Office Game Night: 12 Games to Play with Colleagues

An office game night or a lunch-break game is one of the easiest ways to strengthen team spirit. The 12 games below are quick to prepare and fit different team sizes.

Short and light games (15 minutes)

1. Icebreaker questions: To get to know new team members. See our list of 50 questions.
2. Word cloud: “Describe our team in one word.” The results grow on screen. Try it with Word Cloud.
3. True or false: A knowledge game about the company with True or False.
4. Emoji quiz: About movies, products or office jargon with Emoji Quiz.

Medium games (30 minutes)

5. Company quiz: Build a quiz about history, products and people.
6. General knowledge round: Run a competition between departments.
7. Taboo: Play Taboo with cards customised with company terms. See the corporate Taboo guide for ideas.
8. Draw it: One of the games that make teams laugh the most. Try Draw It.

Larger events (45-60 minutes)

9. Department tournament: Combine several games on one scoreboard.
10. Tombola: A prize tombola for year-end or special days.
11. Hybrid quiz: Let office and remote colleagues play the same quiz. The meetings and events page has ideas for hybrid setups.
12. Raffle: Give a surprise prize to those who collect points by taking part.

Planning tips

• Mind the time: An event during work hours should not exceed 30 to 45 minutes.
• Include everyone: Do not forget hybrid and remote colleagues.
• Add a small prize: A coffee voucher or an extra hour off, for example.
• Ask for feedback: Run a one-question live poll at the end.

For more ideas, see team building and employee engagement.

A sample office game night schedule (90 minutes)

1. 0-10 min: Welcome and warm-up with a word cloud.
2. 10-35 min: Company quiz. Teams are formed by department.
3. 35-45 min: Break, snacks and chat.
4. 45-70 min: Taboo or draw-it round.
5. 70-90 min: Tombola and prize ceremony.

Ways to increase participation

• Announce early. Add it to calendars at least a week ahead.
• Involve managers. Managers taking part encourages the team too.
• Mix the teams. Put people from different departments in the same team.
• Make prizes visible. Announce the prizes before the event.
• Plan the next one. At the end, collect ideas for the “next game night”.

Frequently asked questions

Should an office game night be held during work hours?

It depends on the goal. Short games work well during work hours, bigger tournaments after work.

How do we increase participation?

Announce it in advance, add a small prize and keep the games easy enough for everyone to join.