle, each person holds hands with two people across from them, creating a knot. The group must then communicate and cooperate to unravel the knot into a full circle. It’s a fun way to develop teamwork and problem-solving skills.
 

6) Gutterball

Purpose: Foster group coordination and problem-solving

Participants: Eight to Twenty

Time: 30 to 60 minutes

Teams work together to move a ball from one end of the room to the other using makeshift “gutters.” The task can be made more challenging by adding obstacles along the way. Success depends on smooth handoffs and careful coordination, making it a great test of collaborative ability.
 

7) Scavenger Hunt

Purpose: Encourage exploration and teamwork

Participants: Eight to Sixteen 

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

A scavenger hunt is a dynamic way to get employees working together while exploring their environment. Teams search for hidden items or clues around the office, encouraging both seasoned and new employees to engage with their surroundings. This activity works well with a single team or as a friendly competition between departments in larger organisations.
 

8) Board Games or Puzzles 

Purpose: Build collaboration in a relaxed setting

Participants: Eight to Twenty

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Office-friendly board games and puzzles offer a fun twist on teamwork. Strategy games or jigsaw puzzles encourage colleagues to think together and develop shared tactics. For larger teams, multiple games can run simultaneously, or teams can adapt the rules to keep everyone engaged.
 

Quick Team Building Activities to Get to Know Each Other 

Team building doesn’t have to be a lengthy affair. While in-depth workshops like team canvas sessions can create lasting impact, shorter activities can be just as effective in warming up a group and building early connections. These quick activities are perfect for slotting into meetings or the start of a session.
 

9) Best and Worst

Purpose: Encourage open sharing and deeper understanding

Participants: Five to Ten

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

In this activity, each participant writes down a question asking about the best and worst of something. For example, “What’s the best recipe you know?” or “What’s the worst injury you’ve had?” The questions go into a hat, and pairs are drawn at random. Everyone takes turns answering and sharing their stories, opening up honest and often entertaining conversations.

Learn how to make high performance a part of organisational culture with our High Performing Teams Training – Sign up now!
 

10) Group Order

Purpose: Facilitate networking and uncover shared traits

Participants: Five or more

Time: Five to 10 minutes

This activity is a simple yet powerful icebreaker. Gather everyone in a room and ask them to line up according to a specific criterion. For example, their birthday, distance from home to the office, or number of countries visited. As they arrange themselves, team members naturally start chatting, discovering shared experiences, and learning new things about one another.
 

11) Name Juggling

Purpose: Boost name recall and energise the group

Participants: Five or more

Time: One to 15 minutes

Learning names can be tricky, but this game makes it lively and memorable. Standing in a circle, each person says someone’s name before tossing them a ball. The recipient thanks the thrower by name and then passes it to someone else. As the game progresses, more balls are introduced, creating a fast-paced, fun challenge that cements name recall and builds quick rapport.
 

12) Open Fist

Purpose: Build cohesion and improve group communication

Participants: Three or more

Time: Five to 10 minutes

This helps teammates connect by sharing little-known facts about themselves in a structured way. Each person shares as many facts as they have fingers on one hand, keeping the activity brief yet revealing. This simple exercise uncovers commonalities, sparks conversations, and strengthens group cohesion without taking up much time.
 

13) Synchronised Claps

Purpose: Boost focus, presence, and group energy

Participants: 10 to 40

Time: Five to 10 minutes

This lively activity is effective at sharpening attention and energising the group. Have everyone stand in a circle and start by getting two people to clap simultaneously, passing the clap rhythmically around the circle. The goal is to keep the claps in sync and maintain a quick tempo. As the pace picks up, participants must stay alert and work together, creating a fun, connected atmosphere.
 

Virtual-friendly Team Building Activities

Virtual-friendly activities bring remote teams closer. It cultivates collaboration and connection regardless of location. These engaging exercises help break down digital barriers and create a sense of unity, ensuring every team member feels valued and involved in the shared experience. Here are some examples:
 

14) Blow Your Own Trumpet 

Purpose: Celebrate achievements, build confidence, and foster team appreciation

Participants: Four to Twenty

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Many people find it awkward to talk about their accomplishments. This activity provides a supportive space to step outside that comfort zone. Each team member shares one of their proudest achievements and explains why it’s meaningful to them. This simple activity encourages storytelling, boosts confidence, and helps teammates recognise and celebrate one another’s successes.
 

15) Birth Map 

Purpose: Encourage storytelling, deepen cultural understanding, and spark conversations

Participants: Four to 30

Time: 10 to 20 minutes

In this activity, display a world map on a screen or in the room and invite team members to pin their birthplaces. As the pins accumulate, zoom out to reveal everyone’s origins. Follow up with open-ended questions like “What do you notice about the map?” or “Did anyone’s birthplace surprise you?” For smaller groups, participants can share all the cities they’ve lived in. Larger teams can populate the map beforehand to save time and dive straight into discussion.

16) Baby Photos 

Purpose: Build personal connections through light-hearted fun

Participants: Five to Twenty

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Few things bring out smiles like childhood photos. Before the session, ask everyone to send in a baby picture (bonus points for silly ones). Show each image to the group and let them guess who it might be. This playful guessing game sparks laughter and helps colleagues learn more about each other’s early lives in a relaxed, fun setting.

Turn good teams into great ones. Sign up for our Talent Management Training and secure the future of the organisation!
 

17) Emoji Mood Board

Purpose: Create emotional awareness and encourage honest sharing

Participants: Four to Thirty

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

When asked “How are you?”, most people respond with “Good” or “Fine.” This activity digs deeper. Ask each person to choose three to five emojis that reflect their current mood and share their picks with the group. This visual and light-hearted method encourages vulnerability and helps teammates better understand and support each other’s emotional states.
 

18) Time Capsule 

Purpose: Share personal stories and milestones to deepen bonds

Participants: Four to Fifteen

Time: 15 to 25 minutes

Bring back the childhood joy of time capsules to learn more about teammates. Ask each person to gather one to five meaningful items from home. This could include childhood keepsakes, souvenirs, hobby-related objects, or personal mementos. Share their significance with the group. As everyone presents their “capsule,” meaningful conversations naturally unfold, revealing personal histories and shared experiences.
 

19) Show and Tell 

Purpose: Encourage spontaneous sharing and connection

Participants: Four to Twenty

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

This is a simple, remote-friendly alternative to the time capsule. Ask each team member to grab an item within arm’s reach. It could be something meaningful, quirky or with a funny story and share it with the group. It’s quick and often leads to delightful and unexpected conversations that strengthen team rapport.
 

20) Six-word Memoir

Purpose: Inspire reflection and creativity

Participants: Four to Twenty Five

Time: Five to 10 minutes

Challenge your team to sum up their life in just six words. These can be six random words, a six-word phrase, or even a creative title. Each person shares their “memoir” with the group. This reveals unique perspectives and sparking thoughtful conversations in a short amount of time.
 

21) Craft Challenge

Purpose: Spark creativity and resourcefulness

Participants: Five to Twenty

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

This will help unleash everyone’s inner craftsmen with a timed creative challenge. Give the team five minutes to build a specific object using a handful of supplied material. They can even use whatever they have nearby. This could be anything from rocket ships built from spaghetti and marshmallows, or desk items turned into miniature cities. The results are often hilarious, sometimes impressive and always a great way to highlight different thinking styles within the team.
 

Team Bonding Activities

Trust is the foundation of any successful team, but it doesn’t always develop on its own. Actively investing time in building bonds strengthens company culture. While many fun activities naturally bring people closer, the following methods are specifically designed to deepen trust and create stronger relationships:
 

22) Sharing Our Stories 

Purpose: Inspire personal sharing and deepen team connections

Participants: Two to Forty

Time: 60 to 120 minutes

Everyone carries a unique story, but creating a safe and structured space to share those experiences can be challenging, especially for newer teams. Activities that blend self-reflection with guided sharing help uncover these stories in a meaningful way, fostering stronger bonds.

In the telling our stories activity, participants reflect on different life stages such as childhood, young adulthood and the present, by answering prompts on coloured post-it notes. Sharing these moments allows team members to connect on a deeper level, understand each other’s journeys, and build genuine trust.
 

23) Trust Battery

Purpose: Self-reflection, honest discussions and trust building

Participants: Four or more

Activity length: 20 to 40 minutes

Great teamwork is more than just bringing a group of people together into a common space. Without honesty and trust, a team can’t collaborate and can lead to frazzled relationships and frustration. Trust Battery is a team building activity to help all members of your group reflect on their trust levels or trust batteries, and rebuild those batteries with lower levels. This self-assessment activity encourages focus on actions that can charge the depleted trust batteries.

Spot the top talent before the competition does. Register for our Talent Acquisition Training now!
 

24) Feedback: Strongest Current Impression

Purpose: Build trust and openness through honest feedback

Participants: Two to Forty

Time: 60 to 120 minutes

Constructive feedback is a powerful team bonding tool. In this activity, the team members share their honest impressions of one another in a supportive environment. By practising open communication, the team lays the groundwork for a healthy feedback culture. Incorporating this exercise into events or team sessions can create the psychological safety essential for high performance.
 

25) Translated Rant 

Purpose: Strengthen active listening and promote understanding with a touch of humour

Participants: Four or more

Time: 10 to 30 minutes

This insightful activity helps teams practise deep listening while having fun. Split the participants into pairs. One person rants for 60 seconds about a pet peeve, while the other listens carefully and then translates the rant by expressing what the speaker truly cares about. This exercise develops empathy and improves listening skills.
 

Strategic Team Building Activities

Strategic team-building activities give employees the chance to share how they view the workplace, exchange ideas about brand identity and reflect on the organisation’s objectives. They create a space where new and existing team members can stay connected to the company's mission. Here are the key activities:
 

26) Minefield 

Purpose: Build trust and strengthen partnerships

Participants: Eight to Sixteen

Time: 45 to 50 minutes

For this activity, set up an obstacle course using around 20 small objects, anything from coffee mugs to lunchboxes. In pairs, one team member is blindfolded while the other provides verbal guidance to help them navigate the course. Success depends on clear communication and trust, making this a great exercise for developing teamwork.
 

27) All the News 

Purpose: Inspire excitement for future goals

Participants: Eight to Twenty

Time: 45 to 50 minutes

This imaginative exercise encourages teams to visualise success. Working in groups of three to six, participants create news headlines describing future achievements for their department, phrased like newspaper stories. Each group discusses the steps required to make these achievements a reality. It’s a powerful way to generate shared commitment among both in-office and remote teams.
 

28) Memory Wall

Purpose: Reflect on meaningful moments and their impact

Participants: Eight to Twenty

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

The memory wall encourages teams to celebrate their journey together. On a shared whiteboard, team members jot down their significant milestones or memorable events using sticky notes or markers. As these moments accumulate, they form a collective story of growth and success.
 

29) Guess Who 

Purpose: Build stronger personal connections

Participants: Three or Four

Time: 45 to 50 minutes

Moderated by a facilitator, this game involves groups receiving clues about a mystery guest knocking on their door. The mystery person could be a colleague or even a celebrity persona chosen for fun. Teams work together to interpret clues and identify who it is. This playful activity encourages communication and deductive thinking in a light-hearted way.

The future of work starts with a workforce plan. Start yours with our Workforce Resource Planning Training - Sign up now!
 

Fun Team Building Activities 

In an environment charged with deadlines and meetings, it’s easy to forget the power of laughter and play. Fun activities can reset the tone of your team-building sessions, making everyone feel more relaxed and engaged. Here are some great options to spark joy and connection in your team:

30) Bang

Purpose: Energise the group, improve quick thinking, and build name recall

Participants: Ten to Forty

Time: Five to 30 minutes

This fast-paced, reaction-based game is perfect for kicking off a session. Elect a “sheriff” to stand in the centre while everyone else forms a circle. The sheriff spins, points at someone, and shouts “Bang!” That person must crouch instantly, while the two people beside them quickly point at each other and shout the other’s name. The slower player is eliminated. Bang is a fun, energising way to warm up both new and established teams.
 

31) Build-a-Shake

Purpose: Lighten the mood, spark creativity, and build rapport

Participants: Four or more

Time: Five to 10 minutes

Inspired by childhood secret handshakes, this activity encourages pairs to invent their own handshake sequences. Once created, pairs rotate to teach their handshake to others, building a chain of shared gestures. This playful exchange helps loosen everyone up, encourages collaboration, and strengthens group cohesion.
 

32) Portrait Gallery 

Purpose: Foster creativity, collaboration, and team bonding

Participants: Two to Forty

Time: 30 to 60 minutes

Art meets teamwork in this fun, creative exercise. Split the group into two teams: Team B draws portraits of Team A, but every 10 to 5 seconds, each drawing is passed to the next person. The result is a collection of quirky portraits that spark laughter and break the ice. Display them afterwards for a light-hearted reminder of the session.
 

33) Snowball 

Purpose: Share knowledge, boost energy, and encourage movement

Participants: Eight to Fifty

Time: 20 to 40 minutes

This activity gets people talking and moving. Ask each participant to write down their answer to a relevant question, then crumple their paper into a snowball. After a playful snowball fight, everyone picks up a random paper and finds its author. It’s a lively, engaging way to share insights and build connections simultaneously.
 

34) Celebrity Party

Purpose: Inspire creative thinking, problem-solving, and networking

Participants: Five to Twenty

Time: 30 to 60 minutes

This classic guessing game is a guaranteed icebreaker. Stick celebrity names on participants’ foreheads and have them ask yes-or-no questions to figure out their identity. It’s light, interactive, and works brilliantly for large groups, encouraging mingling and laughter.
 

35) The Viking

Purpose: Re-energise the group and embrace playfulness

Participants: 10 to Forty

Time: Five to 30 minutes

This hyper island favourite gets everyone moving and laughing. Participants perform bold, Viking-inspired gestures together, creating a burst of energy and silliness. It’s a fantastic way to lift spirits during longer sessions, and taking photos of the moment can add a fun memory to your team’s “history wall.”
 

Conclusion

Team building isn’t just about completing projects at work. It’s about sparking connections that last. By incorporating Team Building Activities into your workplace, you can energise your teams and create a culture where collaboration and trust thrive. Be it virtual or in-person, these experiences can inspire creativity and set the stage for collective success.

Master the art of leading people towards teamwork excellence in our People Management Courses - Sign up now!