9 Team Building Activities for Small Groups (Not Boring)‍

Group activities are one of the best ways to build teamwork, leadership, and trust among colleagues. There are many different types of team building activities you can try. Read ahead to explore 9 Team Building Activities for Small Groups.

9 Team Building Activities for Small Groups (Not Boring)

Team building is a key component to any business that does not want to fall apart. If you have an office, it is extremely important to find effective ways to build strong relationships. If you don't handle this right, your group of employees can be at each other's throats all day long and accomplish very little work!

Whether you are running training for a small group of colleagues or simply want to spice up your staff meeting, this list of team building activities is perfect for all your team building needs. These team building activities are great for all ages and sizes. 

Read ahead to know some of our favorite 9 team building activities that also work well in smaller groups (usually groups of 5 to 15 people).

1. Letter Scatter 

The game starts with the facilitator calling out the first letter of the alphabet. The team has 20 minutes to find as many items that begin with that letter as they can and send a picture of each item to the facilitator. 

Teams of players compete to find items that begin with an assigned letter. The team that collects the highest number of items wins. You can group your employees in teams of two or three.

How it Helps Your Team

  • Learn to think out of the box
  • Helps teammates improve their communication skills and critical thinking
  • Gets them thinking innovatively and improves problem-solving abilities.
  • Improves resourcefulness as they learn to improvise
  • Determine the obstacles in their path and how to deal with them
  • Help them plan, execute and prioritize to reach an important goal

Activity Type: Virtual 

Get a quote for 'Letter Scatter'

2. Tower of Hanoi

In the game  a team is given the job of moving a pyramid of blocks from one part of the playground to another. The team has to plan its route carefully because there are only three areas on the playground where the pyramid may be moved. The game is a fun-filled activity that challenges your team’s thinking skills.  It's challenging, so the team has to think of strategies to win the game.

Teamwork is important in this activity, because each partner is assigned a duty such as choosing the first block to move, deciding at which point the pyramid should be broken down, and so on.

How it Helps Your Team

  • Create a fun and safe environment for them to express their ideas
  • Improves Urgency and quick thinking
  • Improves focus and helps them learn how to prioritize
  • Learn how to solve problems and make decisions quickly
  • Become more of an innovator and leader
  • To come up with a new way to tackle a problem
  • Find creative ways to get the job done while being efficient with your time
  • Figure out how to delegate work efficiently
  • Improve your time management skills
  • Increase your team-work skills

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Tower of Hanoi'

3. Tic Tac Toe

In this game, every move will be played by a different player, and the first team to get three in a row wins. It doesn't matter whose choice that is, but if one person makes a bad move and gets the whole team disqualified. As every move will be made by a different teammate, everyone has to work together if you want to win!

How does it help your team?

  • Learn to be adaptable to changing circumstances
  • Makes the team flexible to adapt to changing circumstances
  • Improve critical thinking and make better decisions
  • It motivates your team to perform better
  • Improves team collaboration

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Tic Tac Toe'

4. The Virtual Escape Room

Come to The Science Lab and play the Virtual Escape Room! You and a team are locked in a science lab, and have an hour to get out. There are puzzles involving secret codes, mysterious paintings, lock combinations, and more for you to solve before time runs out. You must use the clues around you to find a way out and beat the other team.

Can your team solve the secrets of the Science Lab Escape Room before time runs out?

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Gets exposed to different people and their work styles
  • Teaches about the strategy of planning and goal setting
  • Teaches how to be a strategic leader to create alignment
  • Helps them work together to reach team goals
  • Helps them see the big picture and make sure everyone is on the same page 

Activity Type: Virtual 

Get a quote for 'The Virtual Escape Room'

5. Double Dragon

In this game, the facilitator encourages two teams to compete against each other by racing toward a finish line.  One player from each team will be blindfolded as he or she completes a hula hoop-hopping race.  The facilitator will show you how to navigate an obstacle course set up on the beach. Along the way, you'll have to pass through a hula hoop and keep a beach ball balanced on your feet.

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Improves team collaboration and teamwork  
  • Enhances communication skills
  • Creates strong team bonds
  • Improves strategic planning skills and coordination 

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Double Dragon'

6. Win It In A Minute

It's a collection of fun and challenging activities to do with your team. Team members have to choose the best person for each activity, which they have to complete within a minute to win the game. You can use common household or office supplies, and nerves are bound to be tested!

It will be super exciting to participate in a time-based competition where you and your team have to complete various tasks within one minute each.

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Teaches how to lead others in an effective way
  • Use your competition as a motivation to achieve success
  • Improves people management
  • Develops skills for social gatherings, team games, and one on one conversations
  • Teaches how to compete in a positive way
  • Teaches how to think more creatively
  • Get your team to work together to create innovative products and solutions.

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Win It In A Minute'

7. Spider Web

To play this game, the team crosses a web of ropes without touching the ropes or using the same passage. The goal is to get everyone on the other side. Divide people into two teams, give each team a rope and have them tie themselves together. Guide them through the web without touching the ropes or using the same passage as others and see who ends up on the other side first. 

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Improves cooperation and Communication skills 
  • Improves decision making skills 
  • Enhances their Leadership skills
  • Teaches how to solve problems efficiently 
  •  It also helps members learn to take responsibility for their actions 

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Spider Web'

8. Trust Walk

In this activity, each pair will have one partner who wears a blindfold. The blindfolded partner will be spun around a few times to hide their sense of direction. In the role of guides, the other partners will have to lead their team member through the obstacle course. Guides must direct their teams through effective verbal communication and not direct physical contact.

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Teaches how to deal with real challenges they come across at work
  • Enhances trust and bonding between team members
  • Improves communication and collaboration 
  • Improves risk taking ability and problem solving skills

Activity Type: Outdoor

Get a quote for 'Trust Walk'

9. Tell A Tale

This exercise is funny and can be used as a way to loosen up the group at the beginning of a meeting. It involves starting with a phrase such as 'Once upon a time in Silk Board' and going round the table, with each person adding a line to the story. For example: Once upon a time in the forest, I saw a child. The first person then says 'and the hunter was trying to shoot a bird' etc. Also, you can make the story flow in a different direction by changing dialogue lines, your plot as well as the tone of your story.

This exercise can be hilarious and it can also serve as an icebreaker or as a way to laugh off bad days.

How Does it Help Your Team?

  • Enhances creativity and quick thinking skills
  • Teaches great sales skills for beginners
  • It's fun and a great way to understand each other’s personality
  • Enhances communication skills and listening skills.

Activity Type: Virtual 

Get a quote for 'Tell A Tale'

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To sum up

The challenges of small teams are numerous. Distractions abound, team members may struggle to articulate their ideas, and leadership can be difficult to take charge of. And yet individual interactions can still have a positive impact on team dynamics.

We hope you've enjoyed this list of team building activities for small groups. They're a great starting point if you're in need of some new ideas—and who isn't? In the end, it's up to your team to decide what activities work best for them. Just remember that communication—about goals and about feelings—is a core part of any team building activity.

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