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Team building games on Zoom require more creativity since they are hosted virtually and need to keep participants entertained. Zoom is a popular platform used to make video calls and communicate via a cha prompt.
In recent years Zoom has become increasingly popular and is used not only for video calls between friends and family but for business meetings and team building.
There are so many benefits to team building. Team building helps groups communicate better, learn to work together, and foster relationships based on trust. In many companies, employees work a hybrid schedule, work from home, or in different cities.
This means face-to-face team-building games are impossible, and platforms like Zoom are perfect for remote team-building.
When the pandemic hit, my husband and I used Zoom to help us connect with our friends and family. Soon, Zoom also became the platform where we conducted many of our work meetings as life needed to move on.
My hope is to provide new and refreshing games that you may not have heard before. They are very easy to learn and play. Best of all, I believe that these games will help build your team’s chemistry.
The team building Zoom games below are all of my favorite that have been tested online (and in person too). I played all of these games throughout the years and know that it will help bring tons of fun and camaraderie to teammates.
But before we dive into the team building activities over Zoom, I want to make sure that we all know how to use Zoom.
How To Use Zoom for Virtual Team Building
Using zoom for virtual team building games/activities is easy. All you need is some experience using zoom and a basic understanding of how Zoom works. Once you have that, you can pick a suitable date and time to host your virtual team-building session.
Once you’ve selected and confirmed a date, simply create a meeting ID, send team members a link to join the team building session, and have a couple of team building games on Zoom prepared beforehand.
Virtual team building can be boring, and keeping a team interested in games on a platform like Zoom is the key to a successful team-building session.
Benefits Of Virtual Team Building Games on Zoom
Face-to-face team building has benefits, but virtual team building can also be beneficial. Virtual team building games on Zoom doesn’t have to be limited to the same old icebreakers and stale, overplayed games but can be an exciting way to get to know your team members through thrilling online team games.
Some of the benefits of virtual team building games on Zoom include the following:
- Increased collaboration between team members
- Inspires innovation
- Creates a positive work culture
- Strengthens existing employee relationships
- Increased communication between team members
- Reduced stress and improved mental health for employees
- Helps employees use their creative skills
Zoom Games For Large Groups
Team activities on Zoom with a large group takes more time and preparation. Larger groups can be split into smaller groups to make virtual games easier. In Korea, online and traditional Korean games are played frequently. While many can’t be played in a virtual space, some can be played in large groups in Zoom.
Visualization Elimination (3-6-9 Game)
The 3-6-9 game is a visual elimination game that is popular in Korea. It’s also fondly known as the clap game or ssam, yook, gkooh, which is three, six, nine in Korean. In this game, each player must think strategically and avoid saying any numbers that contain a 3, 6, or 9.
The game needs to follow a numerical order, and each player says one number. For example, the first player will say “one,” the second player will say “two,” and so on. If the number has a 3, 6, or 9 in it, instead of mentioning the following number, the player will clap their hands once.
The first few rounds remain easy as the numbers get higher with only two 3s or three 3s. The person who needs to say that number will clap two or three times. Although the game starts fairly simple, it gets more difficult as it gets faster and people are shouting out numbers, and you need to remember to clap and think of the correct number when it’s your turn.
As you continue to play these games for online meetings, you are familiarizing yourself with each other. The benefit of 3-6-9 is that you are truly paying attention to what people are saying, allowing you to really learn everyone’s faces.
Assa (Nickname Game)
Assa is similar to any game that uses the word “yes” after winning, and the objective is to be the last person left after everyone else has been eliminated. Assa is a four-beat Korean rhythmic game and is also a great icebreaker.
The game follows a pattern of saying “Assa (players chosen nickname)” and then moving between all the participants in the group, calling out their names as you move along. On the first beat, everyone pats their legs; on the second beat, everyone claps their hands; on the third beat, everyone does a thumbs up with their left hand; and on the fourth beat, everyone does a thumbs up with their right hand.
A round of Assa will look something like this:
All players will make the four motions (pat, clap, thumb, thumb), and then all players will say, “Aaaa….saaa….”
The first player is Kate. She will pick a nickname and a motion relating to her name. Then, during her turn, she will say her name with the motion and then pass it on to the next player by saying their nickname and making their motion.
Kate: “Fly-ing ti-ger” motion: claws
All players will say, “Aaaa….saaa…”
John: “fun-ny nin- ja” motion: kung fu move (calls out the following players sign and makes their motion)
All players will say, “Aaaa….saaa…”
The game continues until someone makes the wrong move or makes a mistake. When this happens, the round ends, and the game continues to the next round until there is a winner.
This game can get pretty loud, which is fun and exciting when playing in person. However, over Zoom this can get a bit overwhelming and people may not be able to hear each other speak.
In order to make the Assa game work as a team building game on Zoom, I recommend that only the person who is called on speaks and claps. The game is still fun and can get pretty intense once the game starts to speed up.
If you try this game, please let me know how you like it! Hwaiting!!!
Scavenger Hunt
Virtual scavenger hunts require barely any preparation beforehand and can create a lot of excitement among players. To play a scavenger hunt over zoom, you can create a list of items that your group needs to find during the scavenger hunt. This could be anything from their home/office space, such as a coffee mug, toothbrush, or pot plant.
The player with the most items wins the game.
A couple of items you could use include:
- Cookbook
- Teddybear
- Spatula
- Face mask
- Board game
- Coupons
- Artwork
- Coffee machine
- Picture of your lunch
Zoom Games For Small Groups
If you are hosting a team-building session for small groups, there are many quick and fun games to play that are considered classics worldwide. These thrilling games can be easily adapted to play on Zoom, and many will be familiar with the rules and already know how to play.
Charades – Zoom Version
Charades date back to the 18th century and are a famous recreational game played between friends, families, and at parties.
Zoom charades are played like a regular game of charades, except it’s virtual. For your zoom charades game, you can pick different categories like books, movies, songs, or places.
Each player has to give clues by acting out the movie, song, or whatever category they’ve chosen without saying anything, and the other members of the team need to guess what it is. The topics of the charades game can range from simple to more difficult depending on how much time you have for the game and how challenging you want to make it.
If you need some help with ideas for your zoom charades, you could always use a word game generator to help you.
Pictionary
To play Pictionary on zoom, you’ll need to use the whiteboard feature. This will allow each team member to see what’s been drawn. The rules are the same as an in-person game of Pictionary and won’t require any additional tools besides the words used for the game.
You can divide your small group into smaller groups or stick to one team. There are usually four categories: people, objects, animals, and actions. There is no particular order to start the game, so the first player can be selected randomly. Set a timer for 60 seconds and let the first player draw on the whiteboard in zoom.
Team members then guess what the player has drawn, and the game moves on to the next player.
If playing in smaller groups, the group with the most points wins. If playing as a small team, the person with the correct answers wins.
Short Zoom Games
If you’re using a free version of zoom, there may be restrictions on how much time you can host a team-building session. In this case, you’ll want a short game for team building. These games can also be used as weekly team-building games in meetings or employee check-in sessions.
To clarify, these quick games to play on Zoom with coworkers are longer than 5 minutes but usually less than 20-30 minutes.
Trivia Team Building Games on Zoom
Test your team’s general knowledge skills with a quick game of trivia. All you need to play trivia is a list of questions and answers. You can split your team into groups or ask the trivia questions to the whole team. The team or person with the most correct answers wins the game.
You can increase the game’s competitiveness by offering a prize to the person or group with the most correct answers.
There are a couple of websites that generate free trivia questions that you can use for your zoom team building. One of these is a Random Trivia Generator. This site covers a range of trivia topics, including art, history, and entertainment, and will help make it easier for you to compile a list of trivia questions.
Babo (The Number Jumble Game)
Babo is actually a Korean drinking game, and the direct translation of the word Babo is “fool.” It’s a fun game that is great for a team that isn’t too familiar with one another. The game’s object is to be the smartest person in the room and avoid being eliminated.
The first player will say a number between 1 and 5 but use their fingers to display a different number between 1 and 5. Then, the game moves on to the next player, who will say the number the first player showed on their fingers and then show a new number with their fingers. The game will continue until someone makes a mistake, and when they do, everyone will pat their lap, clap, and point to the “fool.”
A typical round will look something like this:
First player: Bob (says the number three but holds up two fingers)
Second player: Lisa (says Bob’s number, which was two but held up four fingers)
Third player: Ron (says Ron’s four but also holds up four fingers)
Ron has made a mistake; everyone pats their laps, claps, and says, “fool.”
5-Minute Games For Virtual Meetings
If you’re short on time and prefer a few 5-minute Zoom games for your team-building session, you could add games like Gawi-bawl-Bo or Virtual Karaoke. These games are entertaining, and virtual karaoke is guaranteed to make you laugh and get to know your team a little better.
Gawi-Bawi-Bo (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
Most people are familiar with rock, paper, scissors, and it’s one of the easiest games to play via zoom. This game is another childhood favorite and is used to resolve disputes or just played for fun. This game primarily depends on luck, and it’s likely that most of the team members in your team-building session are familiar with this game.
The game’s purpose is to eliminate other players by showing rock, paper, or scissors. Players will display a rock, paper, or scissors with their hands. Depending on what each player shows, some will be eliminated.
Rocks beats scissors, paper beats rock, and scissors cut paper. It’s as simple as that. The most important rule is that everyone displays their chosen hand motion at the same time to make sure the game is fair and there is no cheating involved.
Virtual Karaoke
Karaoke in Korea is quite popular. You may have seen a few K dramas featuring karaoke scenes or heard about karaoke bars in Korea. This great team-building activity allows team members to relax and have fun.
To play virtual karaoke in Zoom, you’ll need a list of songs you want your team members to sing. Many popular songs will have karaoke versions that can be found on YouTube. Once you have your list and are ready to play the game, simply select a team member, let them choose a song from the list or choose at random and then open the Youtube karaoke video and share your screen on zoom.
Each team member will get a turn to sing. You can even make this a prize-winning game and split the team into two groups for a karaoke faceoff.
Since all you need is your voice, virtual karaoke can also be played over the phone (or without the camera on). Other games you can play over the phone are like two truths and a lie, trivia games, and random question generator where you answer things about yourself.
Conclusion to Team Building Games on Zoom
Inject some fun and creativity into your next virtual meeting by playing interactive games that are sure to get everyone energized and engaged. Whether you’re a fan of childhood classics or enjoy quick-thinking strategic games, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
As a person that has worked in project management, I’m always looking for ways to stay productive and organized all while trying to build a strong environment. Whether it’s at home schooling children or on Zoom working with my team, I love introducing efficiency by taking the time to also discuss monthly goals and play games.
The best part of the games in this article is that it’s super easy to play. Many of these games are inspired by Korean culture and are perfect for small or large groups. Get ready to boost productivity and have a blast with team-building games on Zoom!
