Remote work is a win-win for both employees and employers in many ways. But one of its major drawbacks is social isolation. That’s where quick virtual team building activities can help.

If you’re in charge of a remote team, you’re probably also responsible for keeping all team members engaged. With this guide by your side, you can easily fulfill this role in a short amount of time.

Simplify your search for team building games through our comprehensive list of 5-minute virtual team building activities, 10-minute virtual team building games, free virtual team building activities, and fun virtual team building activities. 

For even more games, remember to look at our guide to virtual charades for work and virtual team building activities for small groups.

1. How Do You Help Your Team Bond Virtually?

You can help your remote team bond virtually in many ways depending on diverse interests and purposes. Quick virtual team building activities, like those we’ve listed below, are some of the best solutions that’ll help address all kinds of needs. However, you can also include any other games and activities you like, so long as they encourage recognition and help employees learn about each other.

2. What Are Some Quick Team Building Exercises?

2.1. Emoji Icebreaker

The Emoji Icebreaker exercise involves using emojis to express your present mood/state of mind. It is one of the best quick virtual team building activities to ease participants into a meeting within 1-2 minutes.

This activity, like most other icebreakers, is ideal for groups with up to 15 people. You can introduce it to your team by asking participants to describe themselves or their state of mind using emojis. Let everyone take turns so everyone can take note of each other’s answers. Once all team members have answered, you can continue with the meeting.

You can also do this exercise before other virtual activities or simply use emojis as a quick-response option for reviews.

This exercise is primarily intended to help participants check in with themselves and prepare for the meeting. But it also helps teammates express themselves even when they can’t find the right words. It serves as an opportunity for team leaders to make meetings more productive by understanding their employees better.

2.2. Virtual Show and Tell

Show and Tell involves each person showing an object to the group and talking about it for a couple of minutes. These objects are typically something that holds meaning for the person doing the show and tell.

This activity is best for small groups of 15 to allow all members to remember their coworkers’ performances. In this estimated time, each member would typically get 3-5 minutes for both show and tell and answering questions from coworkers. 

To play Show and Tell virtually, ask your employees to bring an object or a photograph of something that’s meaningful to them. On the day you’re performing the show and tell, everybody shows their pictures/objects and talks about them.

You can even ask employees to send you the pictures (or pictures of those objects) for making a collage as a memento.

A virtual Show and Rell is a great way for employees to open up and speak confidently. It’s also an opportunity for coworkers to recognize their colleagues’ interests.

2.3. Fun Facts Trivia

Fun Facts Trivia is a quiz-style game challenge where teams compete against each other to answer a bunch of trivial questions.

It is best played among 15-20 people and in teams of 2 to 5, although you can also let employees play as individuals. The estimated time required varies widely based on players and the game. However, you can give each player 30 seconds to 1 minute to answer each question.

Start with building a set of questions; you’ll have to do a little bit of Google search for this. You can also take an easier route by looking up fun categories on sites like Random Trivia Generator. Slack is also a great messaging app that has some trivia games built right into it.

You can then set a date for the event and send invites to your employees.

Trivia is one of the best quick virtual team building activities to perform when you want to break the ice between members. It also helps encourage brainstorming and teamwork among employees.

2.4. Virtual “I Spy”

The “I Spy” game involves locating an object in an image/video based on the description provided by the player. It requires at least two people to play, but there’s no upper limit. However, make sure to keep the number reasonable; otherwise, you risk losing focus in these quick virtual team building activities.

You can calculate the total estimated time required by allotting every player 30 seconds to find the object.

To play Virtual “I Spy,” tell all the employees to gather objects from their room and put them on their desks. Ask them to click a picture of the desk or share it via their webcam. You can then take turns picking an object from each picture and describe it in a riddle-like manner. Let the players take turns guessing the object you’re describing.

This game is perfect for getting your employees to engage in some active viewing, listening, and participation during virtual meetings. It builds their social skills while also helping them connect with others by taking a closer look at their desks.

2.5. Remote Desktop Tour

A Remote Desktop Tour is essentially a virtual tour of the employees’ desks or their home office setups. The activity is best done in smaller groups of under 15 people and requires an estimated time of 2-3 minutes per person.

It’s one of the best quick virtual team building activities to incorporate for a fun and intimate experience. Give your employees a heads up, and on the day of the tour, let every person take turns giving others a tour of their desk or home office setup.

You can also allow a few extra minutes for everyone to comment on or ask questions about someone’s work setups.

It is a brilliant way to meet your remote employees at their workstations and understand everyone’s working style and preferences. What’s more, your employees can also learn more about each other, building a spirit of community.

2.6. Online Quizzes

Online Quizzes can refer to any kind of competitive game where the participants try to answer a series of questions. Quizzes typically have a more focused subject matter compared to trivia games and can even center around company values, employees, etc.

This is a game that any number of participants can play, and it requires an estimated time of 30 seconds to 1 minute per question.

You can easily build your own quiz or use platforms like Kahoot and QuizBreaker to do it for you. To get started, pick a topic for the quiz and let your employees know in advance so they can prepare. Then, you can either generate questions on platforms like QuizBreaker or build your own.

These quiz games help you test and reward employees based on their knowledge about the topic. They make a great choice in quick virtual team building activities for encouraging a competitive spirit.

2.7. Online Appreciation Wall

An Online Appreciation Wall refers to a virtual wall where employees can post appreciation notes for their coworkers. You can make an appreciation wall with as many participants as you like. 

This isn’t a timed activity, so employees can feel free to add positive comments and notes whenever they want. You can, however, set an estimated time for reviewing all the notes accumulated.

Building these appreciation walls is easy. If you’re using Slack, Microsoft Teams, or TinyPulse, you’ll find plenty of apps and options to add notes for employees. Kudoboard is another option that will allow you to celebrate special occasions and milestones.

These appreciation walls are an excellent choice in quick virtual team building activities to show employees some recognition and celebrate their wins!

2.8. Virtual “Name That Tune”

The “Name That Tune” game involves guessing popular songs by listening to their tunes for a few seconds. It typically takes an estimated time of up to 1 minute per round/song. The game can be played with any number of players, but we suggest 5-30 people for optimum engagement.

You can play it virtually by sending an invite to your teammates and keeping a list of tunes ready for the activity. Then, play each tune as the players try to guess the song. You can even divide the players into 3-5 member teams and let them play separately using breakout rooms.

If you’re looking to bring the competitive spirit to work, this is one of the perfect quick virtual team building activities.

3. FAQs

3.1. What Are Some Easy Team Building Exercises?

Some easy virtual team building exercises are Two Truths and a Lie, Scavenger Hunt, Trivia, and Virtual “I Spy.”

3.2. How Can You Find Free Online Games for Virtual Teams?

You can find free online games for virtual teams by searching on Google. Or you can simply use our extensive list of quick virtual team building activities for many popular team building activities.