16 Creative Team Building Activities for Virtual Coffee Breaks

2. Scavenger Hunt

A virtual scavenger hunt is a great team building activity to get people's minds working during a coffee break and build up engagement.

To set up a virtual scavenger hunt, start by first selecting a theme for the scavenger hunt, such as holidays, art, or a work-related theme. Then create a list of items or tasks that players will need to find within their own homes or workspaces based on the chosen theme. These should be challenging but not impossible to find or complete within a certain set time limit. Once everyone has found their items, it's time to put them on the spot. Ask each team member to share a story that features their items with the rest of the team. This is sure to capture everybody's attention and get them intrigued!

3. Role Reversal

Role reversal is a great virtual team-building activity to get people thinking in new and creative ways. The purpose of this game is to have team members assume roles they would not ordinarily.

To set up this game, assign each team member to take on a different role in the company or team. This could be someone's supervisor, colleague, or even a customer! Ask them to describe a scenario from their new role perspective that they would normally not come across in their daily routines. After they have finished speaking, ask a different team member to summarize what they heard and express it as accurately and fairly as possible.

This activity will get your team out of their comfort zones and encourage them to look at things from a different perspective and take in the bigger picture. Role reversal is also a fun way to improve team communication as everyone gets to know each other better!

4. Virtual Escape Room Challenge

A virtual escape room challenge is an interactive team-building activity in which participants are "trapped" in a virtual space and must solve a series of puzzles and challenges to "escape" within an allotted amount of time. These games are ideal virtual coffee break activities because they are a fun way to promote bonding and collaboration, while also helping to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

To set up your virtual escape room challenge, start by determining the theme and setting of the escape room. This could be a specific location, such as a science laboratory, haunted house, or crime investigation scene. Then put together a series of puzzles and challenges such as riddles, word games, or brainteasers, that team members will need to solve in order to "escape". Just like with the scavenger hunt, these should be challenging but not impossible to solve, and should require players to use their creativity and problem-solving skills. Have players communicate and collaborate with each other to solve the puzzles, and set a time limit to complete the escape room challenge.

This activity is sure to get everybody’s brains working while they collaborate and work together as a team.

5. Two Truths and A Lie

Two truths and a lie is a classic party game that is easily adaptable for a virtual coffee break activity.

To play, have each team member take turns telling three statements about themselves, with two being true and one being a lie. Then, have the other team members guess which statement is false. When a team member correctly guesses the lie, the person who made the correct guess gets a point. If no one guesses the lie, the person who made the statements gets two points. Play continues until each person has had a chance to make three statements and the team or individual with the most points wins the game.

This game is a fun and engaging way to get your team interacting and laughing, while at the same time learning more about each other.

6. The Memory Game

The memory game is a great team-building activity to get people intellectually stimulated during a virtual coffee break.

To set up this game, start by selecting multiple objects or images that all your team members can see. Give everyone a few moments to look at the items and then ask them to write down as many of the items as they can remember. Have each team member share their list with the group, and those who can remember the most items get the most points. To make this game even more challenging, award extra points to team members who can identify the items in the correct order, and to whoever gets a complete list in the correct order fastest!

This game is sure to get people stimulated and engaged while having fun at the same time.

7. Virtual Show and Tell

Virtual show and tell is a fun activity that allows people to share something special or interesting about themselves. It is a great and interesting way to build stronger connections with coworkers by getting to connect with them on a personal level while enjoying coffee.

To play this game, have everyone come prepared with something they would like to share, such as a unique item from their house, an interesting hobby or interest they have, or even just an odd fact or two about themselves. Team members should take turns sharing their items or stories with the group, while the rest of the team listens and asks questions.

Virtual show and tell is a fun way to get people talking and it’s practically guaranteed to spark some laughs and amazement as everyone shares something unique about themselves!

8. The Impossible Quiz

The impossible quiz is a fun brain teaser game that will test your team’s ability to think outside the box. To set up this virtual coffee break activity, get a list of brain teaser questions with answers that have all kinds of twists that are not straightforward. If you need help coming up with material use this list of brain teaser questions and answers. The questions you use can range from general knowledge to more specific questions related to the team’s business. To play the game, have team members take turns answering the questions with points awarded for every correct answer. The person who answers the most questions correctly wins this virtual coffee break game!

This activity will push everyone to think creatively and improve the team's problem-solving skills.

9. Word Association

Word association is a great bonding activity for virtual coffee breaks that sparks creativity and encourages people to think on their feet.

To play, have a team member kick it off by saying a word that is related to either the company or a project they're working on. The next person then has to say a word that is related to the first word in some way. For example, if the first person says "customer," the second person might say "satisfied." The game continues with each team member down the line saying a word that is related to the previous word. The goal is to keep the word association chain going for as long as possible without repeating a word or pausing for too long. If the chain breaks then start again, but mix up the team order so everyone follows a different person.

Word association is simply lots of fun and gets everybody engaged as they try to keep the chain going.

10. Virtual Charades

Virtual charades is another great virtual team building activity that encourages people to work together as a team and have fun at the same time.

To play this game, assign each team member a random word or phrase such as common sayings, movie titles, folk lore, etc, that they must act out without speaking. Then have team members take turns acting out their words or phrases while the others guess what they are trying to say. This is a great way to get people laughing and having fun in a virtual setting, and it also encourages team members to work together as they try to figure out each other’s clues. You can make this game more challenging by timing how long it takes to guess each charade, and anointing a winner based on the fastest charade.

11. The Compliments Game

The compliments game is a great way to boost team morale and show appreciation during your coffee break with your remote team.

To play this game, have each team member take turns offering a sincere compliment to another person in the group. Compliments can range from acknowledging someone's hard work on a project or simply appreciating something they said during the meeting. This is a great way to show appreciation for each other and help team members feel connected even when working remotely.

With this game you want everyone to leave the virtual coffee break feeling appreciated and inspired after being showered with so many compliments!

12. Virtual Drawing Challenge

If your team is full of creative types, then the virtual drawing challenge may be the perfect virtual coffee break activity for you!

To play this game, start by choosing a theme for the drawing challenge. It can be something specific, such as "animals," "landscapes," or "portraits," or something more general, such as "anything goes." Then give each team member a time limit of 15 to 30 minutes to draw their interpretation of the theme. They can use any drawing tools they like, such as pencils, markers, or digital art apps, as long as they can make it visible to the entire group virtually. Once time is up, have everyone take turns guessing what the sketches are supposed to be.

This is a great way to get everyone's creative juices flowing and have lots of fun along the way. You can take it a step further by having a virtual art gallery where team members rate each other’s drawings and share their favorite pieces and why.

13. Virtual Improv

Virtual improv is a fun way to get everyone laughing and having a good time.

To play this game, stary by first choosing a moderator who will lead the game and keep track of time. The moderator starts the game by saying a word or phrase, such as "banana," "pirate," or "spaceship", and team members then take turns saying a line of dialogue or action that relates to the word or phrase. For example, if the word is "banana," one person might say "I love bananas! They're my favorite fruit." Another might say "I can't stand bananas. They give me hives." The game continues with each player saying a line that builds on the previous lines and moves the story forward. The goal is to be creative and spontaneous, and to keep the conversation flowing.

This game encourages people to think quickly on their feet and collaborate to come up with a story. It’s a creative virtual coffee break team building activity that is anything but ordinary.

14. Desert Island

In this game, the team is stranded on a desert island and must come up with a plan to survive.

The first team member kicks off the scenario where they can only bring three items with them. They can choose anything they like such as survival necessities, a book, a tool, a piece of clothing, or anything else, and discuss how to make use of these resources for their survival. The next person then chooses one additional item to bring to the island and discusses how this helps the quest for survival. The game continues with each person adding one item to the list, with the goal of creating a practical and interesting list of items that helps everyone survive on the island.

This activity encourages people to think critically about problem-solving and collaboration. It's a great way to build teamwork skills while having fun and enjoying your coffee break.

15. Hot Seat

The hot seat is an excellent team building activity that gets everyone involved and energized.

To play this game, start by selecting a team member to be in the "hot seat" for the round. Have team members ask them a series of questions such as their favorite color, what they did last weekend, or something funny that happened to them this week. Before the hot seat participant answers the question, have the rest of the team take turns guessing what the answer will be.

This game is perfect for teams that are getting to know each other or want to test how well they know their colleagues. It's also a great way to bring laughter and lightheartedness into your virtual coffee break.

16. Virtual Book Club

Virtual book clubs are an excellent way to get people talking and engaged in meaningful conversations.

Start by selecting a book for everyone to read in advance. You can either choose one together as a team or let each person pick their own book. Then, set up the virtual coffee break where everyone reads the same chapters from their respective books and comes together to discuss them.

This activity encourages people to get creative, share their thoughts and opinions, and make connections based on the book and their own experiences. Plus book club is a great time proven way to bond with people over coffee!

Conclusion

Participating in team building activities during virtual coffee breaks is a great way to build relationships and foster collaboration among team members. These 16 creative virtual team building activities are sure to bring fun and laughter to your team’s virtual coffee breaks. They will help you stay connected, create meaningful conversations, and most importantly, build relationships with each other. So go ahead and give one or two of these a try and see what happens! Your virtual coffee breaks will probably never be the same again.

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