17 fun Friday games for your employees - in office and remote

Breaking out of the monotonous cycle of work is important for various reasons. Working continuously without a break could lead to many physical as well as mental health problems. It is crucial to take a break in between, to keep the creative juices flowing and not be stuck in a routine for a longer duration.

Having fun together as a team will also help in getting to know each other better and have less unnecessary awkward moments. A work place where one can have fun, be stress free without compromising on the output will yield higher results as compared to one where there is no fun and only work. It also serves as an employee engagement strategy which boosts your company culture.

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Read: Why are employers interested in employee engagement?

Fun games in office on Fridays - Plan it like a pro

On Fridays, you can break up the workday, let stress out, and get rid of creative blocks by engaging in a few fun Friday games at the office. These Fun Friday activities may help you decompress from work's frequent stress and keep a positive work-life balance.

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Mentioned below are 11 such team building activities which would help your employees to relax and have a good time together. These fun Friday activities and games are focused on just having fun with the team and not think about work or deadlines for a few hours!

1. Who am 1?
2. Karaoke nights
3. Bags not allowed
4. Spin a yarn
5. Heads up
6. Solve the puzzle
7. Treasure hunt
8. Office Olympics
9. Three truths and a lie
10. Potluck
11. Praise wall

1. Who am I?

Get weird and funny details from employees beforehand. The host has to tell a fact and the people should guess who it is from the group. The person who guesses the most wins. It is a fun game that makes people laugh and get to know more about others. 

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No of players: No limit

Duration: Up to the host. Recommended to give 20 secs to guess

How to play: Host to collect details and facts from employees beforehand and tell one by one during the game.

2. Karaoke nights

Who doesn’t love singing to their heart’s content? When done in front of their colleagues, it’ll become 10x more interesting and embarrassing. This simple singing game will enable your co-workers to get more comfortable with each other and help break the ice. Sing your favorite songs and make it a day/night to remember.

No of players: No limit

Duration: One song or free to choose a time limit

How to play: Can be played at karoake places where everything is set up. You can also do it by playing the song's karoke version and employees singing.

3. Bags not allowed

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On one Friday, you can ask employees to ditch their bag and carry their belongings in anything other than a bag. You can also shoot a video for your social media about all the things your employees bring instead of a bad.

No of players: No limit

How to play: Inform team and just wait for the fun

4. Spin a yarn

You can show images and ask one person to start a story from what they see on the image. Alternatively, a host can tell a few lines of a story and ask the next person to continue. It will continue in the group from one person to another. It becomes fun when the host intervenes in between adds a twist and the next person has to take it from there.

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No of players: No limit

How to play: Host to have storylines and twists ready to plug in between.

5. Heads up

If we have learnt something from the celebrities, it is definitely a game of Heads Up! Pick a category and hold the deck to your forehead, guess the word as your fellow teammates states the clues. Instead of playing it digitally, the participants can have placards with the topics or categories written. This would ensure a 100% participation along with encouraging the people to use the witty and creative side of their brains.

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No of players: 2 to 10

Duration: 30 seconds for each word

How to play : Pick a category and hold the deck to your forehead, guess the word as your fellow teammates states the clues.

6. Solve the puzzle

Get physical big puzzles and ask your employees to set them. You can group employees and time the game to make it more interesting. You can offer something to the group that wins the game.

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‍No of players: 5 to 10 per group

How to play: . Give participants puzzles and set a timer.

7. Treasure hunt

Conduct a treasure hunt by hiding clues in the office or the area you are playing. One clue will lead to another and the final clue will lead to a big prize. This is a group activity and becomes very interesting as the team comes together to solve clues under a timer.

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‍No of players: 5 to 10 per group

How to play: . Hide all clues in the area except first one. Give the first clue to teams at the same time and let the group find other clues to find the treasure.

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8. Office Olympics

You can conduct a series of games simultaneously for multiple groups. This will work well for bigger teams. You can include games like carrom, chess, table tennis, dart board, beer pong, etc. To make it more nostalgic, you can divide people into houses in red, green, blue and yellow like in school days and see which house wins.

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No of players: No limit

Duration: No limit

How to play: Plan what games to be conducted and get the materials ready. Divide employees into groups and ensure even participation of groups in all games.

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9. Three truths and a lie

This game has aged like fine wine. This good old game can be played in a group or within a small circle as well, with each person saying four statements. These will consist of three truths and one lie. The rest of the party has to guess which one is the lie amongst the four. This game is the best icebreaker and team building exercise.

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No of players: No limit

How to play: Each player has to say out loud three truths and a lie about themselves without saying which is the truth/lie and the others have to find out.

10. Potluck

Good conversations happen over a cup of coffee, similarly, great conversations happen over a plate full of delicious food! Another great way to initiate conversation among peers is by having a potluck, wherein, everybody will bring their favorite food and have a gala time with a full table. This is a good way to celebrate any and every big or small achievement made by the institution.

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No of players: No limit

Duration: 30 minutes lunch break is not enough 😐May be 1.5 hours?

How to play: The potluck can be based on themes like colours, state wise cuisines or international cuisines.

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11. Praise wall

This activity focuses on generating positive vibes. Employees are encouraged to leave a note of appreciation on praise wall. It can be done through out the week or on Fridays. They can also give gifts to people who they like.

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Duration: Till everyone feels appreciated.

How to play: Leave sticky notes and sketch pens and have a wall (may be decorated) for employees leave notes.

Fun Friday activities virtual - Working remote is not a hindrance on Fridays

It is difficult to engage employees and create team bonding when working from home. It is absolutely essential for HRs to take conscious efforts to conduct fun Friday games for employees working from home.

1. Virtual Bingo
2. Pictionary
3. Charades
4. Playing Cards
5. Never Have I Ever
6. Talent show

1. Virtual bingo

Since literally everything has come online now, why not a-game-as-old-as-time? Bingo is a sure shot way to keep your staff engaged during a Zoom call! Virtual Bingo is something which can be played by groups of people together and what does the winner get? A pizza party, a Zomato delivery from their favorite restaurant? Be Creative!

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No of players: Minimum of 3 players

How to play: Choose bingo cards from the different categories or make your own customised theme. Select the number of cards each player gets and send them out by creating a link. Finally start calling out numbers one by one and the first to fully strike out either a row or column calls out Bingo.

2. Pictionary

Surprise your employees with your good or not-so-god artwork and let them guess what it is that you’re drawing. This game will definitely unwind the brains and help your employees interact with each other better.

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No of players: Minimum of 2 

How to play: Divide into teams. Pick a random word and select a player to draw the same for his team mates to find out within a specific decided time. The team that answers the most correctly wins.

3. Charades

As if embarrassing yourselves with your melodious singing in Karaoke and beautiful drawings in Pictionary wasn’t enough, play Charades to also showcase your inner actor! Let it be any movie from your generation or one generation above, the only aim is to enjoy at the comforts of our homes.

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No of players: 6 and more

How to play: Divide into groups. Each player from the teams take turns to act out the chosen word/phrase for their team to guess.

4. Playing cards

Bored of playing Solitaire and online Rummy? Play card games with your colleagues and/or employees. Playing Cards have many options to choose from. You can create a room while on a Zoom call and have fun at your ‘new workplace’.

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No of players: Minimum 2

Duration: No limit

How to play: You can either gather the team members on a zoom call or visit any online multiplayer card game sites.

5. Never have I ever

Since we’re talking about games which can be played from the comforts of our homes, this game cannot be left out. Pick a glass of any drink and spill some secrets in front of your employees. Let the quirkiness begin with this fun game which we’re sure will end up in getting to know more about your employees and staff.

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No of players: No limit

Duration: No limit

How to play: Each player takes a turn by saying an experience that he/she has never done. If any of the other players have done it they would have to take sip of the drink but if no one has done it then the person who posed that experience has to take a sip.

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6. Talent show

Find the singers, dancers, rappers, fast texters, magicians and more and give them a chance to perform for their colleagues. This can be a great engagement activity for employees to break the ice with their colleagues.

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No of players: The more the fun. Ideal for less than 100 employees.

Duration: 2 to 3 hours.

How to play: Plan prior with employees who are willing to perform and set an order in which the performances will go. Share a meeting link where everyone can join the talent show.

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These fun activities might seem a lot but at the end of the day, these will pose as a great ice-breaker. This added luxury of conducting fun Friday activities for the employees will definitely provide a weekly or bi-weekly relief to the employees from their regular jobs. This can be a great way to spark remote team engagement and also paves way for your team to engage with each other. It further will enhance the productivity of the people.

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