Bondeo Offsites

The library

50 team building activities ranked by trust impact

Every activity here has been run on a real Bondeo retreat. We score them on a 1–10 trust-impact scale using post-event surveys, then order each category accordingly. Original facilitator notes for each one.

Get a facilitated retreat

50 activities

If you really knew me

9.2

A vulnerability-first prompt that should only be used by warmed-up teams.

Group
6–14
Energy
Low
Time
30–45 min
Read playbook

1-2-4-all

9.1

Liberating Structures method — silent thinking, pairs, fours, then plenary.

Group
8–200
Energy
Low
Time
15 min
Read playbook

Rose, thorn, bud

9.0

Three-word check-in that surfaces the real state of the room in five minutes.

Group
4–25
Energy
Low
Time
5–15 min
Read playbook

User manual of me

8.8

Each person shares how they best receive feedback, communicate, and recharge.

Group
6–30
Energy
Low
Time
45–60 min
Read playbook

User story mapping workshop

8.8

Build a user journey on the wall, then slice it into shippable releases.

Group
5–15
Energy
Medium
Time
Half day
Read playbook

City scavenger hunt

8.7

Cross-functional teams race a list of photo missions across a city.

Group
12–250
Energy
High
Time
Half day
Read playbook

Ball-point game

8.7

A scrum classic — pass tennis balls through every team-mate's hands.

Group
6–24 (in teams of 6–8)
Energy
Medium
Time
45 min
Read playbook

Two truths and a wish

8.6

A warmer cousin of two-truths-and-a-lie that surfaces what people care about.

Group
6–40 (in sub-groups)
Energy
Low
Time
10–20 min
Read playbook

Shark tank pitch

8.6

Mixed teams pitch a fake new product line to a panel of execs.

Group
12–60
Energy
Medium
Time
Half day
Read playbook

GeoGuessr tournament

8.6

Drop on a random Street View location and guess where you are.

Group
4–40
Energy
Medium
Time
60 min
Read playbook

Hybrid cooking class

8.6

A chef teaches both rooms simultaneously; ingredients shipped in advance.

Group
12–60
Energy
Medium
Time
2.5 hours
Read playbook

Marshmallow tower

8.5

Build the tallest free-standing structure with spaghetti, tape and one marshmallow.

Group
8–60
Energy
Medium
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Virtual show and tell

8.5

Each person grabs one nearby object and tells a 60-second story about it.

Group
4–25 on a call
Energy
Low
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Kanban pizza

8.5

Build paper pizzas on a kanban board to feel WIP limits in your hands.

Group
8–25
Energy
Medium
Time
60 min
Read playbook

Bridge build

8.4

Two teams build half a bridge each, only meeting at the join.

Group
8–24
Energy
Medium
Time
75 min
Read playbook

Yes, and

8.4

Pair improv that trains the reflex of building on instead of blocking ideas.

Group
4–60 (in pairs)
Energy
Medium
Time
20 min
Read playbook

Donut pairings

8.4

Slack bot that pairs random colleagues for 25-minute coffee chats.

Group
10–500
Energy
Low
Time
Ongoing
Read playbook

Hybrid retrospective

8.4

All notes captured digitally; no whiteboard markers in the room.

Group
5–25
Energy
Low
Time
60 min
Read playbook

Case-study warm-up

8.3

A short, real business problem that gets the room thinking together.

Group
8–40
Energy
Medium
Time
20–30 min
Read playbook

Hybrid pitch battle

8.3

Mixed remote+in-room teams pitch a fake new product to a panel.

Group
12–60
Energy
Medium
Time
Half day
Read playbook

Lost at sea

8.2

Rank 15 items by survival value — first alone, then as a group.

Group
5–30 (in sub-groups of 5)
Energy
Low
Time
60 min
Read playbook

Story spine

8.2

Build a complete narrative using Pixar's eight-line story structure.

Group
6–30
Energy
Medium
Time
45 min
Read playbook

Rock-paper-scissors tournament

8.2

Single-elimination, with losers becoming cheerleaders for their winner.

Group
12–500
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Structured speed networking

8.1

Five rotations of three-minute pair conversations with prompted questions.

Group
16–200
Energy
Medium
Time
30 min
Read playbook

The dot game

8.1

Coin-flips on a board teach the cost of large batches in 15 minutes.

Group
6–18
Energy
Low
Time
45 min
Read playbook

Egg drop

8.0

Engineer a contraption that protects a raw egg dropped from a balcony.

Group
8–48
Energy
Medium
Time
45 min
Read playbook

Office trivia

8.0

A pub quiz where every question is about your own company.

Group
12–200
Energy
Medium
Time
60–90 min
Read playbook

Skribbl rounds

8.0

Multiplayer Pictionary in a browser tab — sets up in 30 seconds.

Group
4–14
Energy
Medium
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Remote trivia night

8.0

Themed pub quiz over Zoom, with breakout rooms for team discussion.

Group
8–60
Energy
Medium
Time
75 min
Read playbook

Draw your week

7.9

Sketch the shape of your last week as a single line on paper.

Group
6–40
Energy
Low
Time
15–20 min
Read playbook

One-word story

7.9

Stand in a circle and tell a coherent story one word at a time.

Group
6–14
Energy
Medium
Time
15 min
Read playbook

Blind shape

7.8

Blindfolded team forms a perfect square from a single rope, talking only.

Group
6–16
Energy
Medium
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Ninja

7.8

A circle, a slow-motion strike, and one rule: you may only move once per turn.

Group
6–20
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Mystery photo

7.8

Each person submits a zoomed-in photo. Team guesses what it is and whose it is.

Group
5–25
Energy
Low
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Hybrid trivia

7.8

All answers go through a shared form — no in-room shouting.

Group
8–80
Energy
Medium
Time
60 min
Read playbook

Online whiteboard sketch

7.7

Sketch an idea silently in 60 seconds — others guess and annotate.

Group
4–20
Energy
Medium
Time
30 min
Read playbook

Expert panel

7.6

Three players answer audience questions as world experts on a fake topic.

Group
8–80 (3 on stage)
Energy
High
Time
20–30 min
Read playbook

Shake down

7.6

8 shakes per limb, then 4, then 2, then 1. Counted out loud.

Group
Any
Energy
Medium
Time
2 min
Read playbook

Planning poker warm-up

7.6

Estimate the size of made-up animals to depersonalise estimation.

Group
5–20
Energy
Low
Time
20 min
Read playbook

Human knot

7.5

Stand in a circle, grab two random hands, untangle without letting go.

Group
6–10 per knot
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Movie in a minute

7.5

Act out a famous film in 60 seconds — your team has to guess.

Group
8–40
Energy
High
Time
20–30 min
Read playbook

Desert island skills

7.4

What three skills would you bring to a stranded team — and why?

Group
6–25
Energy
Low
Time
15–25 min
Read playbook

Park bench

7.4

Two players occupy a bench; the second has to make the first leave.

Group
6–30
Energy
High
Time
20 min
Read playbook

Count to twenty

7.4

Count to twenty as a group — but if two voices speak at once, restart.

Group
5–15
Energy
Low
Time
5 min
Read playbook

Post-it rain

7.3

Catch as many sticky notes as possible thrown over a partition.

Group
8–40
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Stack attack

7.2

Stack 36 plastic cups into a pyramid, then collapse them into a single tower — in 60 seconds.

Group
4–40
Energy
High
Time
10 min total
Read playbook

Junk in the trunk

7.0

Empty an empty tissue box strapped to your back by wiggling alone.

Group
4–20
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Balloon keep-up

7.0

Don't let the balloons touch the ground — the count is the team's score.

Group
8–80
Energy
High
Time
5–10 min
Read playbook

Chopstick challenge

6.9

Move 30 dry beans from one bowl to another using chopsticks in 60 seconds.

Group
4–30
Energy
Medium
Time
10 min
Read playbook

Face the cookie

6.8

Move a cookie from your forehead to your mouth using only facial muscles.

Group
4–30
Energy
High
Time
10 min
Read playbook

FAQ

Library questions, answered