With more teams working remotely than ever before, hosting engaging virtual events is becoming increasingly important. However, it can be challenging to recreate the fun of an in-person office party in a virtual setting. That’s where creative online games come in! This post will provide 14 unique ideas for fun virtual office party games that remote teams can play together. Whether you’re looking to host a virtual holiday party or arrange a team building event, these creative games will liven up any remote get-together.
Icebreaker Games
Icebreaker games are a fun way to help virtual teams get to know each other better. Here are some creative ideas:
Two Truths and a Lie
This classic game works well virtually too. Have each team member come up with two truths and one lie about themselves. Take turns sharing the three statements and have the group guess which one is the lie. This helps break the ice and learn interesting facts about coworkers.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of silly or creative items team members might have at home. Split into teams and give a time limit to find the items and bring them to the camera. The team that finds the most items wins! This gets people moving and interacting.
Guess Who?
Assign each person the name of a famous person or character. Have them ask yes/no questions to the group to try to guess who their person is. Put a time limit to increase the challenge. This game helps associate names with faces in a fun way.
Trivia Games
Trivia games are a fun way to engage team members and spark friendly competition in a virtual setting. Here are some ideas for trivia games to play online:
- Use a trivia platform like Kahoot or Quizlet to host a live game with multiple-choice questions. You can find pre-made quizzes or create your own about pop culture, movies, sports, history, science, or anything else. Kahoot even has a “Jumble” option where team members try to guess words or phrases.
- Make a trivia quiz focused on company history and facts. Include questions about the founding year, number of global offices, past product releases, founder names, etc. This is a great way to test employees’ knowledge about the company.
- Create trivia questions centered around fun facts about team members. Collect little-known details about each person like college major, hometown, favorite food, hidden talents, etc. Then make a quiz for everyone to guess the interesting facts associated with each co-worker. It’s a fun way to connect personally.
- For trivia on the sly, slip a trivia question into a regular team meeting and call on people to answer. The element of surprise makes it more exciting!
- Consider dividing into small teams that compete against each other for the highest trivia score. This engages everyone and makes it more interactive.
Trivia is a classic game format that’s easy to facilitate online. Using existing trivia platforms makes it simple to host a virtual competition that’s engaging for all.
Drawing Games
Drawing games are a fun way to get creative and interact with your team members in a lighthearted way. Popular options include virtual versions of Pictionary and the Jackbox game Drawful.
Virtual Pictionary
Just like regular Pictionary, in this virtual version team members take turns drawing a prompt on their screen while others guess what is being drawn. There are sites like Skribbl.io that provide an online space to play Pictionary with customizable settings. Players take turns drawing prompts within a time limit while others type their guesses in the chat.
Drawful on Jackbox
The Jackbox Party Pack includes the hilarious drawing game Drawful. In each round, the “drawer” is given a silly phrase to illustrate while the other players think of funny titles for the drawing. The titles are then presented to the drawer who picks their favorite. Points are awarded for being the drawer, having your title selected, and guessing the original phrase. Up to 10,000 players can join a Drawful game making it perfect for large virtual events.
Escape Rooms
Escape rooms have become incredibly popular in recent years for in-person team building events. The good news is you can create a similar experience virtually!
One option is to create your own custom virtual escape room. Come up with a fun theme and series of puzzles that teams solve to escape. You can share puzzle documents, images, videos, and more through a video conferencing platform. Appoint one person as the game master to provide hints and keep track of time. Make it competitive by seeing which team can escape the fastest!
If creating a custom escape room seems too complex, there are existing online platforms you can leverage. Sites like Escapology offer pre-made virtual escape room options you can host for your team. They provide everything you need like puzzles, props, and video conferencing to run the experience seamlessly. Most also have group packages available if your team is large. Online escape rooms are an immersive and engaging way to bring excitement to your next virtual office party!
Murder Mysteries
One of the most popular virtual party games is a murder mystery. Themed virtual murder mysteries allow your team to take on roles and solve a mystery together. You can buy pre-made murder mystery party kits online with character backgrounds, clues, and instructions. Or you can create your own DIY murder mystery by assigning characters and making a storyline.
To host a virtual murder mystery:
- Assign each participant a character ahead of time and send them background information. Encourage dressing up and staying in character!
- Throughout the party, reveal clues and allow players to question each other. You can use video chat or have players type in a chat box to stay anonymous.
- Slowly reveal more details and have players make accusations about who they think the murderer is.
- At the end, reveal the solution and congratulate the player who guessed correctly!
Virtual murder mysteries are interactive and immersive, and get everyone engaged in solving the crime. They make for a fun and memorable virtual party experience.
Game Show Style
Game shows provide a fun and familiar format for virtual office parties. Consider these popular game show options:
Family Feud
Divide your team into two groups and have them face off in a virtual Family Feud game. Come up with survey questions before or use an online Family Feud game generator. Teams take turns guessing the most popular responses. This gets everyone laughing and conversing.
Jeopardy
Create your own Jeopardy board using a template or online quiz maker. Make categories and questions tailored to your office trivia. Appoint someone as the game show host to read the answers and keep score. Let the teams ring in to provide their questions.
Wheel of Fortune
Assemble common phrases and sayings related to your work. Teams take turns spinning the wheel and guessing letters to try to solve the puzzles. Consider using an online spinner app and screen-sharing a slide with the puzzles. Appoint someone as the host to keep the game moving smoothly.
Game show formats allow for friendly competition and opportunities to showcase teamwork and quick thinking. Set the stage for your virtual office party with games inspired by classic TV shows.
Just Dance Style
Nothing brings an office party together quite like dancing! With a virtual office party, you can hold online dance parties and dance-off competitions using the popular Just Dance video game.
To set this up, have everyone download the Just Dance app on their gaming console, phone, or other device before. At the virtual party, screen share a Just Dance video and have everyone join in from their locations. Make it a competition by splitting people into teams and awarding points for the best dancers.
You can also do dance battles by picking team captains and having them take turns choosing a Just Dance song for their teammates to perform. The team that earns the most points from their dance battles wins!
Dancing is a great way to get everyone moving and laughing together. The silliness and friendly competition of Just Dance make for an energetic and fun way to bring your remote team together. No one needs fancy dance skills, just a willingness to let loose and have fun!
Karaoke
Karaoke is a fun way to get people singing and laughing together in a virtual party setting. Consider setting up karaoke challenges to get your team’s creative juices flowing.
Singing Challenges
Host a team karaoke competition where employees can submit videos of themselves singing karaoke. Let co-workers vote on their favorites to crown a company karaoke king or queen. Make it more challenging by asking participants to sing in silly costumes or film their videos in wacky locations.
You can also have a karaoke duet challenge where employees team up virtually to sing a song together. The coworkers don’t necessarily have to be in the same physical location to pull this off. Use video editing software to stitch their performances together into one video.
Lip-Sync Battles
Lip sync battles are a hugely popular trend, making them perfect for a virtual office party. Employees can pick a song, memorize the lyrics, and record a video of themselves lip-syncing dramatically to the tune. Co-workers vote on the most entertaining performance. Consider having employees lip-sync to songs related to your company or industry for some extra fun.
Lip-syncing with a co-worker or in a group makes the experience even more hilarious. Have team members coordinate virtually to act out a song, interacting with each other’s videos. This creative challenge will have your employees laughing hysterically together, even from remote locations.
Conclusion
Hosting a fun virtual office party can be a great way to boost morale and bring remote teams together. The ideas presented in this post offer creative options to engage your team members, spark conversations, and generate laughs through friendly competition.
Of the 14 ideas covered, trivia games, drawing challenges, virtual escape rooms, game shows, and karaoke lend themselves well to larger groups. For smaller teams, consider an icebreaker activity to allow everyone to get to know each other better. You could also organize a virtual murder mystery for those who enjoy roleplaying and suspense.
The most important thing is choosing a format that fits your company culture and team dynamic. Try out one of these virtual party games for your next event and see which resonates best with your group. Encourage your team to have fun with it – after all, laughter and fun are the goals. Wishing you a festive and memorable virtual office party!
