Let’s be honest—work is great and all, but sometimes you need a little break from spreadsheets, emails, and Steve’s questionable taste in microwave lunches. Enter the Office Olympics—a glorious event where teamwork meets friendly competition, and where Karen from accounting can finally prove she’s the fastest paper plane pilot in the building.
How to Host an Office Olympics Like a Pro
Hosting an Office Olympics isn’t just about picking a few games and hoping for the best. It’s about planning, hype-building, and ensuring no one gets too competitive (looking at you). Here’s how to make it happen:
Step 1: Choose a Theme
A theme makes everything more exciting. Classic Olympic-style is great, but why not shake things up? Try:
- Survivor Mode: Challenges get tougher as the games progress.
- Retro Olympics: Only games from childhood (think hopscotch, four square, and dodgeball with crumpled reports).
- Office Rebellion: A series of games that let employees ‘stick it’ to common workplace annoyances (e.g., racing to close 100 pop-ups before time runs out).
Step 2: Create Teams
You can assign teams randomly, by department, or get really creative:
- Countries: Assign teams a country and make them embrace it (accents, dress-up, the works).
- Movie Characters: Team “Marvel” vs. Team “Harry Potter”? Yes, please.
- Office Personalities: The Overachievers vs. The Coffee Addicts vs. The Silent Slackers.
Step 3: Plan the Events
Here’s where the fun begins. You’ll need a mix of physical, mental, and downright ridiculous games to keep things interesting.
Office Olympics Game Ideas (Because Paper Toss is So 2015)
Desk Chair Relay
Think NASCAR, but with less horsepower and more near-death experiences.
- Set up a simple obstacle course using office furniture, tape, or cones.
- Each team must have one person sitting in a rolling chair while another teammate pushes them through the course.
- If a player touches the ground with their feet, they must start over.
- The fastest team to complete the course wins.
Paperclip Archery
A test of precision and control.
- Create a bullseye target on a whiteboard or a large piece of paper.
- Players flick paperclips at the target, earning points based on where they land.
- The highest score after three rounds win
Office Tower Building
A game of balance and engineering skills.
- Each team is given a set of office supplies (sticky notes, pens, tape, and paperclips).
- Teams have 10 minutes to build the tallest, freestanding tower possible.
- The tallest tower that stays up for at least 10 seconds wins.
Email Speed Typing
A real test of modern survival skills.
- Prepare a short, randomly generated email text that participants must copy.
- Use an online typing speed test tool or have a dedicated judge measure accuracy.
- The winner is the person who completes the email the fastest, with the least mistakes.
Spreadsheet Freestyle
How fast can you clean up a chaotic spreadsheet?
- Create a messy spreadsheet with errors, merged cells, missing formulas, and inconsistent formatting.
- Participants must clean up the file as efficiently as possible.
- The first person to organize the data properly wins.
Office Supply Javelin
A precision challenge that HR might need to sign off on.
- Use pencils, rulers, or markers as ‘javelins.’
- Set up a wastebasket or target board at varying distances.
- Each player gets three throws, and the closest to the target wins.
The Great Coffee Run
Balance, agility, and nerves of steel required.
- Set up a path around the office with obstacles (e.g., chairs, desks, coworkers who refuse to move).
- Participants must carry a full cup of coffee without spilling.
- Whoever finishes the race with the most coffee left in the cup wins.
Balloon Keep-Up
Simple, yet wildly entertaining.
- Players must keep a balloon in the air using only their heads.
- The last person standing wins.
The Passive-Aggressive Email Challenge
A game of wits and workplace diplomacy.
- Each player is given a mildly frustrating workplace scenario.
- They must craft the most subtly aggressive but professional email response.
- Judged on creativity, passive-aggression, and plausible deniability.
The Escape Room Challenge (Superglue Games Edition)
If your team is ready for a real challenge, throw them into an escape room with Superglue Games’ Ronin Realm or Spirit Speak.
- Players join a virtual escape room via video meeting.
- Solve puzzles and collaborate to escape from a haunted town or an alien ship.
- Timed challenges ensure teamwork, problem-solving, and controlled panic.
The Zoom Olympics (For Remote Teams)
- Virtual Typing Race – Use an online typing test to see who’s got the fastest fingers.
- Scavenger Hunt – Find a random object in your house before time runs out.
- Silent Film Acting – Act out a workplace scenario without making a sound (Zoom’s mute button will help).
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – A high-stakes bomb-defusal game that tests your team’s communication and panic-handling skills. (Available via Superglue Games!)
Discover more Zoom games you and your coworkers will love!
The ‘We’re All in This Together’ Finale
Cap things off with SeaBreeze, an action-adventure team challenge where your crew navigates a deadly sea to find a cure for a mysterious disease.
- Players join a virtual adventure, working together to manage resources, solve puzzles, and survive the journey.
- Communication and coordination are key to making it through the treacherous waters.
- A perfect way to test leadership skills under pressure!
Office Trivia Showdown
Test your team’s knowledge about their workplace.
- Compile a list of fun facts about the company, coworkers, or industry.
- Teams compete to answer the most correctly.
- Bonus points for speed!
Use these 1000+ trivia questions and play trivia as much as you want!
Office Parkour
Combine multiple challenges into one epic race.
- Set up a course with a variety of mini-challenges, such as crawling under desks, balancing a stapler on your head, or dodging rolling chairs.
- First team to complete the course wins.
Closing Ceremony: Because Every Champion Deserves a Reward
The games are done. The winners have emerged. Now it’s time for the closing ceremony:
- Award medals (or ironic trophies, like “Most Likely to Overthink a Simple Task”).
- Give out prizes (coffee gift cards, company swag, or the best prize of all—an extra-long lunch break).
- Reflect on the madness with a highlight reel (a.k.a. a slideshow of the most ridiculous moments).
When’s the Next Office Olympics?
By the end of it all, your team will have laughed, bonded, and possibly bruised their egos (and knees). But most importantly, they’ll be begging for the next round. So, what are you waiting for? Let the games begin!(P.S. If you really want to level up your Office Olympics, check out the escape rooms and team-building games from Superglue Games. Trust us, your team will never forget it.)