Online team game: team building for remote teams
The problem for remote teams is not a lack of meetings: there are plenty of meetings and no shared experience. Two people on the same project hear each other's voices every day but cannot remember achieving something together. An online team game exists to fill that gap — but not every online game works.
Three conditions for an online team game to work
Everyone needs a role at the same time. A participant who watches a presentation or waits for their turn switches the camera off. The game has to give every person something to do at the same moment.
Chat has to be part of the game. The moment someone says "open a separate channel for chat", attention scatters. Sharing a clue, asking for a code, saying "I've got this one" must happen inside the game.
There has to be a time limit. 45–60 minutes. Longer tires people out, shorter is not enough to warm up.
How RedAlert Game is played
RedAlert Game is the on-screen version of Red Alert. The team sits down together at a 3D chest: the drawers open one by one, each holding a puzzle (map, Morse, light, laser, colour, gears, switches, mainboard…). Clues you find are shared to the team's wall screen with one tap; the team code is built from the digits of all the chests together; the Sphere is stopped before time runs out.
How to start: get a code, send the invitation link, everyone joins from their own phone or computer. No installation, no app download, no account.
Who it is for
- Hybrid teams: the people in the office and the people at home at the same chest.
- Sales teams in different cities: once, instead of the weekly meeting.
- Onboarding: a new starter's first shared success with the team.
- A warm-up before a face-to-face event, or a follow-up after it.
Does it replace the face-to-face game?
No, it complements it. The tension at a physical chest, the sound of the room and the moment the Sphere stops are not the same on a screen. But a screen is enough for a remote team to remember achieving something together. See the online game page to plan a session or get a code.