Meetings
15 Fun Games for Office Meetings, In Person or Virtual
· 9 min read
A game in an office meeting has one job: get people's attention on the meeting and away from their inbox, in under ten minutes. The ones that work are quick to explain, need no setup, and work whether the team is around one table, on a video call, or split between the two.
Here are 15 fun games for office meetings, most of them five minutes or less. Three are best played in the room and the rest work just as well on a virtual call.
Quick guide
| Game | Time | Group size | Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| This or that | 3–5 min | Any | Both |
| One-word check-in | 3 min | Up to 20 | Both |
| Quick poll | 3–5 min | Any | Both |
| Five-question speed trivia | 5–10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Guess the emoji | 5 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Spin the question | 5–10 min | Up to 15 | Both |
| Two truths and a lie | 5–10 min | 4–30 | Both |
| Riddle of the week | 3–5 min | Any | Both |
| Rebus puzzle | 3–5 min | Any | Both |
| Rose, thorn, bud | 10 min | Up to 10 | Both |
| Survey says, one board | 5–10 min | 6+ | Both |
| Whiteboard draw-off | 5–10 min | 6–20 | In person |
| Name that tune | 5–10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Categories | 5 min | Any | Both |
| Finish the sentence | 5–10 min | 6+ | Both |
1. This or that
3–5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Put up two options ("Mornings or evenings?", "Slides or a doc?") and have everyone pick a side. Show the split and move on.
Why it works: The fastest opener there is. No wrong answers, and nobody has to speak unless they want to.
With TeamPlay: Everyone taps a side on their own device and the split appears after each question. See how it plays.
2. One-word check-in
3 min · Up to 20 people · both
How it works: Everyone shares one word for how their week is going. The host asks one or two people to say more.
Why it works: Thirty seconds per person and it tells you a lot about the room's mood.
3. Quick poll
3–5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Ask a light opinion question, like the best time for the team lunch, and show the results live.
Why it works: Useful and fun at once, and it gets everyone's attention on the meeting.
4. Five-question speed trivia
5–10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Split into two or three teams and ask five quick multiple-choice questions. Announce the winner and get on with the agenda.
Why it works: Short enough to fit before the real meeting, competitive enough to wake people up.
With TeamPlay: Pick the difficulty and the number of questions, and the app marks the answers. See how it plays.
5. Guess the emoji
5 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Show three emoji puzzles that spell out a phrase or film. First team to decode each one scores.
Why it works: Everyone gets it instantly, and three puzzles take five minutes.
6. Spin the question
5–10 min · Up to 15 people · both
How it works: Pick a random person and a random light question ("Best thing you ate this week?"). They answer in thirty seconds, then spin again.
Why it works: Good for new teams, and the randomness means nobody feels picked on.
With TeamPlay: Icebreaker Roulette picks the speaker and the question for you. See how it plays.
7. Two truths and a lie
5–10 min · 4–30 people · both
How it works: One person per meeting shares two truths and a lie. Everyone guesses the lie before the reveal.
Why it works: Doing one person per week means everyone gets their turn over a quarter, without eating into any single meeting.
8. Riddle of the week
3–5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Open the meeting with a riddle. Give teams a minute to answer, or leave it unsolved until the end of the meeting.
Why it works: Leaving it open keeps people engaged through the agenda.
9. Rebus puzzle
3–5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Show one or two picture puzzles that spell out a phrase and see who cracks them first.
Why it works: A single puzzle is a ninety-second warm-up that gets brains working.
10. Rose, thorn, bud
10 min · Up to 10 people · both
How it works: Each person shares a win (rose), a challenge (thorn) and something they're looking forward to (bud).
Why it works: Doubles as a real status check, so it earns its place in a working meeting.
11. Survey says, one board
5–10 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: Play a single board: teams guess the most popular answers to one prompt, like "Something you'd find on every office desk."
Why it works: One board is the right size for a meeting and gets every team talking.
12. Whiteboard draw-off
5–10 min · 6–20 people · in person
How it works: Two volunteers race to draw the same word on the meeting room whiteboard while the room shouts guesses. The first drawing guessed wins.
Why it works: Gets two people out of their chairs and the whole room laughing in under five minutes.
13. Name that tune
5–10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Play the first few seconds of a well-known song through the room speaker or the call. First team to name it scores.
Why it works: Music gets an instant reaction, and mixing decades means every age group has its moment.
14. Categories
5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Pick a category ("things in a kitchen", "words that end in -ing") and go round the room. Anyone who repeats an answer or freezes is out.
Why it works: No setup, no screen, and the pressure builds nicely as the obvious answers run out.
15. Finish the sentence
5–10 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: Give one prompt with a gap, collect answers, and let the room vote for the funniest.
Why it works: A light way to end a long meeting on a good note.
Tips for games in team meetings
- Time-box it. Put it on the agenda as a fixed five or ten minutes and stick to it.
- Open, don't interrupt. A game works best as the first item, when people are still arriving.
- Let people answer by typing. On a call, phone answers and chat give quieter people and anyone with a bad connection an equal way in.
- Rotate the games. The same opener every week stops working by week three.
- Keep it light. Skip anything personal: family, health and money questions put people on the spot.
Running the meeting on a call? See games to play on Teams and Zoom and 12 icebreaker games for remote and hybrid meetings. For longer sessions, try our list of 30 office games.
Common questions
What are fun activities to do during work meetings?
Short games that need no explanation: this or that, a quick poll, five trivia questions, or one emoji or rebus puzzle. Put them at the very start of the meeting, keep them to five minutes, and move straight on to the agenda.
Which games can we play in an office meeting room?
Anything that needs only the people and the screen: charades, a whiteboard draw-off, categories, name that tune, or a quiz on the room's TV with everyone answering on their phones.
What are good 5-minute games for virtual meetings?
This or that, a one-word check-in, a single rebus or emoji puzzle, and a quick poll all fit in five minutes and work with cameras off.
Start your next meeting with one
Most of these games are built into TeamPlay. Share your screen, everyone joins on their phone with a room code, and the app handles the answers and scores. It's free for up to 15 people, which covers most team meetings. Host a free session or see how teams use it in meetings.