This page is for managers, team leads and whoever got asked to plan the offsite. It lists 15 games that take 5 to 30 minutes, with the supplies and steps for each and a note on whether it works on a video call. None of them ask people to perform or to share more than they choose to.
These 15 games are listed with the most widely played first.
1. Two truths and a lie
Players: 3 to 12Ages: 10 and upYou need: nothing (works on a video call)
- Give everyone a minute to think of two true facts about themselves and one made-up one.
- One person states all three in any order.
- The group votes on which statement is the lie, by a show of hands or in the chat.
- The speaker reveals the answer, and the next person takes a turn.
In a large team, have three people take a turn at the start of each weekly meeting so it never runs long.
2. Marshmallow challenge
Players: 8 or more, in teams of 4Ages: 8 and upYou need: per team: 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string and one marshmallow (in person only)
- Give each team its kit and set a timer for 18 minutes.
- Teams build the tallest freestanding tower they can from the spaghetti, tape and string.
- The whole marshmallow must sit on top of the tower.
- When time is up, hands come off. Measure each tower that is still standing, and the tallest wins.
Tell teams to test the marshmallow early. It is heavier than it looks, and towers that get it in the last minute usually collapse.
3. Scavenger hunt
Players: 6 or more, in teams of 2 to 4Ages: 8 and upYou need: a list of 10 to 15 things to find, a timer (works on a video call with items from home)
- Write a list of things to find or photograph, such as "something older than the company" or "a mug with a story behind it".
- Split into teams and set a time limit of 10 to 20 minutes.
- Teams collect the items or photos and come back before time runs out.
- Each team shows what it found. Score one point per item, and the most points wins.
On a video call, name one item at a time and give everyone 30 seconds to fetch it from around their home.
4. Human knot
Players: 6 to 10 per groupAges: 10 and upYou need: open floor space (in person only)
- Explain the game first and say that it involves holding hands at close quarters. Anyone can opt out and act as coach or timekeeper, and nobody has to give a reason.
- The players stand in a circle, reach across and take the hands of two different people who are not next to them.
- Keeping hold of both hands, the group steps over, ducks under and turns until the knot opens into a circle.
- Stop after 10 minutes if the knot will not come undone, because some knots cannot be solved.
For a version with no touching, each player holds the ends of two short ropes or scarves, and the group untangles those.
5. Desert island
Players: 6 or more, in groups of 3 to 5Ages: 10 and upYou need: a list of 15 items, paper and pens (works on a video call with breakout rooms)
- Tell the groups they are stranded on a desert island and show them a list of 15 items, such as a tarp, a mirror, a fishing net and a box of matches.
- Each person privately picks the five items they would keep.
- Groups then have 10 minutes to agree on one shared list of five.
- Each group presents its list and explains one choice the members argued about.
Afterward, ask each group how it settled its disagreements, for example whether the members voted or one person decided.
6. Back-to-back drawing
Players: 2 or more, in pairsAges: 8 and upYou need: simple line drawings, paper and pens (works on a video call if the describer keeps the picture off camera)
- Pairs sit back to back. One person gets a simple picture, and the other gets paper and a pen.
- The describer explains how to draw the picture using only shapes and positions, and may not name the object.
- The drawer follows the instructions and may not ask questions.
- After three minutes, compare the drawing with the original, then swap roles with a new picture.
Play a second round where the drawer is allowed to ask questions. The drawings come out much closer, which gives the team something to talk about.
7. Egg drop
Players: 6 or more, in teams of 3 or 4Ages: 8 and upYou need: per team: one raw egg, 20 straws, a yard of tape and 2 sheets of newspaper, plus a safe place to drop from (in person only)
- Give each team the same materials and 20 minutes to build something that protects a raw egg from a fall.
- Drop each build from the same height, at least 6 feet up. A stair landing works.
- Unwrap the eggs. Every team whose egg is uncracked stays in.
- Break a tie by dropping from higher up, or give the win to the team that used the fewest materials.
Lay a plastic sheet under the drop zone and bring spare eggs, because at least one will break during building.
8. Whose fact is it?
Players: 6 to 20Ages: 10 and upYou need: slips of paper and a bowl, or a shared form (works on a video call)
- Everyone writes down one fact about themselves that the team probably does not know and puts it in the bowl.
- The host reads one fact aloud.
- The group guesses who it belongs to. The person who wrote it then speaks up and tells the story in a sentence or two.
- Continue until every fact has been read.
Collect the facts a day ahead by private message. People write better ones with time to think, and nobody recognizes the handwriting.
9. Things in common
Players: 6 or more, in groups of 3 or 4Ages: 8 and upYou need: paper and a pen per group (works on a video call with breakout rooms)
- Split into small groups, mixing people who do not usually work together.
- Each group has five minutes to find three things all of its members have in common.
- Anything about work or the office does not count.
- Groups read out their lists, and the room votes for the most unexpected one.
For a second round, shuffle the groups and ban any answer that came up in the first round.
10. Birthday lineup
Players: 8 or moreAges: 8 and upYou need: open floor space (in person only)
- Ask the group to line up in order of birthday, with January 1 at one end and December 31 at the other. The year is ignored.
- Nobody may talk or write. Gestures are allowed.
- When the line stops moving, go down it and have each person say their birthday.
- Count how many people are out of place.
Time the first attempt, then let the group try to beat it with a new order, such as how far each person lives from the office.
11. Minefield
Players: 4 or more, in pairsAges: 10 and upYou need: open floor space, 20 to 30 soft objects such as paper cups or balled-up paper, a blindfold per pair (in person only)
- Scatter the objects across a clear stretch of floor about 15 feet long.
- One partner puts on a blindfold or closes their eyes. The other stands at the edge and may not step in or touch them.
- The guide talks the walker from one side to the other. A walker who touches an object goes back to the start.
- Swap roles after each crossing. The fastest clean crossing wins.
Run two or three pairs at the same time, so the guides have to make themselves heard over each other.
12. Helium stick
Players: 6 to 12 per stickAges: 10 and upYou need: a light, thin rod about 8 feet long, such as a tent pole or a garden cane (in person only)
- The group stands in two lines facing each other, and everyone holds out their index fingers at chest height.
- Lay the rod across all the fingers.
- The group has to lower the rod to the floor while every finger stays in contact with it. Players may not hook or pinch it.
- If any finger loses contact, start again from chest height.
Expect the rod to rise at first, because everyone pushes up slightly to keep contact. Let the group work out that one person should call the pace.
13. Count to 20
Players: 5 to 15Ages: 8 and upYou need: nothing (works on a video call)
- The group has to count aloud from 1 to 20, one person per number.
- Nobody may plan the order or signal who goes next.
- If two people speak at the same time, the count goes back to 1.
- The game ends when the group reaches 20.
Set a five-minute limit and note the highest number reached, so the team can try to beat it at the next meeting.
14. One-word story
Players: 4 to 12Ages: 8 and upYou need: nothing (works on a video call if you set the speaking order first)
- Agree on a speaking order. On a video call, post it in the chat.
- The host gives a title, such as "The day the printer fought back".
- Going around in order, each person adds exactly one word to the story.
- Stop after three or four rounds, or when the story reaches a natural ending.
Have one person type the story as it goes and read it back at the end.
15. Barter puzzle
Players: 9 or more, in 3 or 4 teamsAges: 10 and upYou need: one small jigsaw puzzle per team (50 to 100 pieces), with a few pieces from each swapped into the other boxes (in person only)
- Before the session, move five or six pieces from each puzzle into the other teams' boxes.
- Give each team a puzzle and say that the first team to finish wins. Do not mention the swapped pieces.
- Teams work out for themselves that pieces are missing and that other teams hold them.
- Teams negotiate to get their pieces back, by trading pieces or by any other deal the other team accepts.
Use puzzles with clearly different pictures so teams can spot a stray piece quickly, and allow 30 minutes.
Open one, pick who's playing, and pass the phone around.
Updated November 2026.