Here is our list of the best online team building icebreakers.
Online team building icebreakers are virtual games and activities to help teammates get to know each other better. Examples include one-minute introductions, rapid-fire questions, and company trivia. The purpose of these activities is to welcome and warm up your group while teammates learn more about their coworkers.
These ideas are similar to examples of fun icebreaker questions, virtual icebreaker tips, and team building icebreakers.
This list includes:
- icebreaker games for online meetings
- online icebreaker games for teams
- online icebreaker activities
- online icebreaker ideas
Here we go!
List of online team building icebreakers
Virtual team building icebreakers are a great way for teammates to feel connected to each other when working remotely. Here are a few online icebreakers to bring your team closer together.
1. Emoji Resume
You can spice up the introduction process by asking each team member to create an Emoji Resume! Participants can use emojis to represent their skills, interests, and experiences. Be sure to encourage employees to select emojis that fit professional and personal traits. For instance, participants might use a ? to represent computer skills or a ? for their enthusiasm to take on new challenges. During a team meeting, participants can share their resumes and briefly explain each emoji. This is one of the most unique online icebreaker ideas and adds a playful element to introductions.
2. Superhero Alter Egos
Your team can flex their creativity by inventing their own superhero alter egos! To start, ask employees to think about the unique powers, skills, or qualities that make them extraordinary in the workplace. For instance, teams may have the ability to solve problems at lightning speed or the power to boost team morale.
Then, participants can invent superhero personas based on those skills. Folks can create superhero names, powers, and even costumes! Colleagues can share their personas and briefly explain how their powers would contribute to the team’s success.
3. Fantasy Job Titles
Creating fantasy job titles is a whimsical way for team members to break the ice! Each team member will invent their own fantasy job title. You can challenge folks to think outside the box and come up with titles that reflect their dream roles or unique skills. From the “Chief Idea Magician” to the “Master of Laughter and Joy,” the goal is to bring a touch of humor to their role.
During the icebreaker, ask participants to share their fantasy job titles and offer a brief description of what their responsibilities might include. Optionally, give out craft supplies for members to make fantasy job plaques or nametags!
4. Story Building with Objects
Story Building with Objects is a collaborative adventure using objects from your team’s workspaces. First, the host shares the beginning sentence of a story. Then, each team member selects a random object. One by one, employees add a sentence or two to the story that includes their chosen object. The challenge is to create a tale that connects the seemingly unrelated objects. This activity fosters creativity and encourages team members to think on their feet.
5. Team Slogan Mad Libs
To bring some laughter and creativity to your team, organize a Team Slogan Mad Libs activity. First, write a slogan, but leave a few words blank. You could also take a well-known slogan from pop culture and remove some of its words. For instance, “Like a Good _____, State _____ is There.” Then, ask your team for industry-related words without showing them the slogan. You can use those terms to fill in the blanks and then share your new slogan with the team! This activity is a great way to foster collaboration and inject some fun into the workplace.
6. GIF Reactions
GIF Reactions is one of the best icebreakers for remote teams. If you would like to share a laugh with your team, then we suggest playing a game of GIF Reactions. To play this game, you should create a list of hypothetical scenarios.
For example:
- When you have a 4 p.m. meeting on a Friday
- When you finally get a promotion
- When you have to work overtime
- When you wish it was Friday
- When you have to wake up at 5 a.m. for work
After posing these prompts to your team, players should find a GIF that can serve as a reaction to the statement. For example, the prompt, “When you finally get a promotion,” might call for a GIF of an employee jumping for joy.
The GIF Reactions icebreaker is a fun chance for employees to laugh in the middle of a tough week.
7. One-Word Phrases
One-Word Phrases is one of the quickest and simplest online icebreaker games for teams. To play this game, you must come up with a few prompts to ask your team, such as:
- How would you describe our company culture?
- How would you describe your job?
- How would you describe your coworkers?
- How would you describe a typical day for yourself?
- How would you describe working from home?
After asking employees one of these prompts, players must provide an answer using only one word. For example, when asked, “How would you describe our company culture?” a player’s response may be, “Fun!”
This icebreaker aims to help employees improve communication skills by explaining concepts briefly and concisely.
8. Rapid-Fire Questions
If your team is meeting for the first time, then we recommend Rapid-Fire Questions as one of the best online icebreaker games. To play this game, you should pose questions for your team to answer.
Questions can include:
- Can you share an interesting fact about yourself?
- What is the strangest job you have had?
- If you were not working here, what would be your dream job?
- What is a skill you have always wanted to learn?
- What is the weirdest food you have eaten?
- If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
In this game, employees must answer questions as quickly as possible. It would be best if you encouraged players not to overthink their responses and to respond with the first thought that comes to mind. Rapid-Fire Questions is a fun, fast-paced icebreaker that allows teammates to get to know each other quickly.
9. One-Minute Intro
One-Minute Intro is one of the best online icebreaker games for new teams. The objective of this icebreaker is to have each team member provide a short introduction. Team members can share their names, nicknames, interests, and goals.
We recommend limiting each introduction to one minute to keep this icebreaker short. Short introductions will ensure that each team member has enough time to speak. The One-Minute Intro icebreaker is an excellent way for teammates to meet each other without the pressure of having to talk for a long time.
10. Future News Headlines
Future News Headlines is one of the most insightful icebreaker games for online meetings. As part of this game, you and your team will use your imagination to create news headlines. The twist of this game is that players must envision future events at your company. Then, players should write a creative headline based on their thoughts.
Here are a few examples of futuristic headlines that employees could create:
- CEO retires from ABC Company
- ABC Company launches its first self-driving car
- Employees of ABC Company rank a 100% employee happiness score
- ABC Company acquires XYZ Company for $1M
Future News Headlines is an exciting icebreaker that allows employees to use their creativity to create funny headlines related to the company’s future.
11. Gratitude and Challenges
The Gratitude and Challenges icebreaker focuses on getting personal with coworkers. As part of this game, players must share one statement about what they are grateful for and another about a challenge they are facing.
For example, a player may say they are grateful for their decision to attend college. However, this player might also share that they feel scared due to the challenge of managing school, work, and life.
The Gratitude and Challenges icebreaker promotes team building as this activity allows teammates to get to know each other on a more personal level.
12. Team Map
When teams work remotely, there is a good chance that all members may not be located in the same city or country. Therefore, one of the most exciting online icebreaker activities is creating a Team Map to show each teammate’s location.
We recommend using online templates and collaboration tools to create your Team Map. First, you should include a picture of a blank map on Google Slides. Then, once your team is on a video chat, teammates can speak one at a time, describing their city or town. Each team member should also drop a pin on their location.
By the end of the game, you should see a map filled with red pins in different parts of the world. The Team Map icebreaker allows employees to learn where their teammates are from while visualizing where each coworker resides in the world.
13. Teammate Trivia
Teammate Trivia is a fun challenge that allows coworkers to learn new facts about one another. Here are the instructions to make this game a success:
- Assign one team member as the moderator
- Ask all team members to send fun facts about themselves to the moderator
- Put together a quiz based on all fun facts submitted by the team
- The answer to each question will be a team member’s name
- Go through all questions and then tally up which player scored the most points
- The player who answers the most questions correctly is the winner
Teammate Trivia is a great icebreaker because this game allows teams to connect by learning about each other’s interests, likes, and dislikes. Teammates may also find new similarities, making the team feel more united.
Check out more online trivia options.
14. Musical Emojis
One of the most fun online team building icebreaker ideas is Musical Emojis. As part of this icebreaker, players must guess the name of a song. The twist of this game is that the only clues provided are in the form of emojis. So, for example, if you show an emoji of a dancer ? next to an emoji of a crown ?, players should guess that the answer is the song “Dancing Queen.”
Musical Emojis is a fun icebreaker that can get your team thinking hard to guess the correct answer. In addition, this icebreaker promotes teamwork, as employees can work together to guess what each emoji means.
15. Virtual Office Tour
Working in a remote environment means that each employee has a different workspace. One of the most creative online icebreaker activities is to have each team member give a Virtual Office Tour.
In a Virtual Office Tour, teammates show coworkers around their home office. These tours typically showcase the area around each employee’s workspace, including their desk, chair, computer, and any surrounding decor. As each employee shows the team around their home office, we suggest asking participants to share one part of their office that is the most special.
Virtual Office Tours can give teams a peek into their coworkers’ home offices. This icebreaker can make teammates feel connected even while working in different places.
16. Company Trivia
If you would like to test your employees, we recommend hosting a game of Company Trivia. As part of this icebreaker, players answer a series of questions about the company.
Starter questions:
- What year was our company founded?
- Who was the company’s first CEO?
- What is our company most well-known for?
- How many departments make up the company?
- Who is the company’s current CEO?
- How much did the company earn in review last year?
Company Trivia is an ideal icebreaker because it allows team members to learn facts about the company where they work.
You can play this game virtually by reading off questions one by one and asking players to type answers in the chat, sending participants to breakout rooms with forms to complete, or using Kahoot!
17. Riddle Masters
Riddle Masters is a fun game where players must work together to solve tricky brain teasers. To play this challenge, you can split your group into two to three small teams, depending on how many people are playing the game. We recommend assigning five to ten players to each team. Once you have your teams, you should send them into breakout rooms on your Zoom call.
Next, you should give each team two to three riddles to solve. Then, give the teams a time limit of 10 to 15 minutes to answer each riddle. The first group to solve the most riddles wins.
Here are a few examples of riddles that you can use in the game:
- I have many keys, but I open no locks. What am I? Answer: a piano
- I have cities but no houses. I have mountains but no trees. I have water but no fish. What am I? Answer: a map
- What is always in front of you but is something you cannot see? Answer: the future
- Which month has 28 days? Answer: all of them
- What belongs to you but is used more by others? Answer: your name
- What starts with the letter e but only has one letter? Answer: an envelope
The Riddle Masters icebreaker is a wonderful opportunity for employees to use their critical thinking skills while laughing together.
Final Thoughts
Online icebreakers are get to know you activities and games for employees to engage in while working remotely. Playing icebreakers with your team is a fun way to get to know one another while providing a warm welcome to new members. If you would like to bring more unity to your team, then we recommend choosing an online icebreaker that all team members can enjoy.
Team building icebreakers can positively impact teams and bring coworkers closer together. When your team feels more united, your employees will feel happier and more satisfied. Your employees can also exhibit higher productivity and success in their jobs when they feel more relaxed and connected with their peers.
Read more ways to make virtual meetings fun.
