15 Fun Virtual Team Building Activities for Remote Teams

Every manager understands the significance of fostering strong bonds among team members. It's not just about having coworkers; it's about building a cohesive team whose members thrive together. Experienced team leaders have a knack for creating a positive and playful atmosphere that encourages remote workers to support each other.

A strong leadership team recognizes that informal remote team-building activities and icebreaker games can work wonders in boosting team spirit and creating a tighter-knit group. Whether you're in a software development company, an e-commerce store, or the world of mass media, incorporating team-building activities is a surefire way to enhance both your team and your organization.

Planning a virtual online activity can feel lackluster if you’ve never done it before, and you don’t want your team to feel that way while doing the activity. Fun activities for work from home employees should embrace the fact that employees are based at home and make the most of it to bring the team together. Here’s an overview of the 15 creative activities we’ve put together for your virtual team to try:

• Scavenger hunt
• Online escape room
• Coffee or tea breaks
• Team lunches
• Game night
• Book club
• Fitness challenge
• Meditation session
• A/V club
• Cooking class
• Painting class
• Trivia night
• Art museum tour
• History museum tour
• Happy hour (with a twist)

Building connections within distributed teams can be a challenge. Encouraging the use of the team chat tool is a good start, but to truly bring your team closer, you need to think outside the box and introduce fun games into the mix. Let’s dive into each of the 15 creative activities in detail.

1. Scavenger hunt

Virtual scavenger hunts are interactive team-building games where participants rush to locate specific items or complete challenges within a designated time limit. For example, players might be tasked with retrieving their cherished mug or capturing a selfie to earn points. The possibilities for items and challenges are diverse:

• Reveal the view from your window
• Show off your home office setup
• Take a photo of a favorite snack
• Share your beloved stuffed plush animal
• Reproduce a famous work of art
• Perform a handstand

Creating a comprehensive list of items and challenges is key to the success of a remote scavenger hunt. Once the list is finalized, gather all participants and explain the rules. Then, let the players loose to embark on their scavenger hunt adventure. Finally, regroup and determine the winner based on the points accumulated by each team. For smaller groups of remote employees, scavenger hunts can also be conducted by individuals as a one-person team.

2. Online escape room

Virtual escape rooms are interactive team-building games focused on strategy and collaborative problem-solving. These immersive experiences transport participants into imaginative scenarios where they must decipher clues and solve puzzles to successfully "escape" from the virtual room. Here are three examples of online escape rooms your team could try with a facilitator that also make great communication exercises for remote teams:

1. The Black Noir Murder Escape

Step into the gangster era of New York City as part of a private investigation firm owned by Mr. Jones. Solve puzzles and interrogate suspects across the city's crime scenes before the killer strikes again. Each round lasts 60 minutes. Perfect for small teams, you can play together over Zoom with one code for every three to five players.

2. Alice Escapes Wonderland

Dive into a modern twist on the classic fairy tale in this VR-based online escape room. Explore a rich 3D environment, solve puzzles, and unravel the mystery of who took Alice's magic mirror. With a team of 10 to 300 adults, embark on a 90-minute adventure filled with prizes for solving puzzles. The hosts will guide your remote employees through enchanting challenges, from an enchanted woodland to a mad tea party.

3. Casa De Papel

Immerse yourself in the thrilling world of the Netflix show Money Heist with this themed escape room. Plan a casino heist and outsmart your adversaries by solving riddles and deciphering clues. As a team of eight to ten players, aim to steal all the jewels and escape the building undetected. The game lasts between an hour and 90 minutes.

Ask remote employees to dress up as their favorite characters to enhance the fun! Invite each employee to discuss their chosen character more before you get started.

3. Coffee or tea breaks

Virtual coffee or tea breaks create a relaxed setting where remote team members can connect and socialize. These breaks also offer a much-needed respite from work, allowing individuals to recharge mentally and physically. By stepping away from their screens and engaging in casual conversations during coffee or tea breaks, team members can boost their creativity and overall well-being.

Encourage each participant to share more details about their beverage and how it’s made. An employee’s donut or scone choice can also add interest to the conversation.

These breaks can also serve as valuable opportunities for knowledge sharing and idea generation among remote workers in a casual environment. Informal discussions during these breaks often spark unexpected ideas, facilitate brainstorming sessions, and encourage teamwork on projects.

4. Team lunches

Sharing meals is important for community building because it fosters connection and a sense of belonging among individuals. This notion also extends to hosting a remote team lunch—a scheduled time for team members to have lunch together virtually.

Use your preferred video conferencing tool to enjoy a meal together. If the team is scattered throughout the same region, you could order from a local chain restaurant using an app like DoorDash. However, this option depends on the location and dietary needs of each of your team members. You could surprise your team by allowing them to order a reimbursable meal from their favorite restaurant with a reasonable set budget.

Add extra interest to a team lunch by proposing an easy theme, such as wearing a funny graphic T-shirt to the event. This icebreaker also helps spark a potentially fun conversation.

5. Game night

A quick game can be a fun way to get creative juices flowing during a brainstorming meeting, but beyond that, a game night is also an excellent way to build the team and boost employee engagement. From interpreting a sentence built from emojis to playing online icebreaker games together, here are a few online games for your team to explore that also make fun activities for online meetings in general:

Emoji sentence guessing game

The creator of the game has to craft a sentence using emojis as a way to communicate the answer. For instance, if the topic is "favorite movie," you might send this to your team:

🕺👫💔🌞🌸

The answer? "La La Land."

To maintain organization, you can appoint a scribe to keep track of the responses or utilize a trivia-style format. The game can be played on Skype, Teams, or your Slack channel. The topics can vary, from company-related matters to current events or even favorite movies and pop culture references! Let the fun and creativity flow with emoji-based communication for this remote team-building activity.

Exciting sponge game

The exciting sponge game is a fun and creative virtual game where players showcase their storytelling skills. To play, each player selects an item from their room. If they can’t find an item, the player must use a sponge as a default option. They then create an exaggerated story about the chosen item, adding their unique and wacky flair. Add more interest by changing the storytelling perspective from first person to third person.

It's a simple concept that guarantees entertaining and imaginative gameplay by sharing stories you’d never hear over the water cooler.

Jackbox

Jackbox is the perfect virtual gaming community for your team. Jackbox hosts a series of video party games where one person streams the app to the video call, and players use their phones or tablets as controllers. It's ideal for up to eight players.

Play Skribbl.io

Skribbl.io is a multiplayer drawing and guessing game similar to Pictionary. Each player joins a designated team room and takes turns being the artist drawing on a virtual whiteboard. In 80 seconds, the artist chooses a word and draws it while others guess. The fastest guesser earns the most points, and the player with the highest score wins the game. This activity is a great way to pass the time at the end of a long team meeting.

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6. Book club

Through reading and discussing books together, team members can share their thoughts, insights, and diverse perspectives, leading to stimulating conversations and intellectual growth. Starting a book club encourages continuous learning and self-development, as team members delve into various topics and gain new knowledge.

Start a book club for your virtual team by selecting a book that best aligns with the interests of team members. For example, if you have a team in the marketing department, consider choosing a book on branding or digital marketing strategies. However, the genre or topic doesn’t have to be work-related.

Schedule regular virtual meetings on your preferred video conference tool to discuss the book, and assign a facilitator to lead the discussions and ensure active participation from everyone. Setting clear expectations will help create a successful and engaging book club experience.

7. Fitness challenge

To initiate a team-building fitness challenge with your remote work team, utilize a free fitness app or wearable technology to track participants' physical activity. Select a suitable app that offers challenge features or create a customized challenge within the app.

Determine the duration of the challenge, such as a month, and encourage team members to engage in daily fitness activities, such as walking, running, or home workouts. The challenge selected should be accessible to all participants and their varying ability levels.

You could also issue a TikTok dance challenge competition among different departments. Not only could the challenge build the team, but it could also help build your brand as your clients enjoy the competition from home.

8. Meditation session

Many open office plans host a meditation room to give their employees a place to de-stress, but distributed teams can also cultivate a space like this remotely. Incorporating mindfulness sessions into team activities allows team members to cultivate a sense of calm, focus, and self-awareness together.

A manager or selected colleague could lead the team in slow breathing or guided visual meditation exercises from YouTube. Another option is calling in a yoga practitioner to lead a session—there's even Face Yoga now. Regular meditation practices can help reduce stress, improve concentration, and enhance overall well-being, contributing to a more positive and harmonious team dynamic.

9. A/V club

Forming an A/V (audio visual) club as a distributed team can be a creative and engaging pastime for team members, easily held over existing video conferencing tools. The A/V club can involve creating and sharing videos, music, podcasts, or other forms of media that showcase team members' talents and interests. By leveraging virtual platforms and tools, such as video editing software and audio recording platforms, team members can collaborate, provide feedback, and inspire each other's creativity. If the team ever wanted to form a company playlist, here’s where you get started!

The A/V club not only provides an opportunity for self-expression, but also strengthens bonds within the team and encourages a diverse range of skills and perspectives to thrive in a distributed work environment.

10. Cooking class

Hosting a cooking class as a team-building activity over video conferencing can be a delightful and interactive experience. Select a recipe that is simple, engaging, and suitable for various dietary preferences or needs. For example, you can choose to make homemade pizza with personalized toppings or create a flavorful stir-fry with colorful vegetables and aromatic spices. Provide the team with the ingredient list and any necessary preparations beforehand.

During the class, guide participants through the recipe steps, encouraging them to ask questions, share tips, and showcase their culinary creations. This virtual cooking class allows team members to bond, share their love for food, and learn new cooking skills while enjoying a delicious meal together.

11. Painting class

Instead of making a stir-fry with fresh produce, a painting class over video chat provides team members with an opportunity to paint colorful vegetables or other items. Hosting a virtual painting class for team building over video conferencing can inspire creativity and foster a sense of connection among participants that feels like it’s face-to-face.

Choose a simple yet captivating painting project that can be completed using basic art supplies. Provide participants with a suggested list of art materials and any preparatory instructions ahead of time. During the class, provide step-by-step instructions, encourage creativity, and foster a supportive environment where team members can share their progress and artistic interpretations.

The company can hire a local gallery artist to guide the team in creating a vibrant landscape using bold brushstrokes and soothing colors, whether it’s a famous masterpiece being recreated or an original painting. Alternatively, the artist can encourage the team to explore abstract art by experimenting with textures and patterns.

Another way to explore art techniques and pattern replication, while learning a new skill, is experimenting as a team with AI-generated art. However, there are some concerns that AI is “stealing” from real-life artists—while AI learns from artists, it's still a tool the user chooses to use ethically or unethically. It could make for a great team experiment and discussion.

12. Trivia night

When members of a team are unfamiliar with one another, it's natural for them to feel hesitant about revealing their true personalities. In an office environment, it's beneficial to encourage the sharing of ideas that can potentially resonate with everyone. Trivia games provide an excellent opportunity to evoke those sentiments and foster a sense of camaraderie. Here are three trivia night theme ideas to consider:

Comic universes

Few things are more polarizing than the comic book universes. As superhero films have succeeded in traditional media, the chances of running into someone with a bit of deep knowledge have become more common. If you want to find true fans within your group, comic book universes are a great theme.

Disney

Many people have a soft spot for Disney, and several others continue to watch their newest movies. From princesses to origin stories, there’s plenty to explore with the extensive legacy of this franchise that tests your team members’ memories and nostalgia. Depending on the kinds of questions you want to throw out, this one can get intense fast.

Music

If you struggle to find common ground with your online team and their interests, favorite music artists are a great catchall trivia idea. Throwing out the first couple of seconds of popular hits or fun facts about the artists’ rise to stardom is educational and interesting. Try exploring a variety of artists to engage as many of your members as possible with this pop-culture theme.

13. Art museum tour

The Centre Pompidou in France houses the second-largest collection of contemporary art in the world, and in Europe—the largest collection of modern art. Displaying over 12,000 pieces of artwork, the museum showcases an extensive collection that encompasses renowned artists such as Kandinsky, Dalí, and Valadon. The Centre’s YouTube channel has over 500 videos of guided walk-throughs of its collections as well as panel discussions for perusal.

From the Albertina Museum in Vienna to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, many art museums share online walk-throughs regarding their collections either live or in their back catalog. These events can be found either on their websites or on Youtube. Some museums also feature interesting lectures from respected curators and modern artists surrounding the featured artworks.

14. History museum tour

Immerse your team in the wonders of ancient ruins and delve into the captivating world of historical artifacts, all from the comfort of your homes, through virtual history tours. Tour a replica of an ancient Pompeii home, virtually rendered by experts at Lund University, before the volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago. Delve into the online collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.) during Black History Month, unveiling remarkable stories and significant cultural contributions. With virtual history tours, there's no need for a flux capacitor to transport your team to the past; the past comes alive with just a few clicks.

For International Women’s Day, tour the National Women’s History Museum (U.S.). The museum doesn’t yet have a physical location, so all of its exhibits are hosted online. Discover the inspiring stories of trailblazing women who have left an indelible mark on history, ranging from the accomplished women of NASA to the fearless pioneers of roller derby. These powerful figures have played a pivotal role in breaking barriers and creating opportunities for women, leaving a lasting legacy worthy of celebration that continues to shape and empower future generations.

Many museums around the world host virtual walk-throughs and lectures on either their websites or YouTube channels. Some curators and content creators also have their own YouTube and TikTok channels with unique tours and takes.

15. Happy hour (with a twist)

A virtual happy hour is a classic way to bring the team together to build camaraderie, allowing everyone to unwind over drinks at the end of a long day. If your team meets over Teams or Zoom, you can use the same video conferencing channel to log in and have a casual chat about whatever comes to mind.

For a unique twist on company happy hours, order a cocktail-making kit in advance for each team member, with both alcohol and zero-proof options available. Open the kit together and conduct an informal mixology class as a team over your preferred video conferencing tool. Then, enjoy sipping the homemade cocktail individually.

Your company could skip the spirits altogether and host a dry happy hour, instead, using zero-proof spirits and concentrated herbal and fruit syrups. Many people are curious about finding alternatives to sodas and are interested in fancier drinks that don't include alcohol.

Build great remote teams with Upwork

Remote team-building exercises are essential for fostering strong bonds among team members and creating a cohesive and thriving team. Despite the challenges of being physically separated, teams can still be just as close remotely as they are in person by relying on unique team-building ideas. By incorporating creative and real-time virtual activities, such as scavenger hunts, history museum tours, and happy hours with a twist, teams can strengthen their communication and teamwork skills and enhance company culture in turn.

These activities provide opportunities for remote team members to interact, socialize, and have fun together, which in turn promotes creativity, knowledge sharing, and idea generation. Through these virtual team-building activities, remote teams can overcome the distance and build strong relationships, resulting in a closer-knit and more productive team

Start building your remote team on Upwork and unleash the full potential of a distributed and talented workforce.