# Fun Games to Play With Colleagues Online (Quick & Low-Effort)

> Building rapport with remote colleagues doesn't need a big event. These are short, low-effort games you can drop into a normal workday to turn coworkers into a team.

**Source:** https://chefpassport.com/blog/fun-games-to-play-with-colleagues-online/
**Category:** Virtual Team Building
**Author:** Matteo Ressa, Founder & CEO, ChefPassport
**Published:** 2023-05-03  ·  **Updated:** 2026-06-05

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Building rapport with remote colleagues doesn't need a big offsite or a budget. The most effective thing is **small and frequent**: short games you drop into a normal workday that slowly turn coworkers into a team.

Here are fun games to play with colleagues online that take **15 minutes or less** — and actually get played more than once.

**The rule that makes it work**

Keep it short, keep it optional, and avoid anyone publicly losing. Done lightly, a quick game reads as a welcome break — not mandatory fun.

## Meeting warm-ups (2–5 minutes)

- **Two truths and a lie** — one round at the top of a call. Instant personality, zero setup.

- **Word association** — host says a word, everyone adds one in turn, no repeats. Fast and funny.

- **This or that** — quick either/or polls (tea or coffee, beach or mountains) in the chat.

- **One-word check-in** — everyone drops a single word for how they're feeling. Tiny, but it builds the habit of speaking up.

## Coffee-break games (10–15 minutes)

- **Psych** — invent fake answers to fool each other; great for newer groups.

- **Quick trivia** — five questions on a rotating theme; let different colleagues pick the topic.

- **Pictionary / Drawful** — light, creative, no trivia knowledge needed.

- **Emoji stories** — describe your weekend (or a project) in emojis only; others guess.

## Building rapport, not just killing time

The point isn't the game — it's the **side conversations** it unlocks. A colleague's terrible drawing or surprising "lie" becomes the in-joke that makes the next meeting warmer. That's why frequency beats production value.

For a bigger list of games, see [10 online fun games for teams](/blog/online-fun-games-for-team/); to pick the right one for a specific goal, use our [framework for choosing online games for teams](/blog/online-games-for-teams/); and for the wider picture, [remote team building ideas that actually work](/blog/remote-team-building-ideas/).

## When you want more than a break

Quick games keep a remote team connected week to week. But when you want to genuinely invest in colleague relationships — a new joiner, a team that's drifted, an end-of-quarter thank-you — a hosted experience lands deeper. ChefPassport's [virtual cooking classes](/virtual-team-building-cooking-class/) bring colleagues into one shared kitchen online, ingredients delivered and a chef guiding the cook, so the rapport-building has something delicious at its centre.

## Frequently asked questions

**What are good quick games to play with colleagues online?**

The best workday games are short and need no setup: 'two truths and a lie', word association, a one-question icebreaker poll, or a 5-minute trivia burst. They fit inside a normal meeting and build rapport without taking a chunk out of the day.

**How do you build rapport with remote colleagues?**

Small and often beats big and rare. A two-minute icebreaker at the top of recurring meetings, a casual channel for non-work chat, and the occasional 15-minute game do more for coworker relationships than one quarterly event.

**Won't colleagues find games at work cringe?**

Some will, if it's forced or too long. Keep it short, make participation genuinely optional, and pick low-pressure formats (no public losing). Done lightly, it reads as a welcome break rather than mandatory fun.

**What's a good game for a team that doesn't know each other yet?**

Low-stakes sharing games work best for new groups — 'two truths and a lie', 'this or that' polls, or Psych. They reveal personality without putting anyone on the spot, which is exactly what a new team needs.

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_ChefPassport — corporate cooking team building in Luxembourg & virtual worldwide. https://chefpassport.com_