16 Zoom Breakout Room Ideas, Games, & Activities

You found our list of Zoom breakout room ideas.

Zoom breakout room ideas are fun activities for teams to use during virtual meetings. Examples include five-minute master classes, group haiku, and brainstorming sessions. The purpose of these ideas is to shift from a chosen agenda while encouraging remote teams to interact in new and enjoyable ways in small group settings.

Zoom breakout room ideas are useful as virtual team introductions, and online icebreakers.

This list includes:

• Zoom breakout room games
• Zoom breakout room activities
• Zoom breakout room ideas for students
• Zoom breakout room ideas for adults
• Zoom breakout session ideas
• Zoom breakout questions

Here we go!

Zoom Breakout Room Games

1. Top Three

Top Three is an easy game to play during a Zoom breakout session. The game lets players get to know one another better by sharing their personal tastes. The only supplies you will need are an imagination and a Word document to write your topics in!

For this game, team members choose their three favorite items as a response to a given prompt. You can create the list of prompts ahead of the meeting using topics you know will interest your crew. Each prompt should be personally revealing in a work-appropriate way, such as the top three desserts you love, top three countries you want to visit, and top three cars you wish you owned. Depending on the size of your team, you may need to create several prompts to make the game last. By giving every team member time to respond to each scenario, the group can compare answers to see how similar their preferences are.

Here are get to know you questions to use for inspiration.

2. Burgers vs. Pizza

Democracy rules in Burgers vs. Pizza, a breakout game that tests the popularity of common foods. All you need to play is a list of 20 foods and a spreadsheet to track the team's choices.

For this game, begin by announcing the first two foods on the list as burgers vs. pizza. Then, team members vote on which is better with a simple show of hands. You can highlight whichever food wins. For this example, pizza is the winner. To keep track of the winner, highlight the pizza cell in green. For the second round, announce the pizza vs. tacos or whatever food is next on the list. Continue highlighting the winner of each round as you announce the next battle until you have covered the whole list.

This list of This or That questions can help you generate prompts.

3. Packing the Suitcase

Packing the Suitcase games can turn a Zoom breakout meeting into an uproarious test of your team members' powers of memory. This game takes no preparation, and your team can play as many times as they would like during the session.

For this game, player one begins by announcing, "I packed the suitcase, and in it, I put," ending the sentence with the first thing they packed. Player two repeats player one's sentence, adding a new item to the end of the list. Player three follows player two, with each player recalling the items in the suitcase in the order they entered the suitcase. The first player to skip an item or mess up the order ends the game.

4. What's That You Say?

This guessing game is a prime choice for a Zoom session and is an easy game to plan. Before the meeting, list simple, familiar phrases like "Happy birthday" and "Untie your shoelaces." Then, send each player a separate phrase via email. To start the round, player one mutes their mic and speaks their phrase. The other competitors try to guess the phrase by reading player one's lips. The first guesser to call out the correct answer wins the round, and player two takes the next turn with their phrase.

This playful game is a tricky way to teach your team focus exercises. By using the remote environment to isolate the senses they depend on, players can communicate in new ways.

Zoom Breakout Room Activities

5. Breathing Exercises

For a change of pace, turn your Zoom breakout meeting into a relaxation session by practicing some easy breathing exercises with your team. These activities require no preparation, making for a simple last-minute idea.

To start the activity:

1. Ask your team to close their eyes and take three deep breaths, filling their bellies fully as they breathe from their diaphragms.
2. ​Begin a four-by-four breathing technique by counting to four on the inhale, holding the breath for a count of four, and counting to four on the exhale. The counting should happen at a relaxed pace.
3. ​For a more advanced technique, try a four-seven-eight pattern by counting to four on the inhale, holding for a count of seven, then counting to eight on the exhale.

Each method will bring your team awareness of their breath, creating a calming effect.

6. Party Planning

If you have a pending celebration needing planning, then a Zoom breakout meeting is an ideal opportunity to get organized. You can invite the team to come up with ideas for the occasion before the meeting. Depending on the event, you can delegate responsibilities during the session and solidify a to-do list.

By allowing your team members to volunteer for their roles, you give them a chance to play to their strengths. For team members reluctant to raise their hands, consider where their abilities will be most beneficial and request that they fill those roles. If there are no pending parties, then a Zoom session to initiate one is perfectly allowable!

7. Desk Yoga

Since Zoom breakout sessions take place in front of a screen, we advise adding a desk yoga class to your meeting schedule. A few simple stretches can relieve built-up tension while providing dedicated time to get your team moving.

For this session:

1. Begin with head rolls. You can guide your team to roll their heads forward and backward in a circular motion to release tension.
2. ​Next, have your team members raise their arms over their heads for a big stretch, alternating reaches with their left and right hands to loosen the back and shoulders.
3. ​Close the session with shoulder rolls, guiding your team members as they raise their shoulders toward their ears and roll them backward several times.

​Zoom Breakout Room Ideas for Students

8. Group Haiku

For students learning about poetry, creating a group haiku can help demonstrate the concept while providing valuable practice time. Students with a talent for poetry can assist those who may need help figuring out how to create their own haikus.

For this activity, the group chooses a topic for the haiku, either by vote or by a random draw. Then, members divide into three smaller groups. Team one writes the five syllables in the first line, team two writes the seven syllables of the second line, and team three writes the five syllables of the last line. The breakout teams reassemble to read their completed haiku aloud.

Depending on the group's abilities, this activity can be a quick round or a long-lasting session. If teams finish the task quickly, then change up the groups and challenge them to create another haiku.

9. U.S. Geography Bee

Students learning U.S. states by shape and location can turn a Zoom breakout session into a geography bee. This activity takes some prep work, which you can easily accomplish with a few internet searches.

To prepare, collect separate outline images of each state and paste them into a Word document or PowerPoint deck. During the meeting, share your screen and show each state in a random order. Team members raise their hands to chime in with the state's name. You can offer bonus points to students who can weigh in with the state capital's name.

You can also adapt this activity for students studying world geography. Simply shift your online search to countries around the world for the group to identify.

10. Story Carousel

Staring a story carousel allows students to bring their creativity to a Zoom breakout meeting. Even team members who consider themselves uncreative can find a way to contribute, exercising their imaginations in the process.

For this session, a chosen narrator begins a story with a familiar opening. Something as basic as "Once upon a time, there was a man standing on a hill" is enough to get the game underway. The chosen narrator then passes the story to the next speaker, who adds the next development to the tale. Then, that narrator chooses the next, with the story growing bit by bit until every team member has added their part. The results can be funny and surprising, considering how different each storyteller's imagination might be.

Zoom breakout room ideas for adults

11. Good News Review

You can challenge your team to add positivity to one another's days with a good news review as your Zoom breakout idea. Each team member can prepare their good news item ahead of the meeting. The topic can be any story attendees find positive, from an event in their lives to an uplifting social media post. During the meeting, team members take turns sharing their good news and explaining how it came about. If your group is small, then you can either make your session a quick meeting or request your team members choose more than one item to share.

Check out more gratitude activities.

12. Debates

Debating in a Zoom breakout session can help teams develop persuasion skills. By practicing with real-world situations, team members get to listen to others apply influence in a safe space to learn which techniques work best.

For this game, create a list of simple statements that are debatable both for and against, like "Ice cream is the best dessert." Begin the game by choosing two team members, one to argue for the statement and one to argue against. Each player gets three minutes to sell their position to the rest of the team. The team then votes to decide who gave the more persuasive argument. The next idea goes to the following two players, with the entire team taking turns until you finish the list.

Though some players come across as more persuasive than others, there are no winners or losers in this game. There are only debaters who get to hone their abilities among their colleagues.

Here are more communication games.

13. Group Discussions

Planning a group discussion as your Zoom breakout room activity allows your team to cover important topics. These topics may pertain to good or bad world issues or local events. The remote nature of offsite work may cause feelings of isolation in your team, especially regarding non-work subjects. Even if the topic relates to work, being able to have team discussions is often a great relief. If your workers can benefit from sharing their feelings, then scheduling a session to explore how the group is processing the event will provide a forum for an important exchange.

Zoom breakout session ideas

14. Brainstorms

When collaboration is necessary, a brainstorming session can make an exciting Zoom breakout activity. By bringing the team together with a common goal, team members can contribute their ideas and learn new perspectives from other members. The purpose is not necessarily to solve a problem or arrive at an answer but instead to utilize the entire group's thought power while creating a list of possibilities.

Even without a project to work on, a brainstorming session allows team members to sharpen their problem-solving skills. You can start a brainstorm by posing a basic idea like "better mousetrap" to get the activity started. Then, have the team share their thoughts about what a better mousetrap might look like and how it could work. The result is an exercise in collaboration that helps the team build trust and understanding.

15. Virtual Tours

To get your remote team in a new environment, schedule a virtual tour to take together. You can find tours covering worldwide locales, all possible without leaving the comfort of your desk chair. Letting your team have a say in choosing the location allows team members to learn about one another's interests. The crew can learn about art, history, culture, and geography from their desktops during these educational Zoom breakout sessions.

Check out virtual tours to choose a destination.

16. Improv

Improv is a team-based Zoom breakout exercise that works nicely in a virtual environment. By encouraging your crew to go with the flow, you can help them learn important lessons in adapting to the moment.

For this activity, choose a scenario and a few characters. A basic set-up, like three shoppers standing in a slow line at the grocery store, is a good starting point. Then, choose the three actors from your team and prompt them with a simple line or two. In the grocery store example, a good line would be, "So…chicken for dinner?" This line begins an improvised conversation that the players will make up as they go along. The most important rule is that participants must agree to what the other players say to keep the conversation flowing.

Here are more Zoom improv games.

17. Photo Sharing

For team members who may not follow one another on social media, having an opportunity to share photos from their lives can be a fun exchange. During your Zoom breakout session, invite your team to choose the most important image in their photo roll and share it with the team. The picture could be of a family member, a pet, or a meaningful location. Encourage each team member to explain the photo, sharing details about what it contains and describing its significance. If your crew is up for sharing, then ask them to choose two or three and go round-robin.

Getting to know one another personally can be difficult in any work setting, even more so in a virtual work format. Giving teams a chance to share their lives outside of work through words and pictures forges important bonds that can bring a team together no matter the distance between their workstations.

Here are more virtual icebreaker ideas.

List of Zoom breakout room questions

Incorporating questions into your Zoom breakout room is a great way to gather employee feedback, insights, and ideas. Here are our top Zoom breakout room questions for your next meeting.

1. Breakout room icebreaker questions

Icebreaker questions are a great addition to any team breakout session. The objective of icebreaker questions is to help team members find similarities with their coworkers.

Here are some icebreaker questions to get you started:

• What is the best piece of advice you have received at work?
• How would you describe your job to a child?
• What was your favorite subject in high school?
• What was your college major?
• What is your favorite sport to play?
• What is your favorite sport to watch?
• What is your hidden talent?
• What is your favorite knock-knock joke?
• What is your favorite lunch spot?

Check out our complete list of icebreaker questions for work.

2. Funny Zoom breakout room questions

If you want to lighten the mood in your Zoom meeting, then we recommend posing funny questions to the group. From classic pranks to hilarious jokes, these questions will surely make your coworkers laugh.

Here are some funny questions to ask team members:

• What is the funniest prank you have ever pulled on a coworker?
• Which celebrity would you like to crash our next Zoom meeting?
• If you won the lottery tomorrow, what is the first thing you would buy?
• What is the silliest thing you believed when you were a child?
• What is the most embarrassing post you have ever made on social media?
• If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?
• If a genie granted you one wish, what would you wish for?
• What is the funniest joke you have ever heard?

Funny questions can help you break up your meeting and make employees laugh.

Explore more fun question games.

3. What if questions

If you are looking for serious Zoom breakout room questions, then what if questions are a great option. These questions can encourage employees to think deeply about what they would do if certain scenarios took place.

Here are some what if questions to consider:

• What if you had to make a presentation to the CEO tomorrow?
• What if you never had to attend another Zoom meeting?
• What if no one was allowed to work from home anymore?
• What if all technology stopped working?
• What if you could redo job interviews?
• What if you could host the company Christmas party?
• What if you were the boss for one day?
• What if you could work from any country in the world?

Check out more what if questions.

4. Team building questions

Team building is all about getting to know your coworkers so you can effectively collaborate. Asking questions related to this topic can help you promote bonding and togetherness.

Here are a few team building questions:

• How do you manage deadlines?
• How do you resolve conflicts at work?
• What is your best way to stay organized at work?
• What is one lesson you have learned in your career?
• What is your dream job?
• What do you hope to achieve in your career?
• What is one thing you want to accomplish in the next five years?
• What is the most surprising fact about your industry?

Find more team building questions.

5. Work from home questions

When working from home, some team members have yet to meet each other in person. One of the best ways remote employees can open up and relate to each other is by sharing their work from  home experiences.

Here are some fun work from home questions:

• What does your home setup look like?
• What is your morning routine like when you work from home?
• What is your end-of-day routine?
• Do you dress casually or professionally for work?
• What is your biggest distraction at home?
• What is your favorite part of working from home?
• What is your least favorite part of working from home?
• If you could work from anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
• What songs are on your go-to work playlist?
• What snack is always on your desk?

Check out more work from home team building questions.

6. Networking questions

One of the best activities to host in your Zoom breakout room is a networking session. During this time, give team members a chance to chat with colleagues. We suggest creating a list of breakout room icebreaker questions for networking.

Here are our suggestions for networking questions:

• What was your first job?
• What is the best gift of career advice that you have ever received?
• If you were not working in this field, what do you think you would be doing?
• Describe your ideal work day.
• Do you have any side hustles apart from your day job?
• What excites you about your job?
• What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
• What is the most interesting fact about yourself?
• What is the secret to your success?
• How long have you been working in this industry?
• What is your preferred method to keep in touch with friends?

The objective of these networking questions is to encourage team members to learn more about each other. Ideally, participants should also keep in touch after the networking breakout room session is over.

Read more networking icebreaker questions.

7. Have you ever questions

Have you ever is a fun question game where team members can talk about their experiences in the workplace. The objective of this game is to ask employees if they have ever completed any of the actions in your list of questions.

Here are some questions for your game:

• Have you ever made a best friend at work?
• Have you ever gone on a work trip?
• Have you ever worked overtime?
• Have you ever sung in your car on the way to work?
• Have you ever missed an important meeting?
• Have you ever created time blocks on your calendar?
• Have you ever forgotten to eat lunch?
• Have you ever drank too much coffee in the morning?
• Have you ever been late for a Zoom meeting?

The have you ever question game is a great way to start conversations where employees can bond over shared experiences.

Check out more have you ever questions for work.

8. Team bonding questions

Team bonding questions help teammates open up and share their experiences and opinions. Incorporating these questions in your breakout room can help team members understand each other better, which can lead to effective workflows and increased productivity.

Here are a few team bonding questions:

• How do you define success?
• What book would you recommend to coworkers?
• What do you value most in a friendship?
• What is one thing you do not tell most people?
• What is one thing you wish more people know about you?
• What is one risk you are glad you took?
• What was your favorite job?
• How do you handle criticism in the workplace?

If you want to bring your team closer together, then including team bonding questions in your meeting is a great way to boost positivity and engagement.

Check out our list of team bonding questions.

9. Get to know you questions

Get to know you questions can help team members learn more about their coworkers in a calm and fun setting. These questions are great for casual Zoom breakout rooms.

Here are some question examples:

• Where is your hometown?
• What is the biggest professional risk you have ever taken?
• What is the biggest personal risk you have ever taken?
• Do you have any pets?
• What is your definition of success?
• Do you work better independently or on a team?
• What was your first job?
• What is the biggest mistake you have ever made at work?
• What is your dream job?
• What motivates you at work?
• What is your favorite way to spend a day off?

Read more get to know you questions.

10. Question of the day

If you are looking for fun ways to begin your Zoom meetings, then we recommend implementing a question of the day. This activity is a great way to encourage employees to think critically.

Here are some question of the day examples:

• What is the most inspirational quote you have ever heard?
• What celebrity would you choose to play you in a movie?
• What is the best memory you have in your life?
• If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
• What is the best way to spend a rainy day?
• What do you look forward to each day?
• Who is your biggest role model?
• What accomplishment are you most proud of in your life?

Read our complete list of the best questions of the day for teams.

11. Holiday icebreaker questions

The holidays are a great time to bring teammates together for bonding and team building. Asking questions about holiday traditions and celebrations is a great way for team members to open up and begin conversations.

Here are a few fun holiday icebreaker questions:

• What is your favorite holiday dessert?
• Do you have any holiday traditions? If so, what are your traditions?
• What is the best gift you have ever received?
• What is the best gift you have ever given?
• What are your top three accomplishments from the past year?
• What are your resolutions for the new year?
• What is your favorite holiday movie?
• What is your favorite outdoor winter activity?

Check out more holiday icebreaker questions.

12. Well-being questions

Practicing effective health and mental well-being can have a positive effect on employees personally and professionally. We recommend asking questions related to this topic in your next breakout room.

Here are a few examples of questions related to wellness:

• How do you decompress and de-stress?
• Do you participate in yoga or meditation?
• What is your number one tip to practice effective mindfulness?
• What hobbies make you happy?
• How do you overcome stress from your job?
• How do you overcome stress from your personal life?
• What are some of your healthiest habits?

Asking questions related to health and well-being is the best way to encourage employees to take care of themselves in and out of the workplace.

13. Virtual water cooler questions

Virtual water coolers are online spaces where employees can get together casually. Team members often use virtual water coolers as a way to chat about topics unrelated to work.

Here are a few questions for your virtual water cooler:

• What is a unique fact about yourself?
• What is one place where you would love to travel?
• What is one language you would like to learn?
• What is the last TV show you binge-watched?
• What is your top book recommendation?
• What is your top podcast recommendation?
• What never fails to make you laugh?
• What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you at work?

Check out more virtual water cooler ideas.

14. Company trivia questions

If you want to quiz employees on their knowledge of the workplace, then we recommend using company trivia questions for your breakout room. These questions should focus on information about your company, such as historical facts and company policies.

Here are some example company trivia questions:

• What year was our company founded?
• Who is the current CEO?
• How many employees do we have?
• Where is the company headquarters?
• What is the company slogan?
• What is the company’s PTO policy?
• What are the company’s logo colors?

You can also make your company trivia questions into a friendly competition by awarding a prize to the team member who answers the most questions correctly.

Check out more trivia questions for work meetings.

15. This or that questions

This or that is a fun question game in which players choose between two options. You can incorporate funny or serious themes into the game, making the topics difficult for players to make a choice.

Here are some fun this or that questions for your meeting:

• Phone calls or text messages?
• Email or Slack?
• Cats or dogs?
• Work from home or work from the office?
• Webcam on or off?
• Work early in the morning or work late at night?
• Video or in-person interview?
• Take risks or play it safe?
• Coffee break or happy hour?
• Work solo or group project?

This or that is an engaging way to learn about your coworkers' likes and interests.

Explore more this or that questions.

16. Would you rather questions

If you are looking for funny Zoom breakout room questions, then we recommend playing would you rather. These questions encourage employees to choose between two different scenarios.

Here are some would you rather questions:

• Work independently or with a team?
• Have short meetings every day or a long meeting once a week?
• Have an office view of the city or the countryside?
• Have a four-day work week or work weekends only?
• Win the lottery or own a business?
• Retire early or change careers?
• Work with clients or manage projects?
• Make more money or work in your dream job?
• Drive or take public transportation to work?

Would you rather is a fun game to help you lighten the mood during your meeting.

Check out more would you rather questions.

17. Breakout room discussion topics

When putting together your Zoom breakout room, you should come up with innovative ideas and topics. We suggest exploring ideas that encourage creativity, energize participants, and inspire team members to get to know their coworkers.

Here are a few ideas and topics to consider:

• Friendly workplace competitions
• Company trivia questions
• Weekly reflections and recaps
• Team breakfast meeting
• Lunch and learn
• Guest speaker Q&A
• Skill development workshop
• Employee feedback questionnaire

These ideas and topics work seamlessly with breakout room experiences. Plus, you can come up with different questions to ask employees for each topic, making these ideas a great addition to your breakout room questions.

Explore more out of the box meeting ideas and topics.

Conclusion

Zoom breakout room ideas can help break up the monotony of online meetings for teams that depend on virtual get-togethers as the bulk of their communication. These activities also provide an opportunity for bonding and collaboration among remote teams. Maximizing virtual together time allows your breakout room sessions to become productive moments that enrich your team's interactions.

Next up, read about virtual team huddles and Zoom games for large groups.