Online games to play with coworkers on a video call
Updated · 4 min read
A game at the end of a team call does more for a remote team than another icebreaker question. The trick is picking one that works over a call: easy to join, easy to explain, fair to people who are new to it, and comfortable for everyone at work. Here is how to set one up, and the games we would pick for different team sizes.
How it works
- One person picks a game and taps Create a Game.
- They paste the invite link into the call's chat. Everyone opens it in a browser on their own computer or phone and takes a seat.
- Everyone plays on their own screen, so nobody needs to share theirs. Keep the call going for the talking and the groaning.
- Each person playing needs a free player: a username and a PIN or password. Ask people to make one before the meeting, and the game starts on time.
- Short on people? Most table games can fill empty seats with computer players.
Trivia and quiz games
Trivia is the safest pick for a team: everyone understands it instantly, and it rewards knowing odd things rather than being loud.
- Trivia Night: a live quiz for the whole group. Answer fast and climb the leaderboard. Two to ten players.
- Quiz Board: six categories, five clues each. Pick a clue, buzz in on your own device and bet big on a Wager tile. Up to six players.
- Top Answers: name the most popular answers to a survey question. Two teams race to the buzzer. Great for splitting a team in two.
- Daily Ten: ten trivia questions a day, the same for everyone. The lowest-effort option: everyone plays alone before the call and you compare scores.
Word games
- One Clue: everyone writes one clue for the guesser, and matching clues cancel out. Co-op, gentle, and very funny. Three to seven players.
- Category Rush: one letter, twelve categories and a ticking clock. Only unique answers score.
- On the Dial: one clue, a hidden target on a spectrum from hot to cold. The arguing about where the dial should go is the best part.
- Don't Say It: get your team to guess the word without saying any of the forbidden ones. Best with six or more.
Drawing and guessing
- Scribble Brawl: one player draws, everyone else races to guess. A trackpad drawing is half the fun.
- Draw & Pass: draw the word, guess the drawing, draw the guess, and see how far it drifts.
- Tint Hint: the clue giver picks one of 480 colors and gives a one-word clue; everyone else tries to land on it.
Co-op games for team building
If the point is working together rather than winning, co-op games are perfect. Everyone is on the same side, and the conversation is the game.
- Defuse: one player has the bomb, everyone else has the manual, and the manual is new every game. A real test of clear communication.
- Wire Cutters: a co-op deduction game where you only see your own wires. Careful, quiet reasoning together.
- One Clue works as co-op too: the whole team wins or loses together.
Pick by team size
- Two to four: Mini Golf for a relaxed round, or Code Breaker and Drop Four as quick head-to-heads.
- Four to eight: One Clue, Category Rush or Trivia Night.
- Eight to twelve: This or That (pick a side in secret and predict how the room splits), or Top Answers in two teams.
- Two teams in different offices: Top Answers or Don't Say It, one team per office.
Before the call: a checklist
- Choose the game a day ahead and play one round against the computer, so you can explain it in a sentence.
- Send the site link with the meeting invite, so people make their free player before the call rather than during it.
- Check your headcount against the game's player count, shown on its card.
- Decide teams in advance if the game uses them. Mixing people who rarely work together is half the point.
- Have a backup. If someone cannot join, Daily Ten works for anyone at any time.
Teams across time zones
Not every team can be online at once. Daily Ten and the other daily puzzles give everyone the same puzzle each day, so people can compare results in the team chat without a call at all. For something longer, Word Tiles lets each player take a turn when they have a moment, and Bogmoor has a mode where everyone takes one turn a day, with alerts when it is your move.
Keep it work-friendly
- Pick games where everyone can take part. Trivia and co-op games include quiet people better than fast shouting games.
- Skip the games built around crude humor or drinking. There are plenty of those for after hours; they do not belong on a team call.
- Keep it short. Fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of a meeting is plenty; finishing while people still want more is better than dragging on.
- Explain in one sentence, then start. Every game has How to play in its menu, and a practice round teaches faster than a speech.
- Make it optional. A game is a nice extra, not a required meeting.
A fifteen-minute plan
- Two minutes: send the link and let everyone join.
- Ten minutes: two rounds of One Clue or a short Trivia Night.
- Three minutes: crown a winner, and agree on next week's game.
Every game where each player uses their own phone or computer is on one page at party games for phones. For one-on-one breaks, see Quick games for a five-minute work break. For friends rather than colleagues, Game night ideas for groups of every size and Games to play with long-distance friends and on a video call have more ideas.