5 Quick Team Building Ideas for New Teams

Teams can significantly benefit from team building exercises. It’s a great way to boost morale, improve communication, productivity, helping employees and new teams know each other, and identifying one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

Team building games and activities can be used by businesses no matter how big or small, to strengthen teamwork in the workplace. Here are five quick yet relatively fun team building exercises that new teams can enjoy.

Quick Team Building Activity #1: Take What You Need  

Take What You Need is a fun game that helps employees learn fascinating things about their colleagues. The team is gathered around a table where a roll of toilet paper and pennies are placed at the center.

But here’s the catch ‒ participants do not know what the activity is, and how they can use the materials. Each participant is asked to take as penny pennies or squares of toilet paper that they think they’ll need for the activity. Once everyone has the chance to take some of these items from the table, they will tell an interesting fact about themselves for every square or penny they took!

The twist, at the end of the game, demands an excellent team bonding session. The staff will have the chance to share more interesting facts about themselves that they’re commonly used to. Overall, this activity makes a quick and fun time for everyone.

Developed Team Building Outcomes:

• Enhances communication
• Boosts innovative thinking/ thinking outside of the box
• Helps employees learn more about others

Quick Team Building Activity #2: Pirates Treasure

Pirates Treasure is a game that most people will enjoy. Participants have to select a volunteer (which will act as the captain) to be blindfolded. Then, the volunteer will sit on a chair in the middle of the circle with a particular item (usually the treasure) located under the chair.

The entire group will then come running around the circle, then point to someone (a pirate) in the group to move as silently as possible to get the treasure. However, if the captain successfully points to the direction of the pirate, the participant is out of the game. Meanwhile, if the pirate successfully takes the treasure without the captain noticing, then they have to switch places.

Overall, the activity combines a lot of suspense, laughter, and fun for all the participants to enjoy. The one acting as the captain on the chair is forced to focus their attention despite being at the very center of the chaos. On the other hand, the participant who acts as the pirate will have to learn to remain steady and calm as the whole group watches in anticipation.

Developed Team Building Outcomes:

• Boosts team spirit
• Creates a relaxing/stress-free atmosphere
• Enhances motivation

Quick Team Building Activity #3: Hidden Treasures

When playing this activity, the group is gathered in a semi-circle facing a volunteer. A shoestring is placed on the ground with a layout shape, and everyone has to guess which number it is representing between one to ten.

The volunteer gives the team a few guesses before telling them the answer. The twist in this game is both fun and intriguing ‒ they place their hands on their lap for a reason.  

Every time the person creates the shape on the string, and the entire team is guessing what number the string represents; the volunteer is giving the answer the whole time.

The volunteer is demonstrating the number that they have in mind all the time by placing the corresponding number of fingers on their lap.

Developed Team Building Outcomes:

• Promotes individual thinking
• Boosts innovative thinking/ thinking outside of the box
• Strengthens problem-solving skills

Quick Team Building Activity #4: Evolution

Evolution is a fun game that makes grown adults like kids again. It’s one of those low-pressure games that anyone can win. But adding a few challenges to it can make it one of the most thoroughly engaging games among colleagues.

Team members are usually gathered together, and each member wobbles around like an egg. The eggs (participants) typically meet each other for a fun game of rock, paper, scissors, and the winner will evolve into a chicken.

Afterward, the winning participants then act like a chicken. They can approach other chickens in the group for another game or rock, paper, scissors. The winners of the match then evolve into princes or princesses.

The princes/princesses approach the others of their kind as well, for another game. Then, the winners will turn into kings/queens and will go to the other kings and queens for a final set of rock, paper, scissors.

Those that will win the final round will be declared as the champions of the game. Meanwhile, the ones who lose the rock, paper and scissors game devolve into an egg.

Developed Team Building Outcomes:

• Promotes individual thinking
• Boosts team spirit
• Enhances motivation

Quick Team Building Activity #5: The Paper Tower

In this game, participants only have five minutes to win the entire competition using a paper. Each participant is handed with a few pieces of paper, and they have at least five minutes to create the tallest freestanding structure with no other materials other than with what was given to them.

The winner of the game is the participant that makes the tallest structure. Afterward, the winner will discuss to the group about their thought process and how they came up with the structure.  

The game, Paper Tower, reinforces the importance of planning despite limited time constraints. Participants realize in the end that despite faced with a daunting task with limited time, planning is still integral to the whole process.

Developed Team Building Outcomes:

• Boosts innovative thinking/ thinking outside of the box
• Promotes individual thinking
• Thinking that is solution oriented

To Wrap It Up

Team building activities help bring people together in the workplace through shared experiences. By learning to work with others, employees can feel that they’re working together as a team to be part of something bigger than themselves.