Office games
30 Office Games for Employees, In Person and Remote
· 14 min read
Office games work when they're short, everyone can join in, and nobody is put on the spot. This list has 30 of them: games you can run in a meeting room with nothing but people and a whiteboard, and games that run on everyone's phone so the same session works for a team that's half in the office and half on a call.
For each game you'll find how long it takes, the group size it suits, whether it works in person, remote or both, and how to run it. If you just want to know how to put a session together, skip to how to run games at the office.
Quick guide
| Game | Time | Group size | Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two truths and a lie | 10–15 min | 4–30 | Both |
| Human knot | 10 min | 8–12 per knot | In person |
| Paper tower | 15–20 min | Teams of 3–5 | In person |
| Office scavenger hunt | 20–30 min | Teams of 3–6 | In person |
| Charades | 15–20 min | 6+ | Both |
| Pictionary | 15–20 min | 6+ | Both |
| Desert island | 10 min | Up to 20 | Both |
| Who am I? | 10–15 min | 6+ | In person |
| Guess the baby photo | 10–15 min | 8–30 | Both |
| Blind drawing | 10 min | Pairs | In person |
| Rock, paper, scissors tournament | 5–10 min | 10+ | In person |
| Rose, thorn, bud | 10 min | Up to 10 | Both |
| Team trivia | 15–20 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Survey says | 10–15 min | 6+ | Both |
| Rebus puzzles | 10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Guess the emoji | 10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Riddles | 10–15 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Word scramble race | 5–10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Logo quiz | 10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Flag and map quiz | 10–15 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Rank it | 10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Mystery box | 10 min | Any, in teams | Both |
| Finish the sentence | 10 min | 6+ | Both |
| This or that | 5 min | Any | Both |
| Icebreaker spinner | 10 min | Up to 15 | Both |
| Team sudoku race | 10–15 min | Teams of 2–6 | Both |
| Virtual escape room | 15–25 min | 4+ | Both |
| Quick poll | 5 min | Any | Both |
| Secret Santa | 5 min to draw | 3+ | Both |
| White elephant gift swap | 20–30 min | 6–30 | Both |
Office games you can play with no app
These need nothing more than the people in the room, and a few need paper, tape or a whiteboard.
1. Two truths and a lie
10–15 min · 4–30 people · both
How it works: One person shares three statements about themselves, two true and one false. Everyone else guesses the lie, then the author reveals it.
Why it works: People learn something real about each other, and the reveal always gets a reaction.
With TeamPlay: TeamPlay has the author type their statements and every other team vote on its own devices, with points for spotting the lie and for fooling the room. See how it plays.
2. Human knot
10 min · 8–12 per knot people · in person
How it works: Stand in a circle, reach across and grab two different people's hands, then untangle into one circle without letting go.
Why it works: It needs talking, patience and a bit of leadership, and it ends with everyone laughing.
3. Paper tower
15–20 min · Teams of 3–5 people · in person
How it works: Give each team 20 sheets of paper and some tape. The tallest free-standing tower after ten minutes wins.
Why it works: A small build challenge where planning beats rushing, and you can see who takes charge.
4. Office scavenger hunt
20–30 min · Teams of 3–6 people · in person
How it works: Hand out a list of things to find or photograph around the office: the oldest mug, a plant someone named, a sticky note from last year.
Why it works: Gets people moving, mixes departments, and turns up office lore nobody knew.
5. Charades
15–20 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: One person acts out a word or phrase without speaking while their team guesses against a timer. Work themes ("reply all", "the printer is jammed") land well.
Why it works: No equipment, works for any group, and the bad actors are the best part.
6. Pictionary
15–20 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: One person draws a word on a whiteboard, their team guesses before time runs out. Rotate the drawer every round.
Why it works: Drawing skill doesn't matter. Watching someone try to draw "quarterly review" does.
With TeamPlay: Imojination is Pictionary with emoji instead of a pen: the drawer builds the answer from emoji on a shared canvas and teammates type their guesses. See how it plays.
7. Desert island
10 min · Up to 20 people · both
How it works: Ask "You can take three things to a desert island. What are they?" and go round the room, one answer each.
Why it works: Quick, safe, and the follow-up questions write themselves.
8. Who am I?
10–15 min · 6+ people · in person
How it works: Stick a famous name on each person's back. They ask the room yes-or-no questions until they work out who they are.
Why it works: Everyone plays at once, so there's no waiting for a turn.
9. Guess the baby photo
10–15 min · 8–30 people · both
How it works: Collect a baby or childhood photo from each volunteer ahead of time. Show them one by one and have everyone guess who's who.
Why it works: Huge for laughs, and it only needs a bit of prep and some willing volunteers.
10. Blind drawing
10 min · Pairs people · in person
How it works: Sit back to back. One person describes a simple picture, the other draws it from the description alone. Compare at the end.
Why it works: A quick lesson in how differently people hear the same instructions.
11. Rock, paper, scissors tournament
5–10 min · 10+ people · in person
How it works: Everyone pairs up and plays. Losers become the winner's cheering section and follow them into the next match, until two players have the whole room behind them.
Why it works: Takes five minutes and the final is louder than it has any right to be.
12. Rose, thorn, bud
10 min · Up to 10 people · both
How it works: Each person shares a highlight (rose), a challenge (thorn) and something they're looking forward to (bud).
Why it works: Not really a game, but a good weekly check-in that gives a manager a real read on the team.
Office games everyone plays on their phone
Put these on the meeting room screen (or share it on the call) and everyone answers on their own phone or laptop. They suit bigger groups, hybrid teams, and anyone who doesn't want to keep score by hand.
13. Team trivia
15–20 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Teams answer multiple-choice questions on general knowledge. Read the question, give teams time to confer, reveal, repeat.
Why it works: The classic for a reason: competitive, but team play means nobody is exposed for not knowing.
With TeamPlay: TeamPlay's Trivia marks every answer and keeps the score at the difficulty you pick, so the host just reads and reveals. See how it plays.
14. Survey says
10–15 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: Teams try to name the most popular answers to a prompt like "Something people do on a call instead of listening." More popular answers score more.
Why it works: You don't need to know facts, just people, so everyone can contribute.
With TeamPlay: Teams type as many guesses as they like and each right one flips over on the board. See how it plays.
15. Rebus puzzles
10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Show a picture puzzle where letters and images spell out a phrase ("HEAD over HEELS"). First team to solve it wins the round.
Why it works: The aha moment is satisfying, and it rewards a different kind of brain than trivia does.
With TeamPlay: Every team sees the puzzle when the clock starts, works it out in its own chat, and the fastest right teams score most. See how it plays.
16. Guess the emoji
10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Show a string of emoji that spells out a film, phrase or food (🌧️🐱🐶 is "raining cats and dogs") and have teams race to name it.
Why it works: Instantly understood, quick to play, and works as a five-minute filler.
With TeamPlay: Answers are typed and checked automatically, with more points for faster teams. See how it plays.
17. Riddles
10–15 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Read a riddle and give teams a minute to work it out together.
Why it works: Riddles are reasoned out rather than remembered, so the quiet thinkers shine.
With TeamPlay: Every team gets the same riddle at the same moment and types its answer. See how it plays.
18. Word scramble race
5–10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Teams unscramble as many jumbled words as they can before the clock runs out.
Why it works: Short, fast and a good energy boost after lunch.
With TeamPlay: Each team gets its own stream of words, and skipping a hard one costs nothing. See how it plays.
19. Logo quiz
10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Show a zoomed-in slice of a brand logo and have teams name the company. Zoom out a bit at a time until someone gets it.
Why it works: Everyone has seen thousands of logos, so everyone has a chance.
With TeamPlay: Logo Zoom pulls back slowly on its own, and the sooner a team names it, the more it scores. See how it plays.
20. Flag and map quiz
10–15 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Show a flag and have teams name the country, then point to it on a map.
Why it works: Geography arguments are some of the most passionate you'll hear at work.
With TeamPlay: In Pin It! teams name the flag, then drop a pin on a borderless map, scoring more the closer it lands. See how it plays.
21. Rank it
10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Give teams a list (inventions by age, countries by population) and ask them to put it in order.
Why it works: Sparks debate inside every team, and a near miss still feels close.
With TeamPlay: One teammate drags the list while the team argues in chat, and each item in the right place scores. See how it plays.
22. Mystery box
10 min · Any, in teams people · both
How it works: Reveal clues to a hidden everyday object one at a time, vaguest first. Teams guess after each clue, and an earlier answer pays more.
Why it works: The tension builds clue by clue, and the host controls the pace.
With TeamPlay: Teams type a guess after every clue and a wrong one costs nothing. See how it plays.
23. Finish the sentence
10 min · 6+ people · both
How it works: Give a prompt with a gap ("The real reason the meeting overran was ___"). Everyone writes an ending, then the room votes for the funniest.
Why it works: Shows off the team's sense of humour, and anonymous voting keeps it fair.
With TeamPlay: Punchline hides the names until the votes are in, then reveals who wrote what. See how it plays.
24. This or that
5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Read two options ("Tea or coffee?", "Inbox zero or 4,000 unread?") and have everyone pick one. Show the split.
Why it works: No wrong answers and nobody is singled out, which makes it the easiest opener there is.
With TeamPlay: Everyone taps a side on their phone and the room's split shows after each question. See how it plays.
25. Icebreaker spinner
10 min · Up to 15 people · both
How it works: Pick a random person and give them a random light question ("What was your first job?"). They answer, then spin again.
Why it works: Randomness takes the awkwardness out of choosing who goes next.
With TeamPlay: Icebreaker Roulette picks both the person and the question, and the host moves it along. See how it plays.
26. Team sudoku race
10–15 min · Teams of 2–6 people · both
How it works: Every team gets the same sudoku and races to fill it in together.
Why it works: A quiet, focused game that suits teams who'd rather think than shout.
With TeamPlay: Sudoku Battle gives each team a disguised copy of the same board so nobody can copy, and checks every digit as it goes in. See how it plays.
27. Virtual escape room
15–25 min · 4+ people · both
How it works: Teams solve a chain of puzzles, each one unlocking the next, to escape before time runs out.
Why it works: Real problem-solving under a bit of pressure, and finishing together feels like a win.
With TeamPlay: With bigger groups each team gets a different lock and the room only escapes when every lock is open, so fast teams help slow ones. See how it plays.
28. Quick poll
5 min · Any people · both
How it works: Ask the room a light opinion question (where should the next offsite be?) and show the results live.
Why it works: A gentle way to start a session and get every phone connected before the competitive games.
29. Secret Santa
5 min to draw · 3+ people · both
How it works: Everyone is assigned one person to buy a small gift for, in secret. Set a budget and a reveal date.
Why it works: A December classic that works whether the team sits together or not.
With TeamPlay: TeamPlay does the draw: nobody gets themselves, and each person privately sees who they got. See how it plays.
30. White elephant gift swap
20–30 min · 6–30 people · both
How it works: Everyone brings a wrapped gift. In turn, each person opens a new one or steals one someone has already opened.
Why it works: The stealing turns a gift exchange into a game, and the most-stolen gift becomes a legend.
With TeamPlay: The app keeps the turn order and the steal limits so nobody has to track them. See how it plays.
How to run games at the office
- Pick a slot people won't resent. The last hour on a Friday, the start of an all-hands, or a lunch session with food. Avoid times when people are up against a deadline.
- Keep it to 30–60 minutes. Three or four games is plenty. Open with something gentle (a poll or this-or-that), put the competitive games in the middle, and end on something funny.
- Play in teams. Teams of 3–6 take the pressure off individuals and mix people who don't usually work together. Shuffle departments on purpose.
- Make it work for remote colleagues too. If anyone is dialling in, choose games they can play from their own device rather than ones that need to be in the room.
- Have one person host. The host reads questions, keeps time and moves things along. With an app doing the scoring, they don't need to track points on a whiteboard.
- Keep prizes small. Bragging rights, a trophy that moves desks, or first pick of the snacks works better than anything expensive.
Planning something longer? Our guide to running a 60-minute team game session has a full run of show, and there are separate lists for Fun Friday games and fun games for office meetings.
Common questions
What are some fun games to play at work?
Team trivia, two truths and a lie, Pictionary, charades and survey-style games are the most reliable. They're easy to explain, work for any group size, and don't need anyone to be good at anything in particular.
How do you play games in the office without disrupting work?
Schedule them. A fixed slot, like Friday afternoon or the first ten minutes of a weekly meeting, means people can plan around it, and keeping each game under 15 minutes stops it eating the day.
What games work for both office and remote employees?
Anything people can answer from their own device: trivia, polls, emoji and rebus puzzles, survey games and fill-in-the-blank games. Everyone sees the same screen and joins with a code, so it makes no difference where they're sitting.
Do office games need special equipment?
No. Half the games above need nothing but people. The rest need a shared screen and the phones everyone already has in their pocket.
Run the phone games in one session
Every game in the second half of this list is built into TeamPlay. Put it on the meeting room screen, everyone joins from their own phone with a room code, and the app handles timing, answers and scores. It's free for up to 15 people. Host a free session or browse all the games.