Fun Games to Play at Work: 15 Ideas That Land
A game at work has to fit between meetings, work in the room you actually have, and not make anyone cringe. Most of the ideas below do that. The quick ones need no kit and take five to ten minutes, Friday formats suit a whole office for an hour, and hosted games take over when a group gets too big to run yourself.
We run fun games to play at work for corporate teams, so each section says who a game suits and where it goes wrong.
How to choose a game for your team
The right game depends on four things: how long you have, how many people are playing, what space you’ve got and whether anyone is remote. Match those first, then pick the one that suits your team’s personality.
| Game | Time | Group size | Kit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two truths and a lie | 5–10 min | 4–15 | None | Meeting openers, new teams |
| Categories | 5–10 min | 3–20 | Pen and paper | Waiting for people to join, hybrid calls |
| 20 questions | 5–10 min | 2–12 | None | Breaks, small teams |
| Desk scavenger hunt | 10 min | Any | Nothing | Quick energy boost |
| Workplace bingo | 30–45 min | 10–100 | Printed cards | Friday afternoons, all-hands |
| Team trivia | 45–60 min | 8–100+ | Questions, scoring | Friday socials, mixed groups |
| Taskmaster-style tasks | 45–60 min | 10–50 | Household objects | Teams that like friendly competition |
| Office arcade corner | Drop-in | Any | Darts, table football | Social corners, lunch breaks |
| Hosted game show | 60–90 min | 20–300+ | Supplied | Away days, post-conference socials |
| Traitors-style game | 60–120 min | 15–100+ | Supplied | Evening socials, Christmas parties |
| AI Robot Wars | 60–120 min | Teams of 6–12, up to 500 | Supplied | Competitive, tech-curious teams |
| VR Escape Room | 60–90 min | Teams of 4–10, up to 500 | Supplied | Problem-solving teams, mixed ages |
Quick games for 5 to 10 minutes
These need no kit, no prep and nobody to host. They’re also the answer if you’ve searched for games to play with friends without anything: all you need is a few people and a gap in the day.
Two truths and a lie. Everyone shares three statements about themselves, two true and one false, and the group guesses the lie. It works because it surfaces things colleagues didn’t know, so ask people to keep it light and skip anything personal.
Categories. Pick a category (such as “things in a kitchen”) and a letter. Everyone writes as many matching words as they can in 60 seconds, and unique answers score points. Quick, silent and easy to run on a call.
20 questions. One person thinks of a person, place or object. The group has 20 yes-or-no questions to guess it. Swap in a work theme, such as a product, client or colleague role, if you want it tied to the job.
Desk scavenger hunt. Call out items to find near your desk in 60 seconds: something blue, something older than you, something from a holiday. It gets people up and laughing, which helps on a slow afternoon.
What goes wrong: forced participation. Let people pass without explaining why, and don’t start with a game that asks for personal disclosure if the team is new to each other.
Hybrid and remote-friendly options
Categories, 20 questions and two truths and a lie all work over a video call with no changes. If you want something with a screen, free online games to play at work include browser-based drawing and guessing games and quiz tools, which usually run on a shared link. Check your company’s IT and acceptable-use policy first, because not every workplace allows them, and don’t play during focus time.
Fun games to play at work on Fridays
Friday formats can run longer, suit a whole office and fit a casual mood. If you want fun games to play at work on a Friday, the best ones are team-based, easy to explain and don’t need a skilled host.
Workplace bingo. Swap numbers for squares like “someone says ‘let’s circle back’” or “a meeting starts late”. It’s easy to print and works for any size. Keep the squares kind rather than pointed, so no one feels targeted.
Team trivia. Mixed teams of four to six answer rounds on general knowledge, music, films and the company itself. Our Christmas quiz for work guide covers format and question types. Mix teams across departments, and avoid niche rounds that only some people can answer.
A Taskmaster-style task round. Give teams a list of silly tasks to complete with whatever is in the office: build the tallest tower from stationery, get a paper plane furthest, stack cups in 60 seconds. Judge on creativity as well as speed so it’s not always the same competitive colleague who wins. Our team building events include this format.
An office arcade corner. A dartboard or table football in a break area means people can play in short bursts without anyone organising it. It suits lunch breaks and Friday wind-downs, but it can leave out people who don’t like competitive games, so pair it with a quieter option.
What goes wrong: the loudest team dominating, scoring that turns tense, and Friday games that run too long. Keep them to about an hour and make the prize something small and silly.
Bigger games for away days and socials
Once a group tops 20 or 30 people, DIY games get hard: someone has to explain rules, keep score and control the room, and that person misses the fun. This is where a hosted game does the work for you.
Game shows and quizzes
Our Game Shows & Quizzes format covers Taskmaster-style challenges, Cube challenges, quizzes and bingo, customised around your company, with setup included. It suits post-conference or end-of-day socials, when people are tired and want to be entertained rather than organise themselves. See our game shows and quizzes page for detail.
Traitors-style games
The Betrayers is inspired by the TV show The Traitors. We adapt it to the space and group size, from a boardroom to a conference hall, and a professional presenter and all AV are included. It works well in the evening, when people are ready for some theatre. Our Traitors-style team building guide has more detail on how it runs.
Tech games: Robot Wars, VR and arcade
AI Robot Wars is for teams of 6 to 12 and runs for up to 500 participants. It’s tailored to the space, from a giant race track to a small arena, and nobody needs AI, robotics, coding or VR experience.
The VR Escape Room is for teams of 4 to 10, up to 500 participants, and needs about 2 by 2 metres per team, roughly a table. No VR experience is needed. Our indoor team building range includes CSI Investigation and Escape Room in a Box, and our arcade option has retro cabinets (Street Fighter, Pong, Pac-Man), air hockey, table football, darts, shuffleboard and beer pong in a free-flow, drop-in format.
Setup, breakdown, equipment and professional hosts come with our corporate events. One client, DPA Microphones, put it this way:
“We hired branded Reaction Wall and Axe Throwing activities from Gold Tier Events for an annual corporate party and they went down a treat – super reliable, easy to use and fun for all.” — Alyssia, Events Lead, DPA Microphones
What goes wrong: picking a game that needs more people or space than you have. Check headcount and room dimensions before you choose, and ask the supplier what they need.
Making games work for everyone
A game only works if people want to join in. Plan for the people who usually sit out. For seasonal ideas, see our office Christmas party games guide, and for bigger rooms, our indoor games for large groups guide.
- Make it opt-in. Offer a role as scorer, timekeeper or judge so someone can contribute without being on the spot.
- Offer a non-competitive option. Collaborative puzzles and group challenges suit teams where rivalry is awkward.
- Think about mobility. Choose seated games or games with seated alternatives, and confirm accessibility details with any supplier.
- Cover non-drinkers. Never use drinking as a penalty.
- Include remote staff. If part of the team is remote, run a game that works on a call, not one where they just watch.
Common mistakes
- Making it mandatory. Forced fun is the quickest way to put people off the next game.
- Picking one competitive colleague’s favourite. Choose games with a broad appeal, not the one that rewards one personality.
- Ignoring the room. A loud game in an open-plan office annoys the people who aren’t playing.
- Running over. End on a high, with time to get back to work.
FAQs
What games can you play at work?
Short, low-kit games work best: two truths and a lie, categories, desk quizzes and 20 questions take five to ten minutes and need nothing. For a Friday afternoon, try bingo, team trivia or a Taskmaster-style task round. For bigger groups, hosted game shows, Traitors-style games and tech games like VR or robot battles need little effort from you.
What are some fun games to play in the office?
Office-friendly games need little space and no setup: two truths and a lie, a desk scavenger hunt, team trivia, bingo and office darts or table football in a social corner. Pick based on your time and room. A five-minute game suits a meeting opener, while a Friday session of 45 to 60 minutes suits trivia or a task round.
What are some fun games I can play with my team at work?
Team games that mix people across departments work best. Try team trivia, a Taskmaster-style task round, workplace bingo or a collaborative puzzle. Mix teams deliberately so people sit with colleagues they rarely talk to, keep scoring light, and make joining in optional. If your team is hybrid, choose games that work on a video call too.
What are the top 10 funnest games?
There is no single ranking, because the best game depends on your group. For most teams, the strongest ten are two truths and a lie, categories, team trivia, bingo, a Taskmaster-style task round, office darts, a game-show format, a Traitors-style game, a VR escape room and robot battles. The chooser table above matches each to time, size and space.
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