Similar to the way in which you would gather at a pub after work or host a company-wide event at an arcade, it's equally as important to brainstorm and implement virtual team building activities for your remote or hybrid employees. Luckily, there are a number of free online games that make team building online fun, exciting, and engaging!
Games help teams come together in challenging new ways. For remote teams in particular, free online games help teammates build rapport, and learn how to overcome challenges together. In this article, we’ll dive into a list of free games that you can leverage to help boost collaboration, creativity, and teamwork!
Skribbl is a fun and engaging way to let loose with your team. Often compared to Pictionary, Skribbl entails drawing a picture that must be deciphered by your teammates with your cursor. Each teammate gets the chance to draw a generated word while everyone else tries to guess what they’ve drawn. The team member that garners the most points by guessing the most correct words will ultimately be crowned the winner! Remember, it’s important to ensure that everyone that wants to participate has the opportunity to do so! You must be inclusive in your approach.
Words with Friends is an excellent game to play if you’re looking for something quick and easy. In essence, Words with Friends is similar to Scrabble. Each player is given seven letter tiles that they must use to create words on the game board. Similar to Scrabble, each word that is created must be connected to an existing word or letter on the game board. Words with Friends can be facilitated quickly and allows your teammates to explore their creativity while connecting with their teammates. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition!
Playing Cards is an excellent resource if you wish to provide your team with the freedom to choose which game they like best. With over 60 free games to choose from, Playing Cards is an excellent team building resource. Simply visit their website, create a room, share it with your team, and invite everyone to a video call to play. The majority of games on Playing Cards are multiplayer games however there are many excellent options for small teams. Familiar games include Chess, Rummy, and Go Fish.
- Codenames
Codenames (found here) is an investigative mind boggling game that makes it possible for you to dive into your teammates minds in an attempt to understand how they think. This game works by forming teams that compete to correctly identify their teams’ codenames. The premise of this game is collaboration as teams work together to unlock clues and identify the opposing teams’ codenames, making it the perfect team building activity. If you’re looking for something that is challenging yet rewarding, this is the game for your team!
- Two Truths and a Lie
Two Truths and a Lie is a super fun game that requires little to no preparation. Unlike the other options on this list, you don’t need to navigate to an external resource to play this game. To play Two Truths and a Lie, simply invite your teammates to a video call and prompt them to prepare two truths and a lie. Each teammate should come up with two truthful statements and one lie. After everyone has prepared, you can go around in a circle as each teammate presents their facts. After each person presents, you can encourage all other participants to vote for the fact that they believe to be truthful.
This is a great team building activity that doubles as a fun way to get to know your teammates. You may even find something out about one of your colleagues that you never would have expected!
- Video Charades
Everyone loves a good game of Charades, and virtual Charades is no exception! Setting up a virtual game of Charades is super easy! Simply invite all of your teammates to a video chat, lay some ground rules, and use a random words generator to create topics! You can create themed lists that pertain to your team or industry or keep things completely random!
To keep the game going, encourage your teammates to tag a friend after they’ve acted out their words. Proceed through your team until everyone has had the opportunity to act out a word. Whoever guesses the most words correct by the end of the event wins! If you’re looking to foster a healthy competition, you may want to offer an incentive or prize for the winner!
- Donut for Slack
If you’re looking for something lowkey, Donut is the perfect option. This simple Slack integration makes it possible for you to mimic in-person coffee chats or water cooler meetings. Unlike the games listed above, Donut aims to form in-depth human-to-human connections by pairing employees in a one-on-one environment. Donut will randomly pair team members for a brief chat from a predetermined list of participants that will receive an email notification to initiate the chat.
Team members are then given the opportunity to coordinate their coffee break which gives them a sense of ownership and investment in the activity. If you want to kick it up a notch, consider providing your teammates with a stipend that can be used for a coffee or a donut! This is a great way to reward your team while incentivising them to get to know one another.
