Looking for something new to do with your remote team to boost engagement? Try an online game. They’re a great way to have some fun and get to know each other without repeating the same old icebreakers.
This article covers nine of the best online games for remote teams, organized by time commitment. All are free or free to try. Whether you’re looking for a quick game to kick off a brainstorming session or a longer game for a full social event, we’ve got you covered.
For Gather users: 8 of these games are included in your virtual office as embedded games, so you don’t even need to open another window to play.
For non-Gather users: You can play these games in the browser, or for an extra layer of engagement, create a free virtual office on Gather first and play from there. Your teammates can naturally walk in and out of the game area or even break off into side conversations, feeling more like an in-person social event than just another video call.
Games at a Glance
Codewords (Quick word game to play before meetings): 5–10 min
Skribbl.io (Free drawing and guessing game): 10–15 min
Draw Battle (Fast drawing game for creative teams): 10–15 min
GuessMe! (Personality-based trivia for getting to know each other): 10–15 min
Top Four (Ranking game for lively debates) — 10–15 min
One Night Ultimate Werewolf (Social deduction for strategic teams): 15–20 min
Set With Friends (Pattern recognition for detail-oriented teams): 15–20 min
Jstris (Classic solo or competitive Tetris): Open-ended
Dominion (Strategy card game for dedicated social sessions): 30–45 min
In a Gather virtual office, your team can see when someone's playing and jump right in. No calendar invite needed.
1. Codewords
Quick word game to play before meetings
A game of Codewords in Gather. Your virtual office is visible in the background, so you’re always connected to the rest of your team.
Time: 5–10 min
Best for: Start-of-meeting icebreaker, 4-10 people
Codewords is a team-based word-association game. The rounds are short, the rules take about two minutes to explain, and it works well with mixed group sizes, making it one of the more reliable icebreakers on this list.
How to play: Players split into two teams. Each team has a Codemaster who can see which words on the board belong to their team. The Codemaster gives a one-word clue, and teammates try to guess it. The first team to uncover all their words wins!
Codewords is available in Gather as an embedded game.
2. Skribbl.io
Free drawing and guessing game
Time: 10–15 min
Best for: Any group size, especially teams that haven't played together much
Skribbl.io is fast, chaotic, and genuinely funny, even with people who insist they can't draw. Setup takes about 30 seconds, and you can swap in custom word lists for team inside jokes or industry-specific rounds.
How to play: Each round, one player is randomly chosen to draw a word while everyone else types guesses into the chat. The faster you guess correctly, the more points you earn, and the artist also scores points when people guess correctly. Rounds rotate through all players. To play with your team, go to skribbl.io, click "Create Private Room," and share the link.
3. Draw Battle
Fast drawing game for creative teams
A game of Draw Battle in a virtual office on Gather.
Time: 10–15 min
Best for: Creative teams, casual social time for 4+ people
Where Skribbl.io is about guessing, Draw Battle is about speed. The pressure makes the drawings scrappier and funnier.
How to play: Divide your group into two teams. For each round, one person from each team will draw while the rest try to guess what it is. The rounds are fast, the prompts are fun, and the artistic talent within your team tends to vary (in the best way!).
Draw Battle is available in Gather as an embedded game.
4. GuessMe!
Personality-based trivia for getting to know each other
Time: 10–15 min
Best for: New teams, onboarding, team retreats
GuessMe! flips the trivia format: instead of answering questions about the world, players answer questions about themselves. It's one of the better options for teams that actually want to connect, not just compete, and it works well for onboarding new team members or kicking off a retreat.
How to play: Each round will ask a question, and everyone selects an answer. Then it asks, “Which one did so-and-so pick?” and you’ll guess that person’s answer. If you guess correctly, you get points! If you guess wrong, now you know more about your teammate than you did a minute ago.
GuessMe! is available in Gather as an embedded game.
5. Top Four
Ranking game for lively debates
A game of Top Four being played in a Gather virtual office.
Time: 10–15 min
Best for: Teams with opinions (so most teams 😉)
Top Four gives everyone a category and asks them to rank four items in order. The fun is in comparing results and defending your choices, which almost always turns into a debate. ("How is ‘Die Hard’ not a Christmas movie?!")
How to play: Each round, a category appears with four items. Player A privately ranks them from first to fourth. The other players try to guess the order in which Player A ranks them. Then Player A gets to reveal the answer and defend their choice. Points are awarded for accuracy.
Top Four is available in Gather as an embedded game.
6. One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Social deduction for strategic teams
Time: 15–20 min
Best for: Teams of 4+ people that like strategy and a little bit of chaos
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a condensed version of the classic social deduction game. One round, one night, and a few minutes of debate before the vote. The deception and discussion make it one of the more memorable games on this list.
How to play: Everyone takes on the role of a Villager, a Werewolf, or a special character. During the “night” phase, players take turns acting out their roles (the Seer peeks at another player's card, the Robber swaps cards, and so on). When morning comes, you must debate who the werewolf is and cast a vote. If a werewolf is correctly identified, the villages win. If not, the werewolf wins.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is available in Gather as an embedded game.
7. Set With Friends
Pattern recognition for detail-oriented teams
Time: 15–20 min
Best for: Smaller groups, teams who want something low-key
Set With Friends is quieter than most games on this list; more puzzle than party game. It's deeply satisfying for teams that like a mental challenge, and the asynchronous-friendly format means players can join and drop out without disrupting the game.
How to play: A grid of 12 cards is dealt, each showing a symbol with four attributes: number (1–3), symbol (oval, squiggle, diamond), shading (solid, striped, open), and color (red, green, purple). Players race to spot a Set: three cards where each attribute is either all the same or all different across the three cards. Click the cards, claim the points, and new cards are dealt. First to find the most Sets wins!
Set With Friends is available in Gather as an embedded game.
8. Jstris (Tetris)
Classic solo or competitive Tetris
A game of Jstris (Tetris) in a Gather virtual office.
Time: Open-ended
Best for: Casual competition, background gaming during coworking time
Tetris needs no introduction. Jstris is the browser-based multiplayer version, and it escalates quickly.
How to play: Stack falling blocks to complete horizontal lines, which clear from the board. In Jstris multiplayer, clearing multiple lines at once sends "garbage" rows to opponents' boards, raising their stack and increasing the pressure. Last player standing wins.
To get started, select "Lobby" and create or join a room to play with your team. This one works best as a persistent fixture in your Gather office rather than a scheduled event. Leave it in the break room and let people drift in and out.
Jstris (Tetris) is available in Gather as an embedded game.
9. Dominion
Strategy card game for dedicated social sessions
Time: 30–45 min (longer with new players)
Best for: Strategy-minded teams, planned social events
Dominion has more depth than the other games on this list, which is both the appeal and the caveat. Plan for 45–60 minutes and brief any new players beforehand. This is the team game night option, not the spontaneous icebreaker.
How to play: Each player starts with a small deck of basic cards. On your turn, you play action cards to gain advantages, buy new cards to add to your deck, and eventually acquire Victory Point cards to win. The trick is building a deck that generates enough resources to buy powerful cards before your opponents do, without clogging it with too many Victory Points too early. The player with the most Victory Points at the end wins.
Dominion is available in Gather as an embedded game.
Games work better when your team is already together
The teams that build the best remote culture make connection a natural part of the day, not something that needs to be scheduled. That’s exactly why Gather users love working in their virtual offices. With Gather, your team can see each other throughout the day. You can see who’s busy in meetings, heads down focused, or free to cowork.
When someone starts a game, nearby teammates can see everyone gathered around and walk over to join. No link in Slack, no scheduling social events. It all happens naturally, like it would in person.
"Gather has helped our team culture in a massive way since we all work remotely, but it feels like we're in one office, one headspace. We're a lot more connected to each other this way, and the amount of meetings has gone down."
Kayla Goosen, Marketing Manager at mutherboard
When the break is done, everyone can go back to their desk. You get a sense of presence without sitting on a Zoom call all day, and can start conversations in seconds instead of scheduling everything all the time. It’s a more natural way for remote teams to work, and some have even seen engagement improve by 70% as a result.
With Gather, your distributed team is always nearby. Wave someone over, walk up to their desk, and stay connected.
If you want to make team connection something that happens naturally, not just when a game night is on the calendar, try a virtual office on Gather. Get started with 30 days free.
