Want to increase team cohesion and foster lasting bonds with remote team members? Check out the top games and best virtual team building activities, perfect for telecommuting.

1. Individual or team lunches

Just because your team can’t have lunch or a break in person doesn’t mean you can’t have them. Group team members by location and help them schedule one-on-one weekly virtual lunches to get to know each other. For even more fun, create themed lunches so everyone eats the same kind of food on the conference call. 

2. Story time

Assign one or two co-workers to share a funny or engaging personal story that happened to them recently or in the past that no one on the team knows about. You can keep the general topic or introduce specific topics from the story, such as “Tell us about your first job” or “Describe your most embarrassing moment”. This can give team members a fun glimpse into each other’s personal lives. 

3. Personal Passion Presentations

Ask your team members to make monthly or even weekly personal presentations about something they are passionate about. Perhaps team members talk about the charity they support or an animal shelter they volunteer at on weekends. Or an employee who likes plants can teach the team how to choose low-maintenance plants and provide helpful tips for properly caring for them. 

4. Digital card games

Due to recent advances in technology, even well-loved card games have found their place in the digital world. Get everyone together for a game of UNO or something that encourages people to loosen up and relax.

5. House tours

Let your team show its creative side, with one or two members volunteering to tour everyone’s home. Present your space  in Architectural Digest  or  MTV Cribs style,  as well as your favorite celebrities. Team members can learn a lot about their co-workers’ styles and personal tastes on a virtual tour of the house. 

6. desert island

Desert island  is a fun game that you can play anywhere, especially online. Use this popular setup as one of your virtual team building activities, asking everyone to share an item they would bring with them if they were stranded on a desert island. Choose to do this via a live video meeting, or consider making it a weekly Slack or Microsoft Teams topic. For example, this week you could ask people to share a movie that they would take to the desert island; the following week, a music album; and so on.

7. Virtual happy hour

Traditional office teams are used to teaming up after work. You can still continue that tradition with your remote team by planning a virtual happy hour using video conferencing technology. 

Also, try adding  virtual backgrounds, filters, masks and 3D effects  to make your virtual happy hour even more fun and engaging.

8. Movie night

Synchronized streaming allows groups and individuals from around the world to come together and watch the same movie in real time. To keep things interesting, start with a summary of movie suggestions for the month and ask everyone to vote on which one they want to watch, or set a theme for each month. For example, horror or thriller movies can be great in October, while Christmas-themed box office hits can get everyone in the Christmas spirit in December. Encourage everyone to bring popcorn and their favorite drinks to enjoy a fun virtual movie night with their coworkers. 

9. DJ’s

Do you know the musical taste of your co-workers? Do you have avid music lovers or amateur DJs on your team? This simple team building exercise allows a co-worker to volunteer to share a playlist of their favorite songs, their favorite work tracks, or even favorite home workout music. You can combine this event with a virtual happy hour to really spice things up. 

10. A water in the hallway

You might not be able to gather around a real water cooler when running a remote team, but one thing you can do is create a specific “cooler” channel in your favorite messaging app. Whether your team is on Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp or Telegram, you can easily create a new channel designed for non-work-related conversations. In addition, you can create a meeting room with virtual water coolers using Lifesize, which allows employees to casually chat about their personal lives, communicate and share good news in their lives or in local communities. 

11. Talent show

How familiar are you with your team’s hidden talents? With a virtual talent show, you can see exactly what your team is passionate about outside of work and give them a way to show those passions. Ask a group of volunteers to showcase their hidden talents, whether it’s a song, a dance, a magic show or your origami collection. To encourage participation, you can give prizes to the best talent. 

12. Weekly themed contests

Themed contests can be a fun way to inject a little lightness into everyday telecommuting. Create simple themes each week that allow everyone to participate, such as the cleanest home table, the funniest selfie, or the best dressed prizes at home. Invite employees to recommend categories for your next contest. Make it more interactive by letting people vote for their favorite entries and then announce the winner at the end of each week. If you can, give a special reward, such as a gift card, to each of the winners so that people are excited to enter the contests.

13. Themed night

Use themes to keep things interesting, like blockbuster movies, ’90s music, or fun facts from sci-fi villains. For additional team building, create small groups that can work together to answer questions and compete against other teams.

14. Remote Treasure Hunt

Since you won’t be able to hide items for your team to find physically, create a list of items that remote workers are likely to have in their homes. here are some examples: 

• Find a penny minted in 1989 
• Find a book written in a foreign language 
• Find your photo from the first series

The first team member to bring back the correct item and show it to everyone on the teleconference earns one point.

15. Virtual Bingo

Last but not least, many remote teams have turned to virtual bingo as a way to stay connected and have fun. You can play  traditional bingo  virtually or use the framework  bingo  of  Lifesize Conference Call  to make your pleasant. These simple games can play a solid role in keeping the bond alive in your team, even when you’re apart.