12 Virtual Team Building Games for Work: Ideas to Build Relationships as a Remote Team
The benefits of remote work are clear - it can increase productivity, cut down on commuting costs, and allow employees to work in a more flexible environment. However, there are also some challenges that can come with remote work, such as the loss of in-person interaction and teamwork.
One way that companies are combating this lack of social interaction is through team building virtual games. It has been shown that these virtual team building games can be just as effective as physical team events and offsites, but with a lot less work involved.
Why you should consider virtual team building games as a remote team
A lot of companies are using virtual games to improve their employees’ engagement and build a stronger company culture. These games are also cost-effective as they require little or no equipment and can be played anywhere and anytime through Zoom or any other video conferencing tool. They can be used for a variety of purposes, such as:
Building trust and creating a sense of community among remote team members
Building leadership skills
Improving communication skills
Encouraging creativity and innovation
What team building activities can you do virtually?
Remote teams are often faced with the challenge of staying connected. Playing virtual team building games together is a great way to get that connection back. Here are some popular virtual games for team building worth exploring with your team.
Virtual team building games for work:
Wordle
Virtual Pictionary
Virtual scavenger hunt
Bunch
Virtual Scattergories
“Never have I ever”: virtual edition
Virtual pub trivia
“Photo of your life” challenge
Cards Against Humanity
Read more below.
1. Wordle
In the online word game Wordle, participants must correctly predict a five-letter word within six tries or less. Each letter is assigned a color when the player enters their guess. For instance, green indicates that the letter is a piece of the puzzle and is in the proper place, yellow indicates that the letter is a piece of the puzzle but is in the incorrect place, and gray indicates that the letter is not a piece of the puzzle.
In this game, you can take turns with your teammates to guess the word. You can also use the chat box in your virtual video conferencing platform to ask for clues about words that are difficult for you to guess. This is a great way of starting conversations and building relationships with remote employees.
2. Virtual Pictionary
Pictionary is a game that is played by drawing a word or phrase on paper and trying to get your team or opponents to guess what you are drawing. This game is a great way to help your remote team more effectively communicate with each other. It also encourages creativity and collaboration. There will most likely be some laughs involved with this one, too!
3. Virtual scavenger hunt
A virtual scavenger hunt is a digital version of the traditional physical scavenger hunt. Participants are given a list of things to find online, and then they have to take pictures or videos of themselves with the items and upload them for other participants to see. As a remote team, you can find things online, from your home office, or from your surroundings - and upload them on Slack or send in the Zoom chat for other team members to see.
Another version of a virtual scavenger hunt is an internet scavenger hunt, where teams are tasked with finding answers to a list of questions using all of the virtual tools at their disposal (Google, social media, etc). However you decide to play, the goal of a virtual scavenger hunt is to get remote teams to work together and explore new parts of their cities, homes, or the online world.
4. Bunch
Bunch is a video chat application that allows your team to play a variety of games. You can ask your team to start a group by downloading the app from the Apple Store or Google Play. A variety of games are offered by Bunch, including a group version of the well-known smartphone game Flappy Bird, Pool, and a Pictionary-style game called Draw Party. Bunch can be the ideal choice for smaller teams since most games allow two to eight players.
5. Virtual Scattergories
Scattergories is a competitive game of words - . players compete by making lists of words that all start with the same letter (chosen by a roll of the dice). You'll score one point for every word you put on your list that no one else puts on theirs. At the end of the game, the winner is whoever has the most points.
This game is perfect for remote teams because it eases communication barriers and helps them to bond. It's also a really fun game to play that gets everyone talking and interacting with each other. You'll be surprised how much you'll learn about your co-workers just by playing this simple game.
6. “Never have I ever”: virtual edition
The rules of “Never Have I Ever” are simple :
The person who starts the game says something they have never done (this can be anything from eating seafood to going to the moon). Each player starts with all 10 fingers up.
The other players then say if they have done that thing or not.
If they haven't done it, they then have to put one finger down.
The objective of this game is to find out what your team members have done in their lives that you haven't. It can be used as a way to break the ice in a remote team, or just to share some interesting facts about your life.
7. Virtual pub trivia
This game is also known as "Pub Quiz" and requires the players to answer questions about various topics, such as sports, music, geography, and science. Virtual pub trivia provides a number of benefits for those working remotely, including:
engaging in a team-building activity
creating an environment that encourages collaboration
helping people feel more connected to the company they work for
8. Virtual Family Feud
The game is a virtual version of the popular TV game show, Family Feud. In Virtual Family Feud, players answer survey questions to earn points by guessing what the public has given as the most popular answers. The player with the most points wins the game.
The game is simple and easy to play. All you need is an internet connection, plus your team’s video conferencing tool of choice. You can even play via the Family Feud app - simply download the app, create an account, then create a room for your team so that you can play together on Zoom. Playing virtual Family Feud with your remote team is a great way to get to know them and to make the remote work experience more enjoyable. It's also a great way to have some fun and get some laughs, which is important for maintaining a healthy work environment.
9. Virtual Bingo
There are several methods to play bingo, making it one of the simplest online team-building activities available. You can choose a team member to be the number caller (or get the help of a professional host!) and play the bingo game on Zoom. This is a fun addition to a virtual happy hour with your coworkers. You can make it more fun by playing a game of ice breaker bingo in which each team member must mark off a person in the response box who fits a given description or trait, such as "someone who is ambidextrous" or "someone who has been to Mount Everest."
10. Virtual Ice Breaker
An ice breaker is a short and simple activity that is used to introduce people to one another. The goal of an ice breaker game is to help people feel more comfortable with each other by giving them a shared experience. Some common ice breakers include:
What TV show have you been watching recently?
What is your favorite meal?
Do you have any pets?
Asking virtual ice breakers in a remote team is a great way to break the ice and get to know your teammates. It also helps build empathy for other people through different perspectives on how others think or feel about certain topics or scenarios.
11. “Photo of your life” challenge
Each team member is entrusted with summarizing their lives in an image taken on their phones for this entertaining virtual game. It may be a place, a famous structure, a collectible, a pastime, or a cherished animal. The photograph is then shown to the rest of the team along with a description of its relevance and background. This online team-building activity is a considerate method to introduce team members to one another on a more personal level and to help build lasting relationships at work.
12. Cards Against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity is a card game where the players take turns being the judge. The judge reads out a black card with a question, prompt, or fill-in-the-blank sentence, and each other player submits their funniest white card to answer it. This is a team building virtual game that can be played by people of all ages and it's very easy to set up. All you need is the core deck of cards and some other white cards with funny sayings on them. Playing Cards Against Humanity with your team can help break the ice, boost morale, and make remote work more enjoyable.
Use virtual team games for team building to create an excellent remote working environment
Workforces today are changing, and as a remote team manager, you’ll need to make sure your team is able to communicate with each other virtually. With an increasing number of remote workers, it's important that you have fun ways to generate more camaraderie in a virtual space. That’s where Bar None Games comes in! With a large variety of team building games, such as trivia, icebreakers, mini games, and more, you can find the perfect team building exercise to create a vibrant culture at work.
