Are you looking for team building activities that you can do online to unite a remote or mixed team? Working on team cohesion when they are teleworking (or at least when part of the team is teleworking ) is much more complicated than doing it in person. In a remote scenario we cannot let ourselves go on autopilot thinking that the team will simply create ties (or maintain them ) . You have to make an extra effort to compensate for the beers at the end of the work day or the short talks at the water machine or during coffee . But it is possible to do team building online! In this list we leave you ideas and online team building activities inexpensive or free. And after the list we leave you some keys so that your activities work much better and make your team fall in love with you.

LIST OF ECONOMICAL OR FREE ONLINE TEAM BUILDING GAMES AND ACTIVITIES IN REMOTE SETTINGS

DIGICREA

We are used to activities to get to know each other better, activities to disconnect from the work day and fun activities that generate bonds between the team But what if the remote team building activity also serves to create innovative ideas that we can apply in our work environment to improve it? That is the key to DigiCrea. When you press the button, four animated cards appear randomly. We will have 10 minutes to generate ideas among all members who meet the conditions indicated in the letters. We can all play at the same time, or compete in teams to see who comes up with the craziest and most useful idea . In addition , among all the cheap or free online team building activities, this one can be the most useful for the team. We can apply the ideas after the game.

The best thing is that we don’t need to complicate our lives to play. We only need the team to make a video call, and for the facilitator to share their screen with the open game. Therefore, it is perfect for playing both in person in a meeting room and remotely. Or even in a mixed environment where half the team is remote and the other half is in the meeting room. You can find a demo of the game at this link to try it for free!

If you want to have more information and know the price of this game, you can find it here .

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DIGIKUDOS

One of the problems in companies is the lack of feedback. The lack of feedback causes demotivation and a bad work environment. This happens because if we notice that our efforts or strengths are not taken into account by our superiors or our colleagues, we may end up choosing to stop trying and act like mediocre employees. DigiKudos is a remote team building game to give and receive feedback from the team. Taking turns, each player must give the feedback that the two cards indicate randomly.

In this way we create a safe and fun space to recognize the efforts of others and to find areas of improvement throughout the team. And among all the cheap or free online team building activities, this can be one of the most useful for the team. You can find a demo of the game at this link! Remember that it is a demo version with limited content, so the random cards tend to repeat themselves . The full version has much more content. You can find more information and price of this game here .  

As with DigiCrea,we will only need the team to start a video call with their usual tool, and for someone to share their screen with the game open. Or we can also play in person in a meeting room!

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DIGIRETA

Have the team get to know each other better or discover curiosities about them in a fun and enjoyable way. Take turns, each person decides whether they prefer a random TRUTH or DARE card. TRUTH letters encourage telling personal anecdotes or confessions. The CHALLENGE cards contain a fun test to do in front of the webcam. Laughter is guaranteed !

As with DigiCrea, we will only need the team to start a video call with their usual tool, and for someone to share their screen with the game open. 

You can find a demo of the game at this link!

You can also find more information and price of this game here. 

Get started for free

TRUTH OR DARE

The game that we have seen in the previous point is a digital adaptation of this one that we are going to see below. But in this case, instead of a platform telling us the truth or the challenge to others we have to face, it will be the participants themselves who have to think of a truth and a challenge to pose. This It usually causes problems because not everyone can think of good truths or good challenges to pose and the surprise factor is lost that no one knows what challenge or truth will appear , it is also lost and the visual support of the fun animated cards. But it can be a free alternative to DigiReta if you have a very creative team and no budget.

✨ Do you want to save 80-90% of the budget for your team building activities? read this ! ✨

Therules are the following: the facilitator will be the one who starts the game. He will choose a member of the team in his opinion and ask him if he prefers challenge or truth. The challenge is to pass a test,  is that the truth consists of answering a question.  Once this person passes the test, he or she will be in charge of catching the next participant who must again be caught if you prefer challenge or truth.  The game ends whenever you feel like it,  since it has no objective beyond getting to know each other better among the team in a pleasant and fun environment.

TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIE

Another very interesting game to get to know yourself better is two truths and a lie. To play this game we do not need any type of platform or tool, just our usual video calling platform, such as Google Meet or Zoom. 

The game consists of the following: We give each participant 2 minutes to prepare two true statements and one false statement about themselves . For example:

• I can read and write Greek
• During quarantine I ate a whole bar of chocolate every day
• Once my email password was stolen electronic

The objective of the rest of the participants will be to find out which is the false statement and which are the true statements. The trick to make the game more interesting is to think of a false statement that is not obviously false. In this way the debate that is generated to discover the truth about the participant will be much more interesting and fun. 

As in others that we have mentioned, you don’t even have to write down how many points each player has because the important thing is to have fun and get to know each other among the team.

SHOW AND TELL

This is a very simple activity that consists of each participant preparing a story about a personal object. Therefore, the activity consists of each person explaining their story while showing the object. If we want to give it a more creative and fun turn, we can call the participants without telling them what the activity consists of, and already during the video call tell them that they have to pick up an object that they can reach with their hand. and tell a story or anecdote about that object, even if you don’t have any emotional memory about it . This rule can create much more interesting and fun situations . It can be very fun and interesting to try to make a story about how you bought a mouse pad , for example, emotional or relevant. 

Skribblo

Do you remember the game Pictionary? You had to draw the word that appeared on a card and the rest had to guess it. A very similar proposal is the one we found with Skribbl.io. In addition , it is completely free and we can find the game in Spanish. Skribblo allows us to create a private room for ourselves. In turns, each player will choose a word from the three random options and must draw it for 80 seconds in which the rest of the team will try to guess what it is thanks to the artistic skills of this player. Whoever guesses the word the fastest wins a point . Finally, the player with the most points will be the winner of the game.

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Online reading club:

Book clubs are an ideal way to motivate ourselves to generate reading habits (which never hurts) and to exchange points of view with the team. And you can do it online via video call! A monthly meeting to discuss a novel or theoretical book can be a fantastic way to create spaces where employees relax and bond with each other, or to encourage employee training if the books are available . n related to the scope of work. For example, we can find many books on productivity, organization, improving the way we communicate at work… But don’t get overwhelmed either! It’s okay if the readings are funny and exciting novels. The important thing is remote team building, we should not always be looking for productivity at all times. 

An excursion to the Habbo Hotel

Although this game is designed for children , it can be very fun for adults and helps us disconnect and access is free! Habbo Hotel works like a chat room but where the plain text box is replaced by a virtual space. More specifically , a hotel. You can create your own hotel room or go through the pre-created rooms. Each user creates their own avatar and can chat with the rest of the virtual guests . What if your company organizes an excursion to the virtual hotel? You can even create your own room and use it as a virtual relaxation room! Or even better, what if your company creates its own headquarters within the hotel? And together I decided how to decorate it! Although this decoration does require payment (buying furniture costs money), it can be a very economical alternative to a traditional teambuilding activity. 

Other simpler economical or free online team building activities to conduct via video call.

Virtual bonfire. In the US there are even organizations that are dedicated to this activity. The company sends employees a “ mini camp bonfire pack ” with a candle and some snacks, and during the experience they tell scary stories, play games… What if you adapt it in your organization ? Take a look at their website in case it inspires you

Guess the image. You can use a random image generator so that One of the employees describes the image to the rest of the team and they draw it. The best drawing wins a point! You can even make the game more interesting by adding more difficulty , such as allowing them to only describe the image or photo using geometric shapes .

Virtual company dinner: Dress up for the occasion and attend the virtual dinner pretending that you are really there. Sometimes clowning a little is good. 

The most used emojis : Try to guess which are the most used emojis of each employee. Each employee then shows a screenshot of the first row of their frequently used emojis on their mobile keyboard . The person who has guessed the most emojis correctly wins points !

Who lives there ?: Maybe you remember the La Sexta program where a host showed his house . You can do something similar and live via video call. It is a curious way to learn more about each of the employees.  

Who types the fastest ? _ With TypingTest you can create a competition to find out who can type the most words in less time. Start your engines!

Whose refrigerator is it ? Each person shares a photo of their refrigerator with a person who will act as facilitator. This person will show the photos without revealing the identity of the owner of the refrigerator. The objective of the rest of the players is to try to guess who is the owner of the refrigerator based on the products inside. 

Frequently asked questions about free and affordable online team building activities for remote teams:

Why is online team building important?

One of the keys for a team to perform at high performance is that this team is cohesive and has sufficient motivation to work as a team. That is why it is so important to work on the company culture within the organization, a culture where teams generate ties among themselves and where they know that they must support each other with clear objectives.

Carry out a team building activity per week or month, even if it is a very brief activity, to reinforce our strategy for generating motorcycle or mixed teams. By carrying out these activities we can find benefits such as the following:

• All employees know each other better, although due to teleworking their relationship is based strictly on work issues
• Improve communication
• Enhance creativity< /li>

Help employees gain a little temporary distance from their goals within the company. Staying focused on your tasks for a short period of time helps you disconnect and improve your productivity.

In addition, we have to be clear that the future is remote work, whether total or partial. Therefore, the sooner we have a strategy to unite remote teams, the sooner we will adapt. and we will prepare for the new reality.

Why do online team building activities work?

Online team building activities work because they facilitate emotional connections between participants. These activities allow participants to learn more about themselves in a relaxed environment without the pressures of the professional day . Online gaming helps colleagues create emotional bonds even though they are physically people do not share the same space.

  What does a remote team building activity consist of?

A remote team building activity consists of using technology , emotional intelligence, and management skills to keep team members connected and on the same page even though they cannot physically share the same team . space or physical place . Virtual team building activities can take many different forms as we have seen in this article ,   But only the most effective programs are those that make employees forget that they are not all sitting in the same office.

What are the main problems we can face when creating a remote team building activity?

The main challenges or problems that we can face in a remote team building activity are related to technology . We must ensure that we are using reliable technology , especially when communicating and ensuring that the activity runs smoothly. This is important because the second big challenge is usually communication.  It is very easy to communicate and express yourself when everyone   team shares the same physical space .   We must have this situation under control because these types of events cannot be carried out in the same way as in-person events. That is why it is advisable to use a technology that makes everything very easy for us , as is the case of DigiKudos, Digicrea or DigiReta.

Another problem is participation, since it is very easy to disconnect from the event and for participants to focus their attention on something else, such as opening another tab to answer an email or to check their Facebook. That is why it is also very important to find interesting and attractive activities that generate engagement, that are very fun and that ensure the participation of all team members.

We can also find the common problems that we already encountered with traditional teambuilding activities, such as finding a space in the agenda that fits everyone. In any case, this problem is even easier to solve with remote Team Building, because online team building activities do not require such a large logistical deployment nor do they last as long.

How can I know if my online team building activity has been a success ?

Although it is most likely that at the end of the online team building activity you will have a feeling of success , indifference or failure,  Nor can we get carried away by our intuitions. The most realistic way to measure the success of an online team building activity is by surveying participants at the end of it. In this way we can improve the activity in the future thanks to the feedback received, keep it as is, or completely discard it in future activities. 

What video calling tools can we use to carry out these inexpensive or free online team building activities ?

We leave you some that I’m sure you already know :

• Zoom – During this quarantine it has become the favorite tool of professionals and family. 
• Microsoft Teams – Microsoft’s new professional option, perfecting its Skype formula.
• Google Meet – Google’s option . Meet only with a link. 
• Jitsi – It’s code open and very focused on security.
• Skype – ¡ Possibly the most popular ! Many are already used to using it
• Whereby – Video calls directly on your browser.

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Do you want to start with something quick and easy? Try one of the GamiTeams games!