You found our list of the best indoor team building activities.
Indoor team building activities are group games and exercises that take place inside. For example, team meals, museum tours, and indoor ropes courses. These activities enable team bonding for employees and small groups at work when going outside is not an option.
These gatherings are the opposite of outdoor team building activities. This category includes team building games, team building exercises, theater games, and virtual team building activities.
This list includes:
- fun indoor team building games for employees
- the best indoor team building activities for small groups
- indoor team building exercises for large groups
- indoor team games
Here is the list!
List of indoor team building activities
From bake-offs to paint and sips to volunteering, here is a list of team activities to do inside that can re-energize your teams and give employees a morale boost during gloomy weather.
1. Board Game Tournament
Board games are the ultimate rainy day pastime, as well as one of the best small group indoor team building activities. To arrange a board game day, first gather popular board and card games such as Scattergories, Apples to Apples, and Codenames. The more players that can join the game, the better. Choosing games that move more quickly is also a good idea, as switching up games and teams gives participants a chance to interact with more coworkers.
Next, secure a large room and set up plenty of tables and chairs, then spread the games around the space. Players can choose to join preferred games, or can draw straws to randomly pick teams and boards.
Pro tip: If you really want to exercise creativity, then have teams create their own board games and teach it to the rest of the group.
Check out this list of team building board games, and our full list of competitive team building activities.
2. Indoor Cook-Off or Bake-Off
Cook-Offs are equal parts delicious and competitive, and are one of the best indoor activities to do with teams.
To host a company cookoff:
- Decide on a dish, such as chili, macaroni and cheese, or cookies.
- Collect chef and baker signups, preferably in teams.
- Either have entrants make food at home, or provide a space to work in. If you do not have enough ovens in the office, consider renting a commercial kitchen space for the event.
- Invite non-participating employees to try samples of the food and vote for their favorites.
- Tally the votes and name a winner.
Having the staff taste and vote on the food is a much more interactive approach than having a panel of judges pick a winner.
3. Team Meal
Team meals are by far the most popular indoor team building activity for work. These gatherings tend to be easy to coordinate. Leaders can either make a reservation at a restaurant, or arrange for catering at the office. Few folks turn down complimentary food, and communal meals are social events that encourage camaraderie and conversation. Not to mention, everybody eats daily and there are many cuisines to choose from, meaning that you can host breakfasts, lunches, or dinners as recurring team events.
4. Indoor Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are highly active team games that encourage players to move, explore, and work together to complete the lists.
To run a scavenger hunt, split the group into teams, then give teams a list of clues and commands and a time limit. At the end of the game, count up the number of objects retrieved or tasks completed for each team, and name a winner.
Here is a starter template we made for your indoor game:
Feel free to add additional prompts to your game as well.
Check out this list of scavenger hunt clues, these office scavenger hunt ideas, and these scavenger hunt apps.
5. Climbing Wall
Climbing walls are great indoor activities to do with teams. If your company is large, lucrative, and known for having a fun company culture, then you may have a climbing wall on campus. Otherwise, you and your team can visit a local climbing gym, harness up, and scale new heights. Team members can give each other pep talks and motivation, and the resulting adrenaline and dopamine rush from reaching the top of the wall can foster fond feelings between teammates.
6. Indoor Assassins
Assassins is a game that involves players pretending to be hit men and “taking out” other participants. At the start of the game, each player receives a plastic spoon and the name of a target. Players complete their missions by stealthily touching the target with the plastic spoon. Once taken out, the fallen assassins give the name of their target to the killer. The game continues until only one assassin remains. Assassins is a game of stealth and can stretch throughout the whole workday or workweek.
To make the game into more of a collaborative sport, players can form alliances in earlier rounds of the game and double cross each other towards the end of the activity. Or, participants can play as teams, and the whole team wins even if only one member remains at the end.
7. Human Chess
Human chess is an active take on a classic game. Instead of players battling each other on a board, participants become the chess pieces. To set up the game, first build the board by placing squares on the floor. A traditional chess board has 64 squares in an 8×8 grid and 16 pieces on each side, however you can adjust accordingly based on the size of your group. Next, randomly assign each player a role and have participants take the appropriate starting space on the board. Each round, teams decide on a move, and a player walks to a new square. Human chess is an exercise in group strategy and critical thinking and reinforces the importance of effective team communication.
8. Team Bulletin Board
Bulletin boards are one of the simplest team activities to do inside. Simply hang up a corkboard or claim an existing bulletin board, or section off a part of a wall for the activity. Next, choose an activity or theme for the board.
Here are a few ideas:
- Tic-tac-toe, hangman, crosswords, etc
- Coworker compliments
- Childhood or family photos
- Restaurant or food suggestions
- Draw a teammate
- Favors for coworkers- for example, tell a joke, proofread an email
- Question of the month
Then, encourage employees to interact with the board by contributing ideas or viewing coworkers’ additions.
Here is a list of icebreaker questions you can use as prompts for this activity.
9. Indoor Fort Building
Fort building helps teams show off their creativity and engineering skills, as well as embracing their inner child. For this activity, first split the group into teams, and provide each team with building materials such as sheets, cardboard, and collapsible tunnels. Then, give each team at least half an hour to construct the fort. At the end of the build time, have each team give a tour of the castle. Then, have a judge or panel decide a winner, or have the whole group cast ballots.
Pro tip: Take plenty of photos. For extra fun, you can also play games with the forts, like hide and seek or capture the flag.
10. Wine or Beer Tasting
Wine or beer tastings make excellent indoor team building activities for adults. You and your group can visit a local winery or brewery, take a tour, and sip a flight or two together. Or, you can invite a vinter or brewer to bring samples into the office and lead the team through trying the drinks together. You could even DIY your own tasting by picking up a few cans or bottles and snacks and hosting the event.
Pro tip: If you do go offsite for alcohol tastings, then be sure to arrange safe and reliable transportation, preferably by booking a service.
Check out this list of online wine tastings.
11. Indoor Museum Tours
Museum Tours are one of the best indoor team building activities for adults. Participants can view artwork, science, or history, learn about exhibits, and exchange opinions and ideas. An engaging guide can bring the subject alive and create a more interactive experience for the group. Plus, some corporate team building museum tours intentionally include participatory elements like scavenger hunts, icebreaker games, and photo ops.
For a fully facilitated event, check out Museum Hack.
12. Paint and Sips
Paint and Sips are popular indoor activities to do with teams. At these events, an artist teaches attendees how to paint a picture step by step while participants enjoy wine or a beverage of choice. The teacher breaks down the process of creating the painting so that even the most unartistic participants can recreate the image. In this activity, teammates learn a skill, express themselves creativity, and unwind with colleagues and a glass of wine. Many class leaders also run icebreaker activities. Plus, since Paint and Sips involves an art project, there is no pressure to socialize the entire class, which makes the activity more low stakes for introverts.
13. Indoor Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are one of the most popular indoor team building activities for small groups. These games are timed challenges that encourage teams to work together to solve puzzles and riddles and open a locked door. Group leaders can design and build a custom room for teams to solve, or visit a local escape room together with the team. Because the action takes place entirely inside the room, no need to worry about the weather.
Check out this guide to DIY escape rooms and this list of escape room tips and clues.
14. Murder Mysteries
Murder mysteries are roleplaying and problem-solving games that allow employees to play detective. These games follow a script and participants receive roles to play. Throughout the game, players read lines, interact, and keep on the lookout for clues. When the game concludes, players try to name the killer. Some teammates like to get in character. Using props, costumes, and decorations can also set the atmosphere and make the game more engaging.
Check out this list of virtual murder mystery games.
15. Casino Night
Casino nights are themed gatherings that give teammates a chance to test their luck. You can either load up a bus and drive the group to a local casino, or recreate the experience within the office or a rented event space.
The most critical element of a casino night is games. Be sure to set up plenty of casino-style games such as roulette wheels, Blackjack tables, and craps. Bringing in professional dealers is a nice touch, however you can use employee event staff as well. Other must-haves include fancy food, drinks, and entertainment. You can also giveaway prizes, and encourage a black-tie dress code.
16. Improv Show
Improv shows are one of the best large group indoor team building activities for employees. Improv exercises help teammates develop quick-thinking and reacting skills, and the resulting laughter from the skits can create a sense of camaraderie between group members. Not to mention, these events can spark inside jokes that stoke future conversations.
To host a team improv show, first choose a few improv games and explain the rules of each activity at the start of the skit. Next, ask for volunteers or select employees at random. Then, give the players a few moments to act out the scene in front of the audience. Unless your employees really get on a roll, two or three minutes per scene is typically sufficient.
Pro tip: Asking for scenario suggestions from the audience allows shyer teammates to participate too.
Check out this list of large group improv games.
17. Indoor Volunteering
Volunteering gives groups a shared mission, which can help foster a sense of camaraderie and common purpose. Not to mention, giving back makes folks feel good, and those positive feelings can inspire group goodwill.
You can arrange for a day of indoor volunteering for your team by choosing an inside project.
For example:
- Preparing or serving food at a soup kitchen
- Sorting books at a library fundraiser sale
- Habitat for humanity
- Tutoring
- Spending time with residents of nursing homes
For more indoor charity options, check out this list of charity team building activities, these group volunteer opportunities, and this list of online volunteering ideas.
18. Indoor Trivia Night
Trivia is one of the easiest team activities to do indoors. To set up the game, first prepare categories and questions. Then, split the group into teams and encourage participants to come up with clever team names. To play the game, a host reads out the questions and calls on teams or collects written responses, and a host or co host tallies the score. Using a large screen and adding multimedia elements like video and audio is a good idea to make the game more exciting. However, the competitive nature of the game makes trivia engaging even if played with few bells and whistles.
Check out this list of team trivia night ideas or these team trivia questions.
19. Go Kart Racing
Go Kart Racing is among the most heart-pumping activities teams can do indoors. You and your group can head to the local track, buckle in, and race each other for bragging rights. To make the activity more teamwork-based, you can split the group into teams, hold races with one member of each team at a time, and keep track of how many times each team wins.
20. The Human Knot
The human knot is one of the most popular indoor team building activities for work. Performing this maneuver does not require much space nor any special equipment.
To do the human knot:
- Players stand in a circle.
- Each group member grabs the hand of an individual on the opposite side of the circle.
- Participants then grab the hand of an entirely different team member on the other side of the ring.
- The group must untangle themselves without breaking the grip.
The beauty of this game is that it is different every time because each knot is unique.
Learn more about how to do the human knot activity.
21. Indoor Ropes Course
Indoor ropes courses are adventure-based activities that test participants’ limits and inspire teamwork. While many ropes courses are outdoors, there are also many indoor adventure courses, particularly inside of malls and gyms. If the nearest attraction is too far from your office, then you can also DIY your own ropes course by setting up some simple obstacles such as tightropes, cones, and seesaws, and invite teams to work together to complete physical challenges.
22. Indoor Movie Night
Movie nights are excellent indoor team building activities for large groups. To set up the event, first choose a flick, then secure a large screen and projector. Next, set up seats. The comfier the better for seating– if possible, then wrangle couches, bean bag chairs, and oversized pillows. Be sure to provide plenty of snacks such as ice cream, nachos, and, of course, popcorn. Then, gather your group and start the film.
To make the movie more interactive, the group can have a discussion afterwards, or provide commentary during the screening. You can also pause the movie and ask volunteers to reenact scenes.
Or, to skip the setup, simply visit your local cinema. You may even be able to rent out a theatre for your team.
Here is a list of team building movies.
23. Team Timeline
Making a team timeline gives coworkers a glimpse into each other’s lives. You can make a physical timeline on a wall or bulletin board, or use software to create a digital timeline. Have each team member choose a color or marker and note important happenings on the timeline.
Examples of events to include:
- Finished college
- Got married
- Had kids
- Got hired
- First concert
- First time travelling abroad
- Bought a house
Not every entry needs to be a momentous event. For example, you can include prompts like “learned how to code,” “mastered meditating,” or “tried bubble tea for the first time.” You can also leave entries open-ended and allow teammates to add events that they deem significant.
Note that points on the timeline should be optional. While sharing common experiences can help to highlight similarities, age can be a sensitive topic in the workplace, some folks follow less traditional lifestyles, and some teammates are more private than others.
You can hang the timeline in a common space, and invite new members to add to it upon joining the team.
24. Indoor Question Tag
Question Tag is one of the easiest team building activities to do indoors. Participants “tag” each other by asking a coworker a question. The chosen teammate must answer the question and then repeat the question and answer to a new teammate before asking a new question. You can play the game by passing notes, sending emails, or chatting face-to-face.
Here is a random question generator tool to use for the game.
25. Exquisite Corpse
Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative word game that mimics the game of telephone. Players write a story one line at a time by passing around a sheet of paper. Before passing the paper, the writer folds the sheet so that only the last written sentence is visible. This process continues until every player has contributed one sentence. Then, the last participant in line unfolds the paper and reads the entire story, often with hilarious results.
This activity emphasizes the need for communication and context when working together. If your group is more visual than linguistic, then you can also play the game by drawing instead of writing.
Check out more vocabulary games for teams.
26. Truth or Dare
Truth or Dare is not only a sleepover favorite, but also a fun team building game playable indoors. This question game can break the ice and push participants out of their comfort zones. The activity can also reveal personal details and amusing anecdotes that otherwise would not arise in the course of casual workplace conversation.
Note that any questions or challenges should be work-appropriate and respectful, and no player should be made to feel uncomfortable.
Here is a work-safe truth or date prompt generator to use for the game.
27. Extreme Office Makeovers
Extreme office makeovers give coworkers a chance to be either generous or mischievous. Teams sign up to participate, and draw the name of another team’s space to redecorate. For example, participants may cover a cubicle in wrapping paper or hang up posts of ponies in an office suite. Or, less prank-happy players may gift coworkers a French press or a framed team photo. To give the activity more structure, you can set a budget and ground rules. You can even aim for a mix of funny and kind approaches by instructing participants to decorate with one silly feature and one nice feature.
You can also use the activity as an opportunity to decorate the office for holidays.
28. Office Holiday Party
Holiday parties are one of the most common team building events, and one of the easiest activities for coworkers to do together inside. The most common holiday parties are annual corporate Christmas parties. However, you and your team can celebrate occasions together throughout the year, such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or Talk Like a Pirate Day.
To host a team party, reserve a space, decorate, and get food and drinks. Then, invite employees to mingle and relax together. Planning games and activities for the party can help keep guests engaged and interacting.
Here is a collection of ways to celebrate holidays at work.
29. Charades
Charades is one of the easiest indoor games to play with teams. The game requires no supplies, other than prompts, which you can either think up or pick using a charades generator. To make the game more interesting, you can choose a specific theme.
For example:
- Romantic comedies
- Inside jokes in the office
- International
- Band names
- Food
- Children’s Books
- Famous Quotes
- Common Sayings
To play Charades, split the group into teams. Each team member will take turns acting out a prompt, while the team tries to guess the word in under sixty seconds.
30. Pictionary
Pictionary is a popular party game that also makes one of the most fun indoor team building activities for small groups. Similar to charades, the group breaks into teams and tries to guess a prompt. Instead of acting out the prompt, team members draw a picture of the assigned word or phrase. Teams have up to 60 seconds to guess the object in the drawing.
The canvas for the game can be a whiteboard, a large piece of paper, or a digital whiteboard. Or, for an extra fun twist on the game, have players wear white T-shirts and draw the prompts on each other’s backs.
31. The Floor Is Lava
The Floor Is Lava is a game that challenges players to move across the room without touching the ground. Playing in teams adds an extra challenge to the game, as participants must figure out how to get the whole team across the space. You can add another interesting twist by allowing teams to sabotage each other and throw obstacles in each other’s way. For example, by moving a chair out of the way and claiming it melted. Or, you can turn the game into a race and time teams on how long it takes to cross the room.
Pro tip: Feel free to award bonus points for creativity in crossing or impressive athletic feats.
32. Life Raft
Life Raft is a team survival game. The premise of the game is that the group is on a sinking ship and must fit all team members on a tiny life raft. A wooden pallet, piece of cardboard, or square of tape on the floor can represent the raft. When the game leader shouts “all aboard!” all team members must fit within the raft with no feet on the ground outside the square. You can time the team, or have multiple teams race against each other. If the team quickly completes the challenge, then you can also make the square smaller and have the group try again.
33. Rage Rooms
Sometimes, teams need to blow off steam and destroy objects together instead of creating together. Rage rooms are some of the most eccentric yet memorable indoor team building activities for work. At these attractions, participants don protective gear, grab a baseball bat or sledgehammer, and smash plates, glasses, old electronics, and other breakables. Best of all, the rage room staff will clean up the mess!
34. Indoor Cooking Classes
Cooking Classes are one of the most hands-on indoor activities for teams. At these events, teammates learn how to whip up delicious dishes together. Classmates may cook individually, or work together to prepare food as pairs or groups. Best of all, at the end of the event, participants get to indulge in their creations and enjoy a meal together.
Here is a list of online group cooking classes.
Final Thoughts
Team building is best as an ongoing effort, which means even in cold months or on days with bad weather. In fact, team outings can be most effective during less-than-sunny seasons, since teams may be most in need of a morale boost during these periods. You can lead high energy, indoor team games and impactful group activities in almost any space. There are plenty of fun games, ideas, and exercises teams can complete without ever leaving the office, or by visiting a nearby indoor attraction.
Next, check out this guide to relationship building games, this list of communication games and these fun group activities for work.
We also have a list of community building games to play at work, list of team building event ideas, games for morning meetings and small group team building activities.
Angela Robinson