24 fun team building activities for remote or hybrid teams

• Friendly competition: Team-building activities allow your employees to apply their strengths to a fun activity that might include light-hearted competition. This allows team members to learn about their colleague's workplace strengths.‍
• Relationships: Forming connections with coworkers fosters engagement, so the team bonding that can happen during these activities is crucial.‍
• Development: Engaged employees actively work on their professional development, and team-building activities give them a chance to strengthen their skills even more.‍
• Social interaction: As wonderful and flexible as it can be, let’s face it: Working from home can be downright lonely. Virtual games with coworkers can be a welcome break from feelings of isolation.‍
• Strengthen company culture: Preserving company culture in a remote work environment is a real challenge. Because you’re not able to witness other people’s behaviors, it can be hard to form a cohesive culture in a remote, distributed team. By participating in team-building activities, you can have those interactions aligned with core values that help shape and preserve your hard-earned company culture.‍
• Encourage teamwork: When you’re working remotely, and especially if you work asynchronously, it can be hard to feel the sense of teamwork that you used to have while collaborating on-site. Doing a virtual team-building exercise can bring that sense of teamwork back into real-time, helping create a cohesive sense of community.‍
• Increase employee morale: Give your team something exciting to look forward to with one of the team-building exercises below. By having them do something fun and share a laugh with their peers, you can boost employee morale.

How to choose an online team building activities that your team with love

There is no one-size fits all activity for team building so it can be a challenge to find a virtual team building activities that an entire team will love. However, the better you know your team, the better equipped you'll be to choose a fun activity that your remote team is sure to enjoy.

With that in mind, you'll see in our guide below that we share 'who would enjoy' each activity. This information is based on the top 48 motivations from our 20+ year research into workplace motivations.

For example, once you've taken the free F4S assessment, you'll uncover your highest motivations, such as your preference for:

• working in a solo environment vs group environment which can be linked to your needs in a remote or hybrid team)
• feeling a sense of belonging at work which means virtual team building activities are an important communication tool
• following the rules, thinking outside of the box, or being more tolerant of the unique ways one task can be complete

Use this information to help guide you in choosing the best virtual activities for your team. Later in this article, we'll discuss how F4S can be a team building activity on it's own.

23 virtual team-building activities

Here is a list of games and virtual activities that are sure to foster connections among participants. We've covered ideas for creative teams, fitness challenges, weekly trivia, and more to keep your remote team engaged.

1. Take a virtual field trip

The marvels of technology can help you view the wonders of the world right from your laptop.

Skills this activity will build: Collaboration, creativity

Tools:

• Google Earth has pre-made virtual tours, such as this one that circumnavigates Iceland.
• Alternatively, you can use Google Maps and have each team member share their screen, zoom into Street View, and give a virtual tour of fave spots in their city.

Recommended frequency:

• Once per month

Who would enjoy:

• Team members who love to travel and learn, particularly those who are highly visual.
• Keep in mind that if your team is more visual, preferring images to reading, taking a field trip that involves a lot of reading could get tedious for them.

2. Museum tour

Many prominent museums offer virtual tours of their exhibits.‍

Skills this activity will build: Curiosity, creativity

Tools:

• Your team can join a group video chat on Skype or Zoom, and one person can share their screen and start the virtual tour. Need some inspiration to get started? Check these out:

1. The Louvre
2. The Guggenheim
3. Versailles
4. The Vatican
5. TeamBonding's Virtual Museum Scavenger Hunt

Frequency:

• Once per month (can alternate with the virtual field trip activity)

Who would enjoy:

• Again, pretty much anyone who likes to learn new things or travel. Look out for a higher than average score on information, seeing or difference in their F4S profile.
• Keep in mind, that someone who isn't motivated by seeing (especially if they are also low on reflection + patience) might find art museums dull. This is why it's important to switch up the activities, so there are more chances for an activity to align with a team member's unique interests.

3. Book club

Pick a book that the entire team can read in a month and then discuss it via video chat.

Skills it'll build: Curiosity, critical thinking, communication

Tools:

• To facilitate the meetings, you could try the iOS app Book Club.

Frequency:

• Once per month.

Who would enjoy:

• If you have a team that enjoys reading, a monthly book club is sure to be a winner.
• But be mindful that not everyone enjoys reading, and some people may even find it draining - meaning it could end up feeling like a stressful commitment on top of everything else, rather than something they genuinely get excited about. Consider letting people who have a low motivation for reading sit this one out.

4. Movie night

This is sure to be a popular option, and while it doesn't involve a lot of team interaction, there is still plenty of bonding to be had. We recommend having a post-movie discussion for about 15 minutes for everyone to chat about their opinions and favorite parts of the film!

Skills it'll build: Communication, creativity, critical thinking

Tools:

• Many apps have popped up to help people host virtual movie nights. Try a real-time video sharing app like Kast to throw a watch party no matter where you or your colleagues are.

Frequency:

• Once per month.

Who would enjoy:

• It's hard to find someone who doesn't enjoy watching a good movie now and then (although they do exist). We think most people would enjoy this activity, but we recommend switching up the genre every time to accommodate different preferences.

5. Postcard pals

It's like the old-fashioned pen pal tradition, except with postcards! We recommend having team members send one postcard to a random team member each month, for a totally unique activity.

Changing the topic each month could be a fun way to make sure this activity doesn't get stale.

Some ideas include:

• something they enjoy about working with the other team member,
• a question or something they're curious about,
• talk about their favorite spots in their own town, so the receiving team member has some ideas for a future visit!

Skills it'll build: Communication, writing, creativity

Tools:

• With services like Postando, you can create a custom postcard and send it anywhere in the world for just a few bucks. Postables and Canva are other great options too! (Don't forget to cover the costs of this activity for your team).
• To randomly assign names you can use an online name randomizer (like Wheel of Names).

Frequency:

• Once per month

Who would enjoy:

• Anyone who is high on reading, affiliation, seeing, or past would especially get a kick out of this team-building activity! But we think this could be a hit for most of the team.

6. Co-working

A simple way to stay connected and fight loneliness is to log into a Zoom or Hangouts session, put your microphones on mute, and do your work.

Sure, it's not quite the same as working from your favorite coffee shop or co-working space with freshly brewed espresso wafting through the air, but it has a similar effect in that there are people around you to hold you accountable. And when needed, colleagues can have real-time interactions.

Skills it'll build: Community, focus

Tools:

• Zoom, Hangouts, Slack, Sococo - the options are almost endless!

Frequency:

• Weekly

Who would enjoy:

• The teammates who are most likely to enjoy co-working are those who are highly motivated for group environments. Anyone who ranks high in their F4S results for solo environment would probably find frequent co-working sessions stressful and unproductive.

7. Slack channel for memes

Memes are special in that, while funny and entertaining, they also tend to be news-related, so it can be a lighthearted way to stay abreast of the latest happenings in your team's lives. But not everyone wants a random meme popping up in their regular work-specific Slack channel. Instead, create a dedicated channel just for meme sharing.

Skills it'll build: Creativity, humor

Tools:

• Slack & the interwebz (GIPHY, Reddit and Instagram are a good place to start to find great memes)

Frequency:

• Once per week (try making Friday a meme day and let people vote with a thumb's up for their favorite).

Who would enjoy:

• Memes might be a more common aspect of everyday life for millennial generations and under, but we think most people will appreciate taking a break once a week to look through funny memes for their favorite. It should definitely lighten the atmosphere, which is why it's a great fit for Friday after a long week!

Bonus tip: While on GIPHY, ask your team to save some of the best GIFs they find and upload them into Slack as custom emojis, to boost your team's repertoire of unique emojis!

8. House tours

Remember MTV Cribs, where celebrities took viewers on tours of their mansions? Think of this as a far less extravagant version of that. For this virtual event, each team member can give a tour of their house or their remote office.

Skills it'll build: Creativity, humor, leadership skills

Tools:

• The video conferencing tool of your team's choice (Zoom, Hangouts, etc.)

Frequency:

• Once per week

Who would enjoy:

• Anyone highly motivated for seeing or place would particularly enjoy this team-building exercise! But keep in mind, not everyone will be comfortable sharing their home with others, so don't ask anyone on the spot (ask them privately in advance) and don't make this one mandatory.

9. Mad Libs

This virtual team-building game can be a fun and quick icebreaker activity before a virtual meeting.

Skills it'll build: Communication, creativity, writing, humor

Tools:

• Using a website like Mad Libs, Mad Takes, or RedKid.net.

Frequency:

• Once per week

Who would enjoy:

• Team members who are highly motivated for reading, hearing, or information might really enjoy this one.

10. Team presentations

You can have each team talk about what they've achieved that week, or invite one team to discuss something they think is important for colleagues to grasp.

For example, the design team could give a talk describing the time-intensive process of designing graphics for an app, which would help the engineering and marketing teams understand why it's not feasible to expect 24-hour turnaround times.

Skills it'll build: Communication, public speaking, critical thinking

Tools:

• A slideshow maker (Canva, Google Slides, Powerpoint)
• Your team's video conference app

Frequency:

• Once per week to once per month.

Who would enjoy:

• Team members who are motivated for hearing, seeing, and information will love this team-building exercise.

11. Paint and sip

Grab a drink and a paintbrush and get crafty with your coworkers for this fun activity.

Skills it'll build: Creativity

Tools:

• There are many companies, such as PaintingParties.com and Yaymaker.com, that host online painting workshops. Some even offer to ship you the supplies for an extra fee.

Frequency:

• Once per quarter.

Who would enjoy:

• You don't have to be an artist to enjoy it! In fact, we think this is a perfect opportunity to get silly and abstract, and let your creative juices flow. So this could be fun for anyone, as long as the team leader emphasizes that this is a no-pressure activity!

Bonus tip: Try giving out silly awards at the end, for everything but 'best painting'. Have the team work together to come up with some zany ideas for awards beforehand! Some ideas include:

• Creative fingers
• Unique AF
• Jungle boogie
• Soul stirring
• Ahead of your time
• That is so you
• Make the superlatives as bizarre as you'd like! The key is to take the focus off painting well and to let everyone express themselves however they'd like.

12. Happy hour

Invite everyone to make their fave drink-from cocktails to tea to coffee-and get together for a virtual hangout after work.

Skills it'll build: Community

Tools:

• Your team's favorite video conferencing software.

Frequency:

• Once per week (but make it optional - a mandatory happy hour can quickly lose it's happy vibe, especially for people in time zones where it's not yet 5pm!)

Who would enjoy:

• Anyone who is motivated for affiliation, people , or affective communication are likely to have a great time at a virtual happy hour.

13. Mid-morning coffee break

Unlike the virtual happy hour, which typically takes place at the end of the day, the mid-morning coffee break allows your team to mingle during work hours (so more people can likely attend).

This simple communication touchpoint might even boost your productivity, too.

MIT's Human Dynamics Laboratory analyzed high-performing teams and found that "the best predictors of productivity were a team's energy and engagement outside formal meetings."

When MIT suggested that one call center change its coffee break schedule so that everyone could take a break and socialize at the same time, the call center's average handling time (a measure of efficiency) dropped by 8% overall.

Skills it'll build: Relaxation, communication

Tools:

• Again, video conferencing software is all you need!

Frequency:

• Depends on your team. We recommend making these optional, as not everyone is able to take a coffee break at the same time.

Who would enjoy:

• Likely anyone who would enjoy a virtual happy hour would also enjoy a quick coffee break.
• As mentioned above, it's critical to keep in mind that everyone's productivity patterns are different, and interrupting someone else while they are in 'flow' could be very stressful for them! So stay flexible when scheduling this team-building activity.

14. Virtual trivia

Pick a topic, assign a host, and have your team grab a drink to participate in an online pub quiz. This interactive challenge will get your team's brain fired up.

Skills it'll build: Critical thinking

Tools:

• You can either come up with the questions yourself or use online pub quiz question generators (like the one at freepubquiz.weebly.com).
• There are even pubs all over the world live streaming pub quizzes.

Frequency:

• Anywhere from once a week to once a month. You could even swap out the occasional happy hour for a pub quiz session!

Who would enjoy:

• Anyone who enjoys trivia will love a good pub quiz (these people tend to have a high motivation for information).
• Someone who might not love a pub quiz is someone with a low motivation for initiation but a high motivation for goals or achievement since there is a timed element to these quizzes that could feel stressful.
• But as long as the team leader emphasizes that this is just for a good time and team bonding, most people will likely enjoy this activity as there tend to be a variety of questions that cover a wide range of topics.

15. Patchwork Adventures

Developed by an MIT and Stanford trained neurobiologist, Patchwork Adventures offers two-hour virtual adventures led by a facilitator.

They even mail the necessary items for people on your team.

Skills it'll build: Communication, critical thinking, problem solving

Tools:

• Head to PatchworkAdventures.com to purchase and schedule your team-building activity session.
• Depending on your chosen activity, you might need a Patchwork Adventures' supply kit, plus a video conferencing tool.

Frequency:

• Once per quarter, to once per year.

Who would enjoy:

• There are a few different types of games, so it should be easy to find one that suits your team!
• Individuals who are motivated by shared responsibility may find these team-building activities more comfortable, but they're a good chance for people who enjoy sole responsibility to build their teamwork muscles!
• We recommend planning this well in advance, and not to worry if the style of the game falls outside of some team members' comfort zones - the main goal is team bonding here!
• Consider multiple sessions to accommodate teammates in different time zones.

16. Donut dates

The Donut app pairs people within your organization's Slack and encourages them to get to know each other outside of work.

Skills it'll build: Communication

Tools:

• Slack + the Donut app (at Donut.com)

Frequency:

• Weekly (more if your team wants).
• It's important to ask your team how often they feel comfortable scheduling these sessions and allow the frequency to decrease (or increase!) during stressful times.

Who would enjoy:

• Individuals who are highly motivated by people, difference, affiliation, group environment, or affective communication will particularly enjoy this, but plenty of others will find value in getting to know their team members.
• Be mindful that team members who are highly motivated for a solo environment might find these coffee breaks disruptive if they are not scheduled in advance so they can plan their schedule accordingly.

17. Charades/Heads Up

Using the app Houseparty, you can play online games like Heads Up as a virtual team-building game, which is essentially charades, with up to eight people.

Skills it'll build: Communication, creativity, critical thinking

Tools:

• The Houseparty app (download at Houseparty.com)

Frequency:

• Once per month to once per quarter

Who would enjoy:

• Team members who are highly visual will particularly love this, but most people should get a laugh out of it!

18. Highs and Lows

Here's an uncomplicated (but super effective) team builder. At the start of a video meeting, ask each team member to share one positive thing (high) and one negative thing (low) from their day or week.

Skills it'll build: Communication, vulnerability, emotional intelligence

Tools:

• Just your favorite video conferencing tools.
• You can also try one of these conversation starters to get the ball rolling.

Frequency:

• Whenever you want, but we recommend at least once a week (particularly during stressful times to help build a culture of psychological safety).

Who would enjoy:

• This requires vulnerability, which isn't always easy for many people, so make sure the person running the call takes the lead and shows vulnerability first to make a safe space for everyone.
• Once this becomes a regular occurrence for your team, most team members will appreciate the ability to be open and transparent about the highs and lows in their personal and professional life.

19. All-hands

All-hands meetings are great to host on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, either in person or online. They often consist of team presentations sharing their latest projects, a social component, a word from the founder, and a Q&A session. The objective is to get every member of the company together (even virtually) to promote bonding, preserve culture, and align team goals.

Skills it'll build: Communication, public speaking

Tools:

• Again, your favorite video conferencing app.

Frequency:

• Whenever you choose - experiment and find what works best for your team.
• But keep in mind, too many all-hands meetings can get dull and repetitive for everyone, so feel free to start swapping them out for some of the more interesting activities on this list!

Who would enjoy:

• Regular meetings often get a bad rap and are often a source of dread for many. But anyone who is highly motivated for information will find these essential (and may even feel lost without them) so don't cut them out of your team activity repertoire entirely.

20. Fitness goals

Yes, fitness classes are good for the heart and body, and research suggests they're good for team cohesion too! Invite team members to share their fitness goals and then set up a fitness challenge. Our AI Coach Marlee even provides optimal health coaching for physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.

Studies show that shared pain brings people together and improves team creativity.

Skills it'll build: Self-care

Tools:

• You can have one team member lead a fitness class via video chat, or your team can sign up for an online group class and do it together.
• Lululemon has free meditations and yoga classes on its Instagram and website.
• Centr offers 6-weeks of HIIT workout sessions.
• Zwift is a free app for runners or cyclists to exercise together in virtual worlds in real-time, using a tablet, TV, or any other online platform that can show apps. The best part? Sometimes they host 'prehistoric' events where you can run as a T-rex. What could be cooler?

Frequency:

• This depends on your team, but you could try starting with once per week and see how it goes.
• Keep in mind that team members will have various levels of fitness, some may not enjoy the sport you've chosen, and others simply may not feel comfortable exercising in front of others, so be sure to keep this one optional, flexible, and non-competitive.

Who would enjoy:

• People who are highly motivated for initiation might love more fast-paced exercises like Zumba or running. People who are motivated by reflection + patience are more likely to feel comfortable with a slower, more reflective exercise like yoga.
• Encourage your team members to try something new and not to be afraid to get out of their comfort zone, but again, be flexible and don't force someone to start running if they hate it (or worse, have a health condition that makes it difficult for them).

21. Lunch and learn

Invite someone to teach a virtual workshop on a skill, work-related or otherwise, while everyone shares a meal. Maybe your HR manager can talk about effective communication skills for leaders, or your engineering lead can teach an Intro to Python class.

Skills it'll build: Communication, critical thinking

Tools:

• To do this remotely, consider sending food delivery gift cards to everyone on your team, so they can order in and tune in. You can buy digital gift cards from Postmates, Uber Eats, and GrubHub in the U.S.
• But be mindful of members in different countries, and consider a simple reimbursement program if your team is spread all over the world.

Frequency:

• Once per month

Who would enjoy:

• Since the topic would change every month, there's an opportunity for everyone to learn about something they're interested in!
• People who are highly motivated for learning new things (high information and sometimes difference in F4S) will adore attending a lunch & learn session.

22. Mukbang

Popularized in Korea, "mukbang" translates into English as something like "eating broadcast."

While it's now a trendy YouTube fad, at its core, it's a way for viewers to share a meal with a friend, or at least feel like they are.

You can have one teammate lead the mukbang by sharing a dish from their culture and talking about it while they eat. Or, you can turn it into an interactive dinner, where everyone eats a meal together while talking about their respective dishes.

Skills it'll build: Public speaking, communication, leadership skills

Tools:

• Again, all you need is your favorite video conferencing tool!

Frequency:

• Once per month to once per quarter.

Who would enjoy:

• Is there anyone who doesn't love food? Kidding aside - we think most people would enjoy this activity, but it's particularly suited to diverse teams, so there are plenty of interesting recipes to share and cultural insights to be learned!

Bonus tip:

• Instead of each team member just presenting their meal, describing the flavors and talking about their personal experience with it, also ask everyone to research a little about the history of their dish (if they don't already know) so you can dig deeper to uncover fascinating insights and appreciations for each others' roots.
• Food is often a gateway to a deeper understanding of a culture - how their history has influenced their present, how their ingredients are sourced, how the flavor combinations represent their society's worldview. And don't forget to enjoy!

23. Boss-free hangouts

You’re cool, you’re fun, and yes, your team loves you, but you’re still the boss. There is still a power dynamic and set of boundaries that differ for you because you’re in a position of authority. That’s why it’s useful for your team to schedule hangouts or have virtual chats (such as a WhatsApp group) where you’re not invited.

By encouraging boss-free hangouts, your team will feel more comfortable shooting the breeze with their coworker friends, and it shows that you trust them and are not trying to micromanage their virtual team building.

Skills it'll build: Communication, vulnerability, leadership skills

Tools:

• The boss-free zone can be on a Zoom call, a Slack channel, or a WhatsApp group.

Frequency:

• Zoom calls once a month, or, it could become a regular Slack channel or WhatsApp group where they can message daily.

Who would enjoy:

• Tight-knit teams that have a strong sense of trust with each other and their manager. Avoid doing this with teams where there is a high amount of conflict with each other and a low amount of trust in their manager.

24. F4S assessment

Psychologists say society's obsession with personality tests reveals something about the human psyche: We yearn to know what makes us unique, yet we want to belong to a group of people with shared traits. Our F4S assessment reveals your key motivations and blind spots when it comes to how you work. Plus, it's based on science, so you can get both of the above desires satisfied, with the added benefit of knowing the results are evidence-based!

To get started, take the free F4S assessment. Then invite your team member to do the same and set up a team. You'll get an big picture overview of the highest motivations and differences within your team as a whole, and each individual.

Skills it'll build: Self-awareness, emotional intelligence

Tools:

• You can bring your team and get started for free with our people analytics app.
• Once everyone completes the assessment, host a video conference and share your results to gain a deeper understanding of each other.

Frequency:

• We recommend doing an in-depth team debrief to explore your team's shared affiliations, blind spots, and potential areas for friction once everyone has taken the assessment. (Make sure to repeat at least once per year, as your motivations can change with awareness, coaching, or life events!)
• Our users find they get the best results when they incorporate F4S into their daily work routines, to improve emotional intelligence, rapid teaming, communication, and overall performance.

Who would enjoy:

• Everyone will benefit from (and enjoy!) developing a deeper understanding of themselves and their teammates.

Knowing what makes you and your colleagues 'tick' at work means you can:

• start working on projects that you find exciting and fulfilling
• stop guessing and finally know why your colleague does that one thing that totally rubs you the wrong way (you know what I'm talking about - don't pretend you don't!)
• bring your conflict resolution skills to SuperWoman (/Man) status, so you can dissolve team tension before it explodes.