Office party games: the complete guide
An office party is won or lost in the first twenty minutes. If people have something to do, the mood takes off by itself; if not, the usual little circles form and by half past ten nobody is left. Games are the cheapest way to avoid that.
Here are 22 tried and tested office party games, sorted by group size, with the rules explained in two lines and the kit you need. And next to each one, the full-production version we set up for you when you want the activity to run smoothly without anyone on your team having to play host.
- 22games explained step by step
- Freehalf of them cost nothing
- 5 to 500people: there is a format for every size
- 15+ yearsrunning company parties in Barcelona
Plenty of people work in an office where the days get long. Office party games are not just for the Christmas dinner: they work just as well at an afterwork, at a team lunch, at the end of a kick-off or in the fifteen dead minutes before a presentation.
How to choose the right game for your team
Before you look at the list, answer three questions: how many people you are, how much space you have and how long you want it to last. That settles almost everything.
| If you are… | and you have… | this works | and to step it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 to 15 people | a meeting room | quick icebreakers and table challenges | Minute to Win It, close-up magic |
| 15 to 40 people | an open-plan office or terrace | team quizzes and contests | event quiz, corporate escape room |
| 40 to 100 people | an event room or restaurant | several stations running at once | casino tables, arcade machines |
| More than 100 people | a warehouse, hotel or outdoor space | a circuit of team challenges | company olympics, urban treasure hunt |
| a remote team meeting up | a whole day | one long activity with a shared goal | team cooking challenge, charity bike build |
1. Classic office games (they cost nothing)
These seven need no budget and no supplier: paper, pens and willingness. They are perfect for the lunch break or to open the party while people arrive.
1. Blind artist
Pair everyone up and sit them back to back. One holds a picture and describes it without using any word that gives it away; the other draws what they hear. When the time is up you compare drawings and the closest one wins.
Production version: collaborative mural or mandala workshop.
2. Wink murder
Hand out slips marked with a "v" for victim, except two: one detective and one murderer. The murderer knocks people out with a discreet wink; the detective has to catch them before the whole group is gone.
Production version: corporate mystery or corporate escape room.
3. Don't laugh
Everyone in a circle. In turns, each person looks at their neighbour and bursts out laughing. Anyone who cracks is out. The last one keeping a straight face wins.
Production version: a stand-up comedian to close the dinner.
4. Musical chairs
The classic adults still love: one chair fewer every round and, when the music stops, whoever is left standing is out. It works best with songs everybody knows.
Production version: classic games for events with our own kit and a host.
5. Name that tune
Play five seconds of a song the group knows. First to shout the title takes the point. Best done by decade: one round from the 80s, one from the 2000s and one from this year.
Production version: professional karaoke, Sing Star or a retro jukebox.
6. Two truths and a lie
Everyone shares two true things about themselves and one false one. The rest vote on which is the lie. It is the best icebreaker there is when there are new people in the company.
Production version: event quiz with buzzers and an on-screen scoreboard.
7. What is it?
Put small objects in a bowl. Blindfolded, each player touches one and has to name it. Simple, fast and it always ends in laughter.
Production version: blind team wine tasting.
2. Games for large groups (30 people or more)
With a big crowd it is not the game that fails, it is the organisation. You need rules you can explain in thirty seconds, teams formed before you start and someone with a microphone. Otherwise half the room just watches.
8. Tug of war
Two balanced teams, a long rope and a line on the floor. Whoever drags the other side across wins. Play best of three so everyone gets a turn.
Production version: company olympics with a full circuit and referees.
9. Freeze
One person freezes like a statue at any point in the party and everyone else has to copy them instantly. The last one to freeze buys the next round.
Production version: living statues or human tables welcoming the guests.
10. Guess who
Everyone writes their name on a slip. Names are drawn at random and someone describes that person without naming them: what project they are on, what coffee they drink, what they always say in meetings. The rest guess.
Production version: giant Guess Who.
11. Tail grab
In threes, the last person in each line wears a strip of cloth as a tail. The goal is to steal the other teams' tails without losing your own. Very physical and very loud: warn people about footwear.
Production version: bumper balls or urban treasure hunt.
Past fifty people, what works best is not one long game but several stations at once: people rotate, nobody queues and everyone picks. These are the ones we are asked for most at big parties:
Casino Tables
Arcade Machines
Human Foosball for Events
Horse Race Game for Events
Dance Machines
Laser Tag
3. Games for small groups (5 to 20 people)
In small teams the goal is different: you want people to get to know each other properly. Short, competitive challenges with a clear winner are what work here.
12. ABC challenge
Each player writes the alphabet down the page and has three minutes to find a word for every letter within one topic (animals, cities, company clients). Most letters completed wins.
Production version: giant Scrabble.
13. Cotton ball scoop
Blindfolded, with a spoon in your mouth, move cotton balls from one bucket to another. No hands. Most balls before the buzzer wins.
Production version: Minute to Win It, twelve one-minute challenges back to back.
14. Shake it off relay
A box full of ping-pong balls tied to your waist. You have to empty it by shaking your hips, no hands, and pass it to the next person. The video always ends up in the company group chat.
Production version: the 2-minute bar challenge.
15. Don't do it!
Someone gives orders ("stand still", "hop on one leg", "hands up") and everyone has to do the opposite. Anyone who obeys is out. Speed it up every round.
Production version: Batak Pro, the Drop Stick reaction ring or Whack-a-Mole.
4. Christmas office games
The Christmas dinner is the office party par excellence and also the one that repeats itself the most. These seven games keep the pace from the aperitif right through to the drinks.
16. Christmas tree challenge
Hands behind their back, each guest tears green paper trying to make the shape of a tree. The most recognisable one wins, which is almost never the most careful one.
Production version: Christmas bauble photocall for the team picture.
17. Candy cane hook
In teams, each player carries candy canes to their team's pot holding them with their mouth only. No hands and no biting.
Production version: candy bar and hot chocolate cart.
18. Christmas balloon pop
A balloon tied to each ankle. Pop the other team's while protecting your own. The team with most balloons still alive when time runs out wins.
Production version: bumper balls, the same idea but inside an inflatable ball.
19. Hot gift
Pass a gift around the circle while the music plays. When it stops, whoever is holding it is out… except in the last round, where they keep it.
Production version: lottery drum or wheel of fortune to draw the prizes.
20. How many are there?
A jar full of balls, baubles or sweets at the door. Every guest writes down their guess on arrival and the number is revealed at the end of the night. Closest guess wins.
Production version: digital promotional wheel loaded with the company prizes.
21. Balloon snowball fight
Split the room in two with tape. Each team tries to send its balloons to the other side. When the signal goes, count the balloons in each half: fewest wins.
Production version: indoor laser tag in teams.
22. Gift wrapping race
Paper, tape and a box each. On the signal, wrap it as fast and as neatly as you can. Speed and finish both score, and visible tape loses points.
Production version: bracelet workshop or virtual reality art workshop, so they make the gift themselves.
If the dinner happens outside the office, these are the extras most asked for in December:
Christmas Bauble Photocall
Hot Chocolate Cart
Anime Photo Booth
AI Photobooth
Caricaturists for Events
Charanga Band for Events
The 12 games we set up turnkey
Anyone can organise everything above with an afternoon of preparation. What follows is what a company asks us for when it wants the day to go well without anyone on its team spending the party playing host: the kit arrives, the host arrives, it is set up, it is played and it is taken down.
Corporate Escape Room Team Building
Corporate Olympics Team Building
Minute to Win It Team Building
Urban Treasure Hunt Team BuildingCasino TablesHuman Foosball for Events
Virtual RealityArcade Machines
Professional Karaoke for Events
Team Cocktail Challenge
Quiz Rental for Events
Giant Games for Events
Short on space? What fits in a normal office
The most common problem is not the budget, it is the square metre. If your office is an open space with fixed desks, forget running games and think in terms of play points: something two metres wide, switched on all afternoon and on a route people already walk.
| Space available | What fits |
|---|---|
| 1 × 1 m, a corner | dartboard, reaction ring, Batak Pro |
| 2 × 2 m, next to the coffee machine | arcade machine, pinball, air hockey |
| 3 × 2 m, an emptied meeting room | table tennis, table football, shuffleboard |
| A large room or canteen | casino tables, dance machines, PlayStation on a big screen |
| Terrace or car park | giant games, giant bowling, mechanical bull |
Table games and arcades are the ones that survive best in an office: you can leave them a whole week, they need no host and people use them in the dead moments.
From a single game to a full event
Quite often what starts as "a few games for the Christmas party" ends up being the event of the year. If organising the whole thing falls to you, these are the three pieces that turn it into something people remember.
Team building with a purpose
A game entertains; a team building activity leaves something behind. The difference is a shared challenge, teams mixed across departments and a debrief at the end.
Corporate Escape Room Team BuildingCorporate Olympics Team Building
Team Cooking Challenge
Corporate Hackathon Team Building
Charity Bike Building Team Building
Digital Photo Rally Team BuildingA theme that ties it all together
Giving the party a theme saves decisions: decor, music, dress code and games all come as a package. It is the cheapest way to make a rented room look like something else.
Welcome to Las Vegas
Hollywood Oscars Themed Event
Chicago Themed Event
Hippie 60s Event
Sport Bar Games Event
Inflatable Obstacle Course PartyFood and bar entertainment
Between games there has to be something to do. Food carts and bar entertainment fill those gaps and they are what gets photographed most.
Cotton Candy Cart
Popcorn Cart Rental for Events
Cocktail Bar for Events
Piripi Cocktelados
Living Champagne Chandelier
Close-Up MagicTo browse the full catalogue by category: games for events, activities for companies, entertainment, shows, workshops, catering and themed events.
What it costs: indicative budget
The question that always arrives before the date does. These are the real ranges we work with on company parties, with kit, transport, set-up and staff included.
| Format | People | Indicative | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The homemade games on this list | any | Very low | paper, balloons and joke prizes |
| One play point in the office | 10 - 40 | Medium | one machine or table, transport and set-up |
| A games corner for a party | 40 - 100 | High | 3 or 4 stations with a host |
| Team building with a facilitator | 20 - 150 | Per person | activity, kit, hosts and closing session |
| Full themed party | 100 - 500 | tailored | decor, games, entertainment and catering |
What moves the price most is not the number of games, it is the date: the second half of December and Fridays in June fill up months ahead. If you already have the day, book it even if nothing else is settled.
7 mistakes that ruin an office party
- Opening with the speech. If the first thing is the director thanking everyone for the year, the room goes cold. Speech at the thirty-minute mark, once people have a drink and have laughed at least once.
- Games that expose people. No dancing alone in front of everyone and no sharing private things. A game that makes one person uncomfortable is remembered longer than the whole party.
- Nobody running it. Someone has to say "this starts now". If that someone works there, they miss the party, which is why a host or a team of hostesses pays for itself.
- Fake prizes. If the prize does not matter, nobody competes. It does not have to be expensive, it has to be wanted.
- One single game for everyone. Above 40 people there is always someone who does not want to take part. Run stations at the same time and let people choose.
- Music at full volume from minute one. If you cannot talk, no game works. Keep it low until the games are over.
- Forgetting the real space. Measure first. Half of all set-up problems are narrow doors, small lifts and low ceilings.
Organiser checklist
What is worth having settled, in order, when organising the party lands on your desk:
- Date and confirmed approximate head count
- Space measured: clear metres, ceiling height, door and lift width
- A power socket near the play point (and who has the key to the electrical panel)
- Budget agreed and who signs it off
- Three games picked: one physical, one brainy, one down to luck
- Prizes bought and on display
- Someone running it, with a tested microphone
- A printed running order: arrival, games, speech, dinner, drinks
- A plan B for rain if any part is outdoors
- The supplier's public liability insurance requested in writing
- A photographer or a photo booth so something is left from the day
- Something for those who do not drink, do not dance or leave early
Frequently asked questions
How many games do you need for a three-hour party?
Three or four, no more. One to open while people arrive, one in teams halfway through and one with prizes at the end. Open stations such as casino tables or arcades stay switched on all night and do not count.
What if my team is shy and does not want to play?
Pick games where nobody ends up alone in front of the group: in pairs, in teams or free-play machines. A team quiz or an escape room works even with people who say they do not like games, because the focus is on the challenge and not on the person.
Which games work when people speak several languages?
The ones that do not rely on words: Minute to Win It, human table football, bumper balls, arcade machines or any simulator. The rules are clear after watching one round.
Can it be set up inside the office, with the desks still there?
Yes, as long as there is an 80 cm aisle and a power socket. That is what arcades, folding table tennis tables and table football are for. What does not fit is anything inflatable or tall.
How far ahead should we book?
For December, between September and October. For the rest of the year, three or four weeks is usually enough. If the date is a Friday afternoon, the sooner the better: that is the slot that sells out first.
Do you work outside Barcelona?
Yes. Barcelona and Catalonia with our own crew, and the rest of Spain with the set-up planned from the floor plan. Transport is quoted separately and depends on distance and volume of kit.
Is insurance included?
Yes. All our kit carries public liability insurance and the hosts are trained on every activity. We send the certificate with the proposal if your company needs it for the file.
What is the difference between a game and a team building activity?
The purpose. A game is there for people to enjoy themselves; team building also aims to mix teams, set a shared challenge and hold a conversation at the end. An office party has room for both: the activity in the afternoon and the games at dinner.
Get a proposal for your office party
Tell us the date and we will take care of the rest
Tell us how many you are, where it is and the mood you are after. We will send two or three proposals with a closed price, no commitment and usually the same day.
Keep reading: company parties, company dinners, afterworks, family day, indoor team building and Christmas dinners.
