Work parties provide a fun and engaging way for employees to socialize and get to know each other better outside of day-to-day work activities. Planning games and activities for a work party is an excellent way to boost morale, laughter, and camaraderie among team members. The idea is to break up the routine and bring some liveliness back into the office.
The best work party games get everyone involved, break the ice between colleagues, and encourage friendly competition and collaboration. They allow coworkers to reveal their silly or competitive sides in a relaxed environment. The goal is to have fun together and make memories that will carry on long after the party ends.
In this post, we will explore the top 8 fun work party games to liven up your next office gathering. From scavenger hunts to ugly sweater contests, board games, and trivia, there are endless options to make your party unique. We will provide ideas and tips to help you plan the perfect event full of activities that will have everyone smiling, laughing, and feeling like part of the team.
Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is a classic game that can be easily adapted for the office. To play, create a list of silly, fun, or challenging items that teams must photograph or collect during the hunt. Send teams off with a time limit to run around the office checking items off their list. Get creative with your list by including items like “a team member posing like a statue” or “something from the CEO’s office.”
To set up a successful office scavenger hunt:
- Make your list extensive with 20-30 items. More items mean more fun!
- Hide some items around the office in advance for teams to find.
- Set a time limit, like 20-30 minutes, to keep the pace fast.
- Require teams to photograph proof of as many items as possible.
- Offer prizes for the team that collects the most items or has the most creative photos.
- Have some items require visiting specific departments or floors to encourage interactions.
- Include bonus challenges, like “get a selfie with the office manager” for extra points.
- Allow silly props and costumes to really get creative with the photos!
A scavenger hunt is a lively way to get the whole office moving and mingling in a spirit of fun competition. Adjust the list to suit your office culture and set teams loose to get goofy!
Bingo
Bingo is a classic game that can easily be customized for an office party. To make it work, create bingo cards filled with trivia questions or tasks related to your office. For example, the bingo squares could say things like “Knows the CEO’s favorite food”, “Has worked here 10+ years”, or “Wore a holiday sweater today”.
Print out the bingo cards and hand them out at the start of the party along with bingo chips. As you call out the items on the bingo board, have employees mark off squares if the statement applies to them. The first person to get 5 in a row and yell “Bingo!” wins. Give out small prizes like gift cards, movie tickets, or food delivery vouchers to the winners.
Bingo is a great way to break the ice and get coworkers mingling and learning fun facts about each other. The trivia on the cards serves as a fun icebreaker itself. Customizing the cards with inside jokes and office-specific tasks makes the game even more engaging for your work crowd. Bingo requires little setup so it’s an easy addition to any office party.
Minute to Win It
Minute to Win It is a fun game show-inspired game perfect for office parties. This game involves completing silly challenges within a minute.
To play, first, come up with a list of challenges that increase in difficulty. Some example challenges:
- Stack Attack – Players must stack as many dice on a single die within a minute. Start with 10 dice and add 5 more each round.
- Face the Cookie – Players must move an Oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth using only facial muscles.
- Spoon Frog – Using only a spoon in their mouth, players hop a sugar packet across the room into a bowl.
- Spin Doctor – Players tape a penny to a record player. While it spins, they must use their nose to stop the penny at an exact time.
- Defying Gravity – Players must toss ping pong balls into a cup across the room, starting with 1 and adding 1 each round.
- Junk in the Trunk – Tie empty tissue boxes around players’ waists. Set a timer and see who can crush the most boxes.
Divide players into teams and have them take turns competing in the challenges against the clock for points. The team with the most points at the end wins! Minute to Win It is a simple yet entertaining game that brings out everyone’s silly side.
The Office Themed Trivia
Trivia is a fun game-like activity that can boost morale and help team members get to know each other better at an office party. To play this game, first create a list of trivia questions related to your office and coworkers.
You can ask questions like:
- What is John’s favorite snack food?
- What color are Sally’s shoes today?
- How many years has our company been in business?
- What TV show does everyone talk about around the office?
Mix in some pop culture trivia as well to make it more interesting.
Divide everyone into teams of 4-5 people. Take turns asking the trivia questions and have each team write down their best guess. You can keep score and award points for each correct answer. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins!
To add some flair, put together fun prizes like gift cards, movie tickets, or lunch with the CEO. Hand these out to the winning team members.
Themed trivia is a great way to bring some friendly competition into your office party. It also helps coworkers learn more about each other and their company history. The game is sure to spark conversation and laughs long after the party ends!
Ugly Sweater Contest
When held around the holidays, an ugly sweater contest is a fun and festive way to get your employees engaged in the party. You can have everyone wear their most outrageous, hideous, or hilarious holiday sweater to work that day. As people arrive, take pictures of everyone in their sweater getup.
Later in the party, gather everyone together and judge the best (or worst) sweater. You can have prizes for categories like funniest, most creative, tackiest, ugliest, etc. Get your whole team involved by having them vote on the winners in each category. Make sure to print out the photos you took earlier and display them around the office.
Not only does this activity showcase everyone’s silly side, but it also encourages bonding between coworkers. People will get a kick out of seeing their team members dressed in ridiculous sweaters. The laughter and amusement shared make for lasting memories and inside jokes that bring your group closer together.
An ugly sweater contest is an easy way to add a fun spirit of competition and holiday cheer to your office party. With some simple prizes and a lot of laughter, it’s a guaranteed hit.
Office Olympics
Office Olympics is a fun way to get your team engaged in some friendly competition. Set up various “events” that employees can participate in and compete for medals or trophies. Some classic Office Olympics games include:
- Stapler races – Line up staplers at one end of a table and have teammates compete to see who can staple a stack of papers the fastest. Give medals for the fastest stapler race time.
- Typing contests – Use an online typing test site and have employees race to see who can get the highest number of words per minute. Award trophies to the fastest typists.
- Paper airplane contests – Have everyone make a paper airplane and see who can fly the farthest in the office. Measure the distance and give medals to the top paper airplane makers.
- Office chair races – Set up a short obstacle course in the office and have teammates race against each other in office chairs. Time each race and award medals to the fastest racers.
- Cubicle decorating contests – Give each employee a small budget to decorate their cubicle for the Olympics. Have judges decide on medals for the most creative, funniest, best team spirit, etc.
Make sure to have medals or small trophies on hand to award to the winners of each Olympic event. Getting goofy with competitive games like these is a great way to boost morale and energize your team! The medals serve as a fun memento of the day.
Murder Mystery
A murder mystery party is a fun way to get your team engaged and interacting in a totally new way. Assign each attendee a character ahead of time and give them a short background about who they are. When the party starts, announce that a “murder” has taken place and they must mingle and collect clues to solve the mystery.
Provide costume suggestions or props to really get people into their roles. As they converse in character and share information, they’ll start to piece together the story and eventually “solve” the pretend crime. To add some competition, have small teams instead of individuals, and see which team can solve the mystery first.
The silliness of playing an imaginary character coupled with the intrigue of figuring out “whodunit” makes this game a unique and memorable experience. Walking around the party as a bumbling detective or sneaky murderer lets your coworkers relax and reveal their improv skills. And working collaboratively to unravel the clues brings out their problem-solving abilities in a new context away from their normal job duties. The murder mystery transforms an office gathering into a totally immersive team-building activity.
Board Games
Board games are a classic option for office parties that encourage friendly competition between coworkers. Set up stations around the office with different games like Jenga, Connect Four, Tetris, Checkers, and more. You can have simple tournaments at each station and keep score.
To really get people engaged, set up inter-department board game competitions. IT vs Marketing in Connect Four. Sales vs Client Services in Jenga. Finance vs HR in Checkers. Keep a running scoreboard and reward the department with the most wins at the end of the night. Offer fun prizes like a team lunch, extra PTO, or gift cards.
Board games allow coworkers to spend time together and get to know each other better in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. The games can spark conversations that might not happen in regular work interactions. And a little friendly competition helps build camaraderie and team spirit across the organization. Just be sure to keep the focus on fun rather than winning at all costs.
Conclusion
Throwing a fun work party with games is a great way to boost team morale and bring coworkers together. Of all the party game ideas discussed, the most unique and recommended are the office-themed murder mystery, the minute-to-win-it games, and the saran wrap ball game. These interactive and creative games encourage participation, laughter, and friendly competition.
Planning games for an office party has many benefits beyond the fun factor. It helps coworkers get to know each other better and makes employees feel valued. Sharing lighthearted moments and working together on teams builds camaraderie and stronger relationships. It also gives people a chance to take a break from their normal work routine. Laughter and activities release stress, motivate employees, and energize workplace culture. The boost in morale from a fun office party can last long after the event ends.
We hope this list of party game ideas has sparked inspiration for your next office gathering. Feel free to share your favorite work party games and activities in the comments below! The more ideas, the merrier the party will be.
