In recent times, the world has experienced a tremendous increase in the implementation of team building activities. Starting from camp leaders to organizers, and many different companies, none have been left out in this trend. Achieving great results is inevitable for any well-built team. Work efficiency is always better when handled by a skilled and organized group, not individually; this is a significant reason to enhance team building and improvement.
Team-building or team-bonding shouldn’t be seen as merely recreational but organized in such a way as to enhance the relationships between people. The approach used in preparing a team-building activity should differ depending on the group of people involved. For instance, team building activities for teens should be kept simple in both explanation and content. While employees could be complicated with their cadre put into consideration.
To achieve the aim of implementing team-building activities, the organizers must plan and structure their games properly. You need to develop a concrete plan that includes goals for the team and individual participants. With all these information well structured and analyzed in advance, you can build any team.
The primary objective is to unite the team and create an avenue for employees to bond despite their differences. Usually, this is also in an atmosphere of games and activities, where everyone has freedom of expression and teamwork. Under this atmosphere, You can easily spot individuals with good leadership qualities, great strategists, exceptional coordinators, etc.
Types of Team-building activities:
Outdoor team-building activities- These are team-building activities organized outside because of the availability of vast expanse of space, or the availability of a particular type of environment such as the beach, forest, etc.
Indoor team-building activities- These are activities planned and organized inside a classroom, or larger rooms. The most recommended in this regard are Icebreakers Games
Best Team-Building Activities
1.Capture the Flag
Are you a strategist? Then you can play this game Capture the Flag. Here, the leader of the team is to unite the ideas from all group members and with the help of others, come up with a perfect strategy to capture the flag of the opposing team without being caught by the opponents.
Time: 20-50 minutes
Number of Participants: 20-30
Materials Needed: 2 different flags, circles for the flag area and a rope or any other material for land delimitation
How to play: The surface or place where you’ll perform should be divided into two equal parts. After this, mark or put a circle in both ends were the flags for both teams you’ve selected. Each team has the purpose of capturing the flag of the opposing team. This goal can only be achieved if you can penetrate the opponent’s area and capture their flag without been touched. If your opponent gets to you, you’ll be eliminated for a few minutes. Each team also has to defend its flag. Whichever team can capture the opponent’s flag without been touched by any of their players becomes the winner.
2.Two Truths and a Lie Ideas
The game is one of the beneficial activities in which you can learn more about a person: Two Truths and a Lie Idea is very useful for a group of people meeting for the first time or group members who know little about themselves. It is an 
icebreakers game and can be beneficial for any age group.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-15
Materials Needed: sheets and pens
How to play: For this game, you need some medium-sized leaves and a pen for each participant. Each participant in the game has to write down two real things and a false statement about themselves in 5 minutes. Then all the comments are gathered in a pot, after which each participant will extract a sheet. At this point, each of them reads the statement and tries to identify who wrote and the wrong statements written. This game can also be played between 2 teams. One team pulls a ticket from the opposing team, and the group tries to define the owner.
3. Human Bingo
Human Bingo is an excellent activity to improve interaction with your group because it involves searching and analyzing statements to match the right person to the qualities on your sheet.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-20
Materials Needed: sheets and pens
How to play: In this game, you will need to have the appropriate statements about participants recorded in advance. To achieve this, the leader can compose and adapt to the character of the individuals who will participate. The information you can use may include age, likes and dislikes, countries visited, etc. At the start, all players after they have gotten the sheet with the sentences written on it will have to identify the described individual. For this, each participant needs to interact with others to match the characteristics on the sheet to different individuals.
4. Who am I game
You can discover celebrities in this game. The goal in Who am I game is to unravel a person’s identity by applying some specific questions to features or other qualities. If well organized it will create a pleasant atmosphere in which the participants will be able to communicate very quickly and open up.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-15
Materials Needed: pieces of paper, glue, scissors
How to play: For those present at the game, simple cardboard sheets are required, with a characters name, quality, object, country, etc. The sheet should be glued to the forehead or back or can be supported by any means. There are two primary ways to play this game. In one, All participants can partake sat once by approaching another participant and asking questions to identify the name written on the sheet. In the second, One player in the group goes out of the room for a few seconds. And when he returns, he asks his friends questions about his identity. Questions should only be answered through a Yes or No. Example questions: Is he a man? Is he a writer? What’s his origin? And more.
5. Heads Up, Seven Up
Well, even though you’re no longer a student, you can recall those times playing Heads Up Seven Up. In this game, you’ll select seven persons and a room with tables and chairs prepared.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-15
Materials Needed: Tables, chairs
How to play: Starting the game, you select seven or number of individuals are chosen to face the room. The teacher (or selected player) says, “Heads down, thumbs up!” or “Heads down all around!”. At you order, the excluded persons then put their heads down with the eyes closed. The chosen seven go round the room, secretly pressing down one thumb to touch one of the excluded participants and then return to the front of the room. A variation is merely tapping the person. This part of the game takes about 2 to 3 minute. The teacher/selected player then calls, “Heads up, seven up!” or “Heads up, stand up!” Everyone should raise their heads, and the persons whose thumbs were pressed can stand up. Each in turn names the person they think must have pressed their thumb or tapped their head. Any person that gets this correctly can change places with the seven. But when incorrect, they’ll remain seated, and the game then starts again.
6. Obstacle Course
Do you want to organize a camp and think about sports activities? Obstacle Course is a game that you can do outdoors. The goal of the game is for all members who are part of the game to go through various obstacles prepared in advance by the organizer.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Number of Participants: 10-30
Materials Needed: circles, balls, cones, empty boxes, different objects according to activities.
How to play: The most desirable place for this game is somewhere outdoors on a smooth surface. The organizer can add up to 30 people to participate and also has the freedom to decide the number of groups, shared according to the number of participants. It is important that all teams have an equal number of players. Chose a group to start the game and another to come last. Then prepares all the necessary materials from the selected examples. The most famous examples are balls, circles, ropes, etc. To make this game more interesting, the organizer can add activities such as circling, passing the ball between your feet, bringing a ping pong ball into the bar, running empty boxes, moving an object on the head without getting rid of it, etc. These and many others can be organized according to the target group.
7. Four Corners Game
Are you in search for a game where there is plenty of movement and action? Then the Four Corners Game is your best option. It can be played in a room or playground and involve simple rules that everyone understands. The objective of the game is for players to choose corners of the room and not get caught by the player at the middle until they are the last remaining participant.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Number of Participants: 5
Materials Needed: marker, four digits numbered 1-4, something to tie the eyes
How to play: In this game, there’re simple rules to follow. Firstly, four corners (or general areas) of the room are marked from the numbers one to four while the remaining one sits in the middle of the room and closes his or her eyes, or exits the room, and counts to ten. The remaining players are allowed to choose any one of the corners and quietly go and stand in that area. When the middle player has finished counting, he or she calls out one of the numbers. If there is a player that corner or region, the person(s) is out of the game.
8. Human Knot Game
Are you checking out a team building game to build communication for a group? Human Knot Game is a great fit. Being a logical and interactive game, it is perfect for any team-building activity. The objective of the game is to figure out how to disentangle the human knots without letting go of grasped hands. The entire team is involved.
Time: 5-20 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-20
Materials Needed: none
How to play: To play this game, form a circle with all the participants. Each player grasps the hand of the persons not next to them, thereby forming a knot. Then a person is delegated who ’s to bring the team to their original position. In other words, untie the knot. The chosen person from the beginning needs to get out and direct the other participants. Another option is for the whole group to participate in this goal by stepping over or underarms and try to untangle the knot without letting go the grasped hands. When the knot unfolds, the participants shouldn’t let go of their hands.
9. River Crossing
The goal of this exercise is to have the entire team involved, demonstrating the power of teamwork and showing the interdependence of the groups.
Time: 10-20 minutes
Number of Participants: 5-10
Materials Needed: pieces of wood or paper, rope marking for the river
How to play: River Crossing requires that groups must cross a ‘river’ using the tools available. The entire team must pass at the same time. In the beginning, the goal (the other side of the river) is clear to everyone. As the team moves into the middle of the river, the task becomes more daunting. The players are scattered in the river and can’t see the same thing, or have the same information as everyone else. Here, the confusion comes up. Occasionally mistakes are made by the person behind. One of the persons at the extreme should lead the way and tell everyone what to do. Throughout the entire activity, everyone will have different ideas to approach the situation, and the feedback from both ends will vary. Communication must be clear to cross the river in time, so you’ll have to rely on one person and try to connect the dots.
