If you work in an office, thereโs a very strong chance that youโll have to partake in an office party at some point in your career.ย
Whether itโs for a colleagueโs birthday, a promotion or new job, or the annual Christmas party, having an array of games to play can genuinely make or break the party.ย
Office party games are the ideal way to break the ice for team building and when the drinks are flowing alike, pick the game your team would love the most with some of our favorite games.ย
Office Party Games Ideas for All Sizes
1. BELLY BALLOON BREAK
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 1 minutes.ย
Belly Balloon Break in a nutshell:ย
Split everyone into teams of 2 players per team. Set a 1 minute time limit and challenge each pair to burst as many balloons by squeezing them between their bellies. After 3 minutes, the team that bursts the most balloons wins the game.
Related: 20 Minute To Win It Games
2. DESK THIEF
Players: 3+ players.ย
Time to Play: 10 โ 15 minutes.ย
Desk Thief in a nutshell:ย
Randomly take an item from someoneโs desk. Reveal the item, and have players attempt to guess which personโs desk the item got taken from. When a player guesses correctly, have that player take the next item for players to guess.ย
3. TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 5 โ 15 minutes.ย
Two Truths and a Lie in a nutshell:ย
Have everyone write down 2 truths and a lie about themselves on the same piece of paper or post-it note. Go round the circle with each player reading out their 3 statements. The rest of the group need to figure out which is the truth and which is the lie. 1 point for each player who correctly identifies the lie.ย
4. WHO SAID THAT?
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 5 minutes.ย
Who Said That in a nutshell:ย
Start by writing down famous quotes from movies on post-it notes, fold them, and place them into a bowl. Split into 2 teams, set a timer for a minute, and read out as many quotes as possible. The team that guesses the most people or characters to say the quote within a minute wins.ย
5. WINK WINK MURDER
Players: 8+ players.
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Wink Wink Murder in a nutshell:ย
Hand out post-it notes with either โVictimโ, โDetectiveโ or โMurdererโ written on it. There should be 1 detective, 1 murderer, and the rest are victims. No one can reveal their note except the spy who has to work out who the murderer is. When the murderer winks at a victim, they must lie on the floor as if they have been murdered. If the detective cannot catch the murderer before all the victims are gone, they lose. They win by successfully guessing the murderer.
6. GUESS WHOโS JOB?
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 5 โ 15 minutes.ย
Guess Whoโs Job in a nutshell:ย
All participants write down 2 โ 3 interesting work stories and put them into a bowl. Each one gets read out, and players need to to guess who each story belongs to. Most correct guesses at the end of the game wins.ย
7. THE LAUGHING GAME
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 5 โ 10 minutes.ย
The Laughing Game in a nutshell:ย
Gather all players in a circle. One by one each player needs to say ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee or a variation of this. When a player genuinely laughs, they are knocked out of the game. Continue until there is only 1 player left.ย
8. NAME THE SONG
Players: 4+ players.
Time to Play: 10 โ 15 minutes.ย
Name The Song in a nutshell:ย
Either line up a playlist of song intros, or write down the first 2 lines to songs. Play or read out the song intros, and have all players write down the song and artist. At the end, go through the answers, award the player/s with the most correct answers the win.ย
9. GUESS THE MOVIE
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 15 โ 30 minutes.ย
Guess the Movie in a nutshell:ย
Write down as many movies as you can and place them into a bowl. Have players pick them at random, and act out a scene or quote from that movie for others to guess. Whoever is correct gets to pick the next one out of the bowl. Whoever has the most correct guesses at the end wins.
10. WORK BINGO
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Work Bingo in a nutshell:ย
Before this game starts, create a bingo card that is personalized to your own office with words and sayings said by either your company or individuals at the party. When mingling, if anyone says something on the bingo card, mark it off the card. The winner is the first person to get a line or fill their card out entirely.ย
11. OPPOSITES
Players: 4+ players.ย
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.
Opposites in a nutshell:ย
Players need to do the opposite of whatever the nominated leader says. If the leader says to stand up, players need to sit down. The last person to successfully do the opposite of the leader is out. Last player still in the game is out.ย
12. OFFICE TRIVIA QUIZ
Players: 4+ players.
Time to Play: 20 โ 60 minutes.ย
Office Trivia Quiz in a nutshell:ย
Split players up into even teams. Choose a list of trivia questions to ask your colleagues, award a point for every correct answer that the team answers. The winning team is the one with the most points at the end of the quiz.ย
Related: 100+ Office Trivia Questions
13. OFFICE SCAVENGER HUNTย
Players: 2+ players.ย
Time to Play: 20 โ 40 minutes.ย
Office Scavenger Hunt in a nutshell:ย
Hide various random items around the office, and give your colleagues a list of cryptic clues as to where the items are hiding. The first person to find all the items wins the scavenger hunt.ย
Related: 15 Fun Scavenger Hunt Games
Office Party Games Ideas for Small Groups
14. GAME AGAINST THE OFFICEย
Players: 2 โ 10 players.ย
Time to Play: 60 minutes.ย
Game Against The Office in a nutshell:ย
Gather players around in a circle and hand out 10 white cards each. In Game Against The Office, players need to match their white cards with a statement on the black card. The group agrees on who has made the funniest combination, and that player gets awarded with the black card. Most black cards at the end of the game wins.ย
15. THE OFFICE SPACE GAMEย
Players: 2 โ 10 players.ย
Time to Play: 20 โ 30 minutes.ย
The Office Space Game in a nutshell:ย
In the Office Space Game, each participant gets given 6 secret office based missions to complete. These usually involve getting another co-worker to complete the task for you among others. The winner is the first person to successfully complete their 6 missions.
16. BAD CHOICESย
Players: 3 โ 10 players.
Time to Play: 20 โ 45 minutes.ย
Bad Choices in a nutshell:ย
Each player gets dealt 6 cards to begin. Each card has various Bad Choices on them, on their turn, players need to hand one of their cards to the player they feel is most likely to have done what is displayed on the card. If they say โYesโ, they have done the statement then they keep the card, if they say โNo,โ the card goes back to its original owner. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins.ย
17. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THATโฆย
Players: 2 โ 10 players.ย
Time to Play:
I Should Have Known Thatโฆ in a nutshell:ย
In โI Should Have Known Thatโฆโ players either individually or in teams answer assorted trivia questions around common but obscure knowledge. Every wrong answer deducts points from teams who are incorrect. The team with the most points at the end wins.ย
Office Party Games Ideas for Large Groups
18. CELEBRITY COUPLES WHO AM I?ย
Players: 10+ players, needs an even number.ย
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Couples Who Am I? in a nutshell:ย
Write down as many celebrity couples onto post-it notes, 1 name per note. Each player grabs a post-it note each and attempts to find their celebrity partner by asking โYesโ or โNoโ questions. The game ends once everyone has found their celebrity partner.
19. HAMBURGERย
Players: 10+ players, needs an even number.
Time to Play: 5 minutes.ย
Hamburger in a nutshell:ย
Split players into 2 equal teams. Place a different hamburger ingredient on each team memberโs back. Teams must organize themselves into the correct order to make a complete hamburger. Fastest team to complete the task wins.ย
20. STATUESย
Players: 10+ players.ย
Time to Play: Duration of the office party.ย
Statues in a nutshell:ย
Before the office party begins, pick someone at random to be the first statue for when the party begins. At a random point during the party, the nominated statue will randomly freeze and other players who spot this have to freeze as well. Last person to notice becomes the next statue. Continue playing until the end of the party.ย
21. OFFICE PHOTO HUNT GAMEย
Players: 10+ players, needs an even number.
Time to Play: 20 โ 30 minutes.ย
Office Photo Hunt Game in a nutshell:ย
Split all players into teams of 2 and hand each team a list of hidden items to find around the office. The first team to find all the items wins the game.ย
22. OFFICE OLYMPICSย
Players: 10+ players
Time to Play: 60 โ 120 minutes.
Office Olympics in a nutshell:ย
Tailor the Office Olympics with events that your team would enjoy, such as paper bin basketball. Have all players take part in events, and give scores depending on where each player finishes in each event. Once all events finish, tally up the scores and award gold, silver and bronze to the top 3.ย
23. OFFICE ESCAPE ROOMย
Players: 3+ players.ย
Time to Play: 60 minutes.ย
Office Escape Room in a nutshell:ย
Lock all players in a room and set a timer for 60 minutes. Set a list of team challenges that eventually lead to finding a key that unlocks the door. If the team manages to escape within 60 minutes they win, if they take longer or give up at any point then they lose.ย
Related: 12 Escape Room Ideas
24. BABY PICTURE GUESSING GAMEย
Players: 10+ players.ย
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Baby Picture Guessing Game in a nutshell:ย
Task everyone to bring in a baby picture for the office party, and on the day add everyones pictures onto a board. Other players need to guess which person in the office is which baby in the picture. Person with the most correct answers wins.
Office Christmas Party Gamesย
25. HOLIDAY COOKIE CHALLENGEย
Players: 2+ players.
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Holiday Cookie Challenge in a nutshell:ย
Challenge everyone to bring in their own festive themed homemade cookies for the office party. Have everyone try a piece of each cookie and give them a mark out of 10. Work out the average score, and crown the Christmas Cookie Champion.ย
26. HOLIDAY MOVIE TRIVIAย
Players: 4+ players.
Time to Play: 20 โ 40 minutes.
Holiday Movie Trivia in a nutshell:ย
Split the office up into teams depending on the number of players you have. Have a pre-prepared list of Christmas movie questions that teams answer. The winning team is the team with the most correct answers.ย
27. NAME THE CAROLย
Players: 4+ players.
Time to Play: 20 โ 40 minutes.
Name The Carol in a nutshell:ย
Split everyone playing into 2 or 3 teams. Have a list of classic Christmas carols on either a playlist of the first 2 lines of each song written down. Teams need to guess the Christmas carol from the song intro. Points for each correct answer, the team who wins is the team with the most points at the end of the quiz.ย
28. SECRET SANTAย
Players: 3+ players.
Time to Play: 10 โ 20 minutes.ย
Secret Santa in a nutshell:ย
About a week before the office party, colleagues pick names out of a bowl, which tells them who they have to buy a gift for. Set a $10 spending limit. At the office party, exchange gifts without revealing who bought the gifts for one another.ย
Related: White Elephant Game Rules
Office Party Games Ideas for Halloween
29. BEST DRESSED CHALLENGEย
Players: 10+ players.ย
Time to Play: 20 โ 30 minutes.ย
Best Dressed Challenge in a nutshell:ย
Task office workers to all dress up as a Halloween character. During the party, everyone votes in a ballot to see who is the best dressed person. Person who gets the most nominations is best dressed and wins the best dressed challenge.ย
30. PUMPKIN CARVING CONTESTย
Players: 2+ players.ย
Time to Play: 30 minutes.ย
Pumpkin Carving Contest in a nutshell:ย
Supply each player with a pumpkin and tools to carve. Set a timer for 30 minutes, and challenge each player to carve out the best pumpkin that they can. Allow everyone to vote on the best pumpkin at the end.ย
31. DEATH AT THE DIVE BARย
Players: 2+ players.ย
Time to Play: 45 โ 60 minutes.ย
Death At The Dive Bar in a nutshell:ย
Death At The Dive Bar is a murder mystery where players all get assigned a role and have to interact with one another to try to work out which character commited the murder. Players will also need to work together to decipher clues to piece together the murder as well.ย
32. MUMMIFY THE BOSS
Players: 2+ players.ย
Time to Play: 5 โ 10 minutes.ย
Mummify The Boss in a nutshell:ย
Gather a lot of toilet roll from the office toilets. Gather 2 teams, and time the first team to see how long it takes them to completely wrap the boss up in the toilet roll like a mummy. After team 1 finishes, the boss rips off the toilet roll and team 2 has a go. Whichever team is fastest wins the game.ย
Related: Mummy Wrap Game
Wrap Up
You should now have some great games to play at your next work function, and should be prepared no matter the occasion as well.ย
But itโs not just the office we have extensive recommendations on, for example if you were looking for big group games to play with friends outside the office weโve got you covered there too.ย
And we donโt just have games for adults, we cover other ages as well. Check out some of our favorite group games for preschoolers and group games for teenagers as well.ย