Here is our list of the best Zoom team building ideas.
Zoom team building ideas are virtual activities and exercises teams can participate in remotely via the video conferencing platform. Examples include Online Game Shows, Talent Shows, and Storytelling Circles. The purpose of these activities is to build trust, boost morale, and foster a sense of community among remote team members.
Zoom team building ideas are similar to Zoom games, Microsoft Teams games, and Google Meet games. These games are great Zoom meeting ideas.
This list includes:
- free Zoom team building ideas
- team building ideas for Zoom meetings
- team building activities over Zoom
- Zoom call team building ideas
- Zoom virtual team building ideas
Let’s get started!
List of Zoom team building ideas
Zoom team building ideas improve productivity and engagement, promote a positive work culture, increase employee happiness, and result in lower turnover rates. You can customize these activities to suit various team sizes, objectives, and time frames, making them a versatile tool for remote team management. Here is our list of some of the best fun and engaging team building ideas for Zoom meetings.
1. Press Your Luck
Playing the classic game show Press Your Luck on Zoom is easy and fun!
Here is how to play:
- Gather your colleagues on a Zoom call.
- One player can be the host and share their screen to display the game board. Alternatively, you can split into smaller breakout rooms.
- Teams will answer the game’s trivia questions to try and earn extra spins.
- After trivia, teams can spin to win prizes. Participants can stop spinning early or press their luck to win more prizes.
- If players land on the Whammy, then they lose the game.
- Otherwise, players win!
If you decide to play this game in breakout rooms, then the team that earns the most money is the ultimate winner! Consider offering a prize for the winning team to encourage friendly competition. This game blends trivia and luck, and the whole team can enjoy it on a virtual call!
Play Press Your Luck.
2. Richup
Richup is a virtual version of Monopoly and makes for a great team building activity!
Here is how to play the game:
- Start by visiting the Richup website or app and create an account.
- Start a new game and send the game link to colleagues.
- During your turn, roll the digital dice to move around the board.
- Buy properties, build houses and hotels, and trade properties with other players.
- Whichever player ends up with the most money wins!
The game combines luck and strategy, making this virtual real estate adventure a great choice for the online workplace!
Play Richup.
3. Themed Work Weeks
Organizing themed work weeks is a fantastic way to bring some fun and creativity to the workplace.
Here is how to organize this activity:
- Start by picking a theme, like “Team Spirit Week” or “Wellness Week.”
- Share the schedule in advance so the whole team can plan and join in the excitement.
- Each day, encourage folks to participate by dressing up, decorating their workspaces, or doing activities related to the theme.
- For example, during Wellness Week, you might have short breaks for stretching or mindfulness exercises.
- At the end of the week, have a quick team meeting to see what folks enjoyed or did not enjoy about the experience.
This activity boosts team morale and adds a positive and lively atmosphere to the work environment. Themed work weeks are an easy and enjoyable way to promote team bonding and a shared sense of enthusiasm in the workplace.
4. Boggle
Playing Boggle online is a blast when you split into teams and compete in breakout rooms.
Here is how to play this game:
- Start by logging into the website and forming teams with your colleagues.
- Break into breakout rooms for a more focused and competitive atmosphere.
- Each team gets a virtual Boggle board filled with letters.
- Set a timer and challenge each team to find as many words as possible by connecting nearby letters.
- After the round, teams share their discovered words and earn points for each one.
- The team with the most points wins the round.
Boggle is a fun way to boost word skills and online teamwork.
Play Boggle.
5. Freeze Dance
Hosting a Zoom freeze dance contest is super easy and loads of fun.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Get your colleagues together on a Zoom call, and ensure participants have their cameras on.
- Play some lively music.
- Colleagues start dancing.
- When the music stops, participants have to freeze.
- The last individual to freeze loses that round and is out of the game.
- Keep playing different songs and laugh at the creative and funny freeze poses.
- The last player standing wins!
Freeze dancing is a fantastic way to add some energy, laughter, and a bit of friendly competition to your virtual gathering.
6. Mystery Sound
Playing mystery sound is a total hoot! This game is great because it requires little preparation.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Gather your colleagues on a video call
- Take turns making weird and funny sounds without showing what is making the noise.
- The others have to guess what is creating that mysterious sound. The item could be anything from a squeaky toy to tapping on a glass.
- Give clues if needed, and whoever guesses the right answer gets a point.
- The player with the most points in the end wins!
This game will have the whole team laughing and trying to figure out the source of the mystery sound. Just be ready for some unexpected noises in this hilarious guessing game!
7. 10,000
10,000 is a popular game played with six dice, and the goal is to be the first player to score 10,000 or more points.
Here is how to play the game:
- Gather the team on a Zoom call.
- Folks can either bring six physical dice or roll digital dice.
- Players take turns rolling the dice, earning points based on their roll combinations.
- If a player rolls and does not score any points, then they lose all the points for that turn.
- The game continues until a player reaches 10,000 points.
- The other players get one final turn to try to beat the winner’s score.
- Whoever has the highest score wins!
The game involves risk and strategy as players decide whether to keep rolling to earn more points or stop to secure their current score. 10,000 is a simple yet engaging game of luck and decision-making.
Check out this scoring guide for 10,000.
8. Poster-Making Contest
Running a poster-making contest at work is a breeze and a great way to spark creativity.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Choose a theme that aligns with your workplace culture or an upcoming event.
- Announce the contest and set a deadline for submissions.
- Encourage everyone to participate, regardless of artistic skills.
- Participants to use Canva or similar online tools to design their posters.
- Once the posters are complete, have participants share them on the Zoom call or through a designated platform.
- Have participants use reactions or chat to vote for their favorites.
- Give prizes to the top three participants!
A poster-making contest is a simple, enjoyable way to bring some artistic flair to the workplace and foster a sense of camaraderie.
Check out Canva.
9. Seemingly Nothing in Common
Playing Seemingly Nothing in Common on Zoom is a fantastic way to promote teamwork and creative thinking.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Start by gathering your participants on a Zoom call.
- Gather a set of items or images that seemingly have nothing in common.
- Share your screen to display the items to all participants.
- Set a timer for five to ten minutes.
- Challenge the participants to create categories for these seemingly unrelated items.
- Discuss players’ thought processes on how they grouped items together.
To make the game more competitive, split teams into breakout rooms and give a prize to the team that can create a category first. With this option, you can also give each team a different set of items to make the game even more challenging. Seemingly Nothing in Common is a great way to challenge conventional thinking and encourage innovation.
10. Colonist
Colonist is an online version of Settlers of Catan, which is a great party game!
Here is how to play the game:
- Sign in to the Colonist website or app and set up your account.
- Start a new game and share the game code with colleagues.
- During your turn, roll virtual dice, gather resources, and build settlements and cities on the digital island.
- Trade resources with others and strategically place the robber to challenge opponents.
- Victory points come from building settlements and cities and achieving goals.
- To win, be the first to reach the set victory point goal.
Remember to negotiate trades and alliances with your colleagues as you play. This game is a great way to teach negotiation, communication, and teamwork skills.
Play Colonist.
11. This or That?
This or That? encourages team members to learn more about each other’s preferences and better understand their colleagues. In this activity, players must choose one of the two options they usually prefer.
Some examples are:
- Coffee or Tea
- Beach Vacation or Mountain Getaway
- Movie or Book
- Dogs or Cats
- City or Countryside
After inviting all members on the Zoom call, you can use polls or breakout rooms to allow team members to vote on their preferences and discuss their choices with their group.
Adding a timer to each round will make the game interactive and have participants race to submit their answers. Teams will get points based on the number of folks with the same response within the groups. You can also give prizes, such as gift cards, to the team with the most points at the end.
Remember to keep the atmosphere light and upbeat and encourage participation from all team members.
12. Hollywood Squares
Virtual Hollywood Squares is a fun and engaging team building activity that remote teams can play via Zoom.
Here are the steps to play the game:
- Invite participants to a Zoom meeting.
- Create one virtual game board for all teams using a shared screen or a digital whiteboard. This game board is called a Hollywood Square. The square consists of nine boxes filled with pictures or videos of team members, known as “celebrities.”
- Divide the remaining players into two teams, and assign one as Xs and the other as Os.
- Toss a coin to decide which team gets to go first.
- The starting team chooses a square they want to claim.
- The host asks a trivia question, and the celebrity must answer.
- Teams will decide if they agree or disagree with the given answer.
- If the team answers correctly, then they claim the square.
- Depending on which team claims the square, the celebrity will change their background to an X or O.
- However, if the answer is incorrect, then the opposing team claims the square. Exception: if this square would win the game, then the opposing team does not get to claim it.
- The first team to get three in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, wins.
Remember to keep the questions light-hearted and fun with a bit of humor to ensure all members have a great time. The fun element makes it among the best team building activities over Zoom.
13. Guess The Gibberish
Virtual Guess The Gibberish is a fun activity for team building on Zoom.
Here is how to play the game:
- Assign one player to be the Gibberish Master, who will generate random phrases for the teammates to guess.
- Share the screen with the phrase, and set a timer.
- Teammates must guess the phrase within the allotted time by speaking aloud or typing in the chat.
- Encourage teammates to work together and collaborate to guess the phrase.
- Keep the game light-hearted and engaging by adding funny phrases or inside jokes.
- Reward the team with small prizes or recognition for successful guessing.
Here are some examples of phrases, along with their answers:
- Phrase: Cone Fed Dent Shull
- Answer: Confidential
- Phrase: Hoop Heard Rife Fair
- Answer: Uber Driver
- Phrase: Pace Salve Kick
- Answer: Piece Of Cake
- Phrase: Boe Day Tote Ships
- Answer: Potato chips
- Phrase: Mack Her Owe Knee Inch He’s
- Answer: Macaroni and cheese
Virtual Guess The Gibberish is a fun and simple way to build camaraderie and teamwork among remote groups.
14. StopotS
Similar to Scattergories, StopotS is an interactive team building game. Members must use their thinking skills in a limited time. Although you can organize the game yourself, the virtual version is great for a remote setting.
Here is how the game works:
- Players will join the game via mobile or desktop.
- When the game starts, a letter will appear on the screen.
- The game will assign each player several categories.
- Players will type words starting from the letter into each relevant category.
- After answering, players will press the stop button.
- The player with the most points wins.
This game is highly interactive, and members can discuss the game on Zoom while playing.
Learn more about StopotS.
15. Storytelling Circle
Storytelling Circle is a fun activity that can build relationships and develop group cohesion among remote team members on Zoom.
To begin, participants take turns sharing a personal story on a chosen topic, such as overcoming a challenge or a memorable travel experience. You should encourage active listening and nonjudgmental feedback by having each participant share a positive word or phrase in response to each story.
The facilitator can also prompt participants to draw connections between each other’s stories and share them with the audience, further promoting team building and unity. This activity benefits the team by increasing their understanding and empathy toward one another, ultimately improving communication and collaboration.
16. GeoGuessr
GeoGuessr is a fun team building game that can help members interact while visiting the world.
Here is how to organize the activity:
- Invite all members to a Zoom call.
- Make groups of four or five.
- One member will open the GeoGuessr site and share the screen.
- The game will randomly assign each group a location.
- Players must guess where they are in the world. Players can move around, check street signs, and look at businesses to guess where they are.
- Once the team discovers their location, ask members to share any memory associated with it.
This activity allows members to visit the world virtually, explore new places, and foster team building by sharing their memories.
Learn more about GeoGuessr.
17. Virtual Coffee Break
Hosting a virtual coffee break can be a fun way to build team camaraderie in a remote setting. Virtual coffee breaks are unique experiences where coffee lovers can join and discover new ways to enjoy their drinks.
Here is how to host a virtual coffee break:
- Send a calendar invite with the time and Zoom link, and ask members to prepare their favorite coffee, tea, and snack.
- During the meeting, begin with a brief introduction of the purpose of the coffee break, welcoming participants and breaking the ice with light conversations.
- Discuss topics like personal goals, interests, or hobbies. Also, swap your favorite coffee brands and recipes.
- Set a time for the meeting for about 15 to 30 minutes, and ensure all members get a chance to contribute.
- End the meeting with a kind and encouraging message.
In this event, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the different flavors and aromas coffee can produce.
Check out this list of online coffee break ideas.
18. Virtual Museum Tour
Virtual museum tours are a great way to engage teams in creative and informative team building activities.
Here is how to host a virtual museum tour:
- Choose a museum that aligns with your team’s interests or expertise.
- Work with the museum to create a customized tour highlighting unique exhibits or aspects.
- Use Zoom breakout rooms to encourage small group discussion and engagement.
- Incorporate interactive elements, such as trivia questions or challenges.
- Provide prompts and questions for post-tour reflection and debate.
These tips can create a memorable and engaging virtual museum tour that fosters team building and connection. However, to make it easy, you can consult a professional site to host a virtual museum tour for you. For example, Museum Hack hosts museum tours for small groups.
Here are more online tours.
19. Virtual Wine-Tasting Experience
Virtual wine tastings over Zoom allow teams to try various wines, learn about new varieties, and bond over their love of wine.
Here is how to conduct a virtual wine tasting for Zoom team building:
- Select a theme for the tasting, such as different varieties or wines from a specific region.
- Choose a reputable wine delivery service to send participants the same wine kits before the tasting.
- On the event day, have a wine expert lead the tasting and guide participants through the wine selections.
- Use breakout rooms to allow smaller groups to discuss and share their thoughts on each wine.
- Accompany the tasting with food pairings, and provide participants with tasting notes and background information on each wine.
- Finally, conclude the event with a fun game or quiz to test participants’ knowledge of what they learned.
By following these steps, a virtual wine tasting can be a fun and engaging team building experience for remote teams.
Check out online wine tasting classes.
20. Pitch
Pitch is a great game that can enhance employees’ critical thinking skills while ensuring team building among members.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Invite members to a Zoom call.
- Make groups of four to five.
- Ask a couple of players to act as judges.
- Provide the same product to each group. Groups can also make their own products or come up with unique ideas.
- Each group’s task is to prepare a pitch for the product in the given time.
- You can also award extra points for humor and creativity.
- In the end, the groups will present their idea over a video call and get feedback from the judges.
This activity enhances the team’s problem-solving skills and helps promote team unity and collaboration.
21. Movie Night
A movie night is among the best Zoom call team building ideas because it brings colleagues together virtually and fosters a sense of shared experience.
Here is how to host a movie night on Zoom:
- Choose a theme for the night, such as a genre or favorite movie series.
- Send each team member a movie night package with popcorn, candy, and other movie theater snacks.
- Invite all members over the Zoom call. Start the movie on Netflix, and share the screen so that all members can watch it simultaneously.
- You can also have breakout rooms for smaller groups to discuss the movie and their favorite scenes.
- After the event, create an interactive experience by playing games or trivia related to the selected movie.
To keep the event creative, have team members create their own movie poster designs during or after the event. Finally, end the night with a discussion on the themes and takeaways from the movie. This experience will allow your team to bond over a shared interest and learn more about each other in a fun and creative way.
22. Virtual Talent Show
A virtual talent show is a perfect choice for Zoom virtual team building ideas, as it promotes teamwork, encourages creativity, and provides a fun way for team members to connect.
To organize a successful talent show, follow these steps:
- Set themes or categories such as music, dance, comedy, or lip-sync battles.
- Set the date and time, and inform all members beforehand.
- Have clear rules and guidelines for the talent show, and ensure all participants feel comfortable and included.
- Encourage employees to showcase their talents and consider awarding prizes for creativity, humor, or overall skill.
- Consider incorporating interactive games, polls, or quizzes to keep participants engaged.
Finally, encourage team bonding by having employees work in pairs or small groups to support and cheer on their colleagues during the event. A successful virtual talent show should promote creativity, teamwork, and positivity.
Here is a guide to online talent shows.
23. Virtual Murder Mystery
A virtual murder mystery game is a great team building activity that groups can do remotely with colleagues or friends.
Here is how to host this event:
- Start by selecting a suitable mystery theme that suits your team’s interests.
- Prepare a mysterious story and characters.
- Include puzzles, riddles, and challenges that add relevance to the story and keep participants engaged.
- Using Zoom’s breakout rooms feature, divide players into smaller groups, and assign objectives and clues to each character.
- Encourage players to interact and communicate to solve the mystery, and provide them with rules and clear instructions.
- Have a host monitor the game’s progress, keep time, and support the participants throughout the game.
- Finally, organize a debriefing session to discuss the outcome and provide feedback on the game.
To make the event fun, you can encourage members to dress up in costumes or decorate their space according to the party’s theme.
Here is a list of online murder mystery ideas.
24. Pictionary
Pictionary is a great game to spark team building and enhance communication skills over Zoom. The game is easy to organize and suitable for remote working teams to promote collaboration and cooperation.
Here is how to set up a virtual Pictionary game:
- Open Zoom’s virtual whiteboard tool.
- Divide the team into two groups, and choose one player from each team to draw.
- The artist can pick a word or phrase and draw it on the whiteboard.
- The rest of the team tries to guess the word or phrase within a time limit.
- Play will continue in this manner for as long as you would like.
- The team with the most correct guesses wins.
Pictionary can be an excellent icebreaker and team building activity. Team members will work together to guess and communicate amidst the laughter and fun.
25. Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever is a popular party game that teams can quickly adapt for a Zoom virtual team building event. In this activity, each team member takes turns stating something they have never done before.
Here are some examples of questions:
- Never have I ever gone parasailing.
- Never have I ever tried to lick my elbow.
- Never have I ever seen a ghost.
- Never have I ever pretended to be sick to get out of going somewhere.
- Never have I ever eaten an entire pizza by myself in one sitting.
The team member who did that task will sip their drink or perform a dare, like dancing or singing. This game helps team members get to know each other better and share fun and unique experiences. To add a twist, teams can create customized questions relevant to their team, industry, or company culture. Never Have I Ever sessions are free Zoom team building ideas and a great icebreaker game suitable for small and large groups.
Conclusion
Hosting a Zoom team building event can be an excellent way to bring remote teams together and improve collaboration, communication, and overall team performance. With a wide range of activities and games, finding options that suit your team’s preferences and goals is easy.
It is also essential to remember that a team building event’s success relies heavily on planning and execution. With proper planning and execution, a virtual team building event can be a powerful tool for strengthening relationships, improving morale, and boosting team performance in remote work.
Next, check out our lists of Zoom trivia games, Zoom party games, and online happy hour ideas.