Remote Work and Productivity

Fun Virtual Meeting Games for Team Building and Productivity

Published on:

April 26, 2024

Written by:

Lucas Botzen

Key Takeaways:

Quick and short virtual games can make meetings for your team much more enjoyable, and help you start the conversation.
Some popular games you can rely on are "Two Truths and a Lie," and "Name that Hobby". You can also rely on different quizzes and trivia to spark creativity and engagement.
Keep in mind that while they have many benefits, virtual games also have the potential to derail the meeting. Follow the set of best practices, cap the games to five or ten minutes, and allow selective participation.

Table of contents

A remote team is an excellent way to tap into a global talent pool. It's also great to save money and provide your team with the luxury of working from wherever they want. But, remote work also has its cons, one of which is the feeling of isolation that comes with it.

Team building and similar activities are necessary when you have a global remote team. It may be difficult to organize it in person, so consider adding small team-building elements to your daily meetings.

Virtual meeting games are a quick and easy way to keep your team engaged, motivated, and included. Here are some suggestions for fun games for virtual team meetings. These can help you build relationships in your team and boost productivity.

10 virtual meeting games you should try for team building

Including quick and fun team-building games in your daily meetings effectively boosts your team’s morale. It will also help improve the overall mood before you get on to discussing the actual work. Here are some 5-minute virtual games you could try.

Icebreaker games

The icebreaker games are a great way to start a meeting, especially if you have new team members. They need little to no preparation and can stretch over many meetings. These are perfect for making introductions among the new team and learning more about your old team members.

Two Truths and a Lie - Almost a staple at every social gathering, "Two Truths and a Lie" is an easy, five-minute game. One of your team members has to say two truths and one lie about themselves. The rest of the team has to guess which one is a lie. If you have a large team, this game can help with team building for many meetings.
The Story of Your Name - Another quick and easy icebreaker game revolves around telling stories about your team members' names. Parents typically name their children based on many cultural, family, and religious values. Your team will likely be happy to share such a story, giving your meetings a more personal touch.
Name that Hobby - It’s no wonder hobbies are still used as icebreakers. Most of your team members have a hobby or two. "Name that hobby" requires your team to name a hobby they enjoy doing which can spark an easygoing conversation.
Remote Island - Asking your team members what they would take to a remote island will help you learn a lot about who they are. Ask them to think about three things they would bring to a remote island, and enjoy the diversity of your team you’ll uncover with their answers.
Story time - Story time is a perfect way to share personal stories and anecdotes. It may be a bit difficult to find topics your whole team can relate to. But, applying storytime to your meetings will spark your team members’ creativity.

Trivia and Quiz Games

Trivia games are a great way to start every meeting, especially morning ones. It doesn’t need much preparation, and you can find ready-made quiz questions online on almost every topic. Starting your day with a pop quiz will certainly wake your team up. It can also increase engagement, and provide room for healthy competitiveness.

Company history - Company history can be a good game to play to introduce the company and team to a new team member. While this requires a bit of preparation, you can test your team’s knowledge of company history. Make sure to include some fun and trivia questions about your company and individuals on your team to keep everyone engaged.
Pop culture trivia - On the lighter side of the previous suggestion, pop culture trivia provides nothing but fun. It's perfect for team members who enjoy music, movies, and relevant gossip. This may not work for everyone, though.
General knowledge quiz - Everyone’s favorite trivia must be the general knowledge quiz. This allows your team members to share the fun facts they know about the world and will spark some competitiveness.
Movie quotes quiz - If your team loves movies, and you can see that they quote them often, then a quick round of movie trivia might be a great option for your team. Share quotes from popular movies, and see which members of your teams can guess them.
Geography and culture challenge - A geography and local culture quiz is a great team-building exercise if you have a global remote team. Ask your team members to contribute to this quiz’s questions with their knowledge of local cultures and geography. You can then use the questions for a quick game in the morning.

How to ensure everyone will enjoy these virtual team-building games?

It can be tricky to find activities everyone will enjoy, so it’s important to follow a few rules:

1. Don’t make participation mandatory

Some of your team members might be shy or introverted. It’s important to keep that in mind when organizing these activities. Don’t force everyone to take part, as this can have a counter-effect instead. Some people would rather skip the fun part and move on to work discussion instead.

2. Be mindful of time

These games will be fun, and you might feel like you want to keep having fun for the duration of the meeting. To ensure the meeting doesn’t fall apart, cap the time spent playing these games to five or ten minutes.

3. Choose topics carefully

Finding the right game depends on your team’s interests and sensibilities. If your team likes watching movies, then movie trivia might be a good idea. Still, pushing for a topic that no one has an interest in, or that some people might find triggering, can cause the games to flop.

Make sure to check in with your team, and ask for their feedback. You can try to estimate interest in implementing these games up front. It will help guide you in finding the right game everyone will enjoy. Plus, you'll gain valuable feedback for organizing these games so that they bring the most value to everyone.

FAQ:

What is a game you can play on Zoom?

Almost all popular icebreaker games can be modified to be played over Zoom. Some popular games include “Two Truths and a Lie,” “Never Have I Ever,” and “Show and Tell.” But, Zoom also offers an easy way to play "Pictionary," "Conference call bingo," and "Guess Who?".

What is the 5-minute icebreaker activity?

A five-minute icebreaker activity is a game, activity, or event, that aims to make meeting participants feel welcome and included. It also helps to start a conversation and offers an easy way for participants to introduce themselves.

What is the five-finger game icebreaker?

Popularized by TikTok, the five-finger game icebreaker aims to find things the participants have in common. Every participant lifts five fingers to start with. The game leader reads sentences about experiences that participants might have shared. For each experience they have, a participant puts a finger down.

It’s a great way to start a conversation and introduce new team members. But, by making experiences relevant to the situation it can also help to understand what your team is feeling and gauge their mood.