If you’ve been considering creating a fun and engaging improv game experience for your remote team, but you’re not sure where to start, you wouldn’t be the first person.
Click no more…. you’ve landed in the right place!
Coordinating a great improv game with your team promotes a happier, healthier company culture, supports a cohesive remote working team, and ultimately allows everyone to learn a little more about each other in the end.
As adults, it’s still important to exercise the ingenuity muscle, specifically in the workplace. In fact, “The Importance of Imagination” tells us that,
“Imagination is essential for anyone, especially for leaders, who not only have to lead people into the future but have to foresee the challenges not yet known that await mankind.”
You may immediately think “comedy show” when you hear the word improv but don’t let your imagination stop you there. Improvisation is the foundation of many virtual games that can seamlessly slide a little fun into your next quarterly meeting or team building event.
Whether your group is into fantasy games, dramatical expression, or you have a crew of wordies, we’ve collected sixteen fantastically fun improv games to entertain and engage your remote team, regardless of size and location.
Check out the ideas in this list of improv games for your group and let the fun begin!
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Yes!Virtual Improv Games For Zoom
1) Virtual Charades
“If you want to get your team on their feet, Charades is an excellent option!”
The childhood game you know with a modernized twist. Charades isn’t just a long-time favorite icebreaker, it’s now an interactive Zoom drama game. Random words are generated for your teams to act out and the others to guess – no verbal cues allowed. The team with the most points in the end wins the title of “Office Champ.”
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Remote work culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: Having face-to-face time is even more important in this new remote environment. These interactions promote healthy relationships and deeper social connections, especially while working apart.
Where to get started: Get your team together for a night of charades!
2) Laughter On Call
“Let’s laugh together!”
An entertaining host/comedian keeps everyone engaged, while dishing out some much-needed comic relief. Coordinate with your team, maybe grab some cocktails (servers not included), and make it a virtual improv party. After all, laughter is the best medicine.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Company culture
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: Everyone can appreciate a good improv comedy show but in this interactive version, there are no audience members, only participants. Robert Orben said “If you can laugh together, you can work together” and this hilarious experience definitely promotes both.
Where to get started: Bond with your team over shared laughter and improv exercises.
3) Virtual Clue Murder Mystery Party
“Follow clues, review casework, and collaborate to solve the mystery.”
Time is ticking and the stakes are high on the bragging rights for cracking the case. The Lead Investigator will walk your Detectives through the crime scene, the evidence, interrogation videos, and more, then send them off in teams to discuss the case. While digging through clues with their colleagues, your crew will flex their communication and problem-solving skills to figure out “who done it?”
What does this group improv activity support?
- Teamwork
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: This virtual improv game was designed to connect your remote associates. Get everyone engaged with some analytical thinking, made fun.
Where to get started: Request an instant quote and get the investigation started.
4) Virtual Taboo
“Often times more difficult than you’d expect, but always lots of fun!”
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “use your words” but this virtual improv game puts that skill to the literal test. Your team will take turns describing the first word on each card without using any of the Taboo words and phrases on the no-no list. Improv is all about laughs and this online game definitely delivers.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Communication
- Social interaction
Why this improv game is great for your team: The mobile-friendly platform makes it simple for group play. Real-time competition, in an online improv game for your team.
Where to get started: Check out a preview of this fun group improv game so your team members can start taboo-ing.
Improv Games For Large Groups
5) Shark Tank
Bring your best pitch to the table!
Your group will be split into teams and sent to breakout rooms with their colleagues, where they’ll brainstorm a funny or clever invention and develop a mini-pitch to present to “the investors.” Once their pitch is over, they’ll all come back together in the main room to share their hilariously genius ideas.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Communication
- Teamwork
Why this improv game is great for your team: This game allows their imaginations to drive the conversations and the fun. The possibilities are endless and so are the laughs.
Where to get started: Customize your event and start exploring all the creatively crazy ideas your team comes up with.
6) Werewolf
“Face off with your coworkers as villagers versus werewolf”
If you’re looking for a mystical escape for your team’s virtual improv night, look no further. There’s plenty of adventure to be had, while battling werewolves, taking on evil villagers, and figuring out each other’s secret identities. Who will win control of the town?
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: Everyone plays a character or creature in this magical mystery game, yet no one knows who or what their colleagues are. Let your group show off their strategic thinking skills with a side of suspense and shocking reveals.
Where to get started: Customize your adventure and immerse your villagers in a fantastic fantasy world.
7) Change The Channel
Lights! Camera! Action! Freeze!?
Have your crew put on their showbiz hats and roll with the punches in this super funny theatre game to play on Zoom. Members of your team are given a scene and when the director says “Action!” the Oscar competition begins. When they hear “Freeze!” everyone stops, an actor is replaced by a new cast member, and a brand new (completely unrelated) scene is started.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Company culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: Each of your team members gets to create a dramatic scene of their choosing but in the end, the bloopers are always the best part. Especially the ones where one person starts laughing and it catches like wildfire.
Where to get started: Check out some examples and more information here.
8) Party Guests
Guess the celebrity party guests!
A “room” full of mystery celebrities and one host designated to put names with all the impressions. Each of your team members chooses a celebrity and attends a virtual party in character. The guests enter the party one at a time, making conversation with the host who has thirty seconds to chat with them and figure out who they’re trying to be before the next person enters the room.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: Everyone’s bringing their best impressions to the party. Stumping the host (especially if it’s the boss) is the name of this game.
Where to get started: Designate your Party’s host and let the guessing games begin.
Improv Games For Small Groups
9) Actor Switch
Musical chairs meets “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Broken out into small teams of actors, each is assigned a character to play (no improv class graduation necessary). As the scenario plays out, the director will randomly call out “SWITCH!” and they’ll have to immediately switch to one of the other actors’ positions and characters. The goal is to create a seamless transition, complete with personalities, quirks, accents, and all the other traits their coworkers previously displayed.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Communication
- Social interaction
Why this improv game is great for your team: This game will test their listening skills. They’ll need to pay close attention to one other throughout the scene in order to quickly switch gears and run with the next character.
Where to get started: No props or costumes needed, just check out the demo.
10) Ice Shaker
“Customize this event to match your own team’s dynamic”
This online improv competition also makes a great warm-up game. A live host guides and entertains your team through several games, designed to loosen up any crowd. With so many ways to customize this event, you can ensure maximum engagement while they share some laughs with their coworkers.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Company culture
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: It keeps the energy high and the vibe light. Work is hard enough – shake it up and have some fun!
Where to get started: Get started on customizing your next event’s icebreaker or plan a virtual improv game night.
11) Space Escape
“Every kind of thinker-word nerds, passionate puzzlers, and math mavens-will have a chance to shine.”
In this virtual escape room, your whole team becomes the crew aboard a spacecraft headed to Mars. Something suddenly goes wrong and they can’t land on the red planet! They’ll have to work together, racing against the clock to solve different puzzles, as they make their way through the virtual spaceship and ideally, to safety.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Communication
- Teamwork
Why this improv game is great for your team: This improv game is a fantastic team building activity, made to get everyone involved. Each crew member has a skill that will come in handy as they unravel the layers of this galactic mystery.
Where to get started: Practice your improvisation in a virtual escape room setting.
12) Coworker Feud
“Play Family Feud with your coworkers for virtual team building fun.”
It may not be Steve Harvey hosting but you’ll have a fabulous facilitator to help your teams navigate the rounds in this virtual game show. Randomize your coworkers’ families or choose the teams ahead of time for them. Either way, everyone is sure to enjoy a little healthy competition and a bucket of laughs.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Teamwork
- Employee engagement
Why this improv game is great for your team: This improv game is great for virtual team building with a heaping bonus of laughs and fun for your whole group. Plus, if you want to keep it all relative, you can customize the questions to your industry.
Where to get started: Survey says, click here for more information about a Coworker Feud night to test your imrpov skills.
Improv Games For Team Building
13) Social Shuffle
“Every challenge is designed to inspire conversation and help build bonds between teammates.”
This virtual improv game was made to encourage socializing among your team members. The discussions are themed to keep the conversations on track and flowing. Your teams will be chatting it up in no time and may even bond over common opinions and hobbies, but they’ll definitely share some laughs.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Remote work culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: Learning about each other just by talking is so effortless. This platform drives the conversations to make the most of your team building event.
Where to get started: Get to know your coworkers in a fun and lively setting!
14) Hitchhiker
“You can save the improv game for the last 5 or ten minutes – to send them off with a bang.”
Photo Courtesy of Berkeley News
Your team members pretend to be traveling in a car when they spot a hitchhiker (a.k.a. another coworker). They pick him/her up, only to discover their new passenger comes with some extreme quirks, like a super obnoxious laugh or maybe they’re a loud gum chewer. The initial passengers then have to exhibit all the same mannerisms and to the same extremes.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Company culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: It’s a light and funny active listening exercise that’s also great for virtual team building.
Where to get started: Check out the details here and load up the virtual office car.
15) Guess Who?
“Guess the photo and find out if you know your co-workers as well as you think you do!”
Your team members supply a few photos that reflect who they are without actually revealing whose they are. Confetti collects the photos and creates an entertaining and interactive display, presented by a live host. Your crew will then guess who the pictures belong to, while learning a little about each other in the process.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Social interaction
- Remote work culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: Guess Who? is great for your hybrid or fully remote team set-up. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then several of each coworker will certainly spark some conversation.
Where to get started: Guess who should click here to start customizing their team building game night? (Yes, you!)
16) Contact Word Game
“A witty group game that needs no props or a special setting nor does it have any time constraints.”
Courtesy of CampFire Hacker
Imagine hangman with a bit of a twist. One player chooses a word in their mind and reveals the first letter. The other players try to guess, but also need to listen to the guesses from their coworkers. If one of them is getting close and throws out a synonym to see if they’re on the right track, the first player who hears this clue calls out “Contact!” and the word battle begins.
What does this group improv activity support?
- Communication
- Remote work culture
Why this improv game is great for your team: There’s no investment necessary and the game can be fully customized for your crew. This team builder helps build up their vocabulary and creates tighter bonds within your group.
Where to get started: Check out this demo video for all the details on how to get this improv team building game started for your group.
People Also Ask These Questions About Improv Games For Work
Q: What are group improv games for team building?
- A: Group improv games for team building typically promote collaboration and teamwork, and test your group’s active listening and communication skills.
Q: What are some unique drama and theatre games for teams?
- A: Some unique drama and theatre games for teams are “Actor Switch,” “Change The Channel,” and “Party Guest.”
Q: How do I choose an online improv activity for a meeting?
- A: To choose an online improv activity for a meeting, consider the various personalities and quirks of your team then choose an option that’s engaging for everyone. The list of improv game options above is a great place to start.
Q: How do I know if my virtual improv night was successful?
- A: To know if your virtual improv night was successful, simply ask your team if they found your improv exercise valuable. They’re feedback is the best input.
These are some really GREAT ideas! Surely will help an organization in so many ways.