Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups
When you’re organizing company events like parties, in-house sports days, or welcome gatherings for new employees, it’s common to include some kind of recreation, right?
If it’s something you can do in teams, it builds a stronger sense of unity and makes it more fun for everyone.
Plus, offering prizes to the winning team can really liven things up, and at welcome parties it can be a great way to break the ice with people you’re meeting for the first time.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of team-based recreational activities that adults can enjoy!
They vary in how long they take, and some require very little preparation.
Choose the ones that best fit your event’s situation.
Team-based recreational activities for adults that are fun even with large groups (1–10)
human disentanglement puzzle
The “Human Knot” is a game you can do anytime, anywhere without any equipment.
Have your team stand in a circle facing inward.
First, everyone uses their right hand to grab the hand of someone who is not immediately to their right.
Then do the same with the left hand—hold the hand of someone who is not immediately to your left.
At the start signal, the team works to untangle the knot of hands and people without letting go of anyone’s hands.
Someone may need to duck under an arm or step over joined hands—it’s surprisingly tricky and very exciting.
It’s a great recreation activity that really tests teamwork.
Perfect Match Game
Many of you may know it thanks to popular YouTubers who’ve featured it: the Perfect Match Game! The rules are simple.
Split into two teams and decide on a target number and the number of questions you’ll ask.
Then, ask the other team questions that can be answered with numbers.
The team whose total—summing all the numerical answers—comes closest to the predetermined target wins.
It’s fun to aim for the target straightforwardly, but to spice things up, ask things you don’t usually get to, like bank balance or number of past partners—guaranteed to liven things up!
Paper Tower Showdown
It’s a very simple game where you build a tower out of paper.
You can fold or roll the paper, but you can’t use scissors, glue, or other tools.
As a team, discuss strategies and complete your tower within the time limit.
If you finish within the limit and the tower stands on its own for 5 seconds without support, you succeed.
If you have a large group, you can split into teams and make it a competition—the team that builds the tallest tower wins—so it’s fun even with many participants.
Boccia
This is a team-based game you can play either sitting or standing.
Each team has a set number of colored balls.
Form a circle and place a sturdy target in the center, such as a water-filled plastic bottle that won’t tip over.
Teams take turns throwing their balls toward the target.
At the end, place a hula hoop centered on the target and count how many balls from each team are inside the hoop to determine the winner.
While getting close to the target is important, you can also aim to hit and knock the opposing team’s balls out as part of your strategy.
Speaking of ___
A game where the whole team tries to give matching answers to prompts like “When you hear XX, what do you think of?” Form teams with people from the same department or the same project group and see how well you’re in sync.
You can play with just one team, but it’s also fun to create multiple teams and compete to see which team can match answers the fastest! Prompts can be anything, like “What’s a kid-favorite anime?” or “Who is an artist that represents the Heisei era?” If your team spans multiple generations, some questions might be harder to match.
But when it comes to syncing up, you can’t blame it on the generation gap! Use the game to deepen your team’s bonds even more.
Slipper relay
The slipper relay is a game where you pass a slipper to the next person using only your feet.
It’s an easy, exciting team competition.
At the starting signal, the person at the front passes the slipper they’re wearing on their foot to the next person’s foot.
You must not use your hands.
If the slipper isn’t passed properly and falls to the floor, it has to go back to the starting point—the very first person—and you start over.
It’s a very simple and straightforward game, but when you try it as an adult, you’ll get hooked and find yourself getting really into it.
A game where everyone stands up on ‘Ready, go!’
It’s a simple game you can enjoy in a small space that tests trust in your partner’s strength and an understanding of balance.
Sit facing each other with your toes aligned, and join hands to form a ring.
At the cue of “Ready, go,” work together to stand up on the spot.
Some people find standing up in place difficult, so adjust the pulling force carefully to increase the upward force.
Once you succeed with a small group, gradually increase the number of participants—feeling the team’s growing unity is what makes it exciting.
