24 Best Indoor Team Building Activities

There are several benefits of team-building activities within an organization. From higher employee engagement to stronger communication, planning and motivation. Although they require time and a little planning, here are some of the best indoor team-building activities to consider.

What are Indoor Team Building Activities?

Indoor team-building activities are popular activities used to help encourage team members to get to know their coworkers. It can be done in small groups like departments or with the whole team. They can be anything that helps your team get to know each other. Indoor games are popular, but you can also just spend some time hanging out, hosting a dinner or anything that helps team members get to know each other.

Importance of Indoor Team Building Activities

There are several benefits of team building that range can be seen both immediately and later in the office. Team-building games and activities help promote collaboration. They encourage team bonding and communication while encouraging teams to work together. Many of these activities also help foster trusting relationships, improve employee engagement, boost productivity and can even contribute to a stronger employee retention rate. The nice thing about doing them indoors is that you can enjoy them regardless of the weather.

How to Plan Effective Indoor Team Building Activities

Several team-building options are available, but not everything is effective for every group. Some tips for planning indoor team-building activities include:

• Choose the right team-building activities for work
• Take team size into consideration
• Think of indoor activities that can include remote teams
• Give your employees a list of activities to choose from
• Get your leadership team involved

24 Top Indoor Activities to Promote Team Bonding

Indoor team-building games can be a fun and exciting way to generate collaboration and communication that will bring the entire team together. Some excellent indoor team-building games for employees can be done in the comfort of your own building. Others may require you to bring your team to a third-party venue. Regardless, there are plenty of options to hold fun team events throughout the year. To help you spark some ideas, here are 24 team-building activities to do indoors.

1. Icebreaker Questions

This is a great team-building event when a new employee has their first day at work, fostering bonding and communication. Spend some time asking and answering engaging questions to help get your team to know each other better.

2. Board Games

Everyone loves a good game night. Make teams and allow individuals to battle through their favorite games like Monopoly, Pictionary and more. This can help develop critical thinking and decision-making in a team setting. This can also be a virtual team-building activity when you opt for online options.

3. Team Timeline

Another great team-building activity that allows everyone to get to know each other is team timeline. You can put a timeline on a board and have everyone mark different milestones in their life, allowing individuals to connect with one another more deeply.

4. Charades

Charades is a classic game that encourages team members to work together and strengthen communication. Create your own prompts or use any of the popular options available online.

5. Back-to-Back Drawing

This is one of the best indoor activities to help promote communication and listening. Individuals will need to sit back-to-back. Then, one person will try to describe an image while the other draws it.

6. Two Truths and a Lie

One of the easiest and best indoor team-building activities is Two Truths and a Lie. It's a classic game that can help you test your knowledge of the team while getting to know new fun facts.

7. The Human Knot

Office games can also be a great way to get people moving and connecting. Here, participants stand in a circle, interlock arms in a few interesting ways and need to work together to untangle themselves, emphasizing teamwork and communication.

8. Indoor Question Tag

This is a tag game with a twist, where players answer questions to avoid being tagged, promoting quick thinking and creativity. It's a great game to play if you have limited space or just want to get to know each other.

9. Company Bake-Off

A unique way to boost some friendly competition within a team is to do a company bake-off or cook-off. Decide on one dish and have each employee or department create their take on the dish. Then, gather your team for a taste test and vote.

10. Indoor Cooking Class

Have someone come into your office to teach your team a new, exotic recipe or head to a cooking school and attend a class together.

11. Team Meal

This is a classic favorite amongst team-building ideas, as they're easy to coordinate and fun to participate in. You can make each team meal a different theme or type of cuisine, which creates an exciting, anticipatory buzz around this fun indoor activity.

12. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

Give each team a list of items to find in a museum, within the office or at another venue, and set them off on a scavenger hunt. The first team to find everything wins!

13. Turning Carpets

Another fun indoor team game is turning carpets. Split teams into groups and have them stand on a carpet, blanket or piece of cloth. The goal is to turn it from one side to the other without anyone stepping off.

14. The Floor is Lava

Want a more intense indoor team-building game? Try playing a round of The Floor is Lava, where players must navigate a designated area without touching the floor. This can foster creativity and quick decision-making while giving everyone a good laugh.

15. Minefield

This indoor team-building activity encourages trust. Tell your team to divide themselves in two based on who wants to be blindfolded and who wants to lead. One member from each team will take on each role, and groups will be brought to the "battlefield," where the leader has to direct the blind using verbal cues. It's another excellent indoor game that can be easily played in any building.

16. Trivia Night

Everyone loves trivia. Split your workforce into groups and see which team holds the most knowledge about various subjects. You can break things down into rounds or host a different-themed trivia night every month. The team with the highest points each week wins a prize!

17. Climbing Wall

If you have a more adventurous team, take them out for a day of rock climbing indoors. This can be a fun team-building activity that helps people grow their confidence and face their fears in a safe and encouraging environment.

18. Indoor Ropes Course

Although a popular outdoor team-building activity, some ropes courses are indoors. This can be a fun way to spend a rainy day while encouraging collaboration among your team members. You can go and have fun, or make it a competition and time the teams to declare a winner.

19. Food or Refreshments

If you offer food and beverage tasting as an activity for work, you will probably get a good turnout. Sit back and enjoy food and drinks while you bond in a no-pressure environment. Just make sure to ask your team in advance and make it optional if it's after-hours.

20. Wellness Activities

Wellness retreats are becoming increasingly popular indoor activities for businesses. This gives people time to unwind and disconnect from work while focusing on relaxation and coping mechanisms that can help improve ongoing collaboration.

21. Escape Rooms

One of the most exciting team-building activities to do indoors is an escape room. Each team works together to try and solve the clues and open a locked door. These have grown in popularity over the years, so do a quick search to find a list of indoor venues near you.

22. Rage Rooms

If you want to try something a little more unique, schedule team-building exercises in a rage room. Here, your employees will be given protective gear and placed in a room full of fragile items they're encouraged to break. It's a great way to let off some steam.

23. Murder Mysteries

Everyone loves mystery games, so test their detective skills with a murder mystery night. Have each employee take on a role as a character in a mystery with unique information. Then, have everyone work together until the team tries to guess "who did it."

24. Office Holiday Party

Although this team-building activity may be restricted to certain times of the year, it's still a great way to celebrate your employees and give back a bit. You can host multiple parties across different months for different holidays or keep it to one at the end of the year.

Team building activity promotes a strong employee experience, which can have several benefits for your organization. To help you further the employee experience while prioritizing professional development, work with TriNet. TriNet offers full-service HR solutions to SMBs across various industries.

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