Updated: October 25, 2022

19 Fun Guessing Games for Work in 2024

Here is our list of best guessing games for work.

Guessing games are icebreaker activities that encourage good communication and fast thinking skills. Examples include Who Am I, Never Have I Ever, and Two Truths and One Lie. These activities are a fun way for team members to improve their critical thinking and learn more about each other.

These activities are examples of team building games, online group games, icebreaker games, team meeting games, and quick office games. These challenges are similar to question games.

This list includes:

  • guessing games for work parties
  • guessing games for teams
  • guessing games for employees
  • guessing game ideas for work

Let’s get started!

List of guessing games for work

From Never Have I Ever to Two Truths and One Lie to Pitch a Deck Item, here are examples of guessing games you can play with coworkers.

1. Guess the Baby

Guess the Baby requires all employees to bring in baby photos. In this game, employees browse pictures and identify the teammates in each image.

To play:
1. Ask employees to bring their baby photographs. Note that the employees are not allowed to show the pictures to each other before the game.
2. Display the pictures and ask them to guess who the employee in the picture is.
3. Observe as the employees guess each of the pictures.
4. An employee gets a point for guessing each picture correctly.
5. The employee with the highest points wins.

For extra incentive, you can add a mini picture frame as a prize for the winner.

This game is a brilliant way to encourage employees to have fun, improve communication, and learn about each other’s childhoods.

2. Hangman

Hangman is a thrilling game that teammates or colleagues can play at work during breaks or on game days. For this game, the players will need a whiteboard and a marker.

To play:
1. A player will create a secret word for the teammates to guess.
2. The player will draw dashes on the board to indicate the number of letters in the secret word.
3. Teammates guess letters one by one.
4. If the player guesses a letter correctly, the game master will fill in the letter in the blanks.
5. If the players guess wrong, they will get a strike. With each wrong answer, the player will draw parts of the stick figure hangman.
6. The player wins if the teammates do not get the secret word before the figure of the hangman is complete.

This game encourages employees to work together, boosts interaction, and improves spelling.

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3. Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever gives employees insights into each other’s experiences.

To play:
1. Compile a list of prompts like never have I ever gone on a road trip or never have I ever been on television.
2. Players will start the game by raising ten fingers.
3. A leader will read down the list of prompts, or team members will take turns making statements.
4. Employees will drop one finger if they can relate to the questions.

The employee that lowers all fingers first wins. You can also choose to play this game in reverse,  and the teammate with the most fingers left up wins the game.

Never Have I Ever is one of the most common guessing games for employees. This activity allows teammates or employees to learn new facts about each other while having fun.

4. Guess Who

Guess Who is a game similar to charades. Employees must do impressions of each other or famous folks. Then, other players must guess the object of the impression. This activity helps employees develop reasoning and people-reading skills.

To play:
1. Ask players to write coworker or celebrity names on slips of paper and put the slips into a bowl or bag.
2. Every employee draws a name.
3. Players act out the personas.
3. Teammates will try to guess the impression.
4. The first player that guesses correctly wins the round.

This activity encourages employees to break out of their shells and interact with each other. However, ensure that teammates do not offend, mock or insult their colleagues with impersonations.

5. Who Am I?

This activity involves employees sticking a name of a celebrity or public figure on their foreheads or backs. Employees must guess the name on the note with a few hints from other teammates.

To play:
1. Stick a note card with the name of a public figure on the employees’ foreheads or backs.
2. Employees move around asking questions about the character on their forehead.
3. The players can only answer these questions with a “yes” or “no.” For example, am I an artist?
4. Employees will continue asking yes or no questions until a teammate guesses the celebrity’s identity.

This game is a brilliant way to get employees to mingle and interact with each other.

6. Story Building

For this game, employees will stand together to form a circle. One employee starts a story with a sentence, and the next employee continues with sentences of their own. The goal of this activity is for employees to complete a story as a team.

To play:
1. Ask employees to form a circle, standing or sitting.
2. Choose an order in which to play.
3. One employee starts a story and randomly stops.
4. The player will then write down their guesses for what happens next.
6. The teammates with the closest guess will continue telling the story.
7. The game will continue until the teammates are satisfied with the end of the story.

This guessing game is quite thrilling and unpredictable. This activity is also an excellent way to have fun, sharpen employees’ storytelling skills, and improve team cooperation.

7. Guess the Movie

Guess the movie game is a game focused on films. In this activity, employees must guess the movie correctly based on clues.

To play:
1. Pair the employees up. Then, pick the first pair to start the game.
2. Give the pair a scene on a slip of paper
2. The pair act out the movie scene without speaking.
3. Other players must guess the film

This activity helps to stimulate employees’ knowledge and encourages employees to work together. Since neither actor can speak, teamwork is extra tricky, and players must use good improv skills.

8. Name the Song

Name the song is an exciting game that employees or teammates can play at parties. Therefore, this activity is an ideal example of guessing games for work parties. The gameplay is simple. A leader plays a song, and players race to shout the title. Be sure to choose various songs that appeal to a broad range of ages and team demographics, and feel free to throw a few more obscure options in the mix to stump your audience. Let the song play for a few seconds, then pause the music and allow employees to guess the song. The player who guesses the answer first wins the round.

This game helps employees learn about each other and encourages teammates to bond over shared musical tastes.

9. Number Games

Number games are excellent guessing games for teams. This game encourages critical thinking and improves employees’ problem-solving skills.
To play:
1. Each player will think of a random number within a range, such as 1-25
2. Teammates need to guess the number.
3. Players can only ask a few questions to get hints. For example, is the number greater than five? Is the number greater than ten when multiplied by two?
4. The player can only answer yes or no to these questions and offer no additional hints.
5. The teammates get three guesses, after which another player can try.
6. The first player to get the answer correctly wins.
7. The game ends when all the players have had several turns.

To enjoy this game, choose the proper difficulty level. Guessing between 1 to 1,000 is much trickier than guessing one to ten.

10. Guess the Beverage

Guess the beverage is a fun guessing game for parties. You have to provide varieties of drinks to play this game. In this game, employees drink several beverages hidden in a box. The goal of this game is for employees to guess as many of these drinks as possible correctly.

To play:
1. Place various beverages in a paper box, leaving an opening in the front for the audience to see.
2. You will poke holes at the top of the box and insert straws into each beverage. Ensure that players cannot see the names of the drinks.
3. The player will take a sip of a drink and guess the drink’s name.
4. The game will continue until all the players have had a turn.
5. The player that guesses the most beverages correctly wins.

This activity is a brilliant way to familiarize employees with different beverages. Teammates will also learn about each other’s favorite drinks.

11. Guess the Anecdote

Guess the Anecdote will take employees down memory lane. In this activity, employees write down interesting work stories. The aim of this activity is to test how much employees know each other and how well they remember work stories.

To play:
1. Each employee will write down an interesting work experience or story.
2. Put each written story in a bowl and mix them up.
3. Ask an employee to pick each story and read it out.
4. The players will guess who each story belongs to or is about.
5. The participant with the most correct guess wins.

This activity encourages employees to be attentive and improve their listening skills. Feel free to also allow personal anecdotes in the game.

12. Who Said That?

This activity is an excellent way to encourage interaction among employees. In this game, you have to write down quotes from a movie or famous figures in history. Then, players guess the speaker.

To play:
1. Write down quotes on paper and then put the slips in a bowl.
2. Split employees into two groups.
3. Read the quotes and let the groups guess the speaker. For example, “a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” (Albert Einstein)
4. The group with the most correct guess wins.

This activity tests teammates’ knowledge of history and famous quotes and might even help folks find a new motivational mantra.

13. Desk Thief

Desk thief is an exciting guessing game for employees. In this game, you have to randomly pick items from employees’ desks and ask other teammates to guess the item’s origin.

To play:
1. Arrange the items on a table.
2. Ask employees to match the item with the guess
3. The player with the most correct guess will have to take the next item for other players to guess.

This game encourages employees to be more observant about their work environment and motivates them to interact with each other.

14. Celebrity Couple

Celebrity couple is similar to “Who am I?” but in this game, employees will play in pairs. This activity improves communication and teamwork among employees.

To play:
1. Write down the names of celebrity couples on a sticky note.
2. Place the note on employees’ backs.
3. The teams get two minutes each to play.
4. Ask employees to find their celebrity partner by asking “yes” or “no” questions. For example, Am I a movie star? Do I have long hair?
5. If the players fail to find their partners within the allotted time, they will wait for the next round to start guessing again.
6. The game ends when everyone finds their celebrity partner.

This game encourages employees to interact and communicate clearly.

15. Office Party Statue

Office party statue is a great guessing game for work parties. In this activity, you will choose one player to be the statue. At a certain time during the party, the chosen statue will randomly freeze in the middle of the party. Other players who spot the statue must guess the statue’s subject based on the pose or use of props.  For example, a player might pretend to be cupid shooting an arrow and use a nearby curtain as a sash.

The player can choose to freeze at any time. This guessing game is thrilling, spontaneous and fun. You can even continue playing this game until the end of the office party. This game helps to improve employees’ observation skills and motivates employees to relate with each other.

16. Riddles

Riddles are a great way for employees to exercise their brains. In this activity, you will ask the employees mystifying or puzzling questions. Team members will need to think deeply to solve the question or phrase.

To play:
1. Write down a couple of riddles on slips of paper and then put them in a basket.
2. Split the employees into two groups.
3. Ask the groups to pick questions from the basket and read them out.
4. The players have to solve each of the riddles.
5. The group with the highest number of solved riddles wins.

This is an exciting way to improve employees’ problem-solving skills, foster teamwork, and encourage employees to engage.

17. Heads Up

Heads up is a fun activity that requires quick thinking skills. This game requires teamwork and calmness under pressure.

To play:
1. Install the Heads Up app on at least one mobile phone.
2. Start the game and pick a category.
3. The screen will display a word.
4. A player will hold the phone to their forehead without seeing the word.
5. The rest of the players can see the written word and give clues to the player without using the word on the screen.
6. The player has only 60 seconds to guess as many words as possible based on the clues.
7. The participant or team with the most correct guesses wins.

This game helps to improve employees’ decision-making skills and encourages colleagues to work in teams.

18. Guess the Item

Guess the Item is an easy and exciting game. In this guessing game, employees identify an item through touch.

To play:
1. Put various items in a large bowl or bag.
2. Blindfold the employees.
3. Have them reach into the large bowl to pick an item. You may also cover the bowl after each player has picked an item so that players who haven’t selected an item do not sneak a peek.
4. The players will touch the items they picked and guess what the item is.
5. The player who guesses the most items correctly wins.

This activity improves employees’ creativity and thinking skills and is a fun way for teammates to interact.

19. 20 Questions

In 20 Questions, players will take turns guessing what item a teammate is thinking of. The teammates can only ask 20 questions to get the answer right and the turn-taker can only reply with “yes” or “no.”

If none of the groups gets the answer right after 20 questions, then another player will try.

This is a fun game that boosts team bonding and encourages employees to work in a fast-paced setting.

Conclusion

Guessing game ideas are fun team-building activities that help employees to think fast, build observation skills, and improve communication. These activities help to boost problem-solving skills and allow employees to get to know each other better. Arranging fun activities frequently enhances greater collaboration between employees and boosts their confidence. Also, note that choosing activities that suit your company is important.

Next, check out networking games and get to know you games.

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FAQ: Guessing games

Here are some questions usually asked about guessing games for work.

What are some good guessing games to play with coworkers?

Some good guessing games to play with coworkers are Guess the Baby, Never Have I Ever, Celebrity Couple, Guess the Drink, and Office Party Statue.

How do you play guessing games in the office?

You can play guessing games in the office by planning the activity during breaks. It is best to play these games during hours that fit the entire teammates’ schedules. The teammates may also choose to play the guessing games outside office hours if they would prefer. To play guessing games, you need to ensure that you make arrangements for the items needed to carry out the activity and that every player understands the rules of the game before you begin to play.

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Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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