You found our list of fun morning meeting games.
Morning meeting games are beginning-of-day energizers for the first meeting of the day. For example, icebreaker roulette, lightning scavenger hunts, and word jumbles. The purpose of these exercises is to get team members thinking and interacting at the start of the workday.
These activities are a subcategory of team meetings games, and are examples of energizer activities, team building games and five minute team building games, and often include icebreaker games. These games are often part of virtual morning meetings and quick team building sessions.
This article includes:
- fun morning meeting games
- morning meeting energizers
- morning huddle ideas
- team huddle ideas
- morning meeting activities
- Monday morning meeting ideas
Here we go!
List of morning meeting games
From Simon Says to Scavenger Hunts, here is a list of games for morning meetings to start the workday off with energy, positivity, and problem-solving.
1. Morning Mad Libs
Morning Mad Libs is one of the most fun games to play in morning meetings. This activity starts the workday off with laughter. To do this activity, one teammate acts as the reader and prompts the other players for certain types of words, like nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The remaining participants volunteer words without knowing the context of the surrounding sentence. Once all the blanks are complete, the reader reads the story, and the results are often hilarious.
We made some templates you can print out and hand out at the morning meeting.
You could also play the game virtually by sending teams into breakout rooms with a fillable form.
2. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow is a game that encourages players to both plan and reflect. To play this game, each participant takes a turn listing off one task or achievement they completed the day before, one they plan to finish today, and one on the agenda for tomorrow. Players who share the same goals or accomplishments should exchange high fives.
At the start of each game, you can take a moment to praise employees who managed to meet these goals since the last time you played.
3. Where You Are, Squared
Where You Are, Squared is one of the easiest hybrid morning meeting activities. To play this game, employees take turns giving work status updates, followed by a quick tour of their home office and surrounding environment. Players can either walk the webcam around the room, describe the locale, or send pictures.
This exercise helps remote and hybrid colleagues stay connected and keep tabs on each other when outside the office. Not to mention, the activity also encourages a sense of adventure, as attendees get a chance to glimpse different destinations via the video call.
Check out more fun question games to play in groups.
4. Guess the Breakfast
Guess the Breakfast is one of the most simple morning meeting games. Players take turns guessing what other participants had for breakfast. Each round, the team can collectively ask up to three questions to narrow down the options.
For example:
- Is it a standard breakfast food?
- Is it cold?
- Is it sweet?
To make the game more interesting, we recommend adding a rule that states players cannot ask the same question more than once during the game. You can also think up unusual or funny questions, such as “would it still be appetizing if you put it in a blender?” or “would you find this dish on the menu of a sketchy diner?”
One plus side of this exercise is that it encourages teammates to eat breakfast.
Check out this list of the best office breakfast ideas for inspiration.
5. Icebreaker Roulette
Icebreaker Roulette is one of the easiest morning meeting games for Zoom. To run this activity, first send attendees a link to a random question generator. Next, split participants into breakout rooms and give each group a few minutes to answer as many random questions as possible. When teammates reconvene in the main room, players can share the most interesting answers, and you can also award points to the teams who managed to answer the most questions.
To facilitate more intimate conversations, split the group into the smallest breakout rooms possible. You can also play multiple rounds and randomize rooms each time so that remote teammates have the chance to interact with as many coworkers as possible.
Check out this long list of icebreaker questions and this list with more creative breakout session ideas.
6. Simon Says
Simon Says is one of the simplest games for morning meetings. The meeting host acts as a leader and shouts out commands. However, team members must only obey orders that start with the phrase “Simon says…” Any player who acts out of turn is out. The game continues for a set number of rounds or until only one player remains.
This exercise sharpens listening skills and helps sleepy employees become more alert.
Here are some starter prompts:
- Hop on one foot
- Clap three times
- Flex a muscle
- Sit down
- Stand up
- Shout “Onion Rings!”
- Take your shoes off
- Close your eyes
- Drink some coffee
- Laugh like a hyena
To play the game virtually, make players turn webcams off upon getting out. For in person games, players will move to the side after getting caught acting out of turn.
7. This Date in History
This Date in History is a mini trivia game that tests players’ knowledge of the past. To run this activity, read off a list of three to four events. All but one of the listed items should be true, and one event should be fictional. Players must guess which tidbit is made-up.
For example: On this day in history June 10
- US Equal Pay Act signed into law by President John F. Kennedy
- Apple Computer ships its first Apple II computers
- Ronald and Nancy Reagan Marry
- Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde” premieres in Munich, Germany
The fake fact is C, since the Rageans actually married in March.
Feel free to swap the fake-to-fact ratio and include only one true event, or change the number of actual events every round. Just be sure to let players know how many correct answers there are before guessing.
You can use On This Day to generate content for the game. Just be sure that players do not peek at the website because that is cheating!
Check out more team trivia game ideas.
8. Mock Interview
Mock Interview is a fun guessing game that gets teams thinking in the morning. At the start of each round, one participant plays the part of the interviewee and picks a character to play. Other players must guess the identity of the character based on the player’s answers to interview questions. The “interviewers” can ask between five to ten questions before wagering guesses. If players guess correctly, the interviewers win the point, otherwise, the point goes to the interviewee.
9. Lightning Scavenger Hunts
Lightning Scavenger Hunts are fun morning activities that encourage movement. These games work well in both remote and in-person settings. To run the hunt, an emcee reads off prompts one at a time. Players must race around the office or home office to retrieve the requested objects. The first player to return onscreen or to the meeting table with the item in hand scores a point.
Note that for bigger or harder to move objects, players can take a picture instead of lugging the item back to the meeting.
Here is a template of starter prompts we made for your game:
- Dirty coffee cup
- Novelty pen
- Paper calendar
- Shredded document
- Bagel
- Umbrella
- Employee ID badge
- Logo sweatshirt
- Company mascot
- Newspaper
- White-out
- Piece of fruit
- Car keys
These games should have a time limit, and participants should not spend more than a minute or two running for clues. Feel free to add your own prompts to the game as well.
Learn about lightning scavenger hunts, and check out more virtual scavenger hunt ideas.
10. Morning Crosswords
Morning Crosswords are one of the best morning meeting activities for adults. To complete this exercise, either hand out paper copies of the crossword if meeting in person, or send virtual attendees a link or file of the puzzle. If completing the puzzle virtually, one team member can share the screen and enable the annotation feature so that other players can type in letters. The team should take a screenshot of the almost-complete puzzle before leaving the breakout room. In-person teams can complete the puzzle on paper, and turn it in for a prize.
Here is a free crossword game from USA Today, or you can make your own puzzle.
Check out more problem solving games.
11. Follow the Leader Dance-Off
Follow the Leader Dance-Offs are a fun way to get attendees up and moving in the morning and can serve as a staff morale booster. To do this activity, first choose one team member as the leader. You can assign a different team leader for every meeting. The leader chooses a song, and starts a dance. The other players mimic the leader’s dance moves. During each round, the last player to copy the dance moves is out. You can also assign a judge to watch the dancers and call out the slowest participants. The game continues until the song ends or only one player remains. That player will be the leader for the next game, or you can pick a random leader.
Pro tip: After getting out, players can still participate by acting as saboteurs and performing rogue dance moves to distract active players.
12. Morning Word Jumbles
Word Jumbles get teams thinking in the morning and are a good communication exercise. Simply give participants a puzzle sheet to solve and a time limit. If playing the game in person, hand out paper puzzles. If you are playing the game virtually, then you can either create a fillable PDF or cloud-based form for teams to complete, or display the game board via screen share and give points to the first team who unscrambles the word correctly in the chat.
Check out more vocabulary games.
13. Wave Yoga
Wave Yoga is a collaborative morning stretch. Before starting the flow, designate an order. Each participant will take a turn choosing the next yoga move. For ultimate zen, stay silent and transition into the next pose without speaking. This approach will also heighten practitioners’ attention and body-reading skills. The exercise encourages teams to pay attention to nonverbal cues and be observant, and also gets the group moving in the morning.
Depending on the size of the class, each member could either do a few moves, or just one. The stretch should be on the short side and should not take more than fifteen or twenty minutes tops.
Check out more ideas for team building yoga.
14. What’s New in My Office?
What’s New in My Office? is one of the most fun virtual morning meeting games. Before the meeting begins, each attendee adds one new feature to the home office. This addition can be subtle, such as a houseplant or a poster, or obvious, such as a giant paper mache cactus sculpture or a pink plastic lawn flamingo wearing sunglasses. To play the game, spotlight each player one by one, and then give participants thirty seconds to one minute to spot the new object. Players can shout out answers or answer in the chat. The first player to guess the item wins a point. The attendee with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Pro tip: To prevent players from snooping ahead, have each attendee join the meeting with video off, and only switch the webcam on during their turn.
15. Standing, Sitting, Laying
Standing, Sitting, Laying is an improv game that warms up teams’ quick-thinking and reacting skills. To do this activity, first choose three team members to act out the scene, or ask for three volunteers. The rest of the group can suggest the scene setting and situation.
During the game, there must be an actor standing, sitting, and laying down at all times. To encourage the actors to move, the audience can ring a bell so that participants switch positions.
Check out more group improv games.
16. Breakfast Time Brainteasers
Starting morning meetings with brainteasers is one way to snap your team out of the pre-caffeine sleepy zombie haze. Simply search for a short brain teaser activity, then read out the prompts or project the riddle on screen and give your teams a few minutes to solve the challenge. These puzzles can either be individual or team-based. Plus, solving a problem so early in the morning can give team members the confidence necessary to tackle issues throughout the rest of the day.
Check out more team building brain teasers.
17. Quote of the Morning
Quote of the Morning is a guessing game that can also spark thought and discussion among teams. There are two ways to play. You could either give participants the entire quote and ask them to identify the speaker, or give players half the quote and challenge them to fill in the rest. Whichever team member matches the quote to the speaker or finishes the phrase first wins the game.
Pro tip: After the game ends, take a minute to talk about the quote and how it can apply to the workplace. You can also make the game more interactive by assigning a different team member to prepare the quote for every meeting.
Check out these lists of quotes for inspiration.
18. Employee of the Day
Employee of the Day is a peer-to-peer recognition activity. At the start of the morning meeting, announce a theme for the day’s award, for example teamwork, attention to detail, or positive attitude. You can align the awards to company values, or spotlight a trait you want to cultivate more of in your workspace.
Next, give employees a few moments to nominate team members that embody this quality. If your team is meeting virtually, then you can use the polling function to collect votes. You can also ask team members to submit short messages explaining the reason for the nomination. This version of the activity encourages gratitude, praise, and recognition between teammates.
Finally, tally the results and announce an honoree by the end of the meeting. Be sure to read out the messages, and encourage other teammates to message the honoree. You can also send the daily winner a small gift such as a coffee gift card or complimentary lunch.
For similar activities, check out this list of employee of the month ideas.
Final Thoughts
Morning meetings can be rough on late risers. Some team members may not be fully awake or alert in the early hours of the workday, and may struggle to make conversation or otherwise function. Games can take the sting off of waking up early and jumping directly into the workday. These activities are a way to start the day with fun, energy, and camaraderie. Not to mention, friendly competition first thing in the morning can amp up the team’s achievement throughout the day.
Next, check out this list of video call games and these ideas for team meetings at work.
Angela Robinson