The 7 Outdoor team building games your team will love
Employers are increasingly embracing outdoor team building games as a way of engaging their staff. They have realised that games are a great way of building cohesion and camaraderie at the workplace. They also appreciate the role of team building activities in improving the motivation and productivity of workers.
The concept of team building dates to the 1920s when industrial psychologists such as William McDougall recognised the importance of psychological wellbeing to an employee’s performance. They noticed that workplace performance is a product of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors and that informal groups shape organizational culture.
The realisation of how social dynamics influence organizational culture informed the decision by corporates to organise bonding programs for their staff. Such activities help release tensions and diffuse negative energy that might jeopardise organizational objectives.
If you are planning to hold outdoor team building games for your staff, then you will do well to consider Barcelona as your destination.
Barcelona is one of the cities that is popular with employers seeking a serene place for outdoor team building games for employees. It is a historical and iconic Catalan city with a pristine coastline, exotic cuisine and a vibrant nightlife. It is a great place for your staff to relax and revitalise their bodies and minds while building bonds.
Do you not believe us? Stay in Gotland Charter to discover all the outdoor team building games you can carry out.
Fun Outdoor Team Building Games
There are several simple ideas that managers can use for fun outdoor games for team building. Some firms prefer brief activities while others opt for exercises that last hours or even whole days.
There is a wide selection of outdoor team building games for adults that you can choose from depending on your preferences and constraints.
Blind Soccer
Time: 50 minutes, divided into two 25 minute halves.
Number of Participants: Two groups of five persons.
Tools Needed: A ball with ball-bearings.
How to Play: Blind soccer is one of the easy outdoor team building games. It is played by teams of five with four of the players wearing a blindfold while the goalkeepers retain their sight.
The ball contains ball-bearings so that players can track it as it moves around the pitch. Players try to dribble past each other through close control and evading opponents.
Each team has a designated coach who guides them towards the goal and the location of teammates. The pitch is surrounded by acoustic boards that allow players to locate each other by clicking fingers. The winner is the team that scores the most goals.
Purpose: This game is suitable for imparting employees with collaboration and communication skills.
Scavenger Hunt
Time: Until finished.
Number of Participants: Any. It can be played in small groups of 2 – 3 persons.
Tools Needed: Five or more objects.
How to Play: This is one of the awesome outdoor building games in Barcelona. In this game, participants write a list of items and then commit to finding each item from the environment. Participants form groups of five to 10 and prepare a list of items to be found.
In some variants of the game, players take photographs of the items on the list. The winner is the person/s who completes the most tasks within the time set.
Purpose: This game builds the brainstorming and innovative skills of players as they must find creative ways of accomplishing the tasks.
Two Truths and A Lie
Time: 15-minutes per round.
Number of Participants: 10 – 15 people.
Tools Needed: None.
How to Play: This game is an effective ice breaker and is suited to groups of 10 to 15 people. The game is played in rounds such that each player gets a chance to play within 15 minutes.
Players sit next to a round table facing each other. Each person gets a chance to tell two truths and one lie. The lie should resemble the truths so that other players cannot easily discern that the player is lying.
Players can state their statements or write them on a board for others to read.
Purpose: It is not a competitive game and only aims to encourage participants to open up and get to know each other.
Egg Drop Challenge
Time: 15 – 30 minutes.
Number of Participants: 6 or more, divided into groups.
Tools Needed: Raw eggs, paper towels, duck tape, straws, cardboard and tapes.
How to Play: This is one of the most popular outdoor team building ideas. In this game, players construct an egg catcher using the materials such as newspapers, cartons and tapes that are available to each group.
They then have to ensure that eggs dropped on the catcher from a given height has a soft landing that prevents it from breaking. Typically, one participant acts as the egg thrower and rises up the lift while throwing eggs several meters below.
The team that has the least breaks from different heights wins the competition.
Purpose: This game is excellent for stimulating collective critical thinking because players have to figure out a surface that does not break the egg. It is the classic team-building game because it tests the participants ability to collaborate and engage throughout the process.
Sailing Regattas for Companies
Time: 2 hours or more.
Number of Participants: 10 – 250 people.
How to Play: This is one of the most popular outdoor team building games in Barcelona. In this game, teams participate in a sailing competition using a wind-powered boat on the Mediterranean Sea.
Sailors overcome both physical and technical challenges at every stage of the race. The exercise does not require sailing skills as most of the thrust is provided by the wind.
At Gotland Charter, we have the capacity to serve over 250 participants in our sailing regattas for companies.
Depending on the size of the group, we divide them into small groups of 7 – 8 people. Then, we assign to each group a boat and a professional skipper to guide them through the nuances of navigation.
Purpose: It is an activity that brings out the competitive spirit in everyone while testing and reinforcing their collaboration skills.
Hands Tied Up
Time: 25 minutes.
Number of Participants: Groups of 4 – 12 people.
Tools Needed: Shoe laces, rope strips or something used to tie.
How to Play: This is one of the most hilarious outdoor games for team building activities. In this game, participants form groups where members of each group form a circle.
All the players have one of their hands tied together at the wrist. They are then required to collaborate by using the untied hand to unlock the knot within the time set.
In other variants of the game, the team is required to complete a task with their free hand such as completing a jigsaw puzzle.
Purpose: The game teaches employees important skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, communication and goal setting.
Back to Back Drawing
Time: 15 minutes.
Number of Participants: 6 – 16 people.
Tools Needed: Pencils and paper.
How to Play: This game involves splitting participants into pairs and asking them to draw some objects. One player gets a picture of an object and describes it in a way that helps the partner figure out what it is.
The partner relies on the description to draw the picture. After drawing for about 10 minutes, the two then compare the drawing with the picture to assess the accuracy of the drawing.
Purpose: This is a great communication exercise for the staff that tests their ability to articulate ideas and the listening skills of their partners.
Heads Up
Time: A minute per round.
Number of Participants: 2 or more people.
Tools Needed: An smartphone with the Heads Up app.
How To Play: This game was popularised by the Ellen DeGeneres show.
One player holds a smartphone on the forehead such that the other players can see the image, but the one holding cannot see it. The other players give clues to the person holding the phone so that they can figure out what the other players are trying to describe.
If the player makes a correct guess, they can tilt their phone forward. If they are wrong, they flip backwards to pass to the next item. The player or team that makes the most correct guesses wins the game.
You can also play writing the name of what is going to be guessed in a piece of paper and stick it on the forehead.
Purpose: This game enhances the communication and perceptive skills of employees.
Barcelona has a reputation for offering memorable outdoor team building games for corporate firms of all sizes. We advise managers to prepare assessments related to team-building skills for each game so that the staff can make the most out of the exercises.
Are you ready to test your team capabilities?