If we weren’t before March, we are all well accustomed to meeting on virtual platforms such as zoom..ad infinitum! So how do we distinguish one remote team meeting from the other? How do we stay focussed and keep everyone engaged? Playing games can help. Here’s six we’ve tried and tested which are quick and fun!

Where in the world is…

We play this one a lot in our Zoom sessions and it goes does really well. On Zoom, in the gallery view, we are not in a fixed place; where you see Dave and Sue may not be where anyone else sees them. This game plays with this. You say,  “where in the world is”..and name a member of your team. Everyone points to where this person is on their screen (above their picture, below, to the side..or at themselves!) It’s a lovely way to relax the group and have some fun before the meeting begins.

Remote Work Bingo/Lockdown Bingo

Remote work bingo is a fun warm up which helps people feel connected. You can adapt it any way you like. Everyone can take turns making a statement: “During lockdown/remote working/this period I have…( Binge-watched 3 episodes in a row/tried to do a sourdough starter/written something like “hope you’re doing ok in these strange times..”) Each statement that’s true for participants, they raise a finger. Whoever reaches a full hand is the lockdown Bingo winner! The team can also make suggestions too – and people can have a good laugh together remembering how many of us are doing the same ridiculous things!

Good News/Bad News

This is a drama classic – versatile and perfect to get your creative juices flowing at the beginning, or equally good to let off steam at the end of a meeting. The whole group will tell a story, taking turns to alternate the good news and the bad news, creating a ridiculous story with imaginative ups and downs. When it’s your turn, you must relate either the good or bad news (depending on what came before). Your news must be in the 1^st person and follow on from the news which came before.

Example:
Person 1: The good news is that I’ve become a millionaire overnight
Person 2: The bad news is that I’ve already spent all the money!
Person 3: The good news is that I found some more this morning when I was cleaning my room
Person 4: The bad news is, that money belonged to a wicked fairy and now she is chasing me to get it back!
Keep going for as long as you can; if you get really stuck, you can start a new story.

Mirrors:

Before you wind the meeting down, try this calming but hugely fun game. We have played this during “in person” sessions for years, but have found it works brilliantly over Zoom as well. Make sure everyone is in Gallery view, pick someone who would like to be “leader”. They must make slow movements and the rest of the group must try to follow them and be their “mirror”. When they’re done, another person can take over. This can be quite meditative, or have the group in stitches. Watch this vid of the brilliant Locality team playing this game with an inspirational mirror leader!

Count to ten

Count to ten is a lovely way to close a session – so simple and so popular – can really bring out great team spirit (and also reveal all the personality types in the group!)
Everyone covers/closes their eyes. The group must count upwards consecutively from 1 as far as they can. If two people say the same number at the same time, you must begin again from one. Decide how many turns you’ll have and see how far you get – you can even keep note of your record and see if you can beat it each week!

High Five

Short, sweet and effective, this one plays with the visual aspect of Zoom and is so simple. It only takes a minute and it’s the perfect way to close the meeting; make sure everyone is on Gallery view. Simply lift each hand and face your palms out away from your face. Extend your hands until they are at the edge of your image/square on zoom. Everyone else is doing it too so it looks as though you’re giving each other a high five! The team in the pic wanted to be anonymous, hence the emojis, but you can see how they’re high-fiving even while apart!

It’s not the same as being together in person, but there’s so much you can do on zoom using play and creativity to help your team feel connected.

Need some inspiration or want to book a remote team building session? Get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Read about our team building online remote sessions for team building and staff wellbeing.

You can also read what The guardian newspaper says about our remote team building sessions in their list of 25 ways to beat 2020 groundhog days.