15 Team Building Activities & Games – Indoors
15 Team Building Activities & Games To Play Inside
We have put together a list of 15 group games and activities that need very few if any supplies and if they do need supplies, they are very inexpensive. Activities & games for large groups can get a little pricey so we wanted to keep it as inexpensive as possible. Whether you are leading a youth church group, summer camp, or scout meeting we hope you find this list helpful.
We also have all of these games in a printable format so you don’t have to write down all of the directions. Print out, add to your games binder and be prepared any time for a team building game or activity.
1. Spaghetti Marshmallow Tower Challenge
What kid doesn’t love a good challenge these days? Every other YouTube video they watch is some sort of fun & exciting challenge. Here is a new one I haven’t seen kids on YouTube doing yet. The goal of this challenge is for the kids to work together as a team using spaghetti, tape, and string and build a tower that can support 1 large marshmallow.
Supplies Needed:
20 Pieces Spaghetti
3 ft. String
3 ft. Tape (painters tape works great)
Scissors
1 Marshmallow, large
How To Play:
1. Combine children into teams of 2 or more.
2. Provide each group with spaghetti, string, tape and a marshmallow.
3. The rules of the game are to build the tallest possible tower with the given supplies that can support a marshmallow on the top.
4. The teams are given 18 minutes (or any amount of time you choose) to build their tower before it will be tested and measured.
5. Remind the kids to work as a team and to communicate and plan before starting the tower build.
6. Once the builds are complete and winners chosen it is a great time to talk to the kids about what worked and why it worked and what didn’t work and how we can learn from that.
Tom Wujac has a really fun TedTalk on how this challenge has been used with adults and kids and you would be surprised at who is the best at building a spaghetti tower, or maybe you wouldn’t be surprised 😉 He gives some great advice that you can share with your group about how to utilize their time wisely by making prototypes and what shapes are the best when trying to build a strong structure.
2. Spaghetti & Marshmallow Challenge Take 2
If you tried the first spaghetti and marshmallow challenge then this is a good follow up game but with a twist. This time you are going to remove the tape and large marshmallow from their supplies and add in small marshmallows. The goal with this version is to have the team use their spaghetti and mini marshmallows to build the largest free standing tower. Pro-Tip: Have extra marshmallows as the kids like to eat the ones that have been provided for the challenge 😉
Supplies Needed:
20 Pieces Spaghetti
Mini-Marshmallows (I would just provide a large bowl full so they can snack and build at the same time)
How To Play:
1. Combine children into teams of 2 or more.
2. Provide each group with spaghetti and marshmallow’s.
3. The rules of the game are to build the tallest possible tower with the given supplies.
4. The teams are given 8 minutes (or any amount of time you choose) to build their tower before it will be measured.
5. Remind the kids to work as a team and to communicate and plan before starting the tower build.
6. Once the builds are complete and winners chosen it is a great time to talk to the kids about what worked and why and what didn’t work and how we can learn from that.
7. Kids will want to play this more than once so make sure you have enough supplies 🙂
3. Lego Master's for Kids - Bridge Building Challenge
This team building activity is one of the kids favorite. What kid doesn’t love building with Lego’s?! In this activity each group will be trying to work together to build a bridge over a “river”. Your river can be drawn on a piece of poster board or you can cut out some blue paper and tape it down the length of the room. Each group will have a pile of logo’s and a set amount of time to figure out how to build a bridge that can stand up and stretch over the water. It’s kind of like a Lego Master’s challenge but for kids.
Supplies Needed:
Lego’s
Blue Paper (or) Poster Board and Blue Crayon’s
Tape
Set Up:
1. Create a “river” for the kids to build their bridge over.
2. This can be done by either coloring a river on a poster board or by cutting out sheets of blue paper and taping on the floor across the room.
How To Play:
1. Combine children into teams with 2 or more kid’s in each group and station them along the length of the river.
2. Provide each group with a pile of lego’s.
3. Decide how long you want to give the children to build their bridge. We recommend around 20 minutes.
4. No winner needs to be chosen this is a lesson on working together and completing the bridge and/or figuring out how to work well with others.
4. The Empty Chair
This is a fun game that has a similar vibe to it as musical chairs. This game works best with 10 or more players.
Each player will have a chair to sit in with one of the players chosen
to stand in the middle of the play area. The goal for the standing
player is to sit down in an open seat, however, the goal of the other
players is to keep the person standing from getting an open seat.
This game is lots of fun but can get out of control quick if there aren’t set rules first. Be sure to instruct the players there is no running, no diving for a seat, and only one person to a chair.
Supplies Needed:
Chair’s (enough for each person playing the game)
Set Up:
1. Chairs can be placed in a circle or spread around the room.
How To Play:
1. Each player will start in their seat.
2. The leader will choose 1 player to stand in the middle of the circle or if the chairs are not in a circle then they need to stand far away from their chair.
3. The standing player’s goal is to sit in an empty chair (much like musical chairs). The goal of the other player’s is to not let the standing person get a seat. This can be done by standing up and moving from their seat to an empty seat. Once standing a player can no longer sit back in the seat, they must find a new one.
4. Once the original standing player has found a seat there will be a new standing player and the game continues.
5. Pipeline
The pipeline activity requires the players to get golf balls or marbles from Point A to Point B only using pvc pipe
Supplies Needed:
1. PVC pipes or Pipeline Kit
2. Marbles or Golf Balls
3. Bucket or Box for the end of the race
Set Up:
1. You will need a starting line and a finish line. If you have a lot of players this can be broken up into different teams.
2. A box or bucket will need to be placed at the finish line to put the golf balls or marbles in once they are transported down the pipeline.
How To Play (Variation 1)
1. The team will have to transport all of their golf balls or marbles from Point A into the box at Point B.
2. This must be done by only using the pipe provided…no using hands or anything else.
3. The team is given 5 minutes to discuss and plan how they will accomplish the activity.
4. If there are enough people you can have 2 teams racing against each other. If there are only enough players for one team then they can be timed and each time they race they are racing against their best time.
How To Play (Variation 2)
1. The team will stand in a circle all holding one of the pvc pipes. The ball will start with one player and the idea is to see how long the group can keep the ball rolling around the circle without it falling to the ground.
6. In The Hot Seat
If you have ever seen the game show The $100,000 Pyramid with Michael Strahan then you will know how to play this game and how much fun it is. In this team building game the team will give clues to a person in the hot seat who will be trying to figure out the secret phrase or word.
How To Play:
1. Out of the group the leader will pick 1 player to sit in front of the rest of the team facing towards them. This person will be receiving the clues while sitting in the hot seat.
2. Behind them the leader will hold up a piece of paper with a word or phrase on it.
3. The rest of the group will provide clues to the person in the hot seat in the hopes to get them to guess the word or phrase. They are not allowed to use any form of the word or phrase while giving clues.
4. The game time will be set for 60 seconds and each word they get correct will earn them 1 point.
5. The person with the most points wins the game.
7. Tic Tac Toe Dash
This game is a running game and is played tag-team style so it is great to burn up some of the kids energy. It is a simple to set up game and doesn’t need many supplies just some tape and paper.
Supplies Needed:
1. Painter’s Tape
2. Colored Paper (2 Colors)
Set Up:
1. Tape off a Tic-Tac-Toe grid on the wall or floor.
2. Have 2 colors of paper (representing X’s & O’s) with tape on it. You will need 3 of each color. (you can use other objects like bean bags, etc. if grid is on the floor )
3. Tape off a starting line.
How To Play:
1. Each game will use 6 players. 3 players for the X’s team and 3 players for the O’s team.
2. Line up the 2 teams across the room from the grid.
3. Hand all of the X players one color of paper, hand all of the O players the other color paper.
4. This is a racing/tag team game. When the leader yells go, the first player on each time will run to the Tic-Tac-Toe grid and place their playing piece. As soon as they run back and tag their team mate they are allowed to run down and place their playing piece. Again, they will run back and tag the next player. Once that piece has been played they will run back and tag the next player. At this point all pieces have been played but they can now be moved around the grid if need be. Once the player runs to the grid they are allowed to move one of their pieces to a new spot trying to get 3 in a row.
5. Game continues until one of the teams gets three in a row.
Here are 2 examples of the game being played:
8. Lego Sneak Peak
Another fun game involving Lego’s! It doesn’t matter how old you are Lego’s are always fun to play with! This game works on memory and communication skills.
Supplies Needed:
1. Lego’s or Duplo’s
Set Up:
1. The leader will build a basic shape/tower with different colored blocks. For example you can have 1 of each of the following blocks: red, yellow, green, turquoise, & blue and stack them up off setting them a little as you go up. The older the group of kids you are playing with the more complicated the shape you can make. Keep the sculpture hidden from view.
2. Each group will need the exact same lego’s or duplo’s so that they can replicate exactly what the leader has built. If you want it to be more complicated you can add extra lego’s into their mix but if you need to keep it simple for a younger group you will want only the same exact blocks.
How To Play:
1. Divide your group into teams. 4 or 5 kids in a group is best for this game.
2. Have the leader sitting equal distance from the teams with the small lego sculpture hidden.
3. When the game starts, one person from each group gets to look at the secret lego sculpture for 10 seconds.
4. They then will return to their team and they will have 25 seconds to describe the structure to the rest of their teammates so that they can start building an exact replica. They will not be able to help build or communicate after the 25 seconds.
5. After working on it for 1 minute they may return to inspect the secret sculpture again and can communicate with their team members again for 25 seconds. This process can repeat until one of the teams announces they have built an exact replica of the secret sculpture.
6. Winner is the first team done!
9. Human Knot
This team building activity is a fun problem solving activity that doesn’t require any supplies. This game can be played with as little as 5 people and up to around 15-20 people. The group will all start grabbing hands around them until they are very tangled up like a knot. The goal of the game is to talk with each other until they have unwrapped themselves and have returned back into a circle.
Supplies Needed:
1. Nothing 🙂
Set Up:
1. Gather your group and have them stand in a very tight circle.
How To Play:
1. Once your group is in a very tight circle have them reach across and grab hands of two different people.
2. Now that the group is in a Human Knot they will have to start talking to each other and figure out how to become untangled. They are not allowed to let go of the hand they are holding. Plan on there being a lot of twisting, turning, climbing under and over arms.
3. If you are playing the game with kids remind them to not pull hard or jerk any of the other team players around. If they get too tangled or stuck the leader can have some of the kids readjust the hands they are holding.
10. Flashlight Grog
This team game is a mixture of tag and a scavenger hunt which involves taking apart a flashlight, and hiding the parts around your play area. The goal is for the group to find all of the parts, reassemble the flashlight and shine it on the “Grog” to take away the Grog’s power. This game works best in a room with dimmed lights or you can have all the lights off and a few lanterns turned on. This is such a great game to play at a camp out!
Supplies Needed:
1. A working flashlight that can come apart in pieces similar to this kind.
Optional:
Glow in the dark necklace/bracelets for the Grog to wear.
Set Up:
1. Take apart the flashlight and hide the pieces around the play area.
2. Choose one player to be “it”. This player is the Grog, the other players are the townspeople.
How To Play:
1. Send the townspeople into the play area to start finding the pieces.
After 1 minute you can let Grog into the play area. As the Grog enters
the room or play area he yells his name a few times so players know he
has entered.
2.The goal of the townspeople is to find all of the parts, assemble the flashlight and shine it on the Grog which ends the game.
3. While the townspeople are searching anyone the Grog tags has been caught and must freeze. The only way to be unfrozen is to be tagged by someone with a piece of the flashlight.
4. If the person who was caught by the Grog has a flashlight piece the Grog takes it from them and hides it again.
If you have a large group you can have more than 1 flashlight to assemble and you can have more than 1 Grog.
11. Magic Carpet Ride
This team building activity is going to take a lot of patience and a lot of communication. The object of the game is to have a group of kids standing on a “magic carpet” (i.e. tarp, sheet, towel or something similar) and this carpet is flying very, very high through the air. The goal is for them to completely flip the “magic carpet” over to the opposite side without stepping off of it and falling thousands of feet to there death.
Supplies Needed:
1. A towel, tarp, outdoor picnic blanket, tablecloth, or something similar
Set Up:
1. Place the magic carpets around the play area.
How To Play:
1. Assign a group to each of the magic carpets and have them all stand on it.
2. Explain that they are now standing on a magic carpet and they are flying very, very high up in the air. The problem is the carpet is upside down and they can’t land until they flip the carpet over.
3. They must figure out how to flip the carpet over with out anyone stepping off of it and plunging thousands of feet to their death.
4. The winning team is first team to flip it over without stepping off the magic carpet.
12. Creative Chaos
It’s time to play with everyone’s favorite dough. No not money…Playdoh, however, this new kind of dough has become my favorite and sculpts really easily and doesn’t leave a mess. Everyone is going to have to put on their creativity cap for this one.
Supplies Needed:
1. Dough or Clay
2. List of things to create with clay (ex. snowman, dog, star, snake, etc)
Set Up:
1. Have everyone sit in a circle and give a lump of dough to every 4th person in the circle.
How To Play:
1. The leader will announce to the group an object to build. When the leader says go the person holding the dough will start to shape it.
2. The leader can yell out “left” or “right” and the person holding the dough must pass it in that direction and the next person continues to form the object.
3. The leader will keep yelling directions so the dough is moving from person to person, back and forth, round and round.
4. You can stop at any point and the players can show off what has been created. The leader can announce a new object to create.
There are no “winners” in this game it is just a lot of fun and makes for a great ice breaker to warm everyone up to each other.
13. Sherlock Holmes (or Detective)
This game is like a human game of Spot The Difference. It can be played with a larger group that is spit into 2 teams with 1 team being the detectives. If you have a small group you will pick out just one person to be the detective.
Supplies Needed:
1. You will need props like pencil, glasses, scarf, gloves, hats, binoculars, necklace, etc.
Set Up:
1. If you have a large group you will split them up into 2 teams with one of the teams being the detectives. If you have a small group pick 1 person to be the detctive.
How To Play:
1. Once the detective(s) have been chosen they are allowed to study the group for 30 seconds. They then must leave the room.
2. After they have left the remaining group is going to change 10 things about their appearance. They can use props supplied, for example someone can put on glasses or a hat, or they can swap shoes or shirts, they can put a pencil behind their ear. You get the idea.
3. The detective(s) are now allowed back into the room and have to figure out as many of the 10 differences as possible.
4. Swap detectives and play again.
14. Walk & Stop
The Walk & Stop game is a funny game that is simple to play but really hard to do. The goal of this game is to sharpen those listening skills.
Supplies Needed:
1. Nothing
Set Up:
1. Have group spread out around the play area.
How To Play:
1. Rules are basic…when the leader yells “Walk” the kids walk, when the leader yells “Stop” the kids stop. Do this for 30 seconds or so in any order at any speed you prefer. (ex. Stop, Walk, Walk, Stop, Walk, Stop, Stop)
2. Now you Stop the group and tell them you are going to flip the words meaning. If the leader yells “Stop” they keep walking and if they yell “Walk” they have to stop. This creates lots of giggles as they try and follow the rules.
3. When you are ready you can announce two new Commands. “Name” which has everyone shout their name and “Clap” which means the group does one loud clap together. Continue using these 2 directions and then switch it on them again. “Name” means clap, and “Clap” means name.
Variation: use different words “Jump”, “Sit”, “Dance”, “Stand Up”
15. Jump Tag
Jump tag can be played inside or out. There is no running just big and small jumps so it is safe to do in an inside play area. If you are in a classroom this makes the game have an extra challenge as the players may get blocked in by a desk or bookshelf.
Supplies Needed:
1. Nothing
Set Up:
1. Have group form a circle and number them off. Remind them they need to remember their number.
How To Play:
1.The game starts by the leader yelling, “3, 2, 1, Jump” Each player will jump in any direction they wish and stay in the spot they land.
2. Person #1 gets one big jump where they can tag someone either in the air as they are jumping or someone they land next to. Anyone who is tagged is out of the game.
3. Now everyone gets to jump again, yell “3,2,1…jump” and everyone gets another big or small jump and then they must not move from that spot.
4. Person #2 is now the tagger and gets one big hop to try and tag someone.
5. Game continues in the same order with each person being a “tagger.”
6. Game ends when there is only one player left.
More Team Building Game Ideas: