You found our list of the best ORTBO ideas.
ORTBO is an acronym that stands for Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurrence. ORTBO ideas are exercises and activities you can do with your team during these rare and special events. For example, hikes into the harsh wilderness, trivia gauntlets, and legend telling. The purpose of these occurrences is to achieve team unity. ORTBO is a concept popularized by the TV show Severance.
This concept is similar to group retreats, company retreats, company offsites, and team building activities.
This list includes:
- ORTBO games
- ORTBO activities
- ORTBO locations
Let’s begin.
List of ORTBO ideas
Here is a list of board-approved ideas for your next ORTBO.
1. Solverance
Solverance is a virtual escape room experience for teams. In this 60-minute event, participants will work together to try to escape the offices of “Not a Cult Industries.” Teams will travel to different breakout rooms to solve puzzles with the help of the game hosts who will be acting as special characters. The game is filled with nods to the show, but is also enjoyable to folks who have never watched an episode.
The game is available on all virtual platforms, including Zoom, Teams, WebEx, and Google Meet.
Learn more about Solverance.
2. S’mores
S’mores-making is one of the most traditional ORTBO activities. Each participant assumes a specific role—marshmallow toasting, chocolate placement, or graham cracker alignment—ensuring an efficient and harmonious assembly process. As employees consume the s’mores in quiet contemplation, they will reflect on the importance of balance, both in dessert construction and in their workplace contributions.
Remember though, s’mores are only for team players.
You can also check out virtual campfire ideas.
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3. Music Dance Experience
Although traditionally reserved for an in-office reward, a musical dance experience can lift spirits during an ORTBO and provide frivolity.
Here are musical genre suggestions ideal for ORTBOs:
- Resigned Pop
- Nostalgic Country
- Hopeful Polka
- Determined Classical
- Exhausted Metal
Once your team has chosen the genre, allow each member to choose a musical instrument accessory, then play the music for exactly five minutes and allow team members to dance.
Check out more team building songs for work.
4. Waffle Bar Breakfast
We recommend that the Severance ORTBO begins with a carefully curated waffle bar breakfast, ensuring employees are properly fueled for the day ahead. A well-fed team is a focused team. Without this structured meal, some employees might experience mild confusion, orworse, begin to draw troubling conclusions about their survival instincts.
(Providing sustenance at the start of the ORTBO will prevent employees from contemplating eating dead seals, for instance.)
Here are more fun office breakfast ideas.
5. Hike
On the retreat’s supervised hike, employees will experience the chaos of the outside world, such as uneven ground, unpredictable weather, and a lack of clear directives. Without the structure of their workplace, innies may feel unease, reinforcing the safety and stability of office life. The tangled, unregulated wilderness contrasts sharply with the order and purpose of their daily tasks. By the end, employees will return weary but grateful, reminded that the true refuge lies within the company’s walls.
Check out more outdoor team building activities.
6. Kier Says
Kier Says is among the most beloved ORTBO games. The exercise is similar to Simon Says, but the only acceptable commands are corporate-approved actions like “Contemplate Kier,” “Promote Synergy,” and “Exude Gratitude.” Any employee who follows a command that wasn’t preceded by “Kier says” must immediately place a hand over their heart and whisper, “I have erred, but I will do better.” The game continues until only one employee remains, at which point a supervisor solemnly declares them “Worthy in the Eyes of Kier.”
Here are more communication games for teams.
7. Wellness Session
ORTBOs exist to satisfy innies’ curiosity and strengthen team unity but also to refill the team’s vigor. During the retreat, employees can participate in a wellness session designed to restore balance, promote mindfulness, and reinforce company values.
Here are examples of the kinds of facts that are suitable for sharing in group settings:
- Your outie drinks exactly the recommended daily amount of water. Never more, never less.
- Your outie has never been late for anything, not even once.
- Your outie has the perfect number of socks. Not too many. Not too few.
- Your outie never loses pens.
- Your outie always wakes up three seconds before their alarm, fully refreshed.
However, be sure to get approval from the board before enlightening the group with any information, as encouraging too much curiosity about outies is ill-advised.
Here are more employee wellness ideas.
8. The Overtime Lottery
An innocent-sounding game where one participant is randomly selected to stay after hours for an unspecified, cryptic project that will never be discussed again. The moment the name is announced, a supervisor marks it down in a large, leather-bound ledger without explanation. Then, one team member begins a slow, rhythmic tapping on the desk—three beats, a pause, then three beats again—until a supervisor clears their throat and the tapping immediately stops.
9. The Severance Pantomime Game
Employees act out what they think their outies do outside work, with no context. The most absurdly incorrect interpretation wins. The game ends when a supervisor declares, with absolute certainty, “Yes. This is their truth.” The winner is crowned “Knower of the Outie,” a title that comes with no explanation and no apparent benefits.
10. The Eagan Trivia Gauntlet
A high-stakes trivia contest where employees must answer increasingly bizarre and contradictory questions about the company’s founder. Wrong answers result in stern nods of disapproval. Right answers are met with slow, approving nods and a quiet, synchronized chant of “Praise Kier.” In rare cases of an exceptionally insightful response, a supervisor may place a hand over their heart and whisper, “He would be proud.”
Here are more trivia games for adults.
11. The Corporate Applause Marathon
A seemingly endless round of clapping that only stops when everyone is perfectly synchronized in speed, volume, and facial expression. No one knows when or if it will end. If even a single person falls out of sync, the cycle resets, and the group must begin again with renewed enthusiasm. As the applause continues, it transforms from a gesture of enthusiasm into a rhythmic, almost mechanical display of corporate unity.
12. The Welcome Back Ceremony
An employee leaves the room for exactly two minutes. When the teammate returns, they are met with an elaborate standing ovation as if they have just returned from a long and harrowing journey. Some colleagues wipe away fake tears, while others offer firm handshakes and murmured congratulations, though no one explains what the employee has “overcome.” A supervisor then steps forward, places a reassuring hand on the employee’s shoulder, and solemnly declares, “We never doubted you for a second.”
13. The Allegiance Pledge
Employees gather in a circle and must each whisper a vow of devotion to the company. The catch? Their vow must be completely improvised yet delivered with absolute sincerity. Each pledge is met with a slow, approving nod from the group, regardless of how cryptic or unsettling it may sound. Once all employees have spoken, they must join hands in silence for exactly seven seconds, reflecting on the gravity of their commitments.
14. Legend Telling
No Severance ORTBO is complete without reflecting on the history of Lumon. The unconventional setting of the ORTBO is an opportunity to share lesser-known histories about Lumon and the Eagans. However, ensure your employees receive these tales with utmost reverence. Any disrespectful reactions to the legends should immediately end all ORTBO activities.
ORTBO Locations
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Woe’s Hollow is no longer available for ORTBOs. Here is a list of approved ORTBO locations to use as alternatives.
1. The Repose Meadow
A vast, perfectly symmetrical field of grass. No known entrance or exit. The grass remains exactly two inches tall at all times. No one remembers arriving.
2. Harmony Ravine
A deep, winding ravine where echoes take just a little too long to return. Employees are encouraged to bond by shouting affirmations into the void. The void sometimes answers.
3. The Jubilant Depths
A reflective lake where all ripples disappear instantly. Teams participate in “synchronized stillness exercises” while seated on floating docks that never drift.
4. Synergy Caverns
A series of dimly lit tunnels where teams must navigate using only corporate-approved phrases like “Let’s circle back” and “Per my last email” to communicate. Exits are rumored but never confirmed.
5. Gratitude Dunes
A featureless desert landscape where employees take turns burying anonymous “thank you” notes for colleagues. No one is certain if they are writing, receiving, or digging for the same notes over and over again.
Final Thoughts
The ORTBO is an opportunity to reinforce camaraderie, purpose, and unwavering dedication to the organization. Through these activities, employees will emerge with a deeper sense of belonging and a renewed commitment to their work.
If you enjoyed this fun article on the Severance ORTBO, check out our piece on examples of bad leaders in pop culture.
