Virtual team building games your remote team will actually play

What makes a good team building game at work

Team building at work has a harder job than a party game. Some people are new, some are senior, some would rather not be there, and everyone has a meeting after this one. The games that work in that setting share four traits.

• Short. Five to ten minutes fits at the start of a meeting without taking it over.
• Low stakes. Nobody should have to share something personal or perform on camera to take part.
• Everyone at once. Games where people answer together keep the quiet ones involved and stop the loud ones taking over.
• Nothing to set up. If people have to install software or create a work account, half the team will not make it in.

Letternerd meets the last point by running in the browser. You share a room code or link in the meeting chat, and each person joins as a guest on their phone or laptop. The game shows on everyone’s own screen, so nobody has to share theirs.

Online icebreaker games for work at a glance

Quick icebreakers for the start of a meeting

When you only have five minutes, pick a game with a result people want to compare. How in sync are we? asks everyone the same questions and finds the two people who think most alike, which is a gentle way to discover common ground. What’s your group chat role? gives each person a result to share, and shows who else got the same one.

This or That is a quick either-or game for two or more, and you score when your answers match. It works well for a small team or a pair of new colleagues.

• How in sync are we?2–12 players · 5 minEveryone answers the same questions. Find out which two of you think most alike.
• What’s your group chat role?1–12 players · 5 minAnswer honestly. Find out who you really are in the chat — and who else is the same.
• This or That2–8 players · 6 minQuick either/or for two or more. Score when your answers match.
• Great Minds3–12 players · 9 minAnswer at the same time. Score only if you side with the crowd.

Games for remote teams that like to compete

Team showdown splits the room into two teams when the game starts, then runs ten questions where every right answer scores for your side. It is a good fit for a monthly social because the teams are random, so the usual cliques get broken up.

Ballpark asks for estimates of wild numbers. Guesses stay private until the reveal, and the closest wins the round. Nobody needs specialist knowledge, which keeps it fair across departments. Head to Head pairs players off each round for a trivia duel, if your team enjoys a rivalry.

Want questions about your own company, product or team history? Make a quiz about your team by describing it in a sentence, then check every question before you play.

Cooperative and creative games

Not every team wants a winner. All Together is a co-op mode: everyone fills a shared bar as a team and wins together. One Clue has everyone write a one-word clue for a guesser, but matching clues cancel out, so the group has to be helpful without being obvious. That makes for a good conversation about how differently people think.

Say It Plainly asks players to explain everyday things in one sentence without the obvious words, and the table checks each other’s answers anonymously. Teams that write for customers often find it surprisingly useful. Caption this is the lighter option: one scene, everyone captions it, and the funniest caption takes the round.

• All Together3–10 players · 8 minCo-op mode: fill the shared bar as a team and everyone wins together.
• One Clue3–10 players · 12 minEveryone writes a one-word clue for the guesser. Matching clues cancel out, so be helpful, not obvious.
• Say It Plainly3–12 players · 8 minExplain everyday things in one sentence without the obvious words. The table checks each other’s, anonymously.
• Caption this3–12 players · 12 minOne scene, everyone captions it, funniest one takes the round.

Team building games for teams across time zones

The hardest part of remote team building is often the calendar. When your team spans several time zones, there may be no hour that suits everyone. Letternerd rooms can run over several days instead of live: each person takes their turn when they are free, and the reveal waits until everyone has played.

Post the link in your team channel on Monday and share the results at Friday’s call. Would you rather, Great Minds and How in sync are we? all work well at that pace. A game that cannot be played over days says so when you choose.

How to run a virtual team building game on a call

1. Pick the game before the meeting and open it once yourself so you can explain it in a sentence.
2. At the start of the call, host a room and paste the link into the meeting chat.
3. Give people a minute to join on their phone or in a new browser tab. They join as guests and type the name they want to show.
4. Start the game. Keep the call open so people can react as the answers come in.
5. Stop after one or two games. Leaving people wanting another round is better than running long.

Letternerd has no built-in voice or video, so it sits alongside Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or whatever call your team already uses. If you are short of players, the host can add AI players to fill seats, which costs some in-game Gold earned by playing.

Keep it comfortable for everyone

Choose games to suit the team you have. A group of friends from work may love Never have I ever, but a team that met last week will be happier with Would you rather or Ballpark, where nobody has to reveal anything personal. Make taking part optional, and avoid games that ask people to record their voice or film themselves unless everyone is keen.

Letternerd is for people aged 13 and up, and has community rules. Players can report a game, a player or a room, and a person reads every report.

How this compares with other team tools

Tools built for training and presentations, such as Kahoot! and Mentimeter, are designed around a presenter who shows content on a shared screen. That is the better choice for a workshop with slides. Letternerd is for the social part: a short game where everyone plays on their own screen. See our Kahoot alternative and Mentimeter alternative pages for an honest comparison.

Play the games from this post

Free in your browser. Share the room code and everyone joins from their own phone, no signup.

• How in sync are we?2–12 players · 5 minEveryone answers the same questions. Find out which two of you think most alike.
• Great Minds3–12 players · 9 minAnswer at the same time. Score only if you side with the crowd.
• Would you rather2–16 players · 8 minTwo impossible choices. Pick a side and defend it.
• Team showdown4–16 players · 10 minTwo teams, ten questions. Every right answer scores for your side.
• Ballpark2–20 players · 9 minWild numbers, smart estimates. Get closest—or land it exactly.
• All Together3–10 players · 8 minCo-op mode: fill the shared bar as a team and everyone wins together.
• One Clue3–10 players · 12 minEveryone writes a one-word clue for the guesser. Matching clues cancel out, so be helpful, not obvious.
• Say It Plainly3–12 players · 8 minExplain everyday things in one sentence without the obvious words. The table checks each other’s, anonymously.

More games like these

• Team and remote icebreakers
• Icebreaker games
• Trivia games
• Party games