Guaranteed to boost team power! A collection of fun training game ideas
We’re looking for games to play with colleagues during training sessions, but doing the same old thing isn’t fun! So, we’re here to help planners facing that dilemma.
We’ll introduce engaging training games that are perfect for team building and can be enjoyed with both small and large groups.
From mini icebreaker games to full-fledged problem-solving activities, we’ve got plenty of ideas to liven up the atmosphere.
Use this as a reference to energize your employee and new-hire training sessions!
Guaranteed to Boost Teamwork! A Collection of Fun Training Game Ideas (1–10)
Minority wins! The Minority Game
This is a game where the people who choose the minority—the less popular answer—win.
First, split into groups and set a prompt and two choices.
Since there are only two options, pick one based on your own thinking.
After choosing, hold a debate—i.e., a discussion—within your group about the prompt.
After the discussion, think again about which option to choose as your answer, then everyone reveals their choice at the same time.
If you picked the minority answer at that moment, you win; if you picked the majority answer, you lose.
Fun for communication! Pokan Game
Words that seem obvious to you can be completely unclear to everyone else—what do they even refer to? In the “Pokan Game,” you guess the true topic hidden behind such words through conversation.
First, the person who’s “it” gives a single-sentence line or phrase as the prompt.
The others then figure out what it refers to by asking the leader questions and proposing guesses.
It’s best to choose prompts that aren’t easily solved, ones that require some real thought.
Talk a lot and deepen your bonds as you play!
Let’s become friends through a communication game!
To get to know others, communication is essential! In this game, you talk a lot while discovering unexpected sides of each other—welcome to the “Unexpected Me! Game.” Find people who match the surprising prompts written on paper, and whoever finds the most wins.
Prompts like “Surprisingly, I like ___” or “Surprisingly, I can ___” are all fair game.
You won’t rack up points unless you talk to many people, so keep the conversations going and learn more about those around you!
Training by blocks
A no-right-answers game using blocks that’s great for icebreakers.
Participants intuitively choose one piece from a set of block parts and then assign their own meaning—thoughts or feelings—to that piece in a dialogue-based game.
The act of “choosing” a block reflects the subconscious, bringing out genuine opinions and values we don’t usually notice.
The rules are: “no correct answers,” “no negativity,” and “everyone speaks,” with a facilitator guiding the process.
In a short time, diverse viewpoints are made visible, making it effective for building team understanding and trust, and improving workplace relationships.
It enables easy yet deep conversations and is also well-suited for sharing visions.
Finding commonalities
Common-ground finding is a fun game that helps you talk with people you’re meeting for the first time and feel closer to them.
There are various ways to play: for example, participants form pairs or groups and, within a time limit, look for things they have in common through conversation; or they present common points they’ve written down in advance—those are standard approaches.
Conversations can stall without a prompt, so set simple topics like “How you spend your days off” or “Favorite foods.” It’s also a good idea to set a target number of commonalities to find beforehand.
6 icebreakers that will energize your training!
If you want to communicate more with your teammates or refresh your mind by playing games when things feel stuck, try enjoying a variety of icebreakers! For example, puzzle-solving games and marshmallow towers help build teamwork toward achieving a goal, while the “common-ground” game gives you a chance to learn more about your team members.
With all-out rock–paper–scissors and high-five games, you can forget your shyness and create moments where everyone shares joy and fun together.
Let’s use different games to improve the team atmosphere!
Training icebreaker
In training settings where you meet people for the first time or feel tense, using various icebreakers is recommended to ease the nerves.
For example, in the classic game where teammates try to give matching answers, matching responses help you find common ground, and even when they don’t match, discussing why you chose your answer encourages communication.
In a game where participants line up in ascending order by something like birthday or height without speaking, you can foster cooperation.
During introductions, asking slightly unusual questions can reveal unexpected sides of others.
Choose icebreakers that suit the group you’ve gathered.
Picture matching game
Let me introduce a conversation-friendly “Picture Pairing Game.” Prepare sets of matching pictures according to the number of players.
Everyone holds their picture face down and the game starts without showing it to anyone.
Using conversation only, players discuss what their own picture might be like and whether they share common features with others, trying to find their matching partner.
Gestures are also forbidden.
Through free remarks and questions, players deepen their imagination, and at the end, they take turns guessing who has the same picture as they do.
By talking through similarities and differences, the game nurtures observation, active listening, and cooperation.
Each round takes just 10–15 minutes.
It’s an ideal team-building game for communication practice and as an icebreaker.
Does an English conversation telephone game work?
Let’s try playing a game of telephone in English, where each person passes along the same phrase to the next! First, present an English sentence as the prompt.
It’s recommended to have an AI tool read it aloud rather than a person pronouncing it directly.
The first person listens to the sentence and passes it on to the next person.
If the last person can accurately state what the original English sentence was and provide its Japanese translation, the group succeeds.
You could also make the sentence a question and have the last person give an appropriate answer to that question.
It’s a fun communication game that will make you laugh while also testing everyone’s English skills.
No equipment needed! Air catch ball
“Air Catch,” a make-believe game of tossing an imaginary ball without any props, is a very simple team-building activity.
Participants form a circle.
Someone calls another person’s name while miming a throw of the “air ball,” and the next person pretends to catch it and continues in the same way.
The rules are: make eye contact and call the person’s name before you throw.
Once everyone gets used to it, you can increase the difficulty by tossing multiple balls at once or speeding things up.
It builds communication skills and concentration and gets people laughing, making it great for training icebreakers and strengthening team cohesion.
It takes about 5–15 minutes, so give it a try!