10 Cool Virtual Game Show Ideas For Teams to Have a Blast

Many of us grew up watching Alex Trebek good-naturedly quizzing people on Jeopardy or Steve Harvey sassily ribbing contestants on Family Feud. Few of us, however, actually got to play the games we saw on TV – until now! 

In this post, we’ve compiled a list of virtual game show concepts that are a super fun way for remote teams to indulge in some after-work bonding. From trivia trials and word games to physical challenges and memory tests, there are all kinds of useful skills to be found inside the world of television competitions, so come on down! 

How Are Virtual Game Shows Different from Other Games for Teams?

Virtual game shows are designed to replicate the excitement and entertainment of TV contests. By bringing popular competitions like The Amazing Race and Wheel of Fortune into the online workplace, you can give your staff the chance to live out their dreams of appearing on the small screen through free virtual game show team building.

They might not be competing for thousands of dollars, but they can still look forward to facing off against their colleagues in a lively environment.

10 Best Virtual Game Show Ideas For Team Building

1. Virtual Jeopardy

Taking America’s most popular game show virtual, Jeopardy is the competition where knowing the right question wins you points.There’s plenty of trivia to get through, with the option to include categories as diverse or specific as you like.

Teams are expected to give their answer in the format of a query. For example, if the clue read, “This Crimean nurse is considered to be the founder of modern nursing,” the competitors would score points by responding, “Who is Florence Nightingale?”

Hooray Teams hosts a fun  Virtual Jeopardy session that utilizes digital buzzers to fully replicate the original TV show. Points are scored for every correct answer, and the winning team is the one with the highest total at the end.

Game Tip: Add a bespoke feel to the experience by making custom Q&As related to your business or team.

2. Vintage Coworker Feud

You might not have the inimitable Steve Harvey hosting this workplace version of Family Feud, but the format still guarantees plenty of hilarity. It works best with two teams of around 5 people, so larger groups will need to take turns competing.

To be successful at this game show, your team must have a good knowledge of human nature and behavior. The goal is to guess the 5 most popular answers given by an anonymous survey group to a random question. For example, the prompt might be, “Name something that smells bad.” If your team answers, “Toilet” and 50% of the survey group also gave that answer, your team would score 50 points. 

Each team must try to find the top 5 responses for their question through group discussion. If they submit three incorrect guesses, the other team gets one opportunity to steal the points by giving a correct answer.

Game Tip: Borrow questions from past TV episodes or create your own by polling friends and family.

3. The Price is Right

Do your team know the recommended retail price (RRP) of a Model S Tesla is? How about a Ninja Air Fryer? Why not find out?

The Price is Right is another TV classic that has withstood the test of time with an incredibly simple concept: guessing how much stuff costs. Over the years, the show has built up a good-sized stable of pricing games that you can incorporate. You may not be able to emulate the Plinko machine or the Cliff Hangers yodeler, but you can easily borrow from the core concepts that underlie each activity for your virtual game show online free of charge.

The Price is Right is easy to prep for as well. The host just needs to document the RRP for a range of items in an Excel sheet, as well as saving a picture of each product to be shared during the game.

Game Tip: Throw in pricy items like TVs with cheaper things like tins of paint, so that there’s plenty of variety in your showcase.

4. Virtual Trivia

Trivia underpins a lot of TV shows, from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to The Chase. Create your own virtual quizathon by incorporating the topics that most interest your staff, whether that’s movies, sports, or space travel.

Although some games can be difficult to play with large groups, trivia is easy to adapt for 9 people or 90 people. Just arrange everyone into teams of 4 to 6 and leave them to puzzle over a mix of challenging questions.

Hooray Teams has a range of virtual trivia games to play, from Christmas-themed to pop culture. They can also customize their questions for your own unique requirements. Led by a professional host, the session lasts 60 minutes and covers between 4 to 5 categories.

Game Tip: Consider including multimedia elements like pictures and music into your trivia for added entertainment.

5. Wheel of Fortune

Based on the childhood game of hangman, Wheel of Fortune is less about luck and more about using the alphabet to solve a word puzzle. The goal is to guess a phrase or item according to the number of letters and the category, which could be anything from classic TV to headlines and quotations.

Although the original version is a solo affair, your staff can play as individuals, pairs, or teams, depending on the size of the group. Each turn, a person spins a virtual wheel to land on a dollar amount. They then guess a consonant. If the consonant is in the word, they score points according to the dollar amount on the wheel. If it isn’t, play passes to the next team.

Game Tip: The TV show allows contestants to buy vowels for $250, but you can make your office game more challenging by eliminating this rule.

6. Virtual Minute to Win It

Minute to Win It is a fast-paced contest that’s more about the physical rather than the mental. Players compete in a series of mini games that are designed to be fun as well as challenging.

Some examples of activities you can feature include Cookie Face, where the player must get a cookie from their forehand to their mouth using only their facial muscles, and Flip Cup, where the player must flip a plastic cup upside down as many times as they can within a minute.

Each game should be contested by one player from each team. This adds another level of tactics to the game show, as your staff will have to decide among themselves who has the right skills for each pursuit.

Game Tip: Make sure to check with your remote workers to see that they have the required items for each activity at home beforehand.

7. Memory Mayhem Game

Memory Mayhem isn’t technically a game show, but it should be! Testing image retention, play revolved around sets of 9 pictures, arranged in a 3 by 3 square. Each picture should contain an object, a background color and a number.

Each turn, both teams have 30 seconds to memorize a unique picture grid. After time is up, the pictures are concealed and a member of team 1 rolls a virtual six-sided die. The number on the die will determine whether the player must correctly remember the objects, the background colors, the numbers, or all three for the picture grid. (The remaining two numbers on the die indicate free choice or roll again.)

For each correctly identified picture, a point is given. If a wrong answer is given, play passes over to the other team. Once the grid is completed, team 2 gets the first go at the next grid.

Game Tip: Make sure you write down in the group chat what each number on the virtual die represents, as it’s easy to forget during the heat of the contest!

8. Wordplay Group Challenge

If you’ve seen Wordle, then you’ll already know how to play Wordplay. It’s a simple game that requires your team to solve a 5-letter word in 6 guesses. 

Each turn, a word is typed into the interface. Any letters that are in the right place will result in a green square, while any letters that are present in the word but not in the right place will result in a yellow square.

Divide the group into teams of 3 to 6 and challenge them to solve as many words as possible in a set time. The team who tallies the most correct answers is the winner. 

Game Tip: Add another layer of difficulty by factoring in the number of turns taken to guess a correct answer into the scoring.

9. The Amazing Race

You might think a game show based around traveling the world would be impossible to emulate virtually, but we beg to differ! 

Using scavenger hunt apps or digital mapping tools, you can create your own Amazing Race map that crosses the globe, complete with the show’s signature roadblock and detour challenges. These challenges can include brainteasers, trivia tests, photo puzzles, or code-breaking games, each one taking inspiration from the countries on your custom route.

Teams compete separately from one another, rejoining after each leg is complete. This provides an opportunity for everyone to compare notes and have a chat, before continuing onto the next round.

Game Tip: Instead of copying The Amazing Race’s eliminations after each leg, score participants according to how quickly they reach each pitstop to produce an overall winner.

10. Hollywood Squares

As a quirky combination of trivia and tic-tac-toe, the virtual version of Hollywood Squares. involves selecting nine staff members to act as squares. The rest of your employees are divided into two teams, X and O.  The group playing first selects a square to start. The person in that square answers a trivia question, and the team must decide whether they agree or disagree with the answer. If they’re right, they claim the square with an X or O. If they’re wrong, play passes over to the other team. The goal is to get three Xs or three Os in a row. 

You can play this virtual game show free of charge by using the Zoom spotlighting feature to put the 9 people acting as squares centerstage for all participants. Upload custom X and O backgrounds to your team Zoom that can be used to indicate when a team has claimed a square.

Game Tip: Make sure to switch the people acting as squares after every two rounds, so that everybody gets a chance to play as a contestant.

FAQs

What is virtual game show?

A virtual game show takes a popular TV contest and adapts it for the digital world. Some games, like Jeopardy, offer their own official version free of charge, while others require a little more organization and planning to custom create, such as The Amazing Race.

How do I host a virtual game show?

The main things you need to host a virtual game show for your remote team is a video chat platform, a strong internet connection, and a person to act as the compere. Depending on the type of competition, the other equipment can range from digital images to paper cups.

What are some good virtual game show prizes?

Stick close to the TV show original and offer gift cards with set cash values as prizes. Alternatively, a voucher for an experience or even a nice bottle of wine will be equally appreciated by your staff. The important thing is to ensure everyone has a good time socializing with one another.

How much does it cost to host a virtual game show for your team?

A virtual game show can cost absolutely nothing, other than the time necessary to prepare the materials. However, if you want to create a more immersive experience, you may want to hire a professional team building company to run the show.