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28 Creative Team Building Over Zoom Ideas

In one survey by Zippia, it was discovered that 52% of US employees say that teamwork is very important. Meanwhile, 37% said that “great teamwork” was their main reason for staying in a company (according to a survey by Visix)

The bottom line: teamwork is a must. But what if you have remote team members? How do they build rapport with each other to be a high-performing team in the workplace? 

To help you with this, I’m going to list 28 creative team building over Zoom ideas. I’ll list ideas, activities, and games you can do through a Zoom call. So let’s go!

Read More: 6 Unique Annual Staff Party Ideas That Will Leave a Lasting Impression

28 Virtual Team Building Activities, Games, and More in Zoom 

The team at Blink, an app for frontline workers, says:

“Team building activities help your employees connect and bond with each other and contribute to a good employee experience. Plus, they inspire team members to think and behave like a harmonious unit, not just separate individuals.”

So with that, here are the 28 team building over Zoom ideas, games, and activities: 

  1. Virtual Coffee Break
  2. Themed Work Weeks
  3. Trivia Night
  4. Icebreaker Questions
  5. Virtual Escape Room
  6. Murder Mystery
  7. Movie Night
  8. Storytelling Circle
  9. Poster-Making Contest
  10. Lego Building Challenge
  11. Charades
  12. Press Your Luck
  13. Pictionary
  14. Who Can Guess Who?
  15. This or That?
  16. Would You Rather?
  17. Truth or Dare
  18. Scattergories
  19. Boggle
  20. Bingo
  21. Never Have I Ever
  22. Scavenger Hunt
  23. Can You Name Five Things?
  24. Richup
  25. Seemingly Nothing in Common
  26. StopotS
  27. Freeze Dance
  28. Werewolf

Read More: 22 Cheap Team Building Ideas to Improve Communication, Boost Morale, and More!

1. Virtual Coffee Break

When it comes to online team building ideas, it doesn’t always have to be fun and games. Something as relaxing and calm as a virtual coffee break can help with team bonding. 

With this, however, you may only have one or two people talking. What’s more, they might talk about work since that’s all they have in common. 

To avoid that, you should ban work talk. Make it a time to get to know each other. It’s also a good idea to create small groups so that everyone gets a chance to say something. You can rotate these groups so that each team member can mingle with everyone else. 

Don’t drink coffee? No worries. Any drink will do. Maybe you can make it a virtual happy hour. Anyway, it’s the getting to know each other that’s important. 

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2. Themed Work Weeks

Another one of the Zoom team building ideas is to have themed work weeks. Tasia Duske, the CEO and Owner of Museum Hack, says:

“Organizing themed work weeks is a fantastic way to bring some fun and creativity to the workplace. This activity boosts team morale and adds a positive and lively atmosphere to the work environment.”

So let’s say the theme for the week is Health and Wellness. You can have team members dress up and decorate their workspaces with that theme. 

You can even have a short break from work to do some yoga and stretches with everyone. Or, during the break, you can discuss what you did to improve your health and wellness.

Of course, you need to communicate the theme through Zoom before the week starts. This way, team members can plan how they can participate. 

3. Trivia Night

Trivia night is always fun. It will take a bit of planning to host a virtual trivia night, though. For this, you’ll need to form teams. I’d say have 4 to 6 members for each team. 

The teams will then create a breakout room in a Zoom call so they can freely discuss their answers. Have the host send in the trivia questions through a messaging app or in the main Zoom room where everyone is present. 

When the teams have their answer, they will submit it either in the messaging app or the main Zoom room. Whoever gets it right gets a point. The host will then count and keep track of the points. The team with the most points wins!

For your trivia nights, you can switch up the topic. For one night, you can ask trivia about movies and TV shows, general knowledge, music, history, sports, and the list can go on and on. 

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Instagram @muviarts61

4. Icebreaker Questions

If you don’t have time to set up fun activities like a trivia night, then you can simply do a virtual icebreaker game. There are many icebreaker questions that you can find online. Or, you can even buy icebreaker question cards. 

Let the entire team join the Zoom meeting, and one by one let them answer the icebreaker question. Decide if everyone answers the same question or pick out another question for each member.

This is a great way to get to know each other without the awkwardness. No one has to try and think of questions to ask. Once the ice is broken, this will encourage team members to interact with each other and build rapport more freely. 

5. Virtual Escape Room

One of the best team building games is an escape room – the virtual version. This is not only a fun virtual game, but it will also boost problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.  

But you might be wondering, “How in the world do you set up virtual escape rooms?” Well, you’ll have to change it up a bit. Instead of trying to escape an actual room, your remote work escape room can be about solving puzzles or riddles. 

If you’re creative, you can come up with these by yourself and create a story around it. Or, you can take advantage of online escape rooms. Have the team play these games and use Zoom to communicate with each other. 

6. Murder Mystery

This online game involves teams trying to solve a murder mystery. They will need to work together to find the killer. 

As the host, you’ll have to do a lot of preparation. You first need to find a murder mystery theme that you know everyone will enjoy. You can pick historical events or TV shows as the theme. 

You’ll then need to come up with an exciting story with mysterious characters. If you have no ideas, you can base the murder mystery on real-life events or movies. 

You’ll also have to come up with clever clues and assign objectives to each group. Yes, it might take some time to set up, but it’ll be one of the bonding activities that will encourage problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and more. 

7. Movie Night

Don’t want to do so much preparation for your virtual team building event? Then you can simply host a movie night through Zoom. 

Now, Zoom doesn’t have a built-in feature specifically designed for watching movies together in real time. However, there are a few ways you can watch movies with others while using Zoom.  

For one, you can do screen sharing. You, or anyone else, will share your screen with the rest of the team in the virtual meeting. This will allow everyone to see the movie playing on the shared screen. This is great because you can speak to the others watching as well. 

Another idea is to use third-party services. Teleparty, Rave, Scener, and Watch2Gether are just a few platforms that allow synchronized streaming of movies and videos while on a Zoom call.

Just keep in mind that these services typically require all participants to have accounts and may have limitations based on the platform’s terms of service and copyright laws.

8. Storytelling Circle

A storytelling circle is a fun way to know someone on a deeper level. For this, get the team together in a Zoom call. Pick out one topic and let each person share a personal story about it. 

Let’s say your topic is a memorable travel experience or a childhood pet. Go around in a circle and let everyone have a chance to tell their own stories.

If you don’t want it to take too long, you can give a timeframe for each person to answer. Say 5 to 10 minutes. This way, you can be sure that you’ll be able to hear everyone’s story. 

Tasia Duske gives her take on why storytelling circles are great for team-building activities:

“This activity benefits the team by increasing their understanding and empathy toward one another, ultimately improving communication and collaboration.”

9. Poster-Making Contest

One of the best virtual individual games to play is a poster-making contest. This will encourage everyone to use their creative juices. Cheryl Viola, the Executive Director of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce, adds:

“60% of CEOs polled, cited creativity as the most important leadership quality.”

So a poster-making contest mixes creativity and fun Zoom team meetings. To get this started, pick a theme, announce the contest, and give a deadline for submission.

For more diversity, allow remote workers to choose how they want to make the poster. It can be through actual painting, Canva, online tools, or whatever they prefer. 

When the deadline arrives, head over to Zoom and have each person share what they created. You can then let everyone else vote by chat or reactions to pick out the winners. You can even include prizes for the top 3 winners to make it more exciting. 

10. Lego Building Challenge

Everyone loves Lego. This is why one popular Zoom team building game is a Lego building challenge. Now, to ensure everyone can participate, you should provide Lego kits. I tell you, it will be a pleasant surprise for the whole team. 

When everyone has their Lego, you can play on Zoom the Lego building challenge. This is super easy. All you have to do is ask them to create something, say, their favorite animal or food.

When everyone is finished, have the others guess what was created or have them choose the best Lego version of the item. No doubt, this virtual team building game will produce a lot of laughs and good camaraderie. 

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11. Charades

Another Zoom game you can play is charades. Most likely, everyone knows the concept of this game.

Someone comes up with a list of words. One person gets a word from the list and has to act it out for the others to guess what the word is. Remember, the actors can’t speak – they have to use dramatics. 

Now, you can either make this a competitive or recreational game. If competitive, divide the team into two groups and have them compete with each other. If recreational, you can have anyone randomly shout out the word they think the person is acting. 

All in all, this will help build communication, promote creativity, and foster a positive environment, among other things. 

12. Press Your Luck

Press Your Luck is an online team building game that combines trivia and luck. There’s an online game board that someone can screen share in the Zoom call. 

Here, each person will answer the trivia questions. If they get it correct, they’ll earn a spin. When the questions are finished, it will be time to spin to win prizes.

The one who lands the highest prize money will win. Also, there’s a catch. You can land in a Whammy and lose the game without any prizes. 

It’s like a super simple arcade game that everyone can enjoy. To make it more interactive and organized, it’s better to break into smaller groups. 

You can try playing the game a couple of times to get the hang of it. Once you do, you can suggest it as your game to play on Zoom with coworkers. You can even add your own prizes to the mix. 

13. Pictionary

If you look into lists of the best virtual games to play, Pictionary is always included. This is a bit like charades. Only this time, participants will draw out the word instead of acting it out. 

This is the perfect game for Zoom as the platform provides a whiteboard and annotating features. If not, you can use any drawing app and share it through Zoom. 

For this virtual team building game, divide everyone into two groups. For each team, there should be one drawer and several guessers. The drawer has to change each round so that everyone will have a chance to draw/guess. The team who guesses it right first will win. 

If you don’t have time to come up with words or ideas to draw, you can use an online Pictionary word generator. A simple Google search will show you plenty of options. 

14. Who Can Guess Who?

As remote teams work together, they’re probably so used to seeing each other through Zoom meetings. But just how well do you know what your teammates look like?

Well, you can find out in a fun team building game of ‘Who Can Guess Who?’. Have each member pick a photo of themselves. To make it even more challenging, let them go for old or baby pictures. Then, let them submit to you or the host. 

During the Zoom gathering, the host will then submit each photo while everyone else guesses who is who. To make it more interactive, Akila McConnell, the Owner of Unexpected Virtual Tours & Training, gives this advice: 

“Be sure to give each person the opportunity to share stories and answer questions about their photo. This will give your group the chance to grow more comfortable together and learn about each other’s younger days.”

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You can show your young photo and ask your teammates whether they can guess correctly

15. This or That?

A quick virtual team building idea is a simple game of ‘This or That?’. You don’t need any preparation. You can even play this as an icebreaker before you start a team meeting. 

The concept is very simple. You give two options to the team and let them discuss which is the better one. For example, you can say, ‘This or That? Cats or dogs?”, “This or That? Winning the lottery or finding your soulmate?”, and so on. 

Give at least 5-10 minutes for everyone to reason why they chose either this or that. There are no winners and right answers. It’s just a nice way to break the ice and get people talking. 

16. Would You Rather?

This is very similar to ‘This or That?’. It also requires zero preparation and is a fun way to get people talking and learning more about each other. However, instead of asking ‘This or That’, you give would your rather scenarios. 

You can even make the scenarios work-related. For example, “Would you rather become CEO for a day or receive a bonus?” or “Would you rather sit near the printer or the water cooler?”. 

Plus, you can use this as a way to learn more about what the remote team prefers. So you’re hitting two birds with one stone. 

If you run out of ideas, you can have the others come up with their own would you rather scenarios.

17. Truth or Dare

Here’s another simple Zoom team building activity. To play Truth or Dare in Zoom, you need to have a designated dare-master. This person will then call out truths or dares that everyone has to answer or do. 

If the dare-master didn’t have time to prepare, they can use this online Truth or Dare idea generator. Yes, it’s workplace friendly. 

If someone doesn’t want to participate in a particular truth or dare, they should turn off their Zoom camera. The game can go on until there is one or a few people standing. These people are then the winners since they did every dare and answered every truth. 

I tell you, you’ll be able to create memories, laughter, and foster conversations with a nostalgic game of Truth or Dare. 

18. Scattergories

Scattergories is a great virtual activity that encourages creative thinking. During the game, the host will give a category such as animals in the zoo, types of music, book titles, etc… 

They will then assign one letter for each round. Let’s say you chose the letter A. The players will write down their answers using the assigned letter. So if the category is animals in the zoo, you might want to write down ape. 

But here’s where you’ll need to think outside the box. If two or more people get the same answer, it won’t count as a point. You’ll only receive a point if no one else answers what you wrote down. At the end of the game, the one with the most points wins. 

19. Boggle

Boggle is a relaxing but challenging team building online game. The concept of the game is to find as many words as you can within a timeframe. You’re given a Boggle board with scrambled letters. You’ll have to connect nearby letters to form words. 

To make this a successful virtual team building idea for remote workers, you should create Zoom breakout rooms for small teams. This way, it has a more focused and friendly competitive atmosphere. 

If the team loves word games, Boggle will go down very well with everyone. Plus, it’s a relaxing game as you don’t need to do much. 

20. Bingo

Here’s another relaxing virtual team building game. Since Bingo is highly popular, you can be sure that everyone will know how to play it. But just briefly go over the rules in case someone doesn’t. 

Also, team building Bingo is a rather slow-paced game. So while you play, you can engage in conversation.

If you want to make it more exciting, swap out the numbers and letters for your own phrases. This time, instead of calling out a number or letter, the players get to fill in their Bingo cards when something happens. 

For example, let’s say you put these phrases in the Bingo card:

  • Someone drinks an entire cup of water
  • Family member appears on the background
  • Hear a dog bark 
  • Someone says “Can you hear me now?”
  • You sip water at the same time as a coworker
  • And much more!

If these things happen, players can fill in their boards until they can achieve a Bingo. So while the conversation goes on, you can be playing team building Bingo alongside it. 

21. Never Have I Ever

Here’s yet another great way to know the team better by playing games in Zoom. ‘Never Have I Ever’ is a simple game of giving a scenario and each one will say if they ever did it or never did it. 

If they answer “I have”, give them time to tell their stories. So if you ask, “Never have I ever seen a ghost?” It will be very interesting to hear the stories of members who have seen one before. 

To prepare for this, you can make each team member create their own answer board. This will have one side saying “I have” and the other side “I have never”. Let them get creative when designing their boards. 

‘Never Have I Ever’ will make you know unexpected things about a person that you might have never known if you didn’t play the game. 

22. Scavenger Hunt

Want to get people moving during the online team building activity? Then Zoom Scavenger Hunt will do the trick. Again, if you want it to be more organized and not take so long, you should split into breakout rooms. 

When the breakout rooms are set, you can start stating the things that need to be hunted. You can say “Grab a winter clothing item” and have everyone rush to get their winter jackets or scarves. Whoever returns first with the right item will earn a point. 

Another way you can approach this is to make them hunt for, say, their favorite snack or book. When everyone grabs what they need, they get to explain why they chose what they chose. Whoever has the best explanation or story will get a point. 

 23. Can You Name Five Things?

Another high-energy game that your team will love is ‘Can You Name Five Things?” Don’t worry, this doesn’t involve any running this time. Instead, it’s high energy because you’ll have to think quickly!

The game starts with someone choosing a category – let’s say TV shows. In 15 seconds, a selected person will have to name 5 TV shows. If they’re able, they will then pick another category and choose someone to name 5 specific things about it. 

If someone isn’t able to name 5 things within 15 seconds, they will be eliminated. It might surprise you how your mind can go blank in these types of challenges. So it’s a good and fun challenge for everyone. 

24. Richup

If you’ve never heard of Richup before, don’t worry. This is simply the online version of Monopoly. If you decide to play this game, create a Richup account, start a game, and send the link to your colleagues through Zoom.

While playing, you can even have your Zoom call opened so that it’s easier to communicate. Also, Richup can take quite a while to finish, so make sure everyone allots a long period for your virtual team building activity. 

You might not know it, but Richup is a trust-building activity for virtual teams. How? If played fairly, it will encourage cooperation, negotiation, honesty, integrity, risk-taking, fairness, and much more. 

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Source: richup.io

25. Seemingly Nothing in Common

Looking for fun virtual games to play but also help in the workplace? Seemingly Nothing in Common will challenge everyone’s innovation and conventional thinking skills. It’s a great game about teamwork, too. 

If you decide to play this, create breakout rooms for each team. The host will then share their screen and show a couple of items that have nothing in common… or so you thought. In 5 to 10 minutes, have each team find a category to connect all the items. 

The first team to find a category that makes sense will earn a point. Do this for several more rounds. Whoever has the most points by the end, will win. 

26. StopotS

StopotS is an online version of Scattergories. It’s much easier to organize but there isn’t so much interaction. Still, it’s a great way to let the team spend time together. 

Now, in StopotS, you’ll be given a random letter. You’ll then be given a board with categories. In each category, you need to type in something related that starts with the assigned letter. So if your letter is T and the category is Dessert, you can type in Tiramisu. 

It’s a fun, chill game that you will get stuck playing. You can open Zoom on the side so that you can interact with each other while playing. 

27. Freeze Dance

Want to go partying and gaming with your remote team members? Then Freeze Dance is one of the best virtual team building activities to try. It’s super easy, too. 

You simply get on a Zoom call with everyone. Make sure all the cameras are turned on. The host then plays upbeat music while everyone dances. 

When the host stops the music, everyone will have to freeze in their dance positions. The last person to freeze will be eliminated. Keep going through different songs until only one person is standing. 

This is a game that will produce a lot of high energy and laughter. It will push friendly competition against team members, too. 

28. Werewolf

To play Werewolf remotely, you’ll have to assign people. There’s the narrator, the werewolf, the medic, the seer, and the rest will be the villagers. 

The narrator will tell what’s happening in the game. They will say that when night arrives, everyone falls asleep. This is everyone’s cue to close their eyes.  

Then the narrator will continue the story with the werewolf waking up and attacking someone (you can have the assigned werewolf private message who they want to attack). 

After the werewolf sleeps, the medic will then wake up and save anyone they think the werewolf attacked. The last person to wake up is the seer. This person will give a name to the narrator and the narrator will tell whether they were the werewolf or not. 

In the morning, everyone wakes up. If the medic saved the right person, then that person is still in the game. If not, then that person died and is out of the game.

The game goes on until the villagers discover who the werewolf is and put them to jail or the werewolf kills almost everyone before that time.  

Final Words

In a remote workspace, it’s more important than ever to have team building activities to ensure great collaboration and teamwork. If you’re in charge of planning a virtual team building, then pick from any of these 28 team building over Zoom ideas. 

These ideas, activities, and games are all fun and will help the team grow stronger. In turn, that will increase workplace productivity, as well as foster a positive environment, boost morale, and much more. 

About Author

Founder of Eggcellentwork.com. With over 20 years of experience in HR and various roles in corporate world, Jenny shares tips and advice to help professionals advance in their careers. Her blog is a go-to resource for anyone looking to improve their skills, land their dream job, or make a career change.

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