7 team game ideas for a company event (and when each one works)
When planning a company event the first question is usually "what shall we do?". Below are the seven most common team game formats, with the situations each one works in and the ones it does not. Selection criteria are at the end.
1. Escape game
Groups of six to eight solve clues to get out of a locked room. It measures communication well in small teams; everyone is in the same room at the same puzzle. The weakness is scale: a group of forty needs five or six rounds, and programming for the people waiting gets hard.
2. Linked chest game (Red Alert)
For groups from ten to one hundred and fifty. Teams play in parallel but the chests are linked: a code found by one team unlocks another. If you want to see cooperation between teams, this is the most direct format; set-up and pack-down are done by the crew, a meeting room is enough. Weakness: for a very small group of six an escape game can be more economical.
3. Cooking workshop
Relaxed, low pressure, conversation. Good for getting-to-know days and year-end celebrations. It produces no measurable outcome; you learn little about team behaviour.
4. Corporate treasure hunt / city game
Outdoors, movement, photo tasks. It scales with the budget and works well for large groups. It depends on the weather and the location; gathering teams scattered across a city centre takes time.
5. Simulation / case study
Opens up decision processes in management groups: limited information, limited time, decisions with consequences. It needs prepared training content and is inefficient without a facilitator.
6. Sports tournament
High energy, low inclusiveness: not everyone can play at once and physical differences decide. Fun for young, homogeneous teams; in mixed groups it turns part of the group into spectators.
7. Online team game
The only real option for remote teams. Quiz formats played in a video call fade quickly; scenario games such as RedAlert Game keep the interaction going because everyone has a role. Weakness: no physical contact — it complements a face-to-face event rather than replacing it.
How to choose
- Headcount: 8 people and an escape game, 40–150 and linked chests, 300 and a city game.
- Venue: indoor, outdoor or remote?
- Duration: one hour or half a day?
- Goal: getting to know each other, observation, celebration or training — the goal picks the format.
- Budget: cost per person and set-up.
If you are undecided, send us your headcount and goal; we will tell you honestly which format fits — sometimes the answer is "not Red Alert for this group".