Let’s be honest for a minute. Sometimes, we all get bored at work. We know, it isn’t nice or ideal, but the facts are that there are those rare occasions where you need a brief bit of respite from the real tasks at hand to refocus and deliver a better performance.
But instead of making the 119th cuppa of the day, you should challenge your co-workers to these fun office games. It’s all part of gamification, a concept that big brands like Nike, eBay, Adobe and many more are using to engage colleagues, clients and customers in new and dynamic ways.
It’s working too, with Spotify recently reporting that 90% of their employees are engaging with their gamification programmes, while the results of a study by Kansas State University indicated that by playing a short game, ‘employees can recover from some of their stress’.
And guess what? All you might need to try this in your workplace is a 6-sided dice.
Tea Maker’s Dice
What you need – 1 6-sided dice.
A Company Away Days favourite here in the office, this game is so simple and can solve the time-old dispute over who’s round it is to make the tea/coffee. Simply assign each member of your desk-comp a number between one and six. Then, roll the dice. Whoever the dice lands on then has to make the brews. Short, simple and thirst-quenching.
Guess Blu
What you need – Blu-Tack
This game rewards inventive thinking as players have to think of a famous movie/person/tv show and then construct a mini model using Blu Tack, something that most offices have in abundance. It’s a great way to wake up tired minds and flex creative muscle in the process.
Who am I?
What you need – Knowledge of your colleagues
Pick a quizmaster who knows a lot about your colleagues. Ask them to write 10 clues including unexpected facts about a certain employee (they might be a keen surfer outside of work etc) and then it’s up to the rest of the team to guess who it is as the clues become more and more obvious.
Paper B-Ball
What you need – Scrap paper, mini basketball hoop.
Let the office Lebron James’ reveal themselves by playing paper b-ball. The rules are simple, simply create a ball from scrap paper and try to plant the ball in a basket without leaving your chair. The scores work much the same as in usual basketball, with any shots scored outside of an agreed ‘arc’ earning 3 points. Whoever has the most points after 5 minutes wins.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
What you need – An iron will to win.
Don’t let anybody tell you that rock, paper, scissors isn’t worth your time. For years, this has solved disputes in the Company Away Days office and has been responsible for opening channels of communication, forming friendships and great morale. You know the rules. Find an opponent, decide whether you’re playing a one-off or a best-of-three and it’s game on.
Table Football
What you need – A Table Football set.
So, this one will require a bit of an outlay from upper management, but you’ll be amazed at how table football can transform your office. Drab lunchtimes become live Premier League fixtures, after work socials, Champions League finals. It’s the kind of game that can become the talk of the office in a hurry and is great for developing communication and strong teamwork. Especially if you make an effort to pair employees with co-workers who they don’t usually deal with.
Office Bingo
What you need – Our office bingo card.
Office Bingo is bingo with a difference. Instead of listening out for randomised numbers, you’ll be keeping an eye open for classic office goings-on like rumours of a new workplace romance, your boss laughing at his own jokes, gloating footy fans etc. It’s a great way of staying alert throughout the day and there are even prizes to be won. Download our bingo card here.
Office Tag
What you need – A paper clip, binder clip or equivalent.
This is one of those beautifully simple games that’s quick to play but can last for days. One person starts as ‘It’ and must pin a paper/binder clip onto another colleague without them noticing. Once they’ve discovered they’ve been clipped however, the hunted becomes the hunter and they must seek out a victim to tag. If the person who’s ‘It’ is found out at any time, they must make the whole office a tea round.
Secret Mission
What you need – A pen and a post-it note.
A manager must choose a secret agent for the day. On the agent’s arrival to the office, beneath their keyboard they’ll find a post-it note with a secret mission that they must accomplish by the end of the day. If they’re found out, it’s a tea round for the entire office. If they’re successful, the manager will notify the office at 5.30pm and the agent applauded for their deception. Missions might include telling members of staff five outrageous lies about themselves (‘Elton John is my great uncle!’ etc), stealing items from colleagues’ desks or using weird words in staff meeting situations (e.g. rambunctious).
Pitch it in 5
What you need – A creative imagination, pitching skills.
Choose a member of the team to be the gamemaster. At any point of the day, the gamemaster can call upon a colleague to ‘Pitch it in 5’. This individual then has just five minutes to pitch a business idea. It could be something silly, or it could be something tangible to your organisation. The point is to stretch those creative sinews and practice communication and pitching skills in a fun, friendly way.
Thinking bigger
Or if you’re after bigger and better fun office games, we can arrange a Company Away Day for you that will go down in history as one of those great team days out. Whether you’re looking for Inflatable Games or your very own Dragon’s Den experience, we’ve got a huge range of team building activities and ideas that can help build team chemistry and create brilliant memories. Send us your enquiry now.
