The team building library

Problem-solvingCreativity Marshmallow Challenge Teams build the tallest free-standing tower from spaghetti, tape and string, with a marshmallow on top, in 18 minutes.

• 8–100 people
• 45 minutes
• Indoor · Active

Problem-solving Escape the Envelope A tabletop escape room in an envelope: chained puzzles, locks and codes that teams crack within an hour.

• 8–120 people
• 1 hour
• Indoor · Active

StrategyUncertainty Pre-Mortem Imagine your next big project has failed spectacularly. Teams list why, then turn the causes into preventive actions.

• 4–40 people
• 1 hour
• Hybrid · Calm

CSR & impactProblem-solving Charity Bike Build Teams earn parts through quick challenges and assemble children's bikes that are donated to a local charity at the end.

• 10–300 people
• 2 hours
• Indoor · Active

Fast decisions Decision in 15 Minutes A time-boxed protocol for taking one real decision in a quarter of an hour: frame, options, criteria, decide, name an owner.

• 4–20 people
• 15 minutes
• Hybrid · Active

Data-driven decisions Data Detective: Spot the Misleading Chart Teams examine a set of charts and headlines and race to find what is misleading: cut axes, missing baselines, cherry-picked dates and more.

• 6–100 people
• 45 minutes
• Indoor · Active

EnergisersProblem-solving Human Knot Groups of eight to ten hold hands across a circle and untangle themselves without letting go. Quick, physical and full of laughter.

• 8–40 people
• 15 minutes
• Outdoor · High energy

EnergisersTrust & communication Two Truths and a Lie Each person shares three short statements about themselves; the others guess which one is invented. Works in a room, on video or both.

• 4–60 people
• 15 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

EnergisersProblem-solving Silent Line-Up The whole group lines up in order of birthday, years at the company or distance travelled to the event, without saying a word.

• 8–80 people
• 10 minutes
• Indoor · Active

Energisers Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament Everyone plays; whoever loses becomes the cheering fan of the winner, until two giant crowds back the final pair.

• 10–300 people
• 10 minutes
• Outdoor · High energy

Energisers Virtual Scavenger Hunt The facilitator calls out items ("something older than you", "a mug with a logo") and remote teams race to show them on camera.

• 4–100 people
• 20 minutes
• Virtual · Active

Problem-solvingCreativity Egg Drop Challenge Teams design a protective package from everyday materials so a raw egg survives a drop from a balcony or ladder.

• 8–80 people
• 1 hour
• Outdoor · Active

Problem-solvingStrategyFast decisions Lost at Sea Stranded on a life raft, teams rank 15 salvaged items by importance, first alone and then together, and compare with an expert answer.

• 6–100 people
• 45 minutes
• Virtual · Calm

Trust & communication Minefield One blindfolded person crosses a field of "mines" (soft objects) guided only by a partner's voice.

• 8–40 people
• 30 minutes
• Outdoor · Active

Trust & communicationCreativity Back-to-Back Drawing One partner describes a simple picture; the other draws it without seeing it. The results are funny and very revealing.

• 4–100 people
• 20 minutes
• Virtual · Calm

Trust & communication Journey Lines Each person draws the highs and lows of their working life on one line and shares the story behind two points.

• 4–30 people
• 45 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

Trust & communication Appreciation Cards Everyone writes short, specific thank-you notes to colleagues, which are read or handed over at the end of the event.

• 5–40 people
• 30 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

Creativity Random Object Pitch Teams receive a random everyday object, reinvent it as a product and pitch it to a panel of "investors".

• 8–100 people
• 1 hour
• Virtual · Active

CreativityStrategy Build the Team in Bricks With a handful of building bricks, each person builds a model of "how our team works today" and "how we want it to work".

• 4–60 people
• 1 hour
• Indoor · Calm

CreativityEnergisers Improv: "Yes, and…" Short improvisation games where every idea is accepted and built upon instead of blocked.

• 6–40 people
• 30 minutes
• Indoor · High energy

CreativityCSR & impact Team Mural Teams each paint one panel; together the panels form a large mural of the company's story or values.

• 8–150 people
• 1 hour 30 minutes
• Outdoor · Calm

StrategyCreativity Cover Story Teams design the magazine cover that will celebrate their success three years from now: headline, quotes, numbers and pictures.

• 6–80 people
• 1 hour
• Hybrid · Calm

StrategyProblem-solvingCoordination Bridge Builders Two teams in separate rooms each build half a bridge and must make it meet in the middle, communicating only through envoys.

• 8–60 people
• 1 hour
• Indoor · Active

StrategyTrust & communication Red–Blue Game Teams choose red or blue over several rounds; scores depend on what other teams choose. Few groups maximise the total score.

• 8–80 people
• 45 minutes
• Indoor · Active

CSR & impact Beach or Park Clean-Up with Litter Audit Teams clean a stretch of beach or park, then sort and count what they collected to report on the most common litter.

• 10–500 people
• 2 hours
• Outdoor · Active

CSR & impact Care Package Assembly Teams assemble hygiene, school or food packages for a local organisation, racing to hit quality and quantity goals.

• 10–500 people
• 1 hour
• Indoor · Calm

UncertaintyStrategy Assumption Mapping Teams list the assumptions behind a plan and map them by importance and evidence, to see which ones need testing first.

• 4–30 people
• 45 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

UncertaintyStrategy Quick Scenario Cards A 45-minute version of scenario planning: teams combine two uncertainty cards into four futures and test one decision against each.

• 6–60 people
• 45 minutes
• Indoor · Calm

Team alignmentFast decisions Silent Brainstorm and Dot Vote Everyone writes ideas silently, the group clusters them, then each person votes with a few dots. Fast, fair and hard for one voice to dominate.

• 4–60 people
• 30 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

Team alignmentCoordination Roles and Responsibilities Speed-Mapping In under an hour, the team maps who is responsible, who decides, who is consulted and who is informed for its ten most important activities.

• 4–20 people
• 50 minutes
• Hybrid · Calm

Data-driven decisionsUncertainty Estimation Challenge: Ranges, Not Guesses Teams estimate ten tricky quantities with a range they are 80 percent sure about, then discover how well calibrated they are.

• 4–200 people
• 30 minutes
• Virtual · Calm

CoordinationProblem-solving Paper Plane Production Line Teams run a small factory that folds paper planes to a quality standard. After each round they redesign the process and try to deliver more with less waste.

• 12–80 people
• 1 hour
• Indoor · High energy

CoordinationTrust & communication Minefield Command A coordination version of the classic minefield: blindfolded walkers are guided across a field of obstacles by a navigator who only receives information from a spotter.

• 9–45 people
• 40 minutes
• Outdoor · Active

StrategyFast decisions Red Team, Blue Team One group presents a plan, a red team tries to find its weak points, and the blue team defends and improves it. A structured way to stress-test ideas.

• 8–40 people
• 1 hour 15 minutes
• Indoor · Active