"The concept of a traditional ‘boozy’ happy hour has been transformed. Happy hours help remote and in-person teams to build community and strengthen relationships. Plan your team’s happy hour well and your co-workers will be sure to love it."
A work happy hour is a great opportunity for co-workers to unwind, have fun, and socialize together. Regular happy hours have also been shown to boost employee morale and contribute to positive culture. All in all, it’s safe to assume they’re here to stay.
To help you make the most of your work happy hours, we’ve put together our top ideas and team activities. We've included plenty of options for remote and in-person teams so you can plan your happy hour your way!
Best Happy Hour Ideas For Work
Work happy hours can incorporate small and large groups. They can include Icebreaker Games, Virtual Escape Rooms, Office Games, Team Quizzes, and more. This blog covers:
- Virtual happy hour games
- In-person happy hour ideas
- Team happy hour icebreakers
- Zoom happy hour activities
- Happy hour games to play on Microsoft Teams
Virtual Happy Hour Games
1. Virtual Happy Hour Bingo
No matter your happy hour theme, virtual bingo will always be a classic and popular addition. Virtual Happy Hour Bingo is great for getting everyone talking and laughing. Why not personalize the bingo cards to add to the fun? Ask your teammates to grab their favorite drink and listen for those all important prompts! Here’s a bingo card generator so you can get started!
2. Virtual Happy Hour Trivia Challenge
You can’t go wrong with a virtual happy hour game like trivia! Trivia challenges are a fantastic virtual happy hour activity because they are so versatile and encourage everyone to get involved. Played via your smartphones in the Mobile Adventures app, you’ll go up against the clock over Zoom (or your chosen platform) to test your general knowledge. Choose from a year-round classic or one of our themed quizzes below:
- Team Quiz: Let's Get Quizzical
- Trivia Challenge: Chinese New Year Edition
- Team Quiz: Through The Decades
- Around The World
- Team Quiz: The Game Show
Take a look at our full range of Team Quizzes.
3. Virtual Happy Hour Icebreaker Games
There’s nothing quite like icebreaker games to get conversations flowing during a happy hour. These 15-45 minute games break down barriers between co-workers and encourage bonding. Water Cooler is a fantastic virtual spin on casual office conversation and features a series of entertaining prompts to get everyone socializing. Whereas Connect is all about creativity and forming meaningful connections. It’s packed with photo and video challenges and talking points that everyone can collaborate on!
However, if a paid activity isn’t on the cards, fun icebreaker questions can be just as entertaining for a virtual happy hour game. Here’s a few examples:
- What is your favorite song of all time?
- If you won the lottery, what would you spend it on?
- What is your dream job?
- What was the last selfless thing you did?
- What is the best vacation you’ve ever been on?
- If you could travel back in time, what would you change about your life?
Check out more Icebreaker Games or Icebreaker Questions For Work.
In-Person Happy Hour Activities
4. Happy Hour Office Games
Inject some energy into your next happy hour with our Office Games challenge. Office Games is an in-person activity that brings the fun to your workplace! It’s the perfect happy hour choice after a long week, or to celebrate the end of a big project. Simply gather your team around your desks, or in a meeting room, and you’re ready to play! You and your team will have plenty of fun as your Remote Host guides you through 20 different photo and video challenges. Be sure to be as creative as possible to stand a chance of winning this interactive game!
Discover more Office Games and In-Person Events.
5. Bar Explorer
Looking for a happy hour idea that’s outside of the office? Bar Explorer could be the activity for you! This experience is great for teams who want to socialize and connect whilst being out in the fresh air. Bar Explorer is an outdoor GPS activity that combines a team quiz with a bar crawl! You’ll use your smartphones and our interactive app to explore your chosen location, finding GPS hotspots as you go. Each hotspot you come across will contain a variety of photo and video challenges and trivia questions. In amongst the fun, you’ll be stopping for a drink or two at some of the local bars!
Final thoughts
Work happy hours are just as much about fun as they are about relieving stress and building connections. They form a vital part of employee engagement and team bonding. They are also a great reward to show your co-workers how much you appreciate their hard work. Whether your team is remote or in-person, it’s important to plan out your happy hour games and activities to get the most out of your time together.
To recap, here is our full list of in-person and virtual happy hour games:
- Virtual Happy Hour Bingo
- Virtual Happy Hour Trivia Challenge
- Virtual Happy Hour Icebreaker Games
- Happy Hour Office Games
- Bar Explorer
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