Team Building Games

Aardvark Relay

To play this game, you will need to divide the group into teams (the number of teams depends on the area you have available and group size). 

You will need some equipment for this game.  Place empty bowls on one side of the room and bowls full of dried peas on the other side.  Make sure there is an equal number of peas in each bowl.  Give each team member a straw. 

The aim of the game is for each team to transport a small pile of dried peas from a bowl on one side of the room to another bowl on the other side, using only their straw.  They do this by sucking through the straw so the pea stays fixed to the end of the straw.  If they drop the pea they must pick it up again using the straw

The winning team is the one that transports all the peas first. 

All Stars

Give each person a piece of paper and have them draw a self-portrait.  Ask them to put their name on it (in case it's not obvious who it is!).  You can spend a little or a long time on this first half of the activity.  

When everyone is finished, stick them all up on a wall.  

The second step of this exercise involves handing out some stars.  Each person should write a positive adjective describing each person and stick it on their self-portrait.  

Animal Farm

This is a quick, fun activity to divide your group into smaller groups.  

Give each person a card or post-it note with the name of a farm animal on it (ie. Cow, Pig, Horse, Sheep, etc).  To find the rest of their group, they must make the sound of the animal from their card, and then assemble into groups based on their animal (ie. all the pigs together, all the sheep, etc).  

Variations include blindfolding participants, or having different types of sounds (nursery rhymes, etc)

Banana Surgery

Split your group up into smaller groups, and give each group a banana, cutting board and plastic knife.  Each group should cut the banana into 4 or 5 equal sized pieces.  (don't tell them what the next steps are at this point).

Then hand out banana surgery kits - pins, string, sticky tape, tooth picks, rubber bands etc.  The goal is for each group to reassemble the banana.

The lesson from this game is that some things (relationships, trust, reputation, bananas!) are easy to break but more difficult to put back together.  

Birthday Bash

Setup a circle a set of chairs with one less chair then the amount of people present.

Make one person "it".

Go around the circle and have each person state which month he or she is born in. The "it" person calls a month and everyone with that month must switch seats. The "it" can also call multiple months and if the "it" would like everyone to move seats the person calls out "Birthday Bash" and then everyone is required to switch seats. The person left out is the new "it".

Blanket Volleyball

This game is just like normal volleyball, but each team is given a blanket.  

The team should stand around the edge of the blanket, stretching it out so it is tight.  The 'serving' team should start by placing the ball on the blanket,  loosening then brining it tight so it 'throws' the ball over the net.  The other team then use their blanket to catch the ball then throw it back.

It's an interesting and fun variation to a game we're all familiar with.

Build a bridge

The idea of this game is simple - split your group into teams of 3 or 4, and give each team a "Building Kit" (explained below) and a bowl of water.  Each group has 30 minutes to build a bridge to span across a bowl of water. 

At the end of 30 minutes, each group has to demonstrate their bridge.  You then test it for strength by adding pebbles one at a time, until the bridge collapses.  The team with the strongest bridge wins!

Building Kit

The Building Kit is a shoebox with a variety of building materials.  For example:

·         Ice cream sticks

·         Putty / Bluetack / Elmer's Tack

·         Paper clips

·         String

·         Glue

·         etc

Make sure each group has the same amount of materials, just to keep things fair.

Caterpillar Race

Form teams of equal size, with five to seven players on each team (3 also works). Have kids think up one-syllable names for their teams. Then line teams up next to each other behind a starting line.

Instruct team members to place hands on the shoulders of the team members in front of them and race to a finish line according to the following rules of movement: The first person in line may hop one step forward. Continue down the line until the last person in line hops one step forward. After the last person hops, he or she must shout the team name. Then the whole team may hop one step forward at the same time. Repeat this process to move the caterpillar along.

Players must keep their hands on the shoulders of the team members in front of them at all times during the race. Players may move forward only by hopping one step forward with both feet at once. If a team member breaks any of the above rules, it must return to the starting line and begin again.

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking

1. If You Build it…

This team-building game is flexible. Simply divide students into teams and give them equal amounts of a certain material, like pipe cleaners, blocks, or even dried spaghetti and marshmallows. Then, give them something to construct. The challenge can be variable (think: Which team can build the tallest, structurally-sound castle? Which team can build a castle the fastest?).

You can recycle this activity throughout the year by adapting the challenge or materials to specific content areas.

Skills: Communication; problem-solving

2. Save the Egg

This activity can get messy and may be suitable for older children who can follow safety guidelines when working with raw eggs. Teams must work together to find a way to “save” the egg (Humpty Dumpty for elementary school students?) — in this case an egg dropped from a specific height. That could involve finding the perfect soft landing, or creating a device that guides the egg safely to the ground. Let their creativity work here.

Skills: Problem-solving, creative collaboration

3. Zoom

Zoom is a classic classroom cooperative game that never seems to go out of style. Simply form students into a circle and give each a unique picture of an object, animal or whatever else suits your fancy. You begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.

Skills: Communication; creative collaboration

4. Minefield

Another classic team-building game. Arrange some sort of obstacle course and divide students into teams. Students take turns navigating the “mine field” while blindfolded, with only their teammates to guide them. You can also require students to only use certain words or clues to make it challenging or content-area specific.

Skills: Communication; trust

5. The Worst-Case Scenario

Fabricate a scenario in which students would need to work together and solve problems to succeed, like being stranded on a deserted island or getting lost at sea. Ask them to work together to concoct a solution that ensures everyone arrives safely. You might ask them to come up with a list of 10 must-have items that would help them most, or a creative passage to safety. Encourage them to vote — everyone must agree to the final solution.

Skills: Communication, problem-solving

6. A Shrinking Vessel

This game requires a good deal of strategy in addition to team work. Its rules are deceptively simple: The entire group must find a way to occupy a space that shrinks over time, until they are packed creatively like sardines. You can form the boundary with a rope, a tarp or blanket being folded over or small traffic cones. (Skills: Problem-solving; teamwork)

7. Go for Gold

This game is similar to the “If you build it” game: Teams have a common objective, but instead of each one having the same materials, they have access to a whole cache of materials. For instance, the goal might be to create a contraption with pipes, rubber tubing and pieces of cardboard that can carry a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of steps, using only gravity.

Creative collaboration; communication; problem-solving

8. It’s a Mystery

Many children (and grown-ups) enjoy a good mystery, so why not design one that must be solved cooperatively? Give each student a numbered clue. In order to solve the mystery — say, the case of the missing mascot — children must work together to solve the clues in order. The “case” might require them to move from one area of the room to the next, uncovering more clues.

Skills: Problem-solving, communication

9. 4-Way Tug-of-War 

That playground classic is still a hit — not to mention inexpensive and simple to execute. For a unique variation, set up a multi-directional game by tying ropes in such a way that three or four teams tug at once. Some teams might choose to work together to eliminate the other groups before going head-to-head.

Skills: Team work; sportsmanship

10. Keep it Real

This open-ended concept is simple and serves as an excellent segue into problem-based learning. Challenge students to identify and cooperatively solve a real problem in their schools or communities. You may set the parameters, including a time limit, materials and physical boundaries.

Skills: Problem-solving; communication

While education technology is a basic and crucial component of the 21st century classroom, educators must still ensure that students are engaging with each other in meaningful ways. Team-building exercises are a great way to do this, and because of this, they will never go out of style.