I know, I know…your remote team is sick of virtual happy hours (and you’re probably sick of planning them). But team-building activities are important to keep the team engaged and connected. So how do you make them feel natural? 

In Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work, 23% of remote workers cited ‘loneliness’ as their biggest struggle, underscoring the importance of remote team engagement. When remote workers feel lonely and disconnected at work, it can lead to broader team issues, such as reduced collaboration and project confusion. 

To combat loneliness, you need a team with strong social bonds. Not only does team engagement improve morale, but it keeps communication open and collaboration smooth (two qualities that are essential for maintaining remote team cohesion). 

While it may sound silly, setting aside ‘fun time’ for your remote team should be a priority. 

The good news is that team-building doesn’t have to be complicated, even for remote teams. You don’t need to plan elaborate games; you just need to create space for genuine connections to form. Moments where you laugh together, share stories, and say, 'Oh, I didn't know that about you.'

Who Should You Plan Team-Building Activities For?

You’ll obviously want to plan intentional social events for your direct team, but don’t forget about cross-functional teammates, too. It’s important to keep these relationships strong, and virtual socials can help your direct reports meet people across the organization. 

When thinking about team-building activities, consider these groups: 

1. Your own department or immediate team

Since you work with these teammates daily, you probably need fewer ‘big’ social events. Consider quick 5-10-minute icebreakers at the start of meetings or monthly 30-minute socials to maintain momentum. 

2. Cross-functional teams

What departments do you frequently collaborate with? (For example, Engineering and Design, or Sales and Marketing). Consider a quarterly social event to help break down silos and build empathy across departments.

3. The entire company

Save the big events for full-company socials or special occasions. (Company birthday, a big product launch, or hitting an important milestone.) These will be less frequent, but create big shared moments for the entire organization.  

10 Virtual Team-Building Activities (Organized by Time & Effort)

Keep your remote team connected with these 10 low-effort, high-impact virtual team-building activities (that they’ll actually enjoy!): 

1. This or That (5-10 minutes)

2. Watch, Read, Listen (5-10 minutes)

3. Virtual Desk Decorating Content (10-15 minutes)

4. Totally Random Presentation (15-30 minutes) 

5. Virtual Scavenger Hunt (15-20 minutes) 

6. Connection Bingo (20-30 minutes)

7. Cross-Team Virtual Lunches (30 minutes)

8. Coworking Jam Sessions (30-60 minutes)

9. Virtual Book Club (30-60 minutes)

10. Team Talent Show (45 - 60 minutes)

11. Bonus: Add a Seasonal Twist!

Start with quick wins for your direct team, then plan larger, longer team-building activities for cross-functional or all-company social events. 

Quick Wins (5-10 Minutes)

Perfect for: Starting meetings, breaking up long sessions, or giving people a quick mental reset.

1. This or That (Quick Virtual Icebreaker)

Time: 5-10 minutes

Best for: Small team meetings, brainstorming sessions, or when energy is low

Get to know each other by having everyone choose between two options. Brownies or chocolate chip cookies? Morning person or night owl? Mountains or beach? The key is making the choices just interesting enough that people have to think about their answer for a second.

How to run it:

• Prepare 5-8 either/or questions ahead of time (or crowdsource them in the moment)

• Ask the question and have everyone share their choice in the chat or unmute

• Optional: Ask 1-2 people to explain why they chose their answer

What makes it special in Gather: You can add a visual element by having people move their avatars to different sides of a room based on their choice. (“If you’d rather be an alien, move to the right. If you’d rather be a ghost, move to the left.”) These simple questions become more engaging because you can see the split in real time. 

2. Watch, Read, Listen (Quick Virtual Icebreaker)

Time: 5-10 minutes

Best for: Small meetings (under 8 people) where you want quick, personal connection

Everyone shares three things: a movie or TV show, a book, and a song or podcast. You can make it what they're currently into, all-time favorites, or even 'worst of' recommendations. The variety keeps it interesting; someone's embarrassing reality TV confession leads to someone else's deep literary recommendation. 

How to run it:

• Go around in a circle (or popcorn style if people are comfortable)

• Each person shares their three items (just titles, or a quick sentence about why)

• Keep a running list in Slack or a doc so people can reference recommendations later (or know what to avoid!) 

3. Virtual Desk Decorating Contest (Quick Creative Activity)

Time: 10-15 minutes

Best for: Gather users, seasonal team moments, or when you need a creative energy boost

Give everyone a set amount of time to decorate their workspace, whether that's their virtual desk in Gather or their actual desk at home. Set a theme (seasonal, favorite color, minimalist, chaotic maximalist) and let creativity run wild. Come back together and do a quick show-and-tell.

How to run it:

• Announce the theme and give people 5-10 minutes to decorate

• Everyone shares their creation (screen share for IRL desks, walking around in Gather for virtual desks)

• Vote on winners in different categories (most creative, best use of theme, wildcard)

What makes it special in Gather: You can see each other’s desks being decorated in real-time, and you can easily talk while you do it. Once the call is done, you’ll still get to see everyone’s desks around the virtual office. It lasts longer and feels more interactive than screen-share show-and-tell. 

A group of desks in Gather’s own virtual office. You can really get a sense of everyone’s personality!

Mid-Length Connections (15-30 Minutes)

Perfect for: Biweekly department socials, cross-functional team-building, or dedicated connection time that doesn't require tons of prep.

4. Totally Random Presentation (Creative Team-Building) 

Time: 15-30 minutes

Best for: Teams that love nerding out, creative teams, or anyone tired of typical icebreakers

Imagine if your next team meeting opened with a deeply-researched slideshow about competitive pancake eating. Completely random, totally engaging, surprisingly fun! You can have one person present per session, or have everyone prepare short 5-minute talks if you want to make it a full event.

How to run it:

• Ask for volunteers or assign someone to prepare a 10-15 minute presentation on any topic (work-appropriate, but otherwise totally open)

• They present their slides, complete with enthusiasm and random facts

• Leave time for Q&A — the questions often end up being the best part

For more ideas on quick activities, see our guide to 5-minute games for virtual meetings.

5. Virtual Scavenger Hunt (High-Energy Activity) 

Time: 15-20 minutes

Best for: Energizing a team that's been in back-to-back meetings, onboarding new hires to your virtual space

Give people a list of items to find, either in your virtual office or around their actual homes. The first person to find everything wins. Keep the items fun and slightly absurd: 'something purple,' 'a childhood photo,' 'the oldest thing in your fridge,' 'a pen that actually works.'

How to run it:

• Create a list of 5-10 items to find (virtual objects in Gather, or physical items at home)

• Set a timer and let everyone race to find them

• First person to share all items (screenshot in Gather, camera on for IRL items) wins

What makes it special in Gather: You can place objects around your virtual office and watch as everyone’s avatars race around trying to find them. It creates genuine excitement because you can see everyone searching in real-time. 

6. Connection Bingo (Team-Bonding Activity)

Time: 20-30 minutes

Best for: New teams forming, cross-functional departments meeting for the first time, onboarding groups

Create custom Bingo cards with facts about team members. Things like 'Has lived on a farm,' 'Speaks three languages,' or role-specific items like 'Started last month’ or ‘Is Head of HR.’ Give everyone 15-20 minutes to talk with each other, and cross off squares as they find a match.

How to run it:

• Create Bingo cards with 16-25 squares (you can use a Canva template or free online Bingo card generators)

• Send the cards out before the session so people can review them

• Give everyone 15-20 minutes to talk to each other, either by splitting into virtual breakout rooms or messaging each other

• First person to get Bingo (or whoever has the most squares after time is up) wins

What makes it special in Gather: Instead of awkward breakout room shuffling, people can walk their avatars around the virtual office and naturally jump in and out of conversations. It mimics how you'd actually network at an in-person event.

7. Cross-Team Virtual Lunches (Group Social Event)

Time: 30 minutes

Best for: Breaking down silos, helping cross-functional teams build empathy, creating informal connections

Block off 30 minutes for teams from different departments to grab lunch together virtually. Marketing meets Engineering. Sales meets Product. Customer Success meets Design. No agenda, no work talk required; just a chance to get to know the humans behind the Slack avatars.

How to run it:

• Schedule a recurring monthly or quarterly slot

• Pair different teams together (rotate pairings each time)

• Encourage camera-on, casual conversation

• Optional: Provide conversation starters if the group needs help getting started

What makes it special in Gather: You can assign different rooms to different team pairings, so it's easy to walk in and out and see multiple groups connecting. Leaders can pop in briefly without disrupting the vibe.

Deeper Team Bonds (30-60 Minutes)

Perfect for: Monthly department events, quarterly virtual offsites, special occasions, or when you want to create memorable shared experiences.

8. Coworking Jam Sessions (Productive Team Bonding)

Time: 30-60 minutes

Best for: Optional, low-pressure team-building for deep work lovers

Not all team-building needs to be high-energy and social. Some of the best connection happens when you're just working together. Set up a coworking session with a shared Spotify playlist (or let someone DJ with their favorites) and invite teammates to work together. Chat when inspiration strikes, stay quiet when you're in the zone.

How to run it:

• Create a shared music playlist or designate a DJ

• Set a time block (30-60 minutes works well)

• People join when they can, leave when they need to — no pressure to stay the whole time

• Camera-on optional, chat as much or as little as feels natural

What makes it special in Gather: You can see when teammates are sitting in the coworking area, making it super casual to walk up and join. (No scheduling or sharing meeting links required.) It replicates the feeling of working in a shared office without the pressure of constant interaction. 

9. Virtual Book Club (Monthly Team Connection)

Time: 30-60 minutes, monthly

Best for: Teams that love professional development, cross-functional connection, ongoing learning culture

Host a monthly book club where everyone reads their own book and comes together to share what they learned. It could be business books, leadership memoirs, industry-specific reads, or even fiction that recharges your creative batteries. The consistency creates a ritual people look forward to, and the personalized reading keeps it low-pressure. 

How to run it:

• Set a monthly meeting date and invite the team

• Have everyone take turns sharing what they read and what they learned

• Keep it conversational — this isn't a book report, it's about shared ideas

10. Team Talent Show (Full-Team Bonding)

Time: 45-60 minutes

Best for: Company-wide retreats, end-of-year celebrations, special milestone events

Give teammates a chance to show off hidden talents. Someone plays guitar. Someone leads a five-minute yoga flow. Someone does a mildly cheesy magic trick. The point isn't perfection; it's seeing each other as full humans with lives and skills beyond work.

How to run it:

• Send out a sign-up sheet a few weeks in advance

• Keep acts to 3-5 minutes each

• Have an MC to introduce each act and keep transitions smooth

• Celebrate everyone's courage to share — enthusiastic reactions make all the difference!

What makes it special in Gather: As you react with emotes, your avatar joins in with fun animations like clapping and dancing. Even if your camera is off, you can keep the energy high and make the virtual talent show feel alive!

Bonus: Add a Seasonal Twist

Keep things fresh by remixing these activities with a seasonal twist. Host a 'This or That: Holiday Edition' with all questions winter-themed. Run a summer scavenger hunt where people find 'something that reminds you of vacation.' Encourage everyone to decorate their Gather desks for the season or change their backgrounds to match.

Seasonal moments give people permission to be a little more playful, and the built-in timing creates natural checkpoints throughout the year.

Now that you've got 10 activities to choose from, let's talk about why they're worth your time.

Why These Team-Building Activities Actually Work

The common thread? These activities don’t require elaborate planning or feel overly forced. They create space for the thing that actually builds team cohesion: genuine human moments.

Whether it's laughing at someone's random presentation topic, discovering that three people on your team are fast marathon runners, or just working side-by-side with good music playing — these moments matter. They're the foundation for better collaboration, more creative brainstorming, and teams that actually enjoy working together. And when your team trusts each other? Work moves faster. Decisions get made easier. Projects don't stall because someone's afraid to ask questions.

And with a virtual office on Gather, team-building doesn't have to stop when the scheduled event ends. The casual 'hey, nice work on that presentation' that happens when you pass someone's desk. The impromptu conversation when you see someone in the break room. The quick wave hello across the office. Those micro-interactions add up.

Structured activities create the spark, but it's the ongoing connection — the ability to feel like you're working with people, not just alongside them in isolated video boxes — that keeps the fire going.

Start Small, Build Momentum

You don't need to overhaul your entire team culture overnight. Start with one quick win this week (maybe 'This or That' at the start of your next standup, or 'Watch, Read, Listen' in your next team meeting). See what lands. Pay attention to what makes people laugh, what gets them talking, and what they bring up later.

Then build from there. Add a monthly mid-length activity or experiment with a quarterly all-company event. The best team-building strategy is the one you'll actually do consistently.

Your team is counting on you to create space for connection in a world of back-to-back virtual meetings and endless Slack threads. These activities are how you do it (without adding hours to your calendar or needing a team-building budget.

You've got this.

And if you want to keep your team connected outside social events and meetings, try a virtual office on Gather. Get started with 30 days free.