Virtual Office Shenanigans Game with Emmy TV Host Scott Topper
Planning a virtual team building event can be harder than it sounds.
As an HR, People Operations, or employee engagement professional, you want to find something that gets employees involved, creates genuine connection, and gives everyone a break from their normal workday. But you also don’t want to spend hours researching activities, explaining complicated rules, or becoming the unofficial game host.
That’s where live-hosted virtual team building games can make a difference.
The right online team building experience gives remote and hybrid employees a reason to laugh, interact, compete, and connect — while a professional host handles the event.
If you’re looking for a live-hosted virtual team building experience for your company, explore Virtual Office Shenanigans here.
Here are some of the best types of virtual team building games for work, along with what HR teams should look for when choosing an activity.
What Are Virtual Team Building Games?
Virtual team building games are interactive activities that coworkers play together online, typically through a video conferencing platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Unlike a regular virtual meeting, these activities are specifically designed to encourage employees to interact with one another.
Depending on the activity, virtual team building games can involve:
- Team challenges
- Creative activities
- Quick-thinking games
- Virtual scavenger hunts
- Trivia
- Puzzles
- Physical challenges
- Guessing games
- Collaborative competitions
- Interactive game shows
The best virtual team building games aren’t necessarily the most complicated. They’re the ones that make it easy for everyone to participate and give coworkers an opportunity to connect outside their normal work responsibilities.
Why Virtual Team Building Matters for Remote Teams
Remote and hybrid work offer plenty of advantages, but employees don’t always get the same spontaneous opportunities to interact that they would in a traditional office.
A quick conversation in the hallway, a shared laugh before a meeting, or an impromptu lunch can help coworkers build relationships.
Virtual team building activities create a deliberate opportunity for those interactions.
A well-designed online team building event can help employees:
- Get to know coworkers outside their immediate teams
- Build stronger relationships
- Take a break from their regular routines
- Improve communication
- Create shared experiences
- Celebrate company milestones
- Have fun together
- Feel more connected to their organization
For HR teams, these activities can also become part of broader employee engagement, company culture, onboarding, and employee appreciation initiatives.
10 Types of Virtual Team Building Games for Work
There are countless online team building activities available, but these are some of the most popular formats for corporate teams.
1. Live-Hosted Virtual Game Shows
A live-hosted virtual game show combines the energy of a traditional game show with the convenience of an online event.
A professional host leads the group through multiple rounds of games and challenges while keeping the event moving.
This can be particularly useful for HR teams because the organizer doesn’t have to facilitate the activity.
Employees simply join the event, meet the host, and play.
If that’s the kind of experience you’re looking for, see how the live-hosted Virtual Office Shenanigans game works.
2. Virtual Trivia
Virtual trivia is one of the easiest online team building activities to organize.
Teams can compete by answering questions about general knowledge, pop culture, company history, movies, music, sports, or other topics.
Trivia works well for many groups, although some teams may prefer something more interactive than simply answering questions.
3. Virtual Scavenger Hunts
Virtual scavenger hunts challenge employees to find objects around their homes or complete quick challenges before time runs out.
They’re easy to understand and can create some hilarious moments, especially when employees have to improvise.
They’re also a good option for teams that want employees to get away from their desks for a few minutes.
4. Creative Team Challenges
Creative challenges can involve drawing, acting, storytelling, designing, improvising, or coming up with unusual solutions to problems.
These games can be especially effective because participants don’t need to be competitive or athletic to contribute.
5. Virtual Puzzles and Problem-Solving Games
Puzzle-based activities give teams a shared problem to solve.
Employees have to communicate, divide responsibilities, exchange information, and work toward a common goal.
They’re a good choice for teams that enjoy strategy and collaboration.
6. Online Icebreaker Games
Icebreakers can help employees get comfortable with one another, particularly when a team includes new employees or people who don’t normally work together.
Examples include “Two Truths and a Lie,” rapid-fire questions, introductions, and guessing games.
For larger corporate groups, however, a professional host can make icebreakers feel much more natural than asking an HR representative to call on employees one at a time.
7. Virtual “Minute to Win It” Games
These games challenge participants to complete simple tasks against the clock.
They’re typically fast, easy to understand, and designed to generate laughs.
The short rounds also make it easier for employees to stay engaged.
8. Virtual Team Competitions
Competition can add energy to an online team building event.
Employees can be divided into teams and earn points throughout a series of challenges.
The important thing is to keep the competition fun rather than making employees feel like they’re participating in another performance evaluation.
9. Virtual Employee Appreciation Games
Employee appreciation events don’t have to be another company announcement or presentation.
A fun online game can give employees an opportunity to celebrate together while recognizing the people who make the organization successful.
These events can work particularly well around company anniversaries, holidays, milestones, or employee appreciation initiatives.
10. Interactive Online Office Games
Online office games are designed specifically around the experience of coworkers playing together.
Instead of focusing on one game format, a hosted experience can combine several different types of challenges throughout the event.
This variety can keep the experience moving and give different types of employees opportunities to shine.
Learn more about the live-hosted online office games offered by Scott Topper Productions.
What Makes a Good Virtual Team Building Activity?
Not every virtual activity is right for every company.
Before booking an online team building event, HR teams should consider several factors.
1. Is It Actually Interactive?
There’s a big difference between employees watching a virtual presentation and actually participating in an activity.
Look for games that give employees frequent opportunities to contribute.
2. Is It Easy to Join?
The more complicated the technology, the more likely you are to spend the beginning of the event troubleshooting.
Ideally, employees should be able to click a link, join the virtual meeting, and start playing.
3. Does Someone Have to Host It?
This is one of the most important questions for HR teams.
If you choose a self-guided activity, someone at your company may have to:
- Explain the rules
- Manage the technology
- Keep track of time
- Divide people into teams
- Monitor scores
- Encourage participation
- Keep the energy up
That’s a lot to ask from someone who was supposed to participate in the event.
A live-hosted virtual team building event eliminates much of that work.
See the live-hosted Virtual Office Shenanigans experience.
4. Is It Appropriate for Different Personalities?
Not everyone wants to sing, perform, or be the center of attention.
The best corporate team building games give employees multiple ways to participate without forcing everyone into uncomfortable situations.
5. Does It Work for Remote and Hybrid Teams?
If employees are joining from different cities, states, or countries, the activity needs to work equally well for people who aren’t physically together.
6. How Long Is the Event?
For most corporate teams, an activity should be long enough to create a meaningful shared experience without becoming another exhausting meeting.
A 60-minute event is often an easy fit into an existing workday.
Why HR Teams Choose Live-Hosted Virtual Team Building
One of the biggest advantages of a live-hosted experience is simple:
HR doesn’t have to host.
Instead of handing an HR manager a list of instructions and asking them to run the event, a professional host takes responsibility for the experience.
That means your HR team can participate alongside everyone else.
For companies that want a polished, energetic experience without adding another planning responsibility to their People team, live hosting can be a major advantage.
Virtual Office Shenanigans: A Live-Hosted Alternative to Virtual Trivia
If you’re looking for something beyond traditional virtual trivia, Virtual Office Shenanigans offers a different approach.
The 60-minute experience is hosted live by Emmy-nominated TV and radio personality Scott Topper and features a variety of interactive office games and challenges.
Rather than spending an hour answering trivia questions, employees are encouraged to participate, compete, create, laugh, and interact throughout the event.
It’s designed for remote teams, hybrid teams, HR departments, employee engagement programs, corporate events, onboarding, employee appreciation, retreats, and team celebrations.
What Makes Virtual Office Shenanigans Different?
A Professional Host
Scott Topper brings professional television and radio hosting experience to the event, allowing your team to focus on participating instead of managing the activity.
Multiple Games and Challenges
Instead of relying on one game format, the experience moves through a variety of interactive challenges.
That variety helps keep the event energetic and gives different personalities opportunities to participate.
No Hosting Duties for HR
Your HR or People team doesn’t have to become the game master.
You organize the event. The host runs the fun.
Designed for Remote and Hybrid Teams
Employees can participate from wherever they work, making the experience a practical option for distributed teams.
60 Minutes of Team Connection
The one-hour format makes it easy to incorporate the event into an employee appreciation day, team meeting, virtual retreat, onboarding program, or company celebration.
Book a live-hosted virtual team building event for your company.
Who Should Book Virtual Team Building Games?
Virtual team building activities can work for almost any department or organization.
They’re particularly useful for:
- Human Resources teams
- People Operations teams
- Remote companies
- Hybrid organizations
- Sales teams
- Marketing teams
- Technology teams
- Customer service teams
- Leadership teams
- New employee groups
- Cross-functional teams
You don’t need a specific reason to have fun together.
But virtual team building can be especially effective when you’re planning an employee appreciation event, company celebration, onboarding activity, virtual retreat, or employee engagement program.
How to Choose the Best Virtual Team Building Game for Your Company
When comparing different options, don’t just ask, “Is this game fun?”
Ask:
Will our employees actually participate?
Does someone from HR have to run it?
Can remote and hybrid employees participate equally?
Is it easy to set up?
Does the experience work for different personalities?
Is there enough variety to keep people engaged?
Will employees still be talking about it after the event?
Those questions will help you choose an experience that goes beyond simply filling an hour on everyone’s calendar.
Ready to Make Your Next Virtual Team Event More Fun?
Your employees spend enough time in meetings.
Your next virtual event should give them a reason to laugh, interact, and connect.
Virtual Office Shenanigans is a live-hosted virtual team building experience designed for remote and hybrid teams, HR departments, employee engagement programs, and corporate events.
60 minutes. Live host. Interactive games. No hosting duties for HR.
Give your team something they’ll actually look forward to.