Updated: February 26, 2023

27 Fun Virtual Meeting Games to Energize Employees

Here is our list of fun virtual meeting games.

Virtual meeting games are group activities to play on platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Webex. These challenges use websites or simple onscreen activities to connect players. For example, online escape rooms, trivia games, and virtual happy hours. The purpose of these activities is to energize online meetings and to help remote coworkers interact.

These exercises are online versions of team meeting games, and are examples of video call games, activities for conference calls and virtual team meeting ideas, and are a way to make virtual meetings fun.

This list includes:

  • virtual meeting room games
  • games for virtual meetings
  • online meeting energizers

Here we go!

List of virtual meeting games

Virtual meeting games include guided online activities, competitive tasks, and board games. Here is a selection of games and activities that are easy to use, including many free virtual meeting game options.

1. Buzzword Bingo

Buzzword Bingo is an easy virtual meeting game. Simply email your team Bingo cards filled with common meeting phrases. Each time players hear a phrase on the card they can mark it off. The first player to have five marked squares is the winner. You can also make requirements for horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines.

Some fun Buzzword Bingo Words to use:

For more card options, check out this icebreaker Bingo generator.

2. Virtual Escape Room

Virtual escape rooms are great collaborative games for remote teams. These challenges present puzzles and clues that players solve to earn their escape. Themes range from murder mysteries to globe-hopping treasure hunts. Some companies charge a fee per player, however, many virtual escape room options are free.

Here is a list of virtual escape rooms.

3. Online Drinking Games

Online Drinking Games are great virtual meeting games for large groups. There are many challenges to complete with teams during online happy hours. For instance, the group can compete in an online cocktail mix-off, drink every time a word or phrase appears, or play truth or dare. Your team can also raise a few toasts to accomplishments and face off to create the best toast on the spot.

If participants do not drink alcohol or if you would rather not encourage on-the-clock drinking, then players can use non-alcoholic drinks like coffee, soda, or water.

Check out this list of online drinking games.

4. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts send your teammates around their houses and are an excellent way to get meeting participants moving and energized. The meeting leader creates a list of unique objects for players to find. You can organize the list using items from specific rooms in the house. Hyper-specific objects like one used eraser, one red jellybean, and one blue button, will make the search extra challenging.

Here are virtual scavenger hunt starter lists.

5. Search Engine Savvy

Search Engine Savvy is a virtual meeting game that uses internet searches to lead players around the World Wide Web! You can create a treasure map that identifies exotic items in various locations. Your team then searches for those images. Each player makes a catalog by pasting screenshots into a document or spreadsheet to present to the team. Each participant will end up with a unique take on the hunt.

Some starter suggestions:

  • Exotic animals
  • Expensive cars
  • Landmarks
  • Special flowers, plants, and trees
  • Unique buildings
  • Flags
  • Monuments
  • Street signs with specific names or words

You can also include meaningful items to your team members or your organization.

6. Coffee Talk

Online coffee talk sessions are fun virtual meeting games to play with employees as a get-to-know-you activity. Using an app like Donut, you can pair up your team members and encourage participants to schedule a 15 or 30 minute video call. Partners can discuss hobbies and interests, friends and family, or work and professional goals. The only rule is to avoid work talk! During meetings, you can also facilitate the activity by sending attendees to breakout rooms in random pairs.

The goal of this game is to help team members become more familiar with one another.

Check out more get to know you activities, and this guide to virtual coffee breaks.

7. Teammate Trivia

To prepare Teammate Trivia, teammates provide a list of little-known details about themselves. For instance, middle names, childhood pets, and favorite vacations are all easy options. Then, the leader reads a few items from the list while other players guess the teammate. You can also use an app like Kahoot to facilitate the game. This quiz is an engaging, budget-friendly virtual meeting game that helps your coworkers know each other better.

Here is a list of get to know you questions you can use as trivia prompts, and a guide to virtual trivia.

8. Virtual Murder Mystery

A virtual murder mystery makes a fun and sinister virtual meeting game that encourages critical thinking. Each team member can assume a character profile and work toward solving the mystery while keeping secrets guarded. This game is a fun way to bring your team together to practice collaboration and deductive reasoning.

Here is a list of virtual murder mysteries.

9. Online Karaoke

Online karaoke is a great virtual meeting game to get your teammates engaged. You can coordinate an online karaoke session featuring your choice of genres or eras. Attendees take turns following the lyrics on the screen and sing into their microphones. You can encourage team members to prepare food and drinks to snack on to recreate the atmosphere of a real karaoke bar.

There are online karaoke sites like Karafun and Singa that give you a platform for your event. Some offer free versions, while other sites require a subscription.

10. Talent Showcase

You can host a talent showcase that lets your attendees become stars of the virtual meeting. Employees can perform a skit, sing a song, or demonstrate a talent. Encourage team members to choose their most incredible talent to showcase. Bizarre and unexpected talents make for an especially fun event. To do the showcase during an online meeting, spotlight each performer accordingly.

Pro tip: Performers with similar talents can team up for group acts and practice collaboration.

Check out this guide to doing online talent shows.

11. Name That Tune

Name That Tune is a familiar activity you can adapt for virtual staff meeting games.

How to play:

  1. The game leader creates a playlist of well-known songs.
  2. The game leader asks player one how many seconds they need to hear to guess the name of the song. Then, the game leader asks player two the same question.
  3. The player who bids the smaller number tries to guess the name of the song after hearing their chosen length.
  4. If that player cannot guess the song, then the other player has a chance to guess.
  5. The player who guesses the correct answer wins and moves on to challenge another player. If neither player guesses the answer, the leader moves on to two new players.

Here is a list of high energy songs for conferences that work well for this game.

12. Headline or Head Lie?

Headline or Head Lie? is a virtual team meeting game that tests the internet savvy of your team.

Here are the rules:

  1. The game leader gathers true headlines from around the internet.
  2. The game leader creates two alternate headlines for each headline.
  3. The game leader asks the attendees to choose which of the three is the true headline.

Pro tip: You can try to make your Head Lies as believable as possible to confuse players!

13. Story-Go-Round

Story-Go-Round is an interactive virtual game that encourages creativity from your team. The meeting host can collect a series of simple story prompts such as “Once upon a time,” “Deep in the woods,” and “On a planet far, far away.” The host then begins the story with a prompt and one or two lines before passing the tale to another teammate. This player adds a line or two before passing to another teammate. The story grows and changes each time a new storyteller takes the lead.

14. Show and Tell

Show and Tell can turn your virtual meeting into an online showcase. In this exercise, your teammates select a favorite item to share during the event. Then, participants can spend a few minutes describing the significance of the item and what makes it special. If your teammate is reluctant to share a sentimental possession, then you can ask them to choose a random item and create an entertaining story about it. This game is good for setting a relaxed tone at the beginning of a meeting.

15. Pizza vs. Burgers Challenge

Surveys like Pizza vs. Burgers are fun virtual meeting games to play with employees who like competition. The game leader creates a series of items to vote for, pairings such as pizza vs. burgers, coffee vs. tea, or chocolate vs. vanilla. The winning item from each round moves on to the next round. For example, if you begin with chocolate vs. vanilla and chocolate wins, then the next challenge is chocolate vs. mint. If mint wins, then the next challenge is mint vs. strawberry, and so on. You can list enough options for 10 or 12 rounds.

This game is similar to This or That.

16. Virtual Pet Day

You can invite your teammates to show off their pets with a virtual pet day! If a member does not have a pet to share, then you can suggest that they choose their favorite would-be pet. Participants can pick any animal they want, give it a name and present a fictional account of the chosen pet. Any imagined animal will count, even lions and giraffes!

For more online animal fun, check out virtual Take Your Dog To Work Day ideas.

17. I Spy

Online versions of I Spy make simple yet enjoyable remote meeting games for employees. Your teammates can use items in their home offices as items to “spy.”

Here are the rules:

  1. The leader chooses an item found in the background of an onscreen player.
  2. The leader declares, “I spy with my little eye something…” and describes a quality or

characteristic of the item.

  1. The other players search their screens and try to figure out what item the leader describes.
  2. The first person to call out the correct item is the next leader.
  3. If the item is not identified after the first clue, the leader gives another clue, until a player guesses the item.

You can encourage your team members to choose an item to place in a visible part of the room before the game begins. This step will ensure that all players can see the object.

18. Have You Ever?

Have You Ever? is a fun icebreaker or get-to-know-you activity for virtual meetings. For this virtual meeting game, the team leader reads from a list of possible behaviors, such as breaking a bone, traveling to a foreign country, or riding in a limo. Then, players check off actions they have experienced. Each item is worth one point. At the end of the game, players share their answers for each item and total points. The player with the highest point total wins.

Here is a list of Never Have I Ever questions you can use for this game.

19. Bake Shop Recipe Swap

Bake Shop Recipe Swap gets your teammates in the kitchen for a tasty homemade treat. This activity requires prep work. You can send out instructions several days before the meeting. For this game, each team member chooses a favorite baking recipe. Team members create a batch at home to sample on screen. The bakers describe what their creation is and what makes it so unique. Teammates or judges can score the products based on presentation and perceived deliciousness. Participants can also type up recipes to send to the rest of the group.

Pro tip: The team leader can print the recipes and create a recipe book as a thoughtful keepsake for team members.

20. Taste Test

Taste Test gives your team a chance to test powers of deduction. For this virtual meeting game, each player chooses a food or drink to taste test, keeping it out of view of the camera. The snack can be a favorite item or new food. The player turns their camera off to taste the item and describes the flavor and texture. The other attendees try to guess the food. The teammate who guesses the answer is the next taste tester.

21. Read My Lips

In the virtual game Read My Lips, one team member mutes their microphone and speaks a well-known phrase, title, or name. The other team members try to guess the phrase by reading the player’s lips. You can create a list of phrases for the players to use, with category headers for each item. Some subjects that make great categories are song lyrics, cereal names, celebrities and movie titles.

22. Pyramid Guessing Game

Pyramid Guessing Game is a virtual meeting game modeled after the popular television game show.

Here are the rules:

  1. The game leader prepares several lists of six familiar topics. Some examples: Things You Might See at a Beach, Items in a Fridge, and Things You Might Take Camping.
  2. The team divides into smaller teams of two.
  3. The game leader sets a one-minute timer.
  4. Player one receives a list of topics.
  5. Player one provides player two clues without using any words in the topic.
  6. Player two tries to guess the topic.
  7. If player two guesses the topic, player one gives clues to the next topic.

The team that scores the highest wins the round.

Check out more virtual game show ideas.

23. Teammate Talk Show

Teammate Talk Show is an easy virtual meeting game that puts your teammates in the spotlight. For this exercise, you can select a guest of the week and create a list of 10 get-to-know-you questions to send them. During the meeting, the leader interviews the guest of the week, expanding the conversation based on answers given by the guest. The audience can raise their hands and ask questions of the guest.

Here are some random questions.

24. Virtual Gift Exchange

Virtual gift exchanges are great holiday virtual meeting games when an actual gift exchange is impossible. In this activity, your teammates email each other ultimate wish lists. Then, players can “shop” online to find an image of the perfect gift to send to the recipient. The team members open their gifts one by one and share their reactions. If your team is too large to shop for all team members, then you can trade names beforehand for a secret swap to help the game move quicker.

Check out these guides to virtual Secret Santa and Virtual White Elephant exchanges.

25. Emoji Guessing Game

For this game, attendees try to figure out everyday items and phrases using a series of emojis. Players can work alone or in teams to decrypt the messages. You can create a list by selecting emojis in Word and emailing your list to your team members. A list of 15 to 20 phrases works well.

Here is an online version of an emoji guessing game you can use, too.

26. You Know What They Say

You Know What They Say is a virtual meeting game that tests the collective knowledge of your team.

These are the guidelines:

  1. The leader gathers a list of familiar proverbs, sayings, and phrases.
  2. The leader prompts players with single-word topics related to the list.
  3. Each player offers their best phrase, idiom, or saying based on that word. For example, the topic “dog” might inspire the phrases “Every dog has their day,” “Let sleeping dogs lie,” and “When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”

Here is a list of familiar phrases you can use for this exercise.

27. Sharing GIFs

Sharing GIFs is a virtual meeting game that helps your teammates express thoughts and feelings. In this activity, your teammates share the GIFs that best illustrate their spirit, feeling, or mood during the meeting. Players can also choose GIFs to express their feelings about how their day or week is going. Before starting, you can specify that the GIFs should be work appropriate.

Conclusion

Remote teammates can find it challenging to stay engaged with one another. Virtual games for meetings help folks remain connected. These activities also offer co-workers an opportunity to see a more personal side of each other. Virtual games that require cooperation and collaboration can help the whole team feel included and involved.

Next, check out this list of team meeting ideas, this collection of virtual morning meeting ideas, and these virtual energizers for work. Plus this list of fun online team games.

FAQ: Virtual meeting games

Here are answers to questions about virtual meeting games.

What are virtual meeting games?

Virtual meeting games are fun activities played online by remote teams using video conferencing programs like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. These games utilize video and audio connections to engage team members in fun and interesting ways. Virtual meeting games are great for breaking the ice or helping teams relax and decompress.

What are some good free games for virtual meetings?

Scavenger hunts, get-to-know-yous, and trivia games are good free games for virtual meetings. Online escape rooms, buzzword bingo games, and karaoke websites also make fun corporate virtual meeting games. Simple get-togethers like talent shows and recipe swaps make good free games for virtual meetings as well.

How do you play games during video calls?

You can play games during video calls by emailing rules and guidelines to attendees. Make sure all players understand the rules of the game. You can use video cues for games like charades or I Spy. You can use audio features as well, such as muting the lead player in Read My Lips games. There are also breakout rooms available to separate your team into smaller groups for strategic play.

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Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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