20 office and work party games

Office trivia

Players

8 to 60, at tables of 4 to 6

Minutes

30 to 45

Ages

Adults

You need

General trivia questions, pens, and an answer sheet for each table

1. Mix departments at each table so teams are not the usual groups.
2. Read three or four rounds of eight questions on general topics.
3. Tables trade sheets and mark each other's answers after every round.
4. Announce the scores after each round and give the winning table a small prize.

For this game: Trivia questions for work

Office quiz board

Players

8 to 40, in 3 to 5 teams

Minutes

30 to 40

Ages

Adults

You need

A screen or projector, or a shared screen on a video call

1. Open the board on the meeting room screen.
2. Teams take it in turns to pick a square on the board.
3. Each team answers with one agreed voice, and a miss hands the square to the next team.
4. For a hybrid party, share the screen on the call and let remote colleagues form their own team.

Survey game

Players

8 to 40, in 2 teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

Survey prompts with ranked answers, a whiteboard, and a bell

1. Split the room into two teams, for example by floor or by the first letter of first names.
2. After each prompt, such as 'Name something people keep in a desk drawer', one player from each team races to the bell.
3. The better answer wins control, and that team tries to find the rest of the board, one player at a time.
4. Three misses let the other team steal the points with one answer.

For this game: Survey game questions and answers

Picture puzzle quiz

Players

4 to 40, in teams

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

Adults

You need

Printed picture and word puzzles, one set per team, and pens

1. Hand each team the same set of puzzles, face down.
2. On 'Go', teams solve as many as they can in ten minutes.
3. Read the answers aloud and let teams mark their own sheets.
4. If teams tie, the team that finished first wins.

Without a printer: Show the puzzles one at a time on the meeting room screen.

For this game: Rebus and picture brain teasers

Logic puzzle race

Players

4 to 40, in teams of 3 or 4

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

The same logic grid puzzle for each team, and pens

1. Hand out one copy of the same puzzle to each team.
2. Teams work through the clues and mark the grid.
3. The first team to bring a correct solution to the host wins.
4. Wait until three teams have finished, then walk everyone through the reasoning.

Without a printer: Put the clues on a shared screen and let teams draw the grid on paper.

For this game: Logic grid puzzles with solutions

Work-safe charades

Players

6 to 30, in 2 teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

Slips with films, songs and everyday tasks, and a timer

1. Write prompts that everyone will know and nobody will find awkward, such as films, famous songs and chores.
2. Each actor gets one minute, and no words, to steer teammates to the answer.
3. Anyone can swap a slip they do not want to act.
4. Colleagues who would rather not act can keep time or score.

For this game: Charades for adults

Whiteboard draw and guess

Players

6 to 30, in 2 teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

A whiteboard, markers, and a word list

1. Deal the artist a word from the list.
2. The artist sketches it on the whiteboard. Letters, numbers and gestures are off limits.
3. Teammates have a minute to shout the answer. An unanswered word goes to the other side for one guess.
4. Rotate artists until every volunteer has drawn.

For this game: Drawing game word generator

Would you rather, office edition

Players

4 to 40

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

Adults

You need

A list of work-safe either-or questions

1. Read a question, such as 'Would you rather have a four-day week or free lunch every day?'
2. Colleagues move to one side of the room or vote with a raised hand.
3. Ask for reasons from anyone who wants to give one.
4. On a video call, colleagues vote in the chat with a 1 or a 2.

For this game: Would you rather questions for work

Two truths and a lie

Players

4 to 20

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

Adults

You need

Nothing

1. Anyone who wants to play says three short statements: two true, one invented.
2. Suggest light topics, such as a place visited, an odd skill or a first job.
3. The group votes on the lie, then the player reveals it.
4. Players can join or sit out at any point.

For this game: Two truths and a lie ideas

Match the fact to the colleague

Players

10 to 50

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

Adults

You need

Facts sent to the organizer ahead of time by colleagues who choose to join, and answer sheets

1. A week before, invite colleagues to send one harmless fact about themselves, such as 'I once rode a camel'. Joining is optional.
2. Number the facts and print them with a list of the colleagues who sent one.
3. Guests match each fact to a name.
4. Read the answers aloud, and let each person add the story behind their fact if they want to.

Without a printer: Show the facts one at a time on a screen, and guests write their guesses on any paper.

For this game: Printable trivia answer sheets

Find a colleague who

Players

15 to 80

Minutes

15

Ages

Adults

You need

A card of prompts and a pen for each guest

1. Fill the squares with light prompts, such as 'has worked here less than a year', 'can juggle' or 'cycled to work this week'.
2. Guests circulate and look for a colleague to match each square.
3. The matching colleague initials the square, and a name can go on any one card only once.
4. A colleague who would rather not answer simply says so, with no reason needed.
5. The first full line wins. Play it in the first half hour, while guests arrive.

Without a printer: Read the prompts aloud. Guests list them in a phone note and collect names.

For this game: Human bingo

Marshmallow tower challenge

Players

8 to 60, in teams of 4

Minutes

25

Ages

Adults

You need

A kit per team: 20 dry spaghetti sticks, about a yard each of tape and string, and one marshmallow

1. Hand each team an identical kit and start an 18-minute timer.
2. The marshmallow must end up at the very top, and the tower has to stand without anyone touching it.
3. When the timer ends, all hands come off the table.
4. Measure each tower that is still standing, from the tabletop to the top of the marshmallow. The tallest one wins.

Paper airplane contest

Players

6 to 60

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

Adults

You need

Printer paper, a tape measure, and tape to mark a throwing line and a target

1. Give everyone two sheets of paper and five minutes to fold a plane with their name on the wing.
2. Throw from the line one at a time. Mark where each plane first touches the floor.
3. Give one prize for the longest flight and one for the landing closest to a target taped on the floor.

Office scavenger hunt

Players

8 to 40, in teams of 3 or 4

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

A checklist of things to find and photograph, and a phone per team

1. List 15 to 20 things in shared spaces, such as a plant taller than a person, a mug from another city or a whiteboard with a drawing on it.
2. Keep the list to common areas. Nobody opens a colleague's desk or drawers.
3. Teams photograph each item and come back by a set time.
4. Score one point per item, with a bonus for the most creative photo.

Without a printer: Share the list in the team chat.

For this game: Printable scavenger hunt checklist

Wastebasket basketball

Players

6 to 40

Minutes

15

Ages

Adults

You need

A wastebasket, paper balls, and tape for three throwing lines

1. Mark lines at three distances, worth 1, 2 and 3 points.
2. Each player gets three throws, from any lines they choose.
3. Record the scores on a whiteboard.
4. Hold a final between the four highest scorers.

Office-supply one-minute challenges

Players

6 to 40

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

Adults

You need

Plastic cups, paper clips, sticky notes, and a timer

1. Set up tasks that take one minute, such as linking 30 paper clips into a chain or stacking 15 cups into a pyramid and back down.
2. Pairs or teams take turns while the room watches.
3. Anything left unfinished at the buzzer scores nothing.
4. The most finished tasks wins.

For this game: One-minute party games

Team offsite bingo

Players

8 to 40

Minutes

Runs through the event

Ages

Adults

You need

A different card for each person, and pens

1. Hand out cards at the start of the offsite or team day.
2. Players mark a square when the moment on it happens during the day.
3. The first full line wins a small prize at the end.
4. Keep every call about the event, never about a colleague's work.

Without a printer: Put the calls in a shared note. Each person copies nine into a 3 by 3 grid.

For this game: Team offsite bingo cards

White elephant gift swap

Players

6 to 40

Minutes

30 to 45

Ages

Adults

You need

One wrapped gift per player within a set price limit, and numbered slips

1. Each player brings one wrapped gift within the price limit and draws a number.
2. Whoever drew number 1 picks a gift from the pile and unwraps it.
3. Each next player either opens a new gift or takes an opened one from someone else.
4. A player who loses a gift opens a new one or takes another, but not the one just taken from them. A gift stays put after its third move.
5. The game ends when every gift has been opened.

Without a printer: Write the numbers on folded slips of paper.

For this game: Printable gift exchange numbers

Holiday sweater contest

Players

Any number

Minutes

15

Ages

Adults

You need

Voting slips and a box, or a show of hands

1. Announce the contest in the invitation. Wearing a sweater is optional.
2. Set three categories, such as most festive, most homemade and funniest.
3. Entrants walk across the room one at a time.
4. Everyone votes, and each winner gets a small prize.

Holiday word scramble

Players

Any number

Minutes

10

Ages

Adults

You need

A word scramble sheet per guest, and pens

1. Make a sheet of 15 holiday words with their letters mixed up.
2. Add a few words from your workplace, such as the team name or the office city.
3. Leave one at each seat as guests arrive.
4. The first correct sheet wins. The answer key settles any dispute.

Without a printer: Write the scrambled words on a whiteboard for everyone.

For this game: Word scramble generator with answer key