activities for problem solving for adults

13 Best Problem Solving Games, Activities & Exercises for the Workplace

8 mins read

by Pete Ford

Updated On Jun 21, 2024

In today's rapidly evolving business world, the ability to solve problems effectively and efficiently is paramount. While it is crucial to understand the problem thoroughly, it is equally important not to overanalyze it to the point of inaction. Instead, the focus should be on identifying actionable solutions quickly and implementing them efficiently. Effective problem solving capabilities enable teams to identify root causes, develop innovative solutions, and implement changes that drive business success. Tackling significant challenges head-on, even when the odds are not favorable, is essential for transformative results.

Moreover, cultivating a culture of problem solving fosters a sense of autonomy and empowerment among employees. As games improve problem solving skills, teams become more independent, reducing the need for constant supervision. In addition, when individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to tackle challenges, the synergy created can lead to groundbreaking solutions and significant advancements for the organizations. 

Workplace Problem Solving Games and Activities:

Just as you can't learn to write a novel solely by reading about it, or to swim merely by observing others, true mastery of problem solving skills requires more than just theory. It demands immersion and action. That's why, when fostering problem solving abilities in your employees, it's essential to engage them in practical exercises that simulate real-world challenges. Through engaging in challenging fun problem solving games for adults, teams develop the skills and confidence to effectively navigate real-world challenges. 

According to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) , problem solving skills are listed among the top skills required in the workplace by 2025. The large group problem solving activities for employees mentioned below are designed to enhance the critical thinking skills , creativity, and collaborative capabilities of your teams. These activities are not just problem solving exercises for teams, they are strategic investments in building a workforce that can navigate complexities, innovate solutions, and drive the organization towards its goals. 

By engaging in structured problem solving group activities, teams learn to tackle challenges methodically and develop a proactive mindset essential for overcoming obstacles in today’s dynamic business environment.

We have carefully divided workplace problem solving activities into 3 distinct categories that cater to different aspects of problem solving skills:

• Team-Based Problem Solving Activities
• Creative Problem-Solving Activities
• Quick and Easy Problem-Solving Activities

Team-Based Problem Solving Activities:

Team-Based Problem Solving Activities form the foundation for effective problem solving within a team, emphasizing crucial elements like communication, trust, and collaboration. As Vusi Thembekwayo once remarked, “To achieve anything in business, you need relationships based on trust.” This quote underscores the significance of fostering a trusting environment where team members feel comfortable working together, leveraging each other's strengths to tackle challenges with greater efficiency and creativity.

Via Edstellar

1. A Shrinking Vessel Training Activity:

“A Shrinking Vessel” is one of the dynamic and simple problem solving exercises for team building that challenges participants to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

This is one of the team-problem solving activities that involves employees standing within a defined space that gradually shrinks, requiring them to strategize and cooperate to stay within the boundaries.

How to Conduct the “A Shrinking Vessel” Activity:

• This is one of the hands-on problem solving activities (adults can engage in) that requires a large, open area that can be marked with boundaries.
• Use tape or rope to create a large initial boundary that all employees can comfortably stand within.
• Gather all workers within the boundary.
• Explain that the boundary will gradually shrink, and that workers must remain within the shrinking area.
• Begin this problem solving activity by gradually reducing the size of the boundary every 2-3 minutes.
• Use a predetermined signal (like a whistle) to indicate when the boundary is shrinking.
• Continue to reduce the boundary until it becomes challenging for employees to stay within the area.
• End the activity when it becomes impossible for them to stay within the boundary.

Key Takeaways

Employees learn to adapt quickly to changing constraints, enhancing their ability to communicate and collaborate effectively under pressure. These problem solving, team building games fosters creativity by requiring teams to develop strategies to navigate the shrinking space, encouraging flexibility and teamwork in dynamic environments.

Video:- Shrinking Vessel

2. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower Training Activity:

“Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower” is one of the creative, engaging  and complex problem solving activities for adults where teams use spaghetti, tape, and string to build the tallest possible structure that can support a marshmallow on top.

How to Conduct the “Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower” Activity:

• To play one of these teamwork problem solving activities, you have to gather the employees and divide them into teams.
• Provide each team with 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow.
• Ensure each team has a flat surface to work on.
• Explain that teams have 18 minutes to build the tallest free-standing structure using the materials provided, with a marshmallow on top.
• Start the timer and let teams begin constructing their towers.
• Encourage teams to experiment with different designs and structural concepts.
• Once the time is up, measure the height of each structure from the base to the top of the marshmallow.
• Announce the winning team with the tallest structure.
• Discuss the different strategies used by each of the teams and what they learned from engaging in these kinds of business problem solving exercises for adults.

Key Takeaways:

Through these creative problem solving exercises, employees enhance their skills by brainstorming and constructing innovative designs with limited resources. These problem solving exercises for groups emphasize the importance of planning, adaptability, and teamwork, as the workforce must work together to build the tallest possible tower. Through trial and error, they learn to manage constraints and effectively communicate their ideas, fostering a collaborative approach to achieving shared goals.

3. Egg Drop Challenge Training Activity:

The “Egg Drop Challenge” is an exciting problem solving activity where teams design and build a structure to protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a height.

How to Conduct the “Egg Drop Challenge” Activity:

• Divide the employees into teams and provide each team with materials such as straws, tape, newspaper, rubber bands, and plastic bags.
• Ensure each team has an egg and a designated drop zone.
• Explain that the teams have 30 minutes to design and construct a protective device for their egg using the provided materials.
• Start the timer and let the teams begin constructing their protective devices.
• Encourage teams to think creatively and test their designs.
• Drop each egg from a predetermined height (e.g., 10 feet) onto a hard surface.
• Check if the egg survives the drop without breaking.
• Discuss which designs were successful and why, focusing on the problem solving processes used.

Employees develop innovative thinking and problem solving skills by designing and building a structure to protect an egg from breaking when dropped. This activity highlights the importance of resource management, creative engineering, and teamwork as they must brainstorm, test, and iterate their designs. By analyzing the effectiveness of their structures and learning from failures, employees enhance their ability to tackle complex challenges and improve their collaborative problem solving capabilities.

4. Stranded Training Activity:

“Stranded”, similar to “Lost at Sea” problem solving activity, is a strategic survival simulation where teams must plan and prioritize essential actions and resources to ensure their survival on a deserted island.

How to Conduct the “Stranded” Activity:

• Divide the Employees into teams and provide each team with a list of hypothetical resources available on the island (e.g., rope, tarp, matches, water).
• Explain a scenario that the teams are stranded on a deserted island and must decide how to use the available resources to survive.
• Give teams 30 minutes to discuss and prioritize their actions and resource use.
• Encourage them to consider factors like shelter, water, food, and signaling for rescue.
• Have each team present their survival plan to all the teams participating in the activity.
• Encourage the teams to ask questions and discuss each plan.
• Discuss the strategies used by each team and what the teams learned about problem solving and resource management.

By indulging in critical thinking, problem solving exercises, employees enhance their strategic problem solving skills by planning survival strategies in a simulated deserted island scenario. This activity emphasizes the importance of prioritization, resource management, and adaptability in high-pressure situations. By collaborating on survival plans, employees learn to analyze available resources, make quick decisions, and work as a cohesive team to overcome complex challenges.

Creative Problem-Solving Activities:

Creative problem solving activities for adults encourage employees to think outside the box and explore innovative solutions to challenges. These team building, problem solving exercises for employees would help them to break free from conventional thinking patterns and develop a more flexible, imaginative approach to problem solving.

By fostering creativity, these team building, problem solving activities can lead to more effective and unique solutions.

5. Legoman Training Activity:

“Legoman” is a communication-focused activity where one participant describes a pre-built Lego structure, and the rest of the team attempts to recreate it based on the verbal instructions alone. This is one the creative problem solving games that emphasizes the importance of clear and effective communication.

How to Conduct the “Legoman” Activity:

• Pre-build a Lego structure and keep it hidden from the employees.
• Divide the workers into teams and provide each team with the same set of Lego pieces.
• Select one team member from each team to view the pre-built structure and describe it to their team without using their hands or showing the structure.
• Start the timer and have the describer begin giving instructions to their team.
• The rest of the teams should build the structure based solely on the verbal instructions given by their team members.
• Once the time is up, compare each team’s structure with the original.
• Discuss any discrepancies and the communication challenges faced by each team.
• Discuss what worked well and what could be improved in the communication process.

From the “Legoman” activity, employees develop their communication and collaborative problem solving skills by reconstructing a hidden Lego structure based solely on verbal descriptions. This exercise highlights the importance of precise communication, active listening, and teamwork. It also demonstrates how effective problem solving relies on clear instructions and the ability to interpret and act on those instructions accurately. By engaging in this activity, teams learn to coordinate their efforts and improve their ability to tackle complex tasks collectively.

6. Escape Room Training Activity:

“Escape Room” is an immersive team adventure that requires participants to solve a series of puzzles and find clues within a set time to "escape" from a themed room.

How to Conduct the “Escape Room” Activity:

• Create puzzles and hide clues within a designated room.
• Set up a theme and backstory to make the activity engaging.
• Divide employees into small teams.
• Explain the objective that the teams should solve all the puzzles and escape the room within a set time (e.g., 60 minutes).
• Start the timer and let teams begin solving the puzzles.
• Monitor the teams, offering hints if they get stuck.
• End the activity when a team escapes the room or when the time runs out.
• Discuss the strategies used by the teams and the importance of teamwork and critical thinking.

The “Escape Room” is one of the critical thinking and problem solving exercises that emphasizes teamwork and creative problem solving as the workforce work together to solve puzzles and find clues within a set time limit. This activity demonstrates the importance of collaboration, strategic thinking, and effective communication in overcoming challenges. Employees learn to leverage each other's strengths, think under pressure, and develop a unified approach to problem solving, making it a powerful tool for enhancing the teams’ dynamics and problem solving capabilities in the workplace.

7. Frostbite Training Activity:

“Frostbite” is a survival-themed activity where teams are tasked with building a shelter in extreme conditions, simulating a scenario where one member is incapacitated. This exercise tests the team's ability to strategize and cooperate under pressure.

How to Conduct the “Frostbite” Activity:

• Provide materials such as cardboard, tape, and blankets.
• Divide the employees into teams and assign one team member of each team the role of having "frostbite," meaning they cannot use their hands.
• Explain the scenario that teams must build a shelter that can hold all team members within a time limit.
• Start the timer and let teams begin constructing their shelters.
• Encourage teams to strategize and work around the constraint of the incapacitated member.
• Evaluate the shelters based on stability and effectiveness.
• Discuss the problem solving techniques used under pressure and the importance of teamwork.

In the “Frostbite” activity, employees have to strategize and communicate effectively to build a shelter while managing the handicap of "frostbite," a condition that limits their hands' use. These exercises to improve problem solving skills teaches employees about adaptability, resourcefulness, and teamwork under constraints.

In addition, it also teaches the value of resilience, creative problem solving, and the ability to function efficiently despite physical or situational limitations. The experience underscores how overcoming obstacles through innovative thinking and teamwork can lead to successful outcomes in challenging environments.

8. Blind Formation Training Activity:

“Blind Formation” is a team-building exercise where participants are blindfolded and must form specific shapes or patterns based on verbal instructions from their teammates. This activity focuses on enhancing communication, trust, and coordination among team members.

How to Conduct the “Blind Formation” Activity:

• Choose a large, open space where the workforce can move freely.
• Prepare blindfolds for each employee.
• Divide the employees into teams and explain to them that the objective is to form a specific shape or pattern while being blindfolded.
• Assign one or more team members from each team as guides who will provide verbal instructions to their blindfolded teams.
• Blindfold all the team members except the designated guides.
• Ensure that the blindfolds are secure and that employees cannot see.
• Start the activity by instructing the guides to direct their teammates to form the desired shape (e.g., a square, a triangle, or a circle).
• Allow 10-15 minutes for the formation process.
• Once the time is up or the shape is formed, remove the blindfolds and evaluate the accuracy of the formation.
• Discuss the challenges that the teams faced during the activity and the effectiveness of the communication strategies used.

The “Blind Formation” activity emphasizes the importance of non-verbal communication, trust, and team coordination as the employees must rely on their senses and the guidance of their teammates to form shapes or patterns while blindfolded. This exercise teaches the value of clear instructions, active listening, and the ability to adapt quickly to feedback. It highlights how effective teamwork and trust can overcome communication barriers and achieve complex tasks, fostering a collaborative and supportive team environment.

Quick and Easy Problem-Solving Activities:

Quick and easy problem solving games offer teams an efficient way to enhance their problem solving skills without requiring a significant time investment. These team-problem solving games and activities are designed to be brief yet effective, promoting quick thinking, collaboration, and efficient problem resolution.

Engaging in quick group problem solving exercises for adults would help employees to cultivate the ability to think on their feet and make swift decisions. This rapid decision-making capability is essential for driving innovation and growth, as it enables teams to iterate quickly and adapt to changing circumstances.

9. Line Up Blind Training Activity:

“Line Up Blind” is one of the simple, yet challenging and fun problem solving activities where blindfolded participants must line up in a specific order (e.g., by height, age, or alphabetical order) without verbal communication. This is one of the best problem solving games that emphasizes non-verbal communication and cooperation.

How to Conduct the “Line Up Blind” Activity:

• These cooperative problem solving activities require a large, open space.
• Explain the objective that the workers must line up in a specific order while blindfolded.
• Clarify that height is the order criteria to be followed for the activity.
• Blindfold all workers and ensure they cannot see.
• Start the activity and allow employees to communicate non-verbally to find their position in the line.
• Once the time is up, have the employees remove their blindfolds and check the accuracy of the line-up.
• Discuss the strategies used by the workers for non-verbal communication and the challenges they faced during these easy problem solving activities.

The “Line Up Blind” activity focuses on enhancing non-verbal communication, trust, and problem solving under constraints as employees must rely on alternative forms of communication and collaboration to line up by height while blindfolded. This exercise highlights the importance of clear, non-verbal cues and teamwork in solving problems when traditional communication methods are unavailable. It also emphasizes the value of trust among team members and the ability to adapt to unexpected challenges, fostering a supportive and innovative work environment.

10. Reverse Pyramid Training Activity:

“Reverse Pyramid” is a strategic activity where teams must invert a pyramid of cups following specific rules. This is one of the activities for problem solving that encourages strategic planning, teamwork, and attention to detail.

How to Conduct the “Reverse Pyramid” Activity:

• Divide the employees in teams and provide each team with a stack of cups arranged in a pyramid (base of four cups, then three, two, and one on top).
• Explain to the teams that the objective is to invert the pyramid by following specific rules (e.g., only moving one cup at a time).
• Start the timer and allow teams to begin inverting the pyramid.
• Monitor the teams to ensure they follow the rules.
• The activity ends when the pyramid is successfully inverted or the time runs out.
• Discuss the strategies used by the teams and the challenges they faced.

The “Reverse Pyramid” activity focuses on strategic thinking, collaboration, and innovative problem solving as employees work together to invert a pyramid of cups by following specific rules, requiring careful planning and coordination. This exercise demonstrates the importance of strategic planning, effective communication, and teamwork in achieving complex goals. By overcoming the challenges of the activity, workers learn to approach problems methodically, think creatively, and collaborate effectively, reinforcing the skills necessary for addressing real-world organizational challenges.

11. Move It! Training Activity:

“Move It!” is an engaging activity where teams must move an object from point A to point B using limited resources. This exercise promotes resourcefulness, teamwork, and creative problem solving.

How to Conduct the “Move It!” Activity:

• Select an object and designate a starting point (A) and an endpoint (B).
• Divide employees into teams and provide teams with limited resources (e.g., ropes, planks, cardboard).
• Explain the objective is to move the object from point A to point B using only the provided resources.
• Give teams 10 minutes to plan their strategy.
• Start the timer and allow teams to begin moving the object.
• Monitor the teams to ensure they use only the provided resources.
• The activity ends when the object reaches point B or the time runs out.
• Discuss the strategies used by each team and the problem solving processes that they followed.

As employees move an object from point A to point B using limited resources, the "Move It!" activity emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness, creativity, and collaborative problem solving. This activity promotes innovative thinking and efficient resource management by encouraging employees to think creatively. This activity helps teams develop the ability to adapt quickly, think outside the box, and effectively coordinate their efforts to overcome challenges. By engaging in this exercise, employees enhance their problem solving skills and learn to optimize the use of available resources to achieve common goals.

12. Human Knot Training Activity:

“Human Knot” is a classic team-building activity where participants form a human knot by holding hands with two different people across the circle.

How to Conduct the “Human Knot” Activity:

• Have employees stand in a circle and extend their right hand to someone across the circle.
• Repeat with the left hand, ensuring they hold hands with different people.
• Explain the objective is to untangle the human knot without letting go of hands.
• Start the timer and allow workers to begin untangling the knot.
• Monitor the workers and provide encouragement.
• The activity ends when the knot is untangled, or employees return to a single circle.
• Discuss the communication and problem solving strategies used by the employees.

The "Human Knot" activity fosters team collaboration and problem solving skills by encouraging employees to communicate effectively and work together to untangle themselves. It highlights the importance of patience, strategic thinking, and collective effort in achieving a common goal. This exercise also builds trust and strengthens interpersonal relationships within the team, essential for seamless teamwork in a professional setting.

13. Dumbest Idea Ever Training Activity:

“Dumbest Idea First” is a brainstorming activity where employees initially suggest the worst possible ideas for problem solving. Activities such as this emphasize on unconventional thinking or “out-of-the-box” thinking, that would help employees to solve complex problems in an efficient manner.

How to Conduct the “Dumbest Idea First” Activity:

• Choose a problem or challenge for the brainstorming session.
• Provide each worker with a pen and paper.
• Explain the objective is to come up with the worst possible ideas to solve the problem.
• Start the timer and allow employees to write down their dumbest ideas.
• Encourage creativity and humor.
• After 10 minutes, have the employee share their ideas with the rest of the group participating in the activity.
• Discuss why the ideas are impractical and how they can be improved.
• Encourage employees to refine the worst ideas into workable solutions.
• Discuss the creative process and the benefits of starting with the worst ideas.

The "Dumbest Idea First" activity encourages creative thinking and open-mindedness by allowing employees to voice unconventional ideas without fear of judgment. It demonstrates the value of a safe and inclusive environment where all suggestions are welcomed, fostering innovation and out-of-the-box solutions. This exercise highlights the importance of embracing diverse perspectives to drive collective problem solving and enhance team creativity.

How Problem Solving Skills Apply to Various Job Functions

1. problem solving skills for marketing teams: .

Marketing teams rely extensively on problem solving skills to navigate critical challenges. One of their primary challenges would be to enhance lead conversions, where strategic analysis of funnel metrics and identification of bottlenecks are of utmost importance. Problem-solving skills enables them to devise tailored campaigns and initiatives that address specific barriers to conversion, thereby optimizing marketing efforts for measurable business impact.

Budget limitations often restrict marketing initiatives and resource allocation. Marketing teams need to creatively optimize spending, prioritize high-impact activities, and find cost-effective solutions to achieve desired outcomes. Problem-solving abilities enable them to analyze budget constraints, explore alternative strategies, negotiate effectively with vendors, and maximize ROI on marketing investments without compromising quality or effectiveness. Edstellar’s Marketing Excellence program is meticulously designed to help organizations maximize reach, drive engagement and nurture long-lasting consumer relationships.

2. Problem Solving Skills for Sales Teams: 

Problem-solving skills enable sales professionals to navigate diverse customer needs effectively. Sales professionals often encounter conflicts or disagreements during negotiations or interactions with clients. Advanced problem solving skills enable them to navigate these situations diplomatically, resolve conflicts amicably, and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders. 

Problem-solving skills empower sales professionals to analyze market trends, identify emerging opportunities, and pivot strategies swiftly. Sales teams can utilize their skills to optimize resources effectively. Whether it's time management, budget allocation, or leveraging internal expertise, they can streamline operations and maximize efficiency in achieving sales objectives. Edstellar’s Sales Excellence program offers custom-crafted framework for organizations to amplify sales, expand profits, and enhance customer satisfaction. 

3. Problem Solving Skills for Customer Service Teams: 

Customer service teams encounter a wide range of customer issues and complaints on a daily basis. Problem-solving skills enable them to quickly analyze the root causes of these issues, identify appropriate solutions, and implement corrective actions. 

By resolving issues promptly and effectively, customer service teams enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Not every customer issue can be resolved with a standard response. Problem-solving skills enable customer service teams to assess each situation individually, evaluate options, and tailor solutions to meet the specific needs and preferences of customers.

Satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the company to others, write positive reviews, and become loyal brand advocates. Problem-solving skills thus contribute to enhancing brand reputation and attracting new customers through word-of-mouth referrals. Edstellar’s Customer Service Excellence program is specially designed to improve customer satisfaction for an organization’s products or services.

4. Problem Solving Skills for Human Resources Teams: 

HR professionals frequently encounter conflicts among employees or between employees and management. Problem-solving skills equip HR teams to identify the root causes of conflicts, facilitate constructive dialogue, and negotiate mutually beneficial resolutions. Problem-solving skills enable HR professionals to address recruitment challenges, such as skill shortages or competitive hiring markets, by devising innovative sourcing strategies and refining candidate selection processes. 

Managing employee performance requires HR teams to address underperformance issues, set clear performance expectations, and provide constructive feedback. Problem-solving skills help HR professionals to assess performance gaps, identify underlying issues, and implement targeted improvement plans. 

Problem-solving skills empower HR professionals to address workplace issues affecting morale, such as workload imbalances or communication breakdowns. Edstellar’s Human Resource Excellence program is designed to support organizations to improve employee retention, foster a highly engaged and productive workforce and boost organizational culture.  

5. Problem Solving Skills for Operations Teams:

Operations teams are responsible for managing risks associated with supply chain disruptions, regulatory changes, or technological failures. Problem-solving skills enable them to anticipate potential risks, develop contingency plans, and swiftly address unforeseen challenges. This proactive risk management minimizes disruptions and ensures business continuity. 

Problem solving skills activities facilitate effective collaboration across these functions by fostering clear communication, mutual understanding of objectives, and alignment on strategic priorities. Problem solving skills enable them to assess resource needs, allocate budgets effectively, and optimize the use of manpower and materials. By making informed decisions based on data-driven analysis, operations teams enhance resource utilization and achieve cost savings. Edstellar’s Operations Excellence program empowers organizations to optimize workflows, reduce operational costs, enhance productivity, and ensure swift and efficient decision-making. 

6. Problem Solving Skills for Information Technology (IT) Teams:

Problem-solving skills enable IT teams to swiftly diagnose and resolve complex technical issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring seamless operations across the organization. From implementing cutting-edge technologies to enhancing cybersecurity measures, IT teams leverage their problem solving capabilities to drive innovation and stay ahead in the technological space. 

By understanding business needs, anticipating future trends, and prioritizing projects, IT teams ensure that their solutions contribute directly to achieving business objectives. These skills would be beneficial for cohesive teamwork, accelerating project delivery, and ensuring that IT solutions meet the diverse needs of the organization. Edstellar’s IT Excellence program is crafted to help organizations with key areas such as cyber security, cloud computing, and data analytics. 

As teams journey through problem solving training activities, they will discover the transformative power of practical learning experiences. It is important for employees to immerse themselves in problem solving in games to enhance their critical thinking abilities and collaboration skills. Utilizing best games to improve problem solving skills, during corporate training sessions can significantly enhance participants' ability to think strategically and work collaboratively under pressure.

Organizations can create their own business problem solving activities (corporate problem solving activities conducted for employees) by referring to this blog as examples of problem solving activities and the necessary steps to be taken during and after the events. At Edstellar, we understand the significance of honing problem solving skills in fostering organizational success.

Our courses are meticulously designed to bridge the skill gap and empower individuals to tackle challenges head-on. With a team of experienced trainers conducting problem solving training , team building exercises and guiding them, employees can gain valuable insights and practical strategies to address real-world problems effectively.

By Pete Ford

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Are you looking to enhance your or your team’s problem-solving abilities? Engaging in activities specifically designed to stimulate your and your team’s critical thinking skills can be an excellent way to sharpen your problem-solving prowess. Whether you enjoy puzzles, brain teasers, or interactive challenges, these activities provide an opportunity to overcome obstacles and think creatively.

By immersing yourself in problem-solving activities, you can develop valuable strategies, improve your decision-making abilities, and boost your overall problem-solving IQ.

One key aspect of successful problem-solving is ensuring clear and effective communication, such as when teams use critical tools available online. For example, testing emails for deliverability and using an email spam checker to avoid spam filters can improve team efficiency. Try Maileroo’s free mail tester to validate your email campaigns effectively. Get ready to unlock your full potential and tackle any challenge that comes your way with these exciting activities for problem-solving.

In this article, we will explore activities for problem-solving that can help enhance your team’s problem-solving skills, allowing you to approach challenges with confidence and creativity.

What Are Problem Solving Activities?

Problem-solving activities or problem-solving exercises are interactive games requiring critical thinking to solve puzzles. They enhance teamwork & critical thinking. Examples include building towers, navigating simulated challenges, and fostering creativity and communication.

For instance, imagine a team working together to construct the tallest tower using limited materials. They strategize, communicate ideas, and problem-solve to create the best structure, promoting collaboration and inventive thinking among team members.

Some widely practiced problem-solving activities include:

• A Shrinking Vessel: Teams must fit into a shrinking space, testing their cooperation and adaptability.
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower: Participants build a tower using marshmallows and spaghetti, promoting creative engineering.
• Egg Drop: Protecting an egg from a fall challenges problem-solving skills.
• Desert Island Survival: Teams simulate survival scenarios, encouraging creative solutions.
• Rolling Dice: A simple yet effective game involving chance and decision-making.
• Build a Tower: Constructing a stable tower with limited resources fosters teamwork and innovation, etc.

13 Easy Activities For Problem-Solving Ideas to Enhance Team Collaboration

Team building activities offer a great opportunity to test problem-solving abilities and promote effective collaboration within a group to problem solving group activities. By engaging in these activities, teams can break the monotony of the workplace and create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

Here are nine easy-to-implement activities that can bring substantial change to your team culture and overall workplace dynamics.

#1. Crossword Puzzles

Objective: To enhance problem-solving skills, vocabulary, and cognitive abilities through engaging crossword puzzles. 

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes 

Materials Needed:

• Crossword puzzle sheets
• Pens or pencils
• Distribute crossword puzzle sheets and pens/pencils to each participant.
• Explain the rules of crossword puzzles and the goal of completing as many clues as possible within the given time.
• Participants individually or in pairs work on solving the crossword puzzle by filling in the correct words.
• Encourage critical thinking, word association, and collaborative discussions for solving challenging clues.
• At the end of the time limit, review the answers and discuss any interesting or challenging clues as a group.
• Enhanced Problem-Solving: Participants engage in critical thinking while deciphering clues, promoting effective problem-solving skills.
• Vocabulary Expansion: Exposure to new words and phrases within the crossword improves vocabulary and comprehension.
• Cognitive Stimulation: The mental exercise of solving the puzzle stimulates the brain, enhancing cognitive abilities.
• Team Collaboration: If done in pairs, participants practice collaboration and communication to solve clues together.
• Achievement and Motivation: Successfully completing the crossword brings a sense of accomplishment and motivates individuals to explore more puzzles.

Tips for Facilitators:

• Provide varying levels of crossword puzzles to accommodate different skill levels.
• Encourage participants to share strategies for solving challenging clues.
• Emphasize the fun and educational aspects of the activity to keep participants engaged.

#2. A Shrinking Vessel

Estimated Time: 10-15 Minutes

• Materials Needed: A rope and a ball of yarn
• Prepare the Setting: Lay a rope on the floor in a shape that allows all team members to stand comfortably inside it. For larger teams, multiple ropes can be used, dividing them into smaller groups.
• Enter the Circle: Have all team members stand inside the rope, ensuring that nobody steps outside its boundaries.
• Shrinking the Circle: Begin gradually shrinking the rope’s size, reducing the available space inside the circle.
• Adapt and Maintain Balance: As the circle shrinks, team members must make subtle adjustments to maintain their positions and balance within the shrinking area.
• The Challenge: The objective for the team is to collectively brainstorm and find innovative ways to keep every team member inside the circle without anyone stepping outside.
• Collaboration and Communication: The activity promotes teamwork and open communication as participants strategize to stay within the shrinking circle.
• Adaptability: Team members learn to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances, fostering agility and flexibility.
• Creative Problem-Solving: The challenge encourages inventive thinking and brainstorming to find unique solutions.
• Trust Building: By relying on each other’s actions, participants build trust and cohesion among team members.
• Time-Efficient: The short duration makes it an ideal icebreaker or energizer during meetings or workshops.
• Observe and Facilitate: Monitor the team’s dynamics and offer guidance to encourage equal participation and effective problem-solving.
• Encourage Verbalization: Prompt participants to voice their ideas and collaborate vocally, aiding in real-time adjustments.
• Debrief Thoughtfully: Engage the team in a discussion afterward, reflecting on strategies employed and lessons learned.
• Emphasize Adaptability: Highlight the transferable skill of adaptability and its significance in both professional and personal contexts.

#3. Human Knots

• Objective: Improving Collaboration & enhancing Communication Skills

Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes

• Materials: None required

Procedure: 

• Organize your team into a compact circle. For more sizable teams, subdivide them into smaller clusters, with each cluster forming its own circle. 
• Direct each individual to grasp the hands of two other people in the circle, with the exception of those positioned directly adjacent to them. This action will result in the formation of a complex “human knot” within the circle. 
• Present the challenge to the group: to unravel themselves from this entanglement while maintaining their hold on each other’s hands. If preferred, you can establish a specific time limit. 
• Observe the team members collaborating to unravel the knot, witnessing their collective effort to devise solutions and free themselves from the intricate puzzle.
• Team Cohesion: The activity encourages team members to interact closely, promoting bonding and understanding among participants.
• Effective Communication: Participants practice clear and concise communication as they coordinate movements to untangle the knot.
• Problem-Solving: The challenge stimulates creative thinking and problem-solving skills as individuals work collectively to find the optimal path for untangling.
• Adaptability: Participants learn to adapt their actions based on the evolving dynamics of the human knot, fostering adaptability.
• Trust Building: As individuals rely on each other to navigate the intricate knot, trust and cooperation naturally develop.
• Set a Positive Tone: Create an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, emphasizing that the focus is on collaboration rather than competition.
• Encourage Verbalization: Urge participants to articulate their intentions and listen to others’ suggestions, promoting effective teamwork.
• Observe Group Dynamics: Monitor interactions and step in if needed to ensure everyone is actively engaged and included.
• Reflect and Share: Conclude the activity with a debriefing session, allowing participants to share their experiences, strategies, and key takeaways.
• Vary Grouping: Change group compositions for subsequent rounds to enhance interactions among different team members.

#4. Egg Drop

Helps With: Decision Making, Collaboration

• A carton of eggs
• Construction materials (balloons, rubber bands, straws, tape, plastic wrap, etc.)
• A suitable location for the activity
• Assign each team a single egg and random construction materials.
• Teams must create a carrier to protect the egg from breaking.
• Drop the carriers one by one and increase the height if necessary to determine the most durable carrier.
• The winning team is the one with the carrier that survives the highest drop.
• Decision Making: Participants engage in critical decision-making processes as they select construction materials and determine carrier designs.
• Collaboration: The activity necessitates collaboration and coordination among team members to construct an effective carrier.
• Problem-Solving: Teams apply creative problem-solving skills to devise innovative methods for safeguarding the egg.
• Risk Management: Participants learn to assess potential risks and consequences while making design choices to prevent egg breakage.
• Celebrating Success: The victorious team experiences a sense of accomplishment, boosting morale and promoting a positive team spirit.
• Provide Diverse Materials: Offer a wide range of construction materials to stimulate creativity and allow teams to explore various design options.
• Set Safety Guidelines: Prioritize safety by specifying a safe drop height and ensuring participants follow safety protocols during construction.
• Encourage Brainstorming: Prompt teams to brainstorm multiple carrier ideas before finalizing their designs, fostering diverse perspectives.
• Facilitate Reflection: After the activity, lead a discussion where teams share their design strategies, challenges faced, and lessons learned.
• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize the significance of teamwork in achieving success, acknowledging effective communication and cooperation.

As a teamwork activity, Egg Drop can help team members solve problems through collaboration and communication.

Each team can design and customize their own balloons and can display their team logo, slogan, or elements related to team culture through custom balloons . Awards can also be set up, such as the most creative balloon design, the strongest frangipani structure, etc., to increase the motivation for competition and participation. 

After the activity, team sharing and feedback can be conducted to allow everyone to share their learning experience and feelings about teamwork.

This combination allows team members to experience the importance of teamwork in creativity and practice, and strengthen team cohesion by completing challenges and sharing experiences.

#5. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Helps With: Collaboration

Estimated Time: 20-30 Minutes

Materials Needed (per team):

• Raw spaghetti: 20 sticks
• Marshmallow: 1
• String: 1 yard
• Masking tape: 1 roll
• Tower Construction: Instruct teams to collaborate and utilize the provided materials to construct the tallest tower possible within a designated time frame.
• Marshmallow Support: Emphasize that the tower must be capable of standing independently and supporting a marshmallow at its highest point.
• Prototype and Iterate: Encourage teams to engage in prototyping and iteration, testing different design approaches and refining their tower structures.
• T eamwork and Communication: Promote effective teamwork and communication as team members coordinate their efforts to build a stable and tall tower.
• Evaluation Criteria: Evaluate each tower based on its height, stability, and the successful placement of the marshmallow at the top.
• Collaboration: Participants collaborate closely, sharing ideas and working together to design and construct the tower.
• Innovative Thinking: The activity encourages innovative thinking as teams experiment with different strategies to build a stable tower.
• Time Management: Teams practice time management skills as they work within a specified time limit to complete the task.
• Problem-Solving: Participants engage in creative problem-solving to address challenges such as balancing the marshmallow and constructing a sturdy tower.
• Adaptability: Teams adapt their approaches based on trial and error, learning from each iteration to improve their tower designs.
• Set Clear Guidelines: Clearly explain the materials, objectives, and evaluation criteria to ensure teams understand the task.
• Foster Creativity: Encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional methods for constructing their towers.
• Emphasize Collaboration: Highlight the importance of effective communication and teamwork to accomplish the task successfully.
• Time Management: Remind teams of the time limit and encourage them to allocate their time wisely between planning and construction.
• Reflect and Share: Facilitate a discussion after the activity, allowing teams to share their design choices, challenges faced, and lessons learned.

Objective: To engage participants in the strategic and analytical world of Sudoku, enhancing logical thinking and problem-solving abilities. 

Estimated Time: 20-25 Minutes 

• Sudoku puzzle sheets
• Pencils with erasers
• Distribute Sudoku puzzle sheets and pencils to each participant.
• Familiarize participants with the rules and mechanics of Sudoku puzzles.
• Explain the goal: to fill in the empty cells with numbers from 1 to 9 while adhering to the rules of no repetition in rows, columns, or subgrids.
• Encourage participants to analyze the puzzle’s layout, identify potential numbers, and strategically fill in cells.
• Emphasize the importance of logical deduction and step-by-step approach in solving the puzzle.
• Provide hints or guidance if needed, ensuring participants remain engaged and challenged.
• Logical Thinking: Sudoku challenges participants’ logical and deductive reasoning, fostering analytical skills.
• Problem-Solving: The intricate interplay of numbers and constraints hones problem-solving abilities.
• Focus and Patience: Participants practice patience and attention to detail while gradually unveiling the solution.
• Pattern Recognition: Identifying number patterns and possibilities contributes to enhanced pattern recognition skills.
• Personal Achievement: Successfully completing a Sudoku puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts confidence.
• Offer varying levels of Sudoku puzzles to cater to different skill levels.
• Encourage participants to share strategies and techniques for solving specific challenges.
• Highlight the mental workout Sudoku provides and its transferable skills to real-life problem-solving.

Helps With: Communication, Problem-solving, & Management

• A lockable room
• 5-10 puzzles or clues
• Hide the key and a set of clues around the room.
• Lock the room and provide team members with a specific time limit to find the key and escape.
• Instruct the team to work together, solving the puzzles and deciphering the clues to locate the key.
• Encourage efficient communication and effective problem-solving under time pressure.
• Communication Skills: Participants enhance their communication abilities by sharing observations, ideas, and findings to collectively solve puzzles.
• Problem-solving Proficiency: The activity challenges teams to think critically, apply logical reasoning, and collaboratively tackle intricate challenges.
• Team Management: The experience promotes effective team management as members assign tasks, prioritize efforts, and coordinate actions.
• Time Management: The imposed time limit sharpens time management skills as teams strategize and allocate time wisely.
• Adaptability: Teams learn to adapt and adjust strategies based on progress, evolving clues, and time constraints.
• Clear Introduction: Provide a concise overview of the activity, emphasizing the importance of communication, problem-solving, and time management.
• Diverse Challenges: Offer a mix of puzzles and clues to engage various problem-solving skills, catering to different team strengths.
• Supportive Role: Act as a facilitator, offering subtle guidance if needed while allowing teams to independently explore and solve challenges.
• Debriefing Session: Organize a debriefing session afterward to discuss the experience, highlight successful strategies, and identify areas for improvement.
• Encourage Reflection: Encourage participants to reflect on their teamwork, communication effectiveness, and problem-solving approach.

#8. Frostbite for Group Problem Solving Activities

Helps With: Decision Making, Trust, Leadership

• An electric fan
• Construction materials (toothpicks, cardstock, rubber bands, sticky notes, etc.)
• Divide the team into groups of 4-5 people, each with a designated leader.
• Blindfold team members and prohibit leaders from using their hands.
• Provide teams with construction materials and challenge them to build a tent within 30 minutes.
• Test the tents using the fan to see which can withstand high winds.
• Decision-Making Proficiency: Participants are exposed to critical decision-making situations under constraints, allowing them to practice effective and efficient decision-making.
• Trust Development: Blindfolding team members and relying on the designated leaders fosters trust and collaboration among team members.
• Leadership Skills: Designated leaders navigate the challenge without hands-on involvement, enhancing their leadership and communication skills.
• Creative Problem Solving: Teams employ creative thinking and resourcefulness to construct stable tents with limited sensory input.
• Team Cohesion: The shared task and unique constraints promote team cohesion and mutual understanding.
• Role of the Facilitator: Act as an observer, allowing teams to navigate the challenge with minimal intervention. Offer assistance only when necessary.
• Clarity in Instructions: Provide clear instructions regarding blindfolding, leader restrictions, and time limits to ensure a consistent experience.
• Debriefing Session: After the activity, conduct a debriefing session to discuss team dynamics, leadership approaches, and decision-making strategies.
• Encourage Communication: Emphasize the importance of effective communication within teams to ensure smooth coordination and successful tent construction.
• Acknowledge Creativity: Celebrate creative solutions and innovative approaches exhibited by teams during the tent-building process.

#9. Dumbest Idea First

Helps With: Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Activity

Estimated Time: 15-20 Minutes

Materials Needed: A piece of paper, pen, and pencil

• Problem Presentation: Introduce a specific problem to the team, either a real-world challenge or a hypothetical scenario that requires a solution.
• Brainstorming Dumb Ideas: Instruct team members to quickly generate and jot down the most unconventional and seemingly “dumb” ideas they can think of to address the problem.
• Idea Sharing: Encourage each participant to share their generated ideas with the group, fostering a relaxed and open atmosphere for creative expression.
• Viability Assessment: As a team, review and evaluate each idea, considering potential benefits and drawbacks. Emphasize the goal of identifying unconventional approaches.
• Selecting Promising Solutions: Identify which seemingly “dumb” ideas could hold hidden potential or innovative insights. Discuss how these ideas could be adapted into workable solutions.
• Divergent Thinking: Participants engage in divergent thinking, pushing beyond conventional boundaries to explore unconventional solutions.
• Creative Exploration: The activity sparks creative exploration by encouraging participants to let go of inhibitions and embrace imaginative thinking.
• Critical Analysis: Through evaluating each idea, participants practice critical analysis and learn to identify unique angles and aspects of potential solutions.
• Open Communication: The lighthearted approach of sharing “dumb” ideas fosters open communication, reducing fear of judgment and promoting active participation.
• Solution Adaptation: Identifying elements of seemingly “dumb” ideas that have merit encourages participants to adapt and refine their approaches creatively.
• Safe Environment: Foster a safe and non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable sharing unconventional ideas.
• Time Management: Set clear time limits for idea generation and sharing to maintain the activity’s energetic pace.
• Encourage Wild Ideas: Emphasize that the goal is to explore the unconventional, urging participants to push the boundaries of creativity.
• Facilitator Participation: Participate in idea generation to demonstrate an open-minded approach and encourage involvement.
• Debriefing Discussion: After the activity, facilitate a discussion on how seemingly “dumb” ideas can inspire innovative solutions and stimulate fresh thinking.

This activity encourages out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving. It allows teams to explore unconventional ideas that may lead to unexpected, yet effective, solutions.

#10: Legoman

Helps With: Foster teamwork, communication, and creativity through a collaborative Lego-building activity.

Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes

• Lego bricks
• Lego instruction manuals

Procedure :

• Divide participants into small teams of 3-5 members.
• Provide each team with an equal set of Lego bricks and a Lego instruction manual.
• Explain that the goal is for teams to work together to construct the Lego model shown in the manual.
• Set a time limit for the building activity based on model complexity.
• Allow teams to self-organize, build, and collaborate to complete the model within the time limit.
• Evaluate each team’s final model compared to the manual’s original design.
• Enhanced Communication: Participants must communicate clearly and listen actively to collaborate effectively.
• Strengthened Teamwork: Combining efforts toward a shared goal promotes camaraderie and team cohesion.
• Creative Problem-Solving: Teams must creatively problem-solve if pieces are missing or instructions unclear.
• Planning and Resource Allocation: Following instructions fosters planning skills and efficient use of resources.
• Sense of Achievement: Completing a challenging build provides a sense of collective accomplishment.
• Encourage Participation: Urge quieter members to contribute ideas and take an active role.
• Highlight Teamwork: Emphasize how cooperation and task coordination are key to success.
• Ensure Equal Engagement: Monitor group dynamics to ensure all members are engaged.
• Allow Creativity: Permit modifications if teams lack exact pieces or wish to get creative.
• Focus on Enjoyment: Create a lively atmosphere so the activity remains energizing and fun.

#11: Minefield

Helps With: Trust, Communication, Patience

Materials Needed: Open space, blindfolds

• Mark a “minefield” on the ground using ropes, cones, or tape. Add toy mines or paper cups.
• Pair up participants and blindfold one partner.
• Position blindfolded partners at the start of the minefield. Direct seeing partners to verbally guide them through to the other side without hitting “mines.”
• Partners switch roles once finished and repeat.
• Time partnerships and provide prizes for the fastest safe crossing.
• Trust Building: Blindfolded partners must trust their partner’s instructions.
• Effective Communication: Giving clear, specific directions is essential for navigating the minefield.
• Active Listening: Partners must listen closely and follow directions precisely.
• Patience & Support: The exercise requires patience and encouraging guidance between partners.
• Team Coordination: Partners must work in sync, coordinating movements and communication.
• Test Boundaries: Ensure the minefield’s size accommodates safe movement and communication.
• Monitor Interactions: Watch for dominant guidance and ensure both partners participate fully.
• Time Strategically: Adjust time limits based on the minefield size and difficulty.
• Add Obstacles: Introduce additional non-mine objects to increase challenge and communication needs.
• Foster Discussion: Debrief afterward to discuss communication approaches and trust-building takeaways.

#12: Reverse Pyramid

Helps With: Teamwork, Communication, Creativity

Materials Needed: 36 cups per group, tables

• Form small groups of 5-7 participants.
• Provide each group with a stack of 36 cups and a designated building area.
• Explain the objective: Build the tallest pyramid starting with just one cup on top.
• Place the first cup on the table, and anyone in the group can add two cups beneath it to form the second row.
• From this point, only the bottom row can be lifted to add the next row underneath.
• Cups in the pyramid can only be touched or supported by index fingers.
• If the structure falls, start over from one cup.
• Offer more cups if a group uses all provided.
• Allow 15 minutes for building.

Teamwork: Collaborate to construct the pyramid.

Communication: Discuss and execute the building strategy.

Creativity: Find innovative ways to build a tall, stable pyramid.

Clarify Expectations: Emphasize the definition of a pyramid with each row having one less cup.

Encourage Perseverance: Motivate groups to continue despite challenges.

Promote Consensus: Encourage groups to work together and help each other.

Reflect on Failure: Use collapses as a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and improving.

Consider Competitions: Modify the activity for competitive teams and scoring.

#13: Stranded

Helps With: Decision-making, Prioritization, Teamwork

Materials Needed: List of salvaged items, paper, pens

• Present a scenario where teams are stranded and must prioritize items salvaged from a plane crash.
• Provide teams with the same list of ~15 salvaged items.
• Instruct teams to agree on an item ranking with #1 being the most important for survival.
• Teams share and compare their prioritized lists. Identify differences in approach.
• Discuss what factors influenced decisions and how teams worked together to agree on priorities.
• Critical Thinking: Weighing item importance requires analytical thinking and discussion.
• Team Decision-Making: Coming to a consensus fosters team decision-making capabilities.
• Prioritization Skills: Ranking items strengthen prioritization and justification abilities.
• Perspective-Taking: Understanding different prioritizations builds perspective-taking skills.
• Team Cohesion: Collaborating toward a shared goal brings teams closer together.
• Encourage Discussion: Urge teams to discuss all ideas rather than allow single members to dominate.
• Be Engaged: Circulate to listen in on team discussions and pose thought-provoking questions.
• Add Complexity: Introduce scenarios with additional constraints to expand critical thinking.
• Highlight Disagreements: When priorities differ, facilitate constructive discussions on influencing factors.
• Recognize Collaboration: Acknowledge teams that demonstrate exceptional teamwork and communication.

Now let’s look at some common types of problem-solving activities.

Types of Problem-Solving Activities

The most common types of problem-solving activities/exercises are:

• Creative problem-solving activities
• Group problem-solving activities
• Individual problem-solving activities
• Fun problem-solving activities, etc.

In the next segments, we’ll be discussing these types of problem-solving activities in detail. So, keep reading!

Creative Problem-Solving Activities

Creative problem solving (CPS) means using creativity to find new solutions. It involves thinking creatively at first and then evaluating ideas later. For example, think of it like brainstorming fun game ideas, discussing them, and then picking the best one to play.

Some of the most common creative problem-solving activities include:

• Legoman: Building creative structures with LEGO.
• Escape: Solving puzzles to escape a room.
• Frostbite: Finding solutions in challenging situations.
• Minefield: Navigating a field of obstacles.

Group Problem-Solving Activities

Group problem-solving activities are challenges that make teams work together to solve puzzles or overcome obstacles. They enhance teamwork and critical thinking.

For instance, think of a puzzle-solving game where a group must find hidden clues to escape a locked room.

Here are the most common group problem-solving activities you can try in groups:

• A Shrinking Vessel
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
• Cardboard Boat Building Challenge
• Clue Murder Mystery
• Escape Room: Jewel Heist
• Escape Room: Virtual Team Building
• Scavenger Hunt
• Dumbest Idea First

Individual Problem-Solving Activities

As the name suggests, individual problem-solving activities are the tasks that you need to play alone to boost your critical thinking ability. They help you solve problems and stay calm while facing challenges in real life. Like puzzles, they make your brain sharper. Imagine it’s like training your brain muscles to handle tricky situations.

Here are some of the most common individual problem-solving activities:

• Puzzles (jigsaw, crossword, sudoku, etc.)
• Brain teasers
• Logic problems
• Optical illusions
• “Escape room” style games

Fun Problem-Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities are enjoyable games that sharpen your critical thinking skills while having a blast. Think of activities like the Legoman challenge, escape rooms, or rolling dice games – they make problem-solving exciting and engaging!

And to be frank, all of the mentioned problem-solving activities are fun if you know how to play and enjoy them as all of them are game-like activities.

Team Problems You Can Address Through Problem Solving Activities

Fun problem-solving activities serve as dynamic tools to address a range of challenges that teams often encounter. These engaging activities foster an environment of collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, enabling teams to tackle various problems head-on. Here are some common team problems that can be effectively addressed through these activities:

• Communication Breakdowns:  

Activities like “Escape,” “A Shrinking Vessel,” and “Human Knots” emphasize the importance of clear and effective communication. They require teams to work together, exchange ideas, and devise strategies to accomplish a shared goal. By engaging in these activities, team members learn to communicate more efficiently, enhancing overall team communication in real-world situations.

• Lack of Trust and Cohesion:  

Problem-solving activities promote trust and cohesiveness within teams. For instance, “Frostbite” and “Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower” require teams to collaborate closely, trust each other’s ideas, and rely on each member’s strengths. These activities build a sense of unity and trust, which can translate into improved teamwork and collaboration.

• Innovative Thinking:  

“Dumbest Idea First” and “Egg Drop” encourage teams to think outside the box and explore unconventional solutions. These activities challenge teams to be creative and innovative in their problem-solving approaches, fostering a culture of thinking beyond traditional boundaries when faced with complex issues.

• Decision-Making Challenges:  

Activities like “Onethread” facilitate group decision-making by providing a platform for open discussions and collaborative choices. Problem-solving activities require teams to make decisions collectively, teaching them to weigh options, consider different viewpoints, and arrive at informed conclusions—a skill that is transferable to real-world decision-making scenarios.

• Leadership and Role Clarification:  

Activities such as “Frostbite” and “Egg Drop” designate team leaders and roles within groups. This provides an opportunity for team members to practice leadership, delegation, and role-specific tasks. By experiencing leadership dynamics in a controlled setting, teams can improve their leadership skills and better understand their roles in actual projects.

• Problem-Solving Strategies:  

All of the problem-solving activities involve the application of different strategies. Teams learn to analyze problems, break them down into manageable components, and develop systematic approaches for resolution. These strategies can be adapted to real-world challenges, enabling teams to approach complex issues with confidence.

• Team Morale and Engagement:  

Participating in engaging and enjoyable activities boosts team morale and engagement. These activities provide a break from routine tasks, energize team members, and create a positive and fun atmosphere. Elevated team morale can lead to increased motivation and productivity.

The incentives of event prizes can further stimulate the enthusiasm and participation of team members. The choice of prizes is crucial, as it can directly affect the attractiveness and participation of the event. Among them, Medals are essential prizes.

Medals are symbols of honor awarded to winners and represent the value and achievement of an event.

Medals also have a motivational effect, they encourage team members to pursue higher achievements and progress.

Medals are artistic and aesthetic. They are usually designed by designers according to different occasions and themes and have high collection value.

By incorporating these fun problem-solving activities, teams can address a variety of challenges, foster skill development, and build a more cohesive and effective working environment. As teams learn to collaborate, communicate, innovate, and make decisions collectively, they are better equipped to overcome obstacles and achieve shared goals.

The Benefits of Problem Solving Activities for Your Team

#1 Better Thinking

Problem-solving activities bring out the best in team members by encouraging them to contribute their unique ideas. This stimulates better thinking as team managers evaluate different solutions and choose the most suitable ones.

For example, a remote team struggling with communication benefited from quick thinking and the sharing of ideas, leading to the adoption of various communication modes for improved collaboration.

#2 Better Risk Handling

Team building problem solving activities condition individuals to handle risks more effectively. By engaging in challenging situations and finding solutions, team members develop the ability to respond better to stressful circumstances.

#3 Better Communication

Regular communication among team members is crucial for efficient problem-solving. Engaging in problem-solving activities fosters cooperation and communication within the team, resulting in better understanding and collaboration. Using tools like OneThread can further enhance team communication and accountability.

#4 Improved Productivity Output

When teams work cohesively, overall productivity improves, leading to enhanced profit margins for the company or organization. Involving managers and team members in problem-solving activities can positively impact the company’s growth and profitability.

How Onethread Enhances the Effect of Problem Solving Activities

Problem-solving activities within teams thrive on collaborative efforts and shared perspectives. Onethread emerges as a potent facilitator, enabling teams to collectively tackle challenges and harness diverse viewpoints with precision. Here’s a comprehensive view of how Onethread amplifies team collaboration in problem-solving initiatives:

Open Channels for Discussion:

Onethread’s real-time messaging feature serves as a dedicated hub for open and seamless discussions. Teams can engage in brainstorming sessions, share insightful observations, and propose innovative solutions within a flexible environment. Asynchronous communication empowers members to contribute their insights at their convenience, fostering comprehensive problem analysis with ample deliberation.

Centralized Sharing of Resources:

Effective problem-solving often hinges on access to pertinent resources. Onethread’s document sharing functionality ensures that critical information, references, and research findings are centralized and readily accessible. This eradicates the need for cumbersome email attachments and enables team members to collaborate with precise and up-to-date data.

Efficient Task Allocation and Monitoring:

Problem-solving journeys comprise a series of tasks and actions. Onethread’s task management capability streamlines the delegation of specific responsibilities to team members. Assign tasks related to research, data analysis, or solution implementation and monitor progress in real time. This cultivates a sense of accountability and guarantees comprehensive coverage of every facet of the problem-solving process.

Facilitated Collaborative Decision-Making: Navigating intricate problems often demands collective decision-making. Onethread’s collaborative ecosystem empowers teams to deliberate over potential solutions, assess pros and cons, and make well-informed choices. Transparent discussions ensure that decisions are comprehensively comprehended and supported by the entire team.

Seamless Documentation and Insights Sharing:

As the problem-solving journey unfolds, the accumulation of insights and conclusions becomes pivotal. Onethread’s collaborative document editing feature empowers teams to document their discoveries, chronicle the steps undertaken, and showcase successful solutions. This shared repository of documentation serves as a valuable resource for future reference and continuous learning.

With Onethread orchestrating the backdrop, team collaboration during problem-solving activities transforms into a harmonious fusion of insights, ideas, and actionable steps.

What are the 5 problem-solving skills?

The top 5 problem-solving skills in 2023 are critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and data literacy. Most employers seek these skills in their workforce.

What are the steps of problem-solving?

Problem-solving steps are as follows: 1. Define the problem clearly. 2. Analyze the issue in detail. 3. Generate potential solutions. 4. Evaluate these options. 5. Choose the best solution. 6. Put the chosen solution into action. 7. Measure the outcomes to assess effectiveness and improvements made. These sequential steps assist in efficient and effective problem resolution.

How do you teach problem-solving skills?

Teaching problem-solving involves modelling effective methods within a context, helping students grasp the problem, dedicating ample time, asking guiding questions, and giving suggestions. Connect errors to misconceptions to enhance understanding, fostering a straightforward approach to building problem-solving skills.

So here is all about “activities for problem solving”.No matter which activity you choose, engaging in problem-solving activities not only provides entertainment but also helps enhance cognitive abilities such as critical thinking, decision making, and creativity. So why not make problem solving a regular part of your routine?

Take some time each day or week to engage in these activities and watch as your problem-solving skills grow stronger. Plus, it’s an enjoyable way to pass the time and challenge yourself mentally.

So go ahead, grab a puzzle or gather some friends for a game night – get ready to have fun while sharpening your problem-solving skills!

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22 Unbeatable Team Building Problem Solving Activities

Problem-solving is a critical skill for professionals and with team building problem-solving activities, you can sharpen your skills while having fun at the same time.  

Updated: March 1, 2024

In the professional world, one thing is for sure: problem-solving is a vital skill if you want to survive and thrive. It’s a universal job skill that organizations seek in new potential employees and that managers look for when considering candidates for promotions.  

But there’s a problem. 

According to Payscale, 60% of managers feel that new grads entering the workforce lack problem-solving abilities – making it the most commonly lacking soft skill.  

Problem-solving skill needs to be practiced and perfected on an ongoing basis in order to be applied effectively when the time comes. And while there are tons of traditional approaches to becoming a better problem-solver, there’s another (much more interesting) option: team building problem-solving activities. 

The good news? This means learning and having fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And you can create a stronger team at the same time. 

16 In-Person Team Building Problem Solving Activities for Your Work Group  

1. cardboard boat building challenge, 2. egg drop , 3. clue murder mystery, 4. marshmallow spaghetti tower  , 5. corporate escape room, 6. wild goose chase, 7. lost at sea  , 8. domino effect challenge, 9. reverse pyramid  , 10. ci: the crime investigators, 11. team pursuit, 12. bridge builders, 13. domino effect challenge, 14. hollywood murder mystery, 15. code break, 16. cardboard boat building challenge, 6 virtual team building problem solving activities for your work group  , 1. virtual escape room: mummy’s curse, 2. virtual clue murder mystery, 3. virtual escape room: jewel heist, 4. virtual code break  , 5. virtual trivia time machine.

• 6. Virtual Jeoparty Social

There are a ton of incredible team building problem solving activities available. We’ve hand-picked 16 of our favorites that we think your corporate group will love too. 

Split into teams and create a cardboard boat made out of just the materials provided: cardboard and tape. Team members will have to work together to engineer a functional boat that will float and sail across water without sinking. Once teams have finished making their boats, they will create a presentation to explain why their boat is the best, before putting their boats to the test. The final challenge will have teams racing their boats to test their durability! Nothing says problem-solving like having to make sure you don’t sink into the water!

Every day at work, you’re forced to make countless decisions – whether they’re massively important or so small you barely think about them.  

But your ability to effectively make decisions is critical in solving problems quickly and effectively.  

With a classic team building problem solving activity like the Egg Drop, that’s exactly what your team will learn to do. 

For this activity, you’ll need some eggs, construction materials, and a place you wouldn’t mind smashing getting dirty with eggshells and yolks.  

The goal of this activity is to create a contraption that will encase an egg and protect it from a fall – whether it’s from standing height or the top of a building. But the challenge is that you and your team will only have a short amount of time to build it before it’s time to test it out, so you’ll have to think quickly! 

To make it even more challenging, you’ll have to build the casing using only simple materials like: 

• Newspapers 
• Plastic wrap
• Rubber bands
• Popsicle sticks
• Cotton balls

Feel free to have some fun in picking the materials. Use whatever you think would be helpful without making things too easy! 

Give your group 15 minutes to construct their egg casing before each team drops their eggs. If multiple eggs survive, increase the height gradually to see whose created the sturdiest contraption.  

If you’re not comfortable with the idea of using eggs for this activity, consider using another breakable alternative, such as lightbulbs for a vegan Egg Drop experience. 

With Clue Murder Mystery, your team will need to solve the murder of a man named Neil Davidson by figuring out who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime.

But it won’t be easy! You’ll need to exercise your best problem-solving skills and channel your inner detectives if you want to keep this case from going cold and to get justice for the victim.

Collaboration is critical to problem solving. 

Why? Because, as the old saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This expression reflects the fact that people are capable of achieving greater things when they work together to do so. 

If you’re looking for a team building problem solving activity that helps boost collaboration, you’ll love Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower.  

This game involves working in teams to build the tallest possible freestanding tower using only marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti, tape, and string.  

The kicker? This all has to be done within an allotted timeframe. We recommend about thirty minutes.  

For an added dimension of challenge, try adding a marshmallow to the top of the tower to make it a little more top heavy.  

Whichever team has the highest tower when time runs out is the winner! 

If you’ve never participated in an escape room, your team is missing out! It’s one of the most effective team building problem solving activities out there because it puts you and your colleagues in a scenario where the only way out is collaboratively solving puzzles and deciphering clues.  

The principle is simple: lock your group in a room, hide the key somewhere in that room, and have them work through challenges within a set time frame. Each challenge will lead them one step closer to finding the key and, ultimately, their escape.    

At Outback, we offer “done-for-you” escape rooms where we’ll transform your office or meeting room so you don’t have to worry about:

• Seeking transportation for your team 
• Capacity of the escape rooms  
• High costs 
• Excessive planning  

That way, you and your team can simply step inside and get to work collaborating, using creative problem solving, and thinking outside the box.   

In this smartphone-based scavenger hunt team building activity , your group will split into teams and complete fun challenges by taking photos and videos around the city. Some examples of challenges you can do in this activity are:

• Parkour:  Take a picture of three team members jumping over an object that’s at least waist-high.
• Beautiful Mind:  Snap a photo of a team member proving a well-known mathematical theorem on a chalkboard.
• Puppy Love:  Take a photo of all of your team members petting a stranger’s dog at the same time.

It takes a ton of critical thinking and problem-solving to be crowned the Wild Goose Chase Champions!

Can you imagine a higher-pressure situation than being stranded at sea in a lifeboat with your colleagues? 

With this team building problem solving activity, that’s exactly the situation you and your group will put yourselves. But by the time the activity is over, you’ll have gained more experience with the idea of having to solve problems under pressure – a common but difficult thing to do. 

Here’s how it works. 

Each team member will get a six-columned chart where: 

• The first column lists the survival items each team has on hand (see the list below) 
• The second column is empty so that each team member can rank the items in order of importance for survival  
• The third column is for group rankings  
• The fourth column is for the “correct” rankings, which are revealed at the end of the activity 
• The fifth and sixth columns are for the team to enter thee difference between their individual and correct scores and the team and correct rankings 

Within this activity, each team will be equipped with the following “survival items,” listed below in order of importance, as well as a pack of matches:  

• A shaving mirror (this can be used to signal passing ships using the sun) 
• A can of gas (could be used for signaling as it could be put in the water and lit with the pack of matches) 
• A water container (for collecting water to re-hydrate ) 
• Emergency food rations (critical survival food) 
• One plastic sheet (can be helpful for shelter or to collect rainwater) 
• Chocolate bars (another food supply) 
• Fishing rods (helpful, but no guarantee of catching food) 
• Rope (can be handy, but not necessarily essential for survival) 
• A floating seat cushion (usable as a life preserver)  
• Shark repellant (could be important when in the water) 
• A bottle of rum (could be useful for cleaning wounds) 
• A radio (could be very helpful but there’s a good chance you’re out of range) 
• A sea chart (this is worthless without navigation equipment) 
• A mosquito net (unless you’ve been shipwrecked somewhere with a ton of mosquitos, this isn’t very useful) 

To get the activity underway, divide your group into teams of five and ask each team member to take ten minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance in the respective column. Then, give the full team ten minutes as a group to discuss their individual rankings together and take group rankings, listed in that respective column. Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with those of the group as a whole. 

Finally, read out the correct order according to the US Coast Guard, listed above.  

The goal of this activity is for everyone to be heard and to come to a decision together about what they need most to survive.  

If your team works remotely, you can also do this activity online. Using a video conferencing tool like  Zoom , you can bring your group together and separate teams into “break-out rooms” where they’ll take their time individually and then regroup together. At the end, you can bring them back to the full video conference to go through the answers together. 

Many problems are intricately complex and involve a ton of moving parts. And in order to solve this type of problem, you need to be able to examine it systematically, one piece at a time.  

Especially in the business world, many problems or challenges involve multiple different teams or departments working through their respective portions of a problem before coming together in the end to create a holistic solution. 

As you can imagine, this is often easier said than done. And that’s why it’s so important to practice this ability.  

With a collaborative team building problem solving activity like Domino Effect Challenge, that’s exactly what you’ll need to do as you and your group work to create a massive, fully functional chain reaction machine. 

Here’s how it goes. 

Your group will break up into teams, with each team working to complete their own section of a massive “Rube Goldberg” machine. Then, all teams will regroup and assemble the entire machine together. You’ll need to exercise communication, collaboration, and on-the-fly problem solving in order to make your chain reaction machine go off without a hitch from start to finish. 

Being a great problem-solver means being adaptable and creative. And if you’re looking for a quick and easy team building problem solving activity, you’ll love the reverse pyramid. 

The idea here is simple: break your group out into small teams and then stand in the form of a pyramid.  

Your challenge is to flip the base and the peak of the pyramid – but you can only move three people in order to do so.  

Alternatively, rather than doing this activity with people as the pyramid, you can do another version –  the Pyramid Build  – using plastic cups instead.   

This version is a little bit different. Rather than flipping the base of a pyramid to the top, you’ll need to build the pyramid instead–but in reverse, starting from the top cup and working down. 

With this version, you’ll need 36 cups and one table per group. We recommend groups of five to seven people. Give your group 20 to 30 minutes to complete the activity. 

To get started, place one cup face down. Then, lift that cup and place the subsequent two cups underneath it. 

The real challenge here? You can only lift your pyramid by the bottom row in order to put a new row underneath – and only one person at a time can do the lifting. The remaining group members will need to act quickly and work together in order to add the next row so that it will balance the rest of the pyramid. 

If any part of your pyramid falls, you’ll need to start over. Whichever team has the most complete pyramid when time runs out will be the winner!  

The value of being able to approach problems analytically can’t be overstated. Because when problems arise, the best way to solve them is by examining the facts and making a decision based on what you know. 

With CI: The Crime Investigators, this is exactly what your team will be called upon to do as you put your detective’s hats on and work to solve a deadly crime. 

You’ll be presented with evidence and need to uncover and decipher clues. And using only the information at your disposal, you’ll need to examine the facts in order to crack the case. 

Like many of our team building problem solving activities, CI: The Crime Investigators is available in a hosted format, which can take place at your office or an outside venue, as well as a virtually-hosted format that uses video conferencing tools, or a self-hosted version that you can run entirely on your own.  

Each member of your team has their own unique strengths and skills. And by learning to combine those skills, you can overcome any challenge and solve any problem. With Team Pursuit, you and your team together to tackle challenges as you learn new things about one another, discover your hidden talents, and learn to rely on each other.

This team building problem solving activity is perfect for high-energy groups that love to put their heads together and work strategically to solve problems as a group.

Collaborate with your colleague to design and build different segments of a bridge. At the end, see if the sections come together to create a free-standing structure!   

Together as a group, see if you and your colleagues can build a gigantic “chain-reaction” machine that really works!

In smaller groups, participants work together to solve the challenge of creating sections of the machine using miscellaneous parts, and at the end, you’ll have to collaborate to connect it all together and put it in motion.

The case is fresh, but here’s what we know so far: we’ve got an up-and-coming actress who’s been found dead in her hotel room following last night’s awards show.

We have several suspects, but we haven’t been able to put the crime on any of them for sure yet. Now, it’s up to you and your team of detectives to crack the case. Together, you’ll review case files and evidence including police reports, coroners’ reports, photo evidence, tabloids, interrogations, and phone calls as you determine the motive, method, and murderer and bring justice for the victim.

You’ll need to put your problem-solving skills to the test as you share theories, collaborate, and think outside the box with your fellow investigators.

Using Outback’s app, split up into small groups and put your heads together to solve a variety of puzzles, riddles, and trivia. The team who has completed the most challenges when time is up, wins!

Can you stay afloat in a body of water in a boat made entirely of cardboard? Now that is a problem that urgently needs solving.

With this team building problem solving activity, you and your colleagues will split into groups and create a cardboard boat made out of just the materials provided – cardboard and tape.

Team members will have to work together to engineer a functional boat that will float and sail across water without sinking. Once teams have finished making their boats, they will create a presentation to explain why their boat is the best, before putting their boats to the test. The final challenge will have teams racing their boats across the water!

If you and your team are working remotely, don’t worry. You still have a ton of great virtual team building problem solving options at your disposal.

In this virtual escape room experience, your team will be transported into a pyramid cursed by a restless mummy. You’ll have to work together to uncover clues and solve complex challenges to lift the ancient curse.

You’ve probably never heard of a man named Neil Davidson. But your group will need to come together to solve the mystery of his murder by analyzing clues, resolving challenges, and figuring out who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit a deadly crime. 

This activity will challenge you and your group to approach problems analytically, read between the lines, and use critical thinking in order to identify a suspect and deliver justice.  

If you and your team like brainteasers, then Virtual Escape Room: Jewel Heist will be a big hit.  

Here’s the backstory.

There’s been a robbery. Someone has masterminded a heist to steal a priceless collection of precious jewels, and it’s up to you and your team to recover them before time runs out.

Together, you’ll need to uncover hidden clues and solve a series of brain-boggling challenges that require collaboration, creative problem-solving, and outside-the-box thinking. But be quick! The clock is ticking before the stolen score is gone forever.

With Virtual Code Break, you and your team can learn to be adaptive and dynamic in your thinking in order to tackle any new challenges that come your way. In this activity, your group will connect on a video conferencing platform where your event host will split you out into teams. Together, you’ll have to adapt your problem-solving skills as you race against the clock to tackle a variety of mixed brainteaser challenges ranging from Sudoku to puzzles, a game of Cranium, riddles, and even trivia. 

Curious to see how a virtual team building activity works? Check out this video on a Virtual Clue Murder Mystery in action. 

Step into the Outback Time Machine and take a trip through time, from pre-pandemic 21st century through the decades all the way to the 60’s. 

This exciting, fast-paced virtual trivia game, packed with nostalgia and good vibes, is guaranteed to produce big laughs, friendly competition, and maybe even some chair-dancing. 

Your virtual game show host will warm up guests with a couple of “table hopper rounds” (breakout room mixers) and split you out into teams. Within minutes, your home office will be transformed into a game show stage with your very own game show buzzers! 

And if your team loves trivia, check out our list of the most incredible virtual trivia games for work teams for even more ideas.

6.  Virtual Jeoparty Social

If your remote team is eager to socialize, have some fun as a group, and channel their competitive spirit, we’ve got just the thing for you! With Virtual Jeoparty Social, you and your colleagues will step into your very own virtual Jeopardy-style game show—equipped with a buzzer button, a professional actor as your host, and an immersive game show platform! Best of all, this game has been infused with an ultra-social twist: players will take part in a unique social mixer challenge between each round. 

With the right team building problem solving activities, you can help your team sharpen their core skills to ensure they’re prepared when they inevitably face a challenge at work. And best of all, you can have fun in the process. 

Do you have any favorite team building activities for building problem-solving skills? If so, tell us about them in the comments section below! 

Learn More About Team Building Problem Solving Activities  

For more information about how your group can take part in a virtual team building, training, or coaching solution, reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants.     

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I love how this blog provides a variety of problem-solving activities for team building. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to foster teamwork and collaboration!

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Top 10 problem solving group activities to work effectively as a team

Josh Gillespie Director of Enterprise Sales at PandaDoc

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To work effectively as a team, you need to learn how to overcome obstacles your team encounters.

And while you may find that team-building games can help build cohesion and communication in your team, you’ll also find that problem solving skills are equally as important in leveling up your team’s ability to achieve goals, address issues, and succeed together.

Teams must learn to observe problems critically and find all the possible ways around them, rather than getting stuck in the details or making excuses.

Great businesses have to solve both their customer’s problems and their own internal issues on a regular basis.

Problem solving has been linked to company performance.

Good problem solving skills lead to better decision making, which can improve performance and lead to company growth.

Teams and leaders who can learn how to solve problems in an orderly, planned fashion tend to perform better than those who cannot.

Luckily, the problem solving process is a learnable skill.

While some people are naturally better at it than others, everyone can learn the process of solving problems by thinking critically.

One very effective method for teaching this skill is through problem solving group activities.

How do problem-solving games work?

Problem solving games help teams break a problem down into five5 distinct stages:

Going through this problem solving process helps a team learn basic strategies they can then apply to real-world problems.

By gamifying the process , you’re allowing teams to work out the concepts and apply appropriate strategies in a controlled environment.

The benefits of problem-solving icebreakers for adults

Firstly, problem-solving icebreakers serve as effective introductions.

They’re much more engaging than simply listening to everyone in the group stating their names, and help avoid the awkward “think of an interesting fact about yourself”, too.

When done well, icebreakers are a fun start to any group session, and get everyone ready to start collaborating and networking.

As a non-threatening environment, icebreaker sessions promote lighthearted conversations and laughter—helping alleviate any tensions within the group.

This casual start to problem-solving group activities is a great way to introduce any formal learning sessions and puts everyone in a positive frame of mind.

Other benefits of problem-solving group activities are that they enable participants to share their own thoughts and expectations for sessions.

Implementing a well thought out icebreaker will garner more engagement from participants, as they feel like active players—rather than just listening in.

You’ll often find that icebreakers, like team building exercises, can help break up any existing cliques within groups and encourage participants to engage with people they might otherwise not interact with.

This is a good way to help build effective work relationships for the future.

10 problem-solving activities for employees

With these benefits in mind, let’s take a look at 10 team building activities to try with your employees.

All of these activities promote quick problem solving, critical thinking, trust, and a positive culture within groups.

Plus, as they’re quite simple activities, you can try them anywhere with minimal equipment.

1. Human knots

This is a simple activity you can do with any team.

It teaches communication and clear thinking in the face of a complex, frustrating problem.

There will likely be a number of solutions proposed by different members of the team, and each will need to be evaluated and implemented by the whole group.

Helps with: Communication skills, collaboration.

Time: 10 – 15 minutes.

What you need: Nothing (other than a small team of people).

Instructions:

• Have your team stand in a small circle (form multiple circles if you’re a larger group). Each person should hold the hands of two2 other people in the circle that are not standing directly beside them. This should create a messy knot of cross-crossed arms.
• Instruct your team to untangle themselves without releasing hands at any point. They may not be able to fully disentangle to form a circle again, but by the end of the activity time, they should have started working together to solve the problem.

2. Frostbite

Oh no! Your team is stranded in the barren Siberian wastelands and a sudden winter storm is approaching.

Using only the materials on hand, you need to build a structure that will withstand the harsh winds of the storm.

Unfortunately, the leader of your expedition has been struck with frostbite in both hands, and all the others are suffering from severe snow blindness.

Helps with: Leadership, trust, decision-making, adaptability.

Time: 30 minutes.

What you need: Blindfolds, an electric fan, and simple building materials such as card stock or cardboard paper, toothpicks, rubber bands, straws, masking tape, sticky notes, etc.

• Split into small groups of 4 – 5 people. Each group should elect a leader.
• Team leaders are not allowed to use their hands in any way to help the group, and group members must be blindfolded during the exercise.
• Teams have 30 minutes to construct a small tent structure that can withstand the wind from the highest setting on the fan.

3. Dumbest idea first

Thinking outside the box can stimulate your creativity and lead you to solutions that would normally sound too crazy to work.

By looking at these crazy solutions first, you can expand your options and discover the possible solutions that might not be as obvious.

Helps with: Creative problem solving, critical thinking, quick problem solving.

Time: 15 – 20 minutes.

What you need: Piece of paper, pen or pencil.

• Present a problem to your team. This could be a real-world problem that project management is actually facing, or it could be a made-up scenario. Example: Your company is trying to beat a competitor to secure a contract renewal with a high-paying client, but the client is leaning towards your competitors. You have a short time to change their minds before they make the official decision.
• With the problem presented, instruct your team to come up with the dumbest ideas they can think of to address the problem. Write them all down.
• Once each person has presented a few ideas, go through the list and evaluate each idea to see which ones are the most viable. List them down from the most likely to work to the least likely.

This is a particularly great problem-solving exercise for remote teams, as you can easily organize it via video conferencing with a whiteboard app for brainstorming.

4. Wool web

As difficult as it is to replicate the complexity of real-world problems, that’s no reason not to try!

Wool web creates a problem that seems impossible in the beginning, but with the right direction and working together, teams can learn to break down impossible situations into solvable problems one step at a time.

Helps with: Communication, leadership.

What you need: A few small balls of yarn.

• Divide the group into teams of equal size. Each team gets a ball of yarn.
• Instruct each team to make a large web from the yarn ball. Give them 5 – 10 minutes to do so. Once they’re done, rotate all the teams so that each team is at a yarn web they did not build.
• Each team should select one person to unwind the web. This person will be blindfolded, and the rest of the team should direct them on how to unwind the web through verbal instructions only. The first team to do it wins the game.

5. Tallest tower

One the classic group problem-solving activities, simple construction projects can help teams develop strategies to overcome out of the box problems.

Using only two materials, teams will compete to make the tallest marshmallow spaghetti tower in a set amount of time.

Helps with: Collaboration, creative thinking.

What you need: One pack uncooked spaghetti noodles, one bag of marshmallows.

• Divide your group into two equal teams. Give each team 20 – 30 uncooked spaghetti noodles and 3 – 4 marshmallows.
• In the given time, teams will compete to create the tallest tower using only the materials provided. A marshmallow must be placed at the top of the tower.

6. Spider web

A crafty spider has trapped your group in its lair.

To escape, you must pass through its web to get to the other side safely.

Each member of the team must pass through the web without touching it, but each hole in the web is only accessible once.

Helps with: Resource management, critical thinking, collaboration .

Time: 30 – 40 minutes.

What you need: One long ball of yarn, strong tape, scissors.

• Create a large web between two stationary objects (walls, trees, desks, etc.). The web should have 2 – 3 more holes than the number of people in the group, and holes should be of varying sizes with some being simple to pass through and others more difficult. Position your team on one1 side of the web.
• The goal is for them to go through the holes in the web without touching it. Each team member can only get to the other side through the web, not by going around the web.
• Instruct your team to pass through the web one at a time, with each hole being closed as it’s used. The activity is over once the entire team is through to the other side.

7. Shrinking vessel

Your whole team is stuck within a slowly shrinking vessel.

It’s up to them to figure out how to stay inside the given space as it gradually closes in.

Helps with: Adaptability, quick thinking, collaboration.

Time: 10 minutes.

What you need: A rope, ball of yarn, or similarly thick string.

• Put a large circle of rope on the floor. Position your entire team within the circle.
• Slowly reduce the size of the circle. Instruct your team to work together to keep the whole team within the circle as it gets smaller. No one should step outside the circle. See how small you can make the space before they’re unable to stay inside.

8. Minefield

The concept of this one is simple: The team has arrived on a battlefield laid with mines.

One person at a time must attempt to cross the battlefield without stepping on one.

Once a team member steps on a mine, they must return back to the start.

Helps with: Communication.

Time: 60 minutes.

What you need: An empty room or hallway, blindfolds, and a collection of common office items.

• Place the items (chairs, boxes, water bottles, bags, etc.) around the room so there’s no obvious path from one end of the room to the other.
• Split your team into pairs and blindfold one person on the team.
• The other must verbally guide that person from one end of the room to the other, avoiding the “mines” (The partner who is not blindfolded can’t touch the other).

To make Minefield more challenging, set it up so that all the pairs go simultaneously—teams must find ways to strategically communicate with each other.

9. Egg drop

While this one does involve a little bit of equipment (and potential mess), it’s great for helping your team practice making choices quickly.

Train your team’s decision-making muscles to help them become more adept at problem solving.

Helps with: Collaboration, decision-making.

Time: 20-30 minutes.

What you need: A carton of eggs, basic construction materials such as newspapers, straws, tape, plastic wrap, balloons, rubber bands, etc. You’ll also need an outside space where it doesn’t matter if you get messy!

• Give each team an egg and ask them to select from the construction materials.
• Allow 20-30 minutes to construct a carrier for the egg and protect it from breaking.
• Drop each egg carrier off a ledge to see whose carrier protects the egg from breaking.
• If multiple eggs make it, keep increasing the height until only one egg is left.

10. Stranded

If you think your team might have communication problems, Stranded can be a great way to spot them.

It’s easy to see who’s a strong leader, who’s happy to just go along with things, and who’s most likely to butt heads.

You can even intervene during the icebreaker to smooth out these problems, hopefully laying the groundwork for better communication in the future.

Helps with: Communication, decision-making.

What you need: An office and your team.

Your team is stranded in the office. The doors are locked, and knocking down the doors or breaking the windows is not a possibility.

Set the timer and give your team 30 minutes to decide on the ten items that they need for survival in the office, and rank them in order of importance.

The goal of the game is to have everyone agree on the ten items and their rankings within 30 minutes.

After the activities

If you choose to do team building problem-solving activities, take the time after you finishto dissect the game and understand what happened, why it matters, and how to apply those skills in a real-world scenario.

It’s not about frustrating people or just playing a fun game together. These exercises can have a real impact on the way your team works, and are the building blocks of a better future.

Take the time to sit down and talk over the lessons of the games, including what could have been done better in terms of team collaboration. The end result should be a team that understands itself a little more and is better equipped to solve problems that come up in the workplace.

Improve collaboration with problem-solving group activities

Problem-solving group activities are a great tool to foster efficient inter-departmental collaboration .

The key to any group activity is communication .

When everyone is communicating effectively, problems get solved faster, and groups learn to work together efficiently.

As professionals, problem solving is a crucial skill, and one which needs to be practiced on an ongoing basis to be applied effectively.

By using fun problem-solving activities, you can help improve your teams’ problem solving abilities and foster a positive culture of collaboration and honest feedback.

The ideas for problem-solving group activities we’ve covered are just the start, you could expand into things like scavenger hunts or even escape rooms.

Why not give them a try?

Originally published November 10, 2020, updated February 23, 2023

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Top 22 Virtual Problem-Solving Activities to Strengthen Any Team

We live in a fast-paced environment where challenges often arise, both personally and professionally.

Especially in today’s workplace, professionals have to deal with social, ethical, and organisational problems.

This is where problem-solving skills come into play.

Strong problem-solving tactics can improve creativity and help team members make efficient and informed decisions.

While every professional might not be a natural born problem-solver, there are a lot of resources to help develop these skills.

In this article, we’ll go over the definition of problem-solving activities, their main benefits, and examples that can be put into practice in the workplace.

What Are Problem-Solving Activities?

Problem-solving activities are tasks that require participants to use logical thinking and follow a set of rules to resolve problems and overcome challenges.

These activities require problem-solving skills, which help find solutions for difficult situations.

Like any other skill, these tactics are best learnt through practice.

To make problem-solving activities worth the ride, participants have to be open-minded, listen to others, and accept alternative ideas and solutions.

An agile mindset can also be beneficial when participating in such activities because they’re based on understanding, collaborating , learning and staying flexible.

As problem-solving games are group activities, participants must be willing to collaborate and embrace agility and flexibility.

Another critical aspect is creating the mindset that there are no winners or losers.

The goal of these activities is to share strategies and learn from each other, rather than compete against one another.

The Four P’s to Problem-Solving

While all problems are unique and require different solutions, they share one generic attribute: they’re cyclic.

By following the four P’s in the problem-solving guide, one can resolve almost any problem that comes along.

Problem-solving activities begin with a discovery phase, where the problem is identified.

This is the step where you understand, dissect, and learn about the problem you’re trying to solve.

Until the problem has been well defined, you can’t move forward and prepare to form the right solution.

After you’ve analysed the problem, you have to develop several courses of action to solve the issue.

This is the phase where you generate several possibilities to ultimately decide on the best course of action for your problem.

After the problem has been defined and resolutions have been listed, it’s time to take action.

This is the step where you find the best approach and implement a plan that needs to be followed with precision.

You need to first visualise your plan and then execute it.

When the problem has been solved, you need to evaluate the plan and assess whether it could be improved for future situations.

While you should do your best to solve the issue, the truth is that there is always room for growth.

Reviewing and checking for room for further improvement is essential because it can help you achieve even greater results in the future.

Benefits of Developing Problem-Solving Skills in the Workplace

Now that we’ve defined problem-solving activities, you may be wondering how team members could benefit from developing problem-solving skills.

Employees are often asked to think outside the box for projects or find alternative solutions for work problems.

Problem-solving tactics are a great way to practice valuable skills relevant in the workplace.

There are a lot of situations where processes and workflow in organisations need improvement. Or, when deadlines are tight, team members have to find ways to deliver on time.

These are the exact scenarios that can be overcome if the team is able to turn problems into actionable solutions.

After all, performance is closely related to employee efficiency as achieving companies’ goals on time is crucial to success.

Having team members with good problem-solving skills means they can use critical thinking to make better decisions and ultimately increase business productivity and growth.

There are a wealth of advantages that problem-solving activities can bring to teams.

Here are a few benefits you can expect from employees well equipped with problem-solving skills:

Better risk management

Simply put, risk management skills help people know what could go wrong, assess risks, and finally take action to solve an issue.

Some people are very good at handling risk, while others are afraid of risky situations.

Whichever way your team members are naturally inclined, problem-solving techniques are here to help.

Participating in problem-solving tasks trains the mind to handle stressful situations better.

It’s impossible to avoid risk, and this is why it’s essential to be confident that your team knows how to handle risk and turn it into opportunity.

Better thinking

During team problem-solving sessions, participants are asked to work together as a group to find answers and solutions for particular problems.

Team problem-solving techniques stimulate better thinking by pushing people to find progressive alternatives.

Better thinking also develops analytical skills, which help people find logical explanations for problems and identify practical solutions.

Better communication skills

As mentioned earlier, problem-solving activities are group tasks that can only be performed if participants work together.

Humans are competitive by nature which can be problematic when trying to create a cohesive team. Problem-solving skills nurture understanding and collaboration within a company.

By solving problems together, employees learn how to better communicate and listen to others.

Having transparent and effective communication improves engagement and productivity and leads to better relationships .

Increased team cohesion

If your team already has good communication skills , this will likely lead to increased team cohesion .

Regardless of your business’s profile or size, success comes from having a united team.

Team cohesion reduces anxiety, brings motivation, and increases employee satisfaction.

Being on a cohesive team means that employees work together for the same goal, and everyone contributes to the group’s overall success.

People are social creatures, so it’s imperative that everybody feels heard, understood, and included.

Efficiency / increased productivity

Exercising problem-solving activities can boost performance and workplace productivity, leading to overall growth and profits.

Having solid problem-solving skills equips employees with the ability to find efficient solutions promptly.

By reducing the time spent solving specific problems, companies benefit from improved workplace productivity , leading to better profit margins.

Problem-solving activities foster creativity and encourage team members to express their ideas.

Creative thinkers know how to find the balance between analytical skills and innovative solutions, thus providing new perspectives.

No matter how well-established company processes are, there are always situations that require alternative ways of thinking.

Creative thinking skills boost people’s confidence in putting forth unique ideas.

List of the Top 22 Virtual Problem-Solving Activities

Virtual problem-solving activities for teams are meant to challenge participants to think outside the box and find solutions to problems while also having fun. Remember that these exercises should be playful and enjoyable.

Here is a list of virtual problem-solving activities that teams of any size can play:

• Dumbest Idea First
• Brainstorm Ideas
• End in Mind
• Stop, Start, Continue
• Idea Mock-Ups
• Be a Character
• Crossword Puzzles
• Online Escape Rooms
• Murder Mysteries
• Virtual Hackathons
• Treasure Hunts
• Moral Challenge
• Improv Games
• Poem/Story Challenge
• What Would You Do?
• Lost at Sea
• Coworker Clash
• Virtual Code Break
• War of the Wizards
• Ultimate Game Show

Online problem-solving activities can be played through video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, Webex, etc.

Let’s take a closer look:

1. Dumbest Idea First

Dumbest Idea First, as the name suggests, is a problem-solving exercise in which participants are asked to think of the dumbest possible solutions to the problem presented.

After all ideas have been presented, look through the list.

You might be surprised to find that some ideas are not as dumb as first thought!

Helps with : creative problem-solving .

2. Brainstorm Ideas

One of the most common problem-solving activities is brainstorming ideas with your team.

Brainstorming ideas’ objective is to generate as many ideas as possible.

After the list is complete, team members review them and decide which is most suitable for the given scenario.

There are a lot of methods to aid the brainstorming process.

You can play word games, create a mood board, play improv games, or even doodle.

Helps with : lateral thinking.

3. End in Mind

The End in Mind technique is an excellent activity for solving group problems that require participants to start with the end.

In this exercise, you have to backtrack, finding solutions for the issue.

It challenges team members to think of the “what,” “why,” and “how” of a problem, thus coming up with alternative approaches.

Helps with : analytical thinking.

4. Stop, Start, Continue

“Stop, Start, Continue” is a technique used for delivering or requesting feedback.

This problem-solving activity consists of a list of three categories that each member has to think about:

• Stop: three things that the team should stop doing
• Start: three things that the team should start doing
• Continue: three things that the team should continue doing

This exercise aims to solve problems in new ways while also having fun.

Helps with : team cohesion, critical thinking.

5. Idea Mock-Ups

Idea mock-ups are processes in which solutions to problems are found via mock-ups.

It’s a virtual solving problem activity as you can use images from the internet that can be easily shared with the team members.

This exercise aims to have players try out a bunch of different scenarios until the perfect match for the problem is found.

6. Be a Character

One of the funniest problem-solving techniques is putting yourself in a character’s shoes while finding the answer to a problem.

Have you ever dreamed of being a character from a movie or a book? Then this is the perfect exercise for you.

By playing this group game, participants impersonate a character and approach problems through that person’s mindset.

Helps with : creativity , thinking outside the box.

7. Idea Trial

The Idea Trial is another fun virtual problem-solving activity that encourages participants to find solutions for a particular problem.

Players need to present their ideas to the “court.”

They can go through the entire process, such as opening and closing statements, and call witnesses to support their ideas.

Helps with : risk management, communication skills.

8. Crossword Puzzles

Everybody has heard of crossword puzzles, but not everyone has thought of transforming them into a virtual problem-solving activity.

All you have to do is use an online crossword puzzle to create a custom puzzle for your team.

To make it more exciting and engaging for your team, you should consider your company’s niche and your teammates’ interests.

Helps with : critical thinking.

9. Online Escape Rooms

Like in-person escape rooms, their online counterpart requires participants to escape rooms and work together to solve puzzles virtually.

Digital escape rooms provide two alternatives for players: either a Zoom room led by a host or from a specialised website.

These are significant virtual problem-solving activities that are both fun and challenging.

Helps with : cooperation, communication.

10. Murder Mysteries

Murder mysteries are story-based problem-solving activities that require participants to take on the roles of suspects and detectives.

The aim of the game is to identify the killer by searching for clues and occasionally solving small puzzles.

These group exercises are complex because they require players to be observant and search for hidden clues using logic.

Luckily for you, there are many options for playing murder mystery games online .

Helps with : observation, logical thinking.

11. Virtual Hackathons

Hackathons are events where a group of people pitch a product or service in a given period.

Even though it originated in the programming world, hackathons can be easily applied to any industry.

Virtual hackathons refer to the online version of these events, where participants work together via online meeting software to design solutions.

These are great virtual team problem-solving activities because they don’t require much organisational work.

You just have to announce the event’s theme, explain the problem when the hackathon begins, and set a timeline.

Helps with : efficiency, cooperation.

12. Treasure Hunts

Like escape rooms or murder mysteries, treasure hunts are group games that require players to find hidden objects by following a trail of clues.

Treasure hunts are fun problem-solving activities that teach participants how to collaborate and communicate with each other.

They can have specific themes or be a more general hunt.

Helps with : communication, cooperation.

13. Moral Challenge

While most group problem-solving activities focus more on finding alternative problem resolutions, moral challenges lean more towards ethics.

These group techniques are just as important as the others as not all problems are factual; some are ethical.

Moral challenge exercises are better played in a group because each participant can represent a different opinion or moral belief.

The moral issue becomes harder to resolve and implicitly forces team members to find common ground.

Moral challenges are equally important in decision-making processes as rational thinking.

Some of the most well-known moral challenges online are the Moral Machine or the Dilemma .

Helps with : communication skills.

14. Improv Games

Improv games have their roots in acting and comedy and are group activities designed around participants’ acting without a script, or improvising.

These problem-solving activities force players to keep the story going in an entertaining and logical way.

This kind of group exercise helps build collaborative skills while boosting team members’ confidence.

Helps with : collaboration, imagination.

15. Poem/Story Challenge

If most of the problem-solving activities mentioned are based on logical thinking, the poem/story challenge revolves around writing skills.

While not all businesses rely on this, it’s still an excellent exercise for groups, as it stimulates the imagination and improves public speaking.

All you have to do is ask participants to create a story or a poem using a limited word bank.

After they have crafted their stories, they read them aloud in front of the group.

Helps with : creativity, public speaking.

16. What Would You Do?

“What Would You Do?” is a hypothetical problem-solving activity that challenges your team to brainstorm ideas and react to different scenarios.

To play this game with your team members, prepare some problem-solving stories in advance, then read them one by one.

Participants have to say what they would do in these circumstances.

Helps with : lateral thinking, imagination.

17. Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea, also known as Stranded at Sea, is a team-building activity that encourages interaction and teamwork.

Give participants a scenario where they’re stranded on an island with just a handful of objects.

To increase their chances of survival, they need to rate the objects based on their utility.

Players should work individually first and then together to decide which objects are most important.

If multiple groups play this game, the moderator can ask each group to compare their individual and collective rankings.

They should also consider why any scores differ.

At the end of the game, players reflect and feedback on their choices.

Helps with : decision making, collaboration, critical thinking.

18. The Hunt

The Hunt is an online social team game that uses different types of puzzles, images, and word problems.

Its purpose is to challenge players to collaborate under pressure as they compete for glory.

This is a virtual problem-solving activity suitable for a business of any size.

It works best played in small teams of four or five, so players have the opportunity to interact with one another.

Helps with : team decision making, lateral thinking, creativity.

19. Coworker Clash (formerly Coworker Feud)

Coworker Clash is a virtual problem-solving activity perfect for playing with colleagues.

This game is a new take on the classic game show Family Feud, and it consists of multiple rapid rounds.

The players are asked to provide fast answers to a fun assortment of questions the host presents.

The aim is to guess the five most popular answers to win points for the round.

The team with the most points is declared the winner of the game.

Helps with : fast-thinking, communication.

20. Virtual Code Break

Virtual Code Break is a virtual team-building activity specially designed for remote players.

Its purpose is to challenge players to think outside the box, improve problem-solving skills, and leverage their own and each other’s skills.

This game uses an intelligent video conferencing solution so that teams of all sizes can play from anywhere globally.

Players compete against each other by answering trivia questions and solving riddles and puzzles.

Helps with : better thinking, collaboration.

21. War of the Wizards

War of the Wizards is a 90-minutes virtual team-building activity that promises to be both fun and creative.

To play this game, participants roleplay as powerful wizards to conquer evil forces through the power of storytelling.

They have to play mini-games and competitions, develop their characters, and make decisions together to win.

Helps with : teamwork, imagination.

22. Ultimate Game Show

If you’re looking for high-energy virtual problem-solving activities for competitive teams, then the Ultimate Game Show is the perfect fit.

In this 90-minute virtual event, players bond together as a team while playing different quizzes to win the final prize.

This competition works for hybrid teams, as well as for fully remote teams.

Helps with : collaboration, fast-thinking.

Plenty of organisations face daily challenges that affect team productivity and get in the way of attaining business goals.

While it’s impossible to avoid those situations, there are many ways to train team members to work collaboratively to resolve problems effectively.

Problem-solving activities act as educational tools that bring all participants closer as a team and help them develop problem-solving skills. By nurturing solution-generating capabilities, your team learns to communicate better, act fast in risky situations, and find creative solutions.

The virtual problem-solving activities listed in this article are excellent practices for real-life conflict resolution that can benefit everyone within an organisation.

Stefan is a Co-Founder and a President of Brosix. His many years experience as a programmer, give him an unique perspective to lead the team and build Brosix in a way to best serve the customers.

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12 Best Problem-Solving Activities for Employees, Adults and Team Building

by Dr Paul Symonds | Last updated Aug 24, 2024

if you are looking for free problem-solving activities and exercises to use in training sessions for employees, adults, or students, here are 12 that you can use below. Enjoy!

Page Contents

Benefits of Using Problem-Solving Activities When Teaching

There is no better way to teach problem-solving skills, be it for employees or students than giving them the chance to try some fun exercises that provide a hands-on opportunity to learn key techniques.

Many participants learn by doing rather than just by listening to a teacher or trainer and these fun activities help to embed learning in the participants’ minds.

12 Group Problem-Solving Activities

1. scavenger hunt.

Time needed : 1 hour

Number of Participants : 8 or more.

Items Needed :

• Print-out of items that they have to find
• Smartphone to take photos

Intention : This problem-solving activity is great for getting participants to try and solve a fun problem together. Participants will need to work together well as a team hence this activity also works great as a team-building activity, in addition to being one of the most enjoyable problem-solving activities for employees or students.

How to Run the Activity : You will need to do a little preparation ahead of the activity, the first thing being to prepare a list of the items that participants have to find and photograph during the activity.

The items can be things such as signage, a natural feature, or the front of a specific building or it can be something more random such as a blue flower, a butterfly, a water fountain or a landmark.

You will need to decide on the location and area in which the scavenger hunt will take place, i.e. it might take place in your company building or if you have a park nearby you could run the activity there (do consider the weather though and ensure it is a safe place for participants).

To start running the activity, randomly divide the teams into groups of 5 and then hand one list to each group (that details the items they must find and take a photograph of).

Give participants a set time such as 30 minutes (but you can use 45 minutes as needed) to find as many items as they can as a group.

I would suggest explaining that all 5 participants must be captured in the photo with each item, to ensure they work as a team .

At the end of the 30 minutes, all groups should return to the meeting point and then show you (the training coordinator) the photos. Then announce the winning group and, if you wish, give them a small prize.

I like to then hold a 15-minute overview discussion to ask the participants some questions for general discussion, such as about what strategies and problem-solving skills they used to find the items.

2. Shrinking Vessel

Time needed : 30 minutes.

Number of Participants : Groups of 8 can work best but you can adapt as needed.

Items Needed : Some long pieces of rope (or balls of string) and chalk to mark boundaries.

Intention : This is one of those problem-solving activities for team building that helps participants with their adaptability skills and quick thinking.

How to Run the Activity : You will need to create a large oblong space on the floor that represents the ‘vessel’ in this activity.

Use the ropes/string and if needed chalk (if you have permission to mark the floors) to create the impression of the vessel on the floor.

To start the activity itself, begin by explaining to the participants that the objective is to try and fit the team onto (into) the vessel without anyone touching or being outside of the boundaries of the vessel. The issue though is that after 3 minutes, the vessel will get smaller!

Start a stopwatch so that an alarm will go off every 3 minutes.

Now ask the team to stand inside the vessel before the 3 minutes is up.

Then after 3 minutes, the participants can step out of the marked vessel and you will reduce the size of the vessel, i.e. by moving one of the ropes/string to make the vessel space a little smaller.

The team must once again stand inside the vessel but this time in the smaller vessel.

Continue this activity, making the vessel smaller and smaller every 3 minutes.

Participants will need to use creative thinking and work well together to all fit into a shrunken vessel as it gets smaller!

3. Dumbest Idea First

Time needed : 25 minutes.

Number of Participants : 6 participants or more.

Items Needed : Paper and pens.

Intention : One of my favourite problem solving activities, this gets a lot of laughs but is also great for getting participants to think outside the box.

How to Run the Activity : Start by dividing everyone into groups of 4 or 5.

Now you need to introduce the problem they will solve, so you will need to have written down some problems beforehand. Let me give you one example problem and also some examples of dumb answers you might expect:

Give participants 15 minutes to brainstorm in their groups and to write down the dumbest and craziest ideas they can think of to solve the problem you provide them with.

Make it clear to participants that the crazier and wilder the ideas, the better. They should think outside the box.

After the 10 minutes is up, ask each group to read out the answers they have given to the problem.

As a full class, they will then select the top three dumbest answers, i.e. the three most innovative and unusual answers.

What makes this one of the best problem solving activities for employees is the fact that it is such a fun way to tackle finding a solution to a problem.

4. What Would You Do?

Time needed : 45 minutes.

Number of Participants : 5 or more participants.

Equipment Needed :

• Whiteboard and marker.
• Pieces of paper with the names of famous people (real or fictional) written on them (i.e., Michael Jordan, Prince Harry, Hilary Clinton, Lady GaGa, Madonna, Sherlock Holmes etc).

Intention : This problem solving activity offers another opportunity for participants to try and use creative thinking to work as a team and find a solution.

How to Run the Activity : Begin by dividing everyone into groups of 4 or 5 and then give each some paper and pens, and a character card (a different one for each group).

Allow each team to spend 20 minutes discussing the scenario you have given them, but remind the groups that they must try and think of solutions from the perspective of the famous person they have been given.

They need to really try and understand both the scenario and the character they have been given.

What specific skills might their character have, for example, that that person would perhaps use to address the scenario?

Ask the groups to write down their thoughts.

After the 20 minutes is complete, ask each group to read out their scenario and character name to the group, and then the ideas they came up with.

>> Problem-Solving Teaching & Training Materials

5. Legoman Activity

Number of Participants : 8 or more participants.

• Multiple sets of Lego bricks (enough for each team to have a substantial number of pieces)
• A pre-built Lego structure (kept hidden from participants)

Intention : If you are looking for fun problem-solving activities then the Legoman Activity is a great option. This activity requires strategic thinking , in addition to teamwork and communication skills.

How to Run the Activity : You are going to need to create a Lego structure beforehand and then hide this under a sheet inside the training room. Participants will need to copy the design so make the design something that can be copied but that is not too easy.

Split teams into groups of 4 (but adapt as needed according to class size and available Lego sets/pieces).

Now it’s time to explain how the activity will work to the participants:

The team (except for one person) will need to copy the pre-designed Lego structure BUT they will do so blindfolded!

The one person without a blindfold will be able to see the structure and will guide the others in her/his team to build the structure.

The chances are that the teams will not perfectly copy the structure but they should be able to get close and the trick will be the listening skills and communication skills of everyone involved.

Give teams 15 minutes to try and build the structure.

After the 15 minutes participants can take off their blindfolds and take a look at the structure they built and the one they were trying to copy. Participants might also want to take a look at the efforts of the other groups.

6. Stranded

Time needed : 60 minutes.

Number of Participants : 10+ participants.

Items Needed : A handout detailing the list of survival items.

Intention : In addition to being great in terms of problem-solving activities for team building, this also requires decision-making skills and negotiation skills.

How to Run the Activity : Explain to participants that they have to imagine that they are stuck on a desert island, completely stranded and with no clue as to when and if help will be available, so they need to survive for an indefinite amount of time.

From a list of 25 items, the teams must choose which 9 items the team would want to be washed up ashore if they had a choice.

The handout you provide to the teams will detail each of the 25 options and will include things such as dry matches, a fishing net, a machete, a large empty plastic bottle, a blanket etc.

For this activity divide everyone into teams of 5 and allow them 30 minutes to discuss, debate and decide on what items from the list you provided to them, to keep.

After the 30 minutes, bring the whole class together and ask each group to explain to the rest of the class, what items they chose and why.

7. Build a Bridge

Items Needed : Whatever materials you can provide, i.e. cardboard, masking tape, strips of rope, and small boxes. Also scissors and some heavier objects such as some heavy books. Each team will also need a ruler.

Intention : This is one of the classic problem-solving activities for adults that I love using when providing training for employees. It promotes problem-solving through teamwork.

How to Run the Activity : Before the activity starts, you will need to lay out the materials for each group in different spaces around the training room or classroom.

Start the activity by dividing everyone into teams of 4 or 5 and explain to them that, using the materials you have provided them with, they need to build a bridge that will be 50 cm long (you can adapt the length as you wish) and the bridge will need to support the heavy product (i.e. book) that you have given them.

Give teams 30 minutes to make their bridge.

After the 30 minutes, as the training facilitator you will place the book on the bridge and see if the bridge remains standing, i.e. if it is strong enough to support the heavy item.

8. Innovation Challenge

Number of Participants : 5 more more participants.

Items Needed : Whiteboard (if available), paper and pens.

Intention : This is one of the best classroom and virtual problem solving activities and also works well for teaching innovative thinking. This activity pushes participants to come up with new and interesting ideas.

How to Run the Activity : Divide everyone into teams of 4, 5 or 6 (dependent on the size of the class) and ask each team to spend 30 minutes brainstorming in their groups, working on the scenario above (or make up your own scenarios related and tailored to the company or people you are providing training for). They should write down a list of any ideas they have.

After the 30 minutes is over, teams need to spend another 30 minutes coming up with a plan, based on the ideas they wrote down.

9. Reverse Brainstorming

Time needed : 20 minutes.

Purpose : This is another of those problem solving activities that drives participants to think outside the box and find new and interesting ideas.

How to Run the Activity : You will need to prepare a challenge or issue that participants need to solve (see the example in the last activity regards a company moving to remote working) and use that as needed).

To start this activity divide participants into groups of 5 and then hand each group a copy of the scenario that they will try to solve.

Explain to participants that this is an activity with a difference in that they will focus, to start with, on creating negative ideas, i.e. ideas that make the scenario worse and not better.

So, in the example of remote working in activity 8, for example, what could we do to create even more dis-unity in the company moving to work fully as a digital company? Or how could we try to increase miscommunication online, or select virtual tools which will not help at all?

Give participants 10 minutes to work in their groups, and to write down their ideas.

This can be a lot of fun for participants because it can bring out the mischievous side but at the same time, it does use problem-solving skills and requires teamwork to discuss the ideas.

Now ask the participants to work in their groups again and to work out positive solutions to overcome each of the negative ideas they wrote down. Allow another 10 minutes for this.

At the end of the 10 minutes, ask each group to give a couple of their negative ideas and the positive ideas they used to counteract the negatives.

10. Brainwriting

Number of Participants : 5 or more.

Items Needed : writing materials and pens.

Intention : The idea of this problem-solving activity is to get all participants equally involved in coming up with ideas, whereas in other activities it is sometimes a few natural leaders who take charge.

How to Run the Activity : You will need to prepare some scenarios (although you can use the scenario from Activity 8 on this page regards a company moving to remote working only).

Now ask participants to spend 10 minutes by themselves, writing down the solutions that they can think of for the scenario you present them. They should not talk to anyone else while jotting down their own ideas.

The idea is that this is about being inclusive and making sure that everyone has an opportunity to offer ideas and be fully involved .

After the 10 minutes is complete, now have participants share their ideas with another participant.

During this exchange, the participants can add to the other person’s list, i.e. adding ideas inspired by what the other person has written. Allow 5 minutes for this.

Participants can also modify ideas on their own list, based on the inspiration from the other ideas they read and hear about.

Participants should share ideas with another participant and so on until they have shared with 4 or 5 others.

The beauty of this activity is that it helps to generate ideas without one or two very dominant employees (or students if teaching students) from taking control. In Inclusive leadership , giving a voice to every employee is essential.

11. The 5-3-1 Method

Intention : This problem solving exercise helps participants learn how to spread the net wide in terms of thinking of lots of possible solutions, and then whittling the number down to one, as a group.

How to Run the Activity : 5-3-1 is a popular problem-solving method and in this activity, we use it to get participants individually to come up with 5 ideas, then for them to join up in groups and whittle their ideas down to 3 as a group, and then finally for the class to get it down to one final idea.

To get started, provide participants with a scenario that they need to solve (use the scenario on this page in Activity 8 as needed).

Now ask participants to spend 10 minutes alone to think of their 5 possible solutions.

After the 10 minutes then put people together into groups of 4 and they must all share their ideas with each other (in their group) and together they will come up with a final list of 3 ideas.

Then bring the class back together and get each group to read out their 3 ideas and write them on a whiteboard.

Now as a full class, discuss which idea is the best and then at the end take a vote and you have the one remaining idea.

The 5-3-1 Method is very good for team decision-making and for collaborative projects.

12. Customer Journey Mapping

Number of participants : 4 or more.

Purpose : This is quite a hands-on style activity and well suited if you are teaching or providing training related to customers and marketing or customer service.

This is all about trying to understand the customer’s journey, the trust funnels and anything you can improve to solve pain points and anything that blocks a potential customer from completing a sale or purchase.

How to Run the activity : Start by dividing participants up into groups of 4 or 5 and if you have people from different departments present, mix them up.

Now ask the teams to think of the customer avatar and to write down exactly what the classic profile would be. Their interests, hobbies, age etc.

Now have the teams map out the customer journey including:

• How do they discover your business? What are the discovery points ( touch points )?
• What do you offer to build trust when they come across you?
• What pain points do you help with?
• How might our typical customer (your avatar customer) fit in with the above answers?

Is there a match or disunity between the avatar customer and what you actually offer service-wise?

To end the activity have each group share their thoughts with the rest of the class on the avatar customer they wrote down, and some of their answers to the other questions.

Problem Solving Activities

In addition to providing you with these free problem solving activities above, I just want to draw your attention to the Problem Solving skills Training materials – see below:

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Top 50 problem solving activities, games & puzzles for remote teams

Blockchain and Crypto / March 6, 2022 by admin

Here is a list of the top 50 problem solving activities, games & puzzles best suited for remote teams. Read on!

What are problem solving activities?

The success of a company or organization depends heavily on the managers’ ability to help workers develop their problem solving skills. Problem solving activities that address areas such as teamwork and cooperation, adaptability or reinforcement of decision-making strategies help.

All processes of problem solving begin with the identification of the problem. The team will then evaluate the possible course of action and select the best way to tackle it. This needs a profound understanding of your team and its core strengths.

Not only among corporates, but problem solving activities find their use in educational settings as well. Students who are good at solving problems will become much more successful than those who are not. Remote work and education are on the rise.

Enabling smooth interpersonal communication to solve problems can become a task in these situations. However, engaging all the people concerned in problem solving activities before shifting to the remote space can ease the process.

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Key skills evaluated in problem solving activities

Problem solving skills refer to the necessary thinking skills that an individual or group uses when met with a challenge. Many issues require the use of several skills; others are easy and may require only one or two skills. These are some skills that help to solve problems,

• Communication skills
• Decision-making skills
• Analytical thinking
• Negotiation skills
• Logical reasoning
• Persistence
• Lateral thinking

Problem solving skill examples

Several problems occur at the workplace. Problem solving skills can be technical problems that occur on websites or apps or addressing client concerns. Problems could be simple or complex. Business managers spend time and resources to solve problems.

They encourage their team to improve their analytical and logical abilities. Common issues in companies can be exploding data or changing technology, or financial management.

Did you know? Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in problem solving!

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Problem solving scenarios

Many problem solving scenarios occur at work. The basis to solve any problem is to evaluate and arrive at a solution. Analytical skill or problem solving ability is a skill many employers evaluate while hiring candidates.

Strong problem solving skills can be an asset to any organization. Organizations organize problem and solution activities to improve the problem solving abilities in the workplace.

1. Decision making games

Businesses are looking for new and innovative ways to stimulate their staff. Decision making games help employees to learn new skills and work effectively as a team. Decision making activities help to improve the creative problem solving and decision-making skills of the team. Here are some best Decision-making games,

1. Dumb Idea first – This game gives a hypothetical problem that could occur in your company. Ask each manager to think of the dumbest solution to the problem. After compiling the list of the ideas, the team reviews them.

You have a brainstorming session to make the “dumb ideas” feasible. This problem solving exercise underlines the importance of out-of-box thinking.

Benefits: Decision-making skill

Time duration: 10 to 15 minutes

Team size: 2 to more team managers

Material: Paper and pencil

2. Egg Drop Idea – The objective of the game is to build a container to protect the egg when dropped from a specified height using the material provided. Each team nominates a presenter who explains why the egg will survive the fall.

Once they have presented the idea, the team drops the egg to check if the idea has worked. Egg drop pyramid activities like the marshmallow challenge help teams to think on their feet.

Benefit: Decision-making skill and is a top problem solving skill example

Time duration: 15 – 30 minutes

Team size: 6 or more

Material: A cartoon of eggs, aprons to protect clothes, material for packing (cardboard, tape, elastics, plastic straws, etc.), material to clean up.

Instructions:

• Every team gets an egg and should choose from the building materials. 
• Grant everyone 20-30 minutes to build an egg carrier and guard against breaking. 
• Remove each egg carrier from a ledge (that is, over a balcony) to see which carrier prevents it from cracking. 
• If several eggs survive, continue to heighten until only one egg remains.

3. Dog, Rice, and Chicken – The dog, rice, and chicken game can be fun decision-making activities for adults. In this game, one team member plays the farmer, and the other team members are villagers who advise him. The farmer has to take three items chicken, dog, and rice across the river by boat.

There are the following constraints:- only one item can be carried on the boat. He cannot leave the chicken and dog alone because the dog will eat the chicken. He cannot leave the chicken alone with the rice because the chicken will eat the rice grains.

Benefit: creative problem solving examples that are applicable at work.

Time duration: 10-15 minutes.

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2. Teambuilding puzzle

Team building exercises are fun and creative ways to get your team to work together and improve problem solving skills.

1. Lost at Sea – In this game, you and your friends have chattered a yacht to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Since you do not have any navigation experience, you hire a captain and a two-person crew. Unfortunately, the crew and captain die when a fire breaks out on the yacht.

The yacht is severally damaged and is sinking. You and your friends have managed to save 15 items and a lifeboat. Your task is to rank the 15 items while you are waiting to be rescued. The activity lost at sea team building underlines the importance of problem solving skills in the workplace.

Benefits: Team building exercise and interaction

Time duration: 30 to 40 minutes

Team size: 4 to 6

Material: Lost in sea ranking for interaction chart for each member

2. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower – The marshmallow team-building activities have the goal of building the tallest tower as quickly as possible. To make the task more challenging the marshmallow is placed at the top of the tower. This is a fun puzzle activity for team building.

Benefit: Teambuilding puzzle

Time duration: 30 minutes

Material required: 20 sticks on raw uncooked spaghetti, a marshmallow, masking thread, and yarn of thread.

3. Go for Gold – This is an example of a marshmallow challenge similar to activities. The objective of this exercise is to create a structure using pipes, rubber tubing, and cardboard to carry a marble from point A to point B using gravity.

Benefit: team building problem solving scenario examples

Team size: Minimum 6 persons

Material required: Each member has different material

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3. Work Problem Solving

Work problem solving activities help to use the skills you used in problem solving activities in your workplace.

1. Create your own – this game aims to create a brand new problem solving activity for the organization. The team can brainstorm for 1 hour. After one hour each team has to give a presentation about their activity outlining the key benefits.

Benefit: Understanding the problem solving process. Build creativity, improve negotiation, and Decision-making skills

• When the participants arrive, you declare that they will create an original problem solving activity on their own, rather than spending an hour on an existing problem solving team-building exercise. 
• Divide members into teams and encourage them to develop a new problem solving team-building exercise that will fit well with the organization. The activity should not be one they have engaged in or heard of before.
• Every team has to show their new activity to everyone else after an hour and outline the main benefits.

2. Shrinking Vessel – make a shape on the floor using a rope where all the team members can fit. Reduce the size every 10 -15 minutes. The real challenge for the team is figuring out how to work together and keep everyone together.

Benefits: Adaptability and cognitive diversity

Material: Rope and large room

• Place on the floor a big circle of rope. Position your whole team inside the circle. 
• Lessen the circle size steadily. When it gets smaller, advise the team to keep the entire team inside the circle. Nobody must move out of the loop. See how small you can make the area until it cannot remain inside.

3. Legoman – the team is divided into groups of two or more people. Select an impartial individual who will make a structure in 10 minutes. Each team will compete to recreate it in fifteen minutes. Only one person is allowed to see the structure. They need to communicate vital parameters like color, shape, and size.

Benefits: Communication

Tools: Lego

4. What Would X Do – This problem solving activity stimulates teams to think of new ideas.

• Benefits: Instant problem solving
• Time Duration: 10-15 minutes
• Materials Required: N/A
• Let every team pretend to be someone famous. 
• Every team needs to address the issue as if they were a famous person. Which are the choices they would consider? How will they do this? 
• It helps all to consider options they may not have initially thought of.

Tip: Before you decide, a problem is worth solving, weigh the risks of solving it versus not solving it. 

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4. Team building riddles

Team building riddles are a great way to show the team group problem solving is usually more effective.

1. Barter puzzle – the team is broken into groups. Give each team a different jigsaw puzzle to solve. The groups have to complete the puzzle at the same time. The twist in the game is that some pieces of their puzzle belong to other puzzles.

The goal is to complete the puzzle before the other teams. Each group has to come with their method to convince other teams to handover the pieces they need, either by bartering pieces or donating time to the other teams. This puzzle piece team-building activity helps teams to collaborate.

Benefit: Team building and negotiating.

Material: Jigsaw puzzle for each team

Time: 30 minutes

2. Scavenger Hunt – in this game, each team has a list of the article to locate and bring back. The goal of the game is to finish the assigned list first. In the scavenger hunt, the team has a time limit to make the game more challenging. You have the flexibility of having the hunt outside or within the premises. The team-building puzzle game helps the team to look for creative solutions.

3. Escape – the goal is to solve clues and find the key to unlock the door in a limited time. Hide the key and a list of clues around the room. The team has 30 to 60 minutes to figure out the clues and unlock the door.

Benefit: Team building exercise

Material: Rope, key, lockable room, 5 to 10 puzzles

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5. Work together problems

Work together on problems helps to underline the need to collaborate while solving issues at work. Group challenge activities help the team work well together.

1. Bonding belt – each group is divided into 5 to 6 participants, who are bound together with rope or tape so that their movements are limited. The team has to reach from point A to point B, and the time is recorded. The teams collaborate to beat their previous score.

Benefits: Helps the team to collaborate and skills for problem solving scenario/

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Material: Cling film, belt, or rope

2. Scramble puzzle – the team members with blindfolds sit in a circle with the puzzle. The teammate without the blindfold sits outside the circle, with their back to the group. The blindfolded group tries to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. The outsider who has the same puzzle gives the team instructions to solve it.

Benefits: trust, leadership, and communication

Material: Preschool-level puzzles and blindfolds.

3. Flip it over – this is a classic work-together problem. In this game, 6 to 8 participants stand together on a blanket/towel/tarp. The challenge is to flip over the blanket or reverse it. The rule is that none of the participants can leave the blanket.

Benefit: Work together exercise

Duration: 30 minutes

Material: Blanket

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6. Team building survival games

Team building survival games helps to fine-tune problem solving scenarios that may occur at work. The activities encourage creative problem solving and decision making.

1. Stranded – Stranded helps in building effective communication. In this setting, the team is stranded in an office. The rooms will be locked, and doors and windows cannot be broken down. The team is asked to make a list of 10 items that they need to survive.

They need to rank items in the order of their importance. The team has to agree on the items and the order. Stranded is one of several popular survival team-building exercises.

Benefit: Team building and Decision-making exercises

• Your team is stuck inside the building. Doors are closed, so there is no option to kick down the doors or smash the windows.
• Grant the team 30 minutes to determine what ten things they need to thrive in the office and list them in order of importance.
• The goal of the game is to get everyone to agree in 30 minutes about the ten things and their ranking.

2. Minefield – you randomly place items around the room or hallway and there is no clear path from one end of the room to another. The team is divided into pairs. One team member is blindfolded, and the other team member is the guide.

The guide navigates the blindfolded person across the minefield. The two partners cannot touch. This survival team-building activity underlines the need for clear communication.

Benefits: Communication and collaborative problem solving

Duration: 10-15 minutes

Material: Blindfold, empty room or hallway, and collection of random items.

3. Frostbite – in this survival scenario team-building exercise the team is trapped in Siberia. Each team has to elect a team captain. The team has to build a storm shelter with the material provided.

The twist in the game is the team captains cannot help physically since they have frostbite. Other team members are suffering snow blindness and are blindfolded. The electric fan will be turned on in 30 minutes to see if the shelter built will survive the storm.

Benefit: Leadership, skills action plan, and team building survival games

Team size: 4 to 5 members

Material: An electric fan, blindfold, simple building materials like cardboard paper, rubber bands, toothpicks, masking tape, straws, sticky notes, etc.

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7. Group decision making games

Group decision making games help encourage creative problem solving and decision making at work. Here is a bunch of group decision making games

1. Reverse Pyramid – the team members stand in a pyramid shape. The next step is to flip the base and apex of the pyramid. The limiting factor in only three persons can move.

Benefits: Group Decision-making and collaboration

2. Tower of Hanoi – in this game, there are three towers/posts/rods with 5 or more discs arranged conical shape with the smallest shape at the top. The objective of the game is to move the entire stack to another location retaining the shape. Some conditions of the games are only one disc can be moved at a time. Only the top disc can be moved. Another rule of the game is larger disc cannot be put on a smaller disc.

Benefits: This team-building exercise helps problem solving within the participants.

3. Human Knot – the team stands in a circle every person holds hands with a person not standing next to them. When everyone is cross-connected, the aim is to untangle the structure without letting go of anybody’s hand.

Benefit: group problem solving

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8. Funny problem solving games

We need to solve problems for personal and professional lives. Funny problem solving exercises are a light way. Funny problem solving can help reduce stress levels.

1. Pencil drop – in the pencil drop challenge, one end of the pencil is tied to a pencil and the other is tied around the waist of a team member. The other team member puts the pencil into the bottle placed below. The participants are not allowed to use their hands.

Benefit: Team bonding

Team size: 2 members each

Material: Some pencil and bottle

2. Blind drawing – this game requires two players to sit back to back. One participant describes an image in front of them without giving stating anything obvious. The other participant needs to draw it using the description. The outcome can be fun.

3. Be the character – in this activity, you pretend to be an imaginary character while trying to solve a problem. This game gives a unique perspective on your solution and whether the solution is feasible for other members.

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9. Group problem solving activities for adults

Group problem solving activities are very efficient, especially for adults. These can be used in any setting to enhance problem solving skills. 

1. Human Knots

• Benefits: Communication skills, collaboration
• Time Duration: 10 – 15 minutes.

This is one of the most straightforward group problem solving activities that can be done with any group. It facilitates communication and critical thinking in the face of a challenging and complex question. Various group members will possibly suggest a variety of solutions, and each will need to be reviewed and adopted by the organization as a whole.

• Have the group stand in a small circle (make several circles when you are a larger group). Every person in the loop will hold the hands of 2 other people who are not directly next to them. That would make a messy crossed arms knot.
• Ask the group to disentangle themselves without moving their hands at any point in time. They may be unable to disentangle completely to form a circle again. Still, they would have begun to work together to solve the problem by the end of the activity.

2. Frostbite 

• Benefits: Leadership, decision-making, trust, adaptability
• Time Duration: 30 minutes.
• Materials Required: An electric fan, blindfold, simple building materials like cardboard paper, rubber bands, toothpicks, masking tape, straws, sticky notes, etc.

Your group is trapped in the barren deserts of Siberia, and a sudden winter storm is approaching. You have to create a shelter with only the materials in hand that can survive the storm’s harsh winds. The leader of your expedition was afflicted with frostbite in both hands, sadly, and all the others experience severe snow blindness.

• Divide the group into clusters of 4-5. Every group will have to elect a chief. 
• Group leaders are not allowed to use their hands to support the group in any way, and group members should be blindfolded during the exercise. 
• The groups have 30 minutes to build a small tent structure that can withstand the wind from the fan’s highest location. 

3. Dumbest Idea First

• Benefits: Critical thinking, creative problem solving, quick problem solving
• Time Duration: 15 – 20 minutes
• Materials Required: Pen or pencil, a piece of paper.

Dumbest Idea First is one of the most creative problem solving activities for groups. This can encourage your creativity by thinking out of the box and lead you to ideas that would typically sound too insane to work. You can broaden the possibilities by looking at these crazy solutions first, and find potential alternatives that might not be as obvious.

• Present your team with a question. It could be a real-world dilemma facing the group, or it could be a created scenario. For example, your company attempts to beat a rival to win a high-paying customer contract, but the customer bends to your competitors. You have a short period before they make the final decision to change their mind.
• With the given question, advise your group to come up with the dumbest ideas to tackle the issue. Anything can be written down. 
• After each person has put forward a few ideas, go through the list, and analyze each plan to see which are the most feasible. List them from the highest level of feasibility to the lowest level.  

4. Wool Web 

• Benefits: Leadership, communication
• Time Duration: 30 minutes
• Materials Required: Some balls of yarn.

As hard as replicating the magnitude of the real-world problems is, that is no excuse not to try! Wool web creates a dilemma that appears complicated at first, but groups will learn to break down complicated challenges into solvable problems one move at a time.

This happens by using the right strategy and working together. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most stimulating problem solving activities for adults.

• Split the group into similarly large teams. Every time, it receives a yarn ball. 
• Tell each team to turn the yarn ball into a vast web. Give them around 5-10 minutes to do this. When done, rotate all the teams so that every team is on a yarn web they have not set up. 
• Every group must choose one person to untangle the web. That individual would be blindfolded and be guided by the rest of the team on how to unwind the web using only verbal instructions. The first team to achieve it wins the game.

5. Tallest Tower 

• Benefits: Creative thinking, collaboration
• Materials Required: 1 bag of marshmallows, one packet of uncooked spaghetti.

Simple building projects can help group members create strategies to overcome box issues. Tallest Tower is another one of the most creative problem solving activities. Groups will compete with only two materials to make the tallest tower in a fixed period.

• Divide the group into two, which have an equal number of players. Provide 20 – 30 uncooked spaghetti noodles and 3-4 marshmallows to every team. 
• Groups must compete in the provided period to build the tallest tower using only the materials supplied. A marshmallow has to be set at the top of the tower.

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10. Problem solving activities for students

Below is a bunch of problem solving activities for students and kids,

1. Brainstorm Bonanza – Brainstorm Bonanza is one of the best problem solving activities for students. As a teacher, making your students create lists relevant to something you are teaching at the moment can be a fantastic way to help them expand their knowledge of a subject when learning to solve problems.

• Benefits: Problem solving
• Materials Required: Pen and paper

1. If you are discussing a real, current, or fictional occurrence that did not work out well, let your students imagine ways that the protagonist or participants might have produced a better, more favorable result.

2. They can brainstorm independently or in groups. 

2. Clue Me In – this is one of the most enjoyable problem solving games. It facilitates logical thinking and cognitive development.

• Benefits: Cognitive development, logical thinking
• Time Duration: 20 minutes
• Materials Required: A bag, clues, items as necessary
• Select a collection of things relating to a specific occupation, social phenomenon, historical incident, object, etc.
• Assemble individual objects (or pictures of things) commonly linked to the target response.
• Place all of them in a bag (five-10 clues ought to be enough).
• Then, have a student reach into the bag and take out clues one by one.
• Select a minimum number of clues to draw before they make their first guess (two-three).
• After that, the student should guess, pulling each clue until they think it is right.
• See how quickly the student can solve the riddle.

3. Survivor Scenario – Create a hypothetical situation that allows students to think creatively to make it through. One example may be being stuck on an island, realizing that three days of help would not come.

The community has a small amount of food and water and has to establish shelter from the island’s objects. This would undoubtedly be one of the fascinating problem solving activities for students.

• Benefits: Logical thinking, collaboration
• Encourage working together as a group.
• Listen to each student who has an idea about making it safe and secure across the three days.

4. Moral Dilemmas – Create several potential moral dilemmas that your students can face in life, write down, and place each object in a bowl or container. These things may include items like, “I’ve seen a good friend of mine shoplifting. What is it that I would do?” or “The cashier gave me an additional $1.50 in change after I purchased candy from the shop. What is it that I would do?”

• Benefits: Logical thinking
• Time Duration: 5 minutes per student
• Materials Required: Container, bits of paper with moral dilemmas written
• Ask every student to draw an item from the bag one after the other and read it aloud. 
• They must then tell the class the response on the spot as to how they would handle the situation.

5. Problem solving box – this is an activity that will help on both cognitive and emotional levels for students. 

• Benefits: Logical thinking, decision making
• Materials Required: Box, paper, pen
• Have your students design and decorate a medium-sized box with a top slot. Name it as the “Problem Solving Box.”
• Invite students to write down anonymously and apply any concerns or problems they may have at school or at home, which they do not appear to be able to work out on their own.
• Let a student draw one of the things from the box once or twice a week, and read it aloud.
• Finally, as a group, let the class work out the best way students can approach the problem and eventually solve it.

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11. Problem solving activities for kids

Below is a bunch of problem solving activities for kids,

1. Puzzle-solving – Solving puzzles is one of the best problem solving activities for kids out there. Essentially, every puzzle is a big collection of muddled-up items to figure out and bring back together again.

Kids must be introduced to puzzles with regularity. These are useful for improving skills in reasoning. The best kinds to choose from are wooden puzzles with a wooden frame. They last long, and the structure serves as the foundation to direct children during construction. 

• Benefits: Reasoning skills
• Time Duration: Varies
• Materials Required: Puzzles according to the age level

Instructions: 

• Show the kids a demo of how a particular puzzle can be solved. 
• Then, let them choose a puzzle of their liking from the available choices. 
• Ask them to solve their chosen puzzles. 

2. Memory Games – Memory games will improve memory and attention to detail for your child. 

• Benefits: Attention to detail
• Materials Required: Matching pairs of images
• Using matching pairs of images and turn them all face down, shuffled, on a table.
• Take turns to pick any two cards, and face them on the table.
• You hold the cards if you turn over a similar pair, and if the pair does not match, turn the cards over before it is your turn to try again. 
• A teacher/parent must encourage the kids to concentrate on where the pictures are, and seek to find a matching pair on each turn.

3. Building games – Construction toys like building blocks, wooden blocks, or legos should be a staple in a kid’s home every day. Playing with them is one of the most fun problem solving activities for kids. Anything that your child builds is a challenge as it involves thinking about what to create and how to put together the parts to get a workable and usable design. 

• Benefits: Decision making
• Materials Required: Construction toys.

1. Let your child build a challenge openly and often, and ask him/her to build a particular structure, with conditions. For instance:

• Create two towers with a bridge that connects them.  
• Create a creature that stands alone and has three arms.

2. Observe how your child uses trial-and-error before finding a way to bring the idea into motion.

4. Tic-Tac-Toe – this is an excellent game for teaching decision-making skills. It encourages kids to think before they act and weigh the potential consequences. 

• Materials Required: Pencil, paper
• Draw a simple tic-tac-toe table on paper or chalkboard.
• Take turns to add a nought or a cross to the table to see who is the first to make a line of three.
• Your kid will likely catch on in no time before placing their symbol and start thinking carefully.
• Coloured counters or different items can be used to play this game as well.

5. Building a Maze – This activity is fun and fits for any age. It will also be a lot more enjoyable than doing a maze in an activity book, particularly for younger kids. 

• Materials Required: Chalk
• Draw a big maze with jumbo chalk on the paving. Make passages, including one or two, which end in an impasse. Teach your kid how to get out of it.  
• Make the maze more complicated and add more dead-end passages as your child gets better at figuring out a path and finding the way out.

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What is a problem solving process?

When a team or person faces an issue or obstacle, it can be tempting to quickly track a potential solution and set up a fast fix. This could happen without understanding the complexity of the problem and pursuing a systematic approach to seeking a solution.

The attempts to address issues or obstacles may become unstructured and frustrating without a consistent method. End-to-end processes for problem solving offer a mechanism for a community to tackle any size or nature, and see results. Problem solving activities for adults, kids, and students can help make the problem solving process very useful.

Army problem solving process

There are 7 steps to problem solving army model,

• Recognize and define the problem – The first step army problem solving process is defining the problem precisely and determining the root cause.
• Gather facts and make assumptions – You need to gather all information you have at your disposal. Common resources for information may be documentation and policies. Assumptions are unsubstantiated facts. Use facts rather than assumptions when you need to analyze the scope of the problem.
• Generate alternatives – One of the key steps in military problem solving is finding ways to solve the problem. Ideally, it best to have multiple approaches to solve the problem. Take input from peers and subordinates if possible.
• Analyze possible solutions – Analyze each possible solution with advantages and disadvantages. You evaluate each solution according to screening and feasibility criteria. Reject the solution when it fails in the screening process.
• Compare Alternatives – Another crucial step in the army problem solving model is to evaluate alternatives for cost and benefits. You need to consider your experience and immediate future. Tabulating each solution with the pros and cons will help clear the picture.
• Make an executive your decision – Make a decision and prepare an action plan, and put it in motion.
• Assess the result – You need to monitor the implementation of the plan and modify it if required. Establishing critical steps and milestones will help to ensure success.

Army problem solving games

• Capture the flag – the game helps in team building and army problem solving. Two teams compete against one another to retrieve a flag or object from the opposing team camp base and get into their camp base. This game is flexible, and ground rules need to be set before the game starts.
• Paintball – Paintball is a fun military problem solving activity. You can have many modifications and variations of the paintball game. The aim is to fire paint pellets at the opposing team. Laser tag is another variation of the game.
• Firing blind – Firing blind is a game where each team has a large number of water balloons. At the other end of the field has to hit the target is protected by a tarp from direct firing. The team has to hit the target that is covered. One team member acts as the observer and directs the team to hit the target with the water balloons.

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Obstacles to problem solving

Problem solving can take time and patience, one of the best ways to solve any problem is pausing and evaluating the problem. Obstacles to problem solving are,

• Misdiagnosis – Misdiagnosis is a common problem can occur due to preconceived idea, biases or judgments. Defining and having a concrete understanding of the problem is the first step in the problem solving activity. This can be difficult. If you are not careful, you may spend your time and resources solving the wrong problem and finding the wrong solution.
• Communication bias – Communication barriers are caused when we are unable to explain the problem to the team, or presuming we know more than everyone else. Everyone on the team must be on the same page. You may need to acknowledge you have a limited understanding of the problem.
• Solution bias – A common obstacle in problem solving is thinking there may be a universal solution or thinking the same solution can solve multiple problems. You need to evaluate a problem independently than try to force-fit a solution that worked previously.
• Cognitive bias – One of the barriers to finding an effective solution is cognitive bias, or the tendency to jump to conclusions. To find solutions fast firms often end up with an irrelevant solution. This may cause more problems down the line.
• Lack of empathy – Every problem is associated with human emotions or abilities. It is important to identify and recognize people affected by the problem or it will be difficult to find a solution that will solve help.

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Famous virtual problem solving software

Traditionally watercoolers chat is a great way to bring people together and help team members interact with one another. A virtual water cooler has a similar concept where people interact in a similar virtual setting or a dedicated virtual room. It allows remote teams to bond. Software that offers virtual water coolers services,

• unremot.com – provides users with a unique water cooler experience. The app provides unique solutions to remote teams.
• Microsoft Teams
• Informal Whatsapp group
• Donut over slack channels

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14 Best Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities For 2024

The best teams see solutions where others see problems. A great company culture is built around a collaborative spirit and the type of unity it takes to find answers to the big business questions.

So how can you get team members working together?

How can you develop a mentality that will help them overcome obstacles they have yet to encounter?

One of the best ways to improve your teams’ problem solving skills is through team building problem solving activities .

“86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.” — Bit.AI

These activities can simulate true-to-life scenarios they’ll find themselves in, or the scenarios can call on your employees or coworkers to dig deep and get creative in a more general sense.

The truth is, on a day-to-day basis, you have to prepare for the unexpected. It just happens that team building activities help with that, but are so fun that they don’t have to feel like work ( consider how you don’t even feel like you’re working out when you’re playing your favorite sport or doing an exercise you actually enjoy! )

What are the benefits of group problem-solving activities?

The benefits of group problem-solving activities for team building include:

• Better communication
• Improved collaboration and teamwork
• More flexible thinking
• Faster problem-solving
• Better proactivity and decision making

Without further ado, check out this list of the 14 best team-building problem-solving group activities for 2024!

Page Contents (Click To Jump)

Popular Problem Solving Activities

1. virtual team challenge.

Virtual Team Challenges are popular problem-solving activities that involve a group of people working together to solve an issue. The challenge generally involves members of the team brainstorming, discussing, and creating solutions for a given problem.

Participants work both individually and collaboratively to come up with ideas and strategies that will help them reach their goals.

Why this is a fun problem-solving activity: Participants can interact and communicate with each other in a virtual environment while simultaneously engaging with the problem-solving activities. This makes it an enjoyable experience that allows people to use their creative thinking skills, build team spirit, and gain valuable insights into the issue at hand.

Problem-solving activities such as Virtual Team Challenges offer a great way for teams to come together, collaborate, and develop creative solutions to complex problems.

2. Problem-Solving Templates

Problem-Solving Templates are popular problem-solving activities that involve a group of people working together to solve an issue. The challenge generally involves members of the team utilizing pre-made templates and creating solutions for a given problem with the help of visual aids.

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey.

Why this is a fun problem-solving activity: Problem-Solving Templates offer teams an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing. The visual aids that come with the templates help team members better understand the issue at hand and easily come up with solutions together.

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey, as it provides an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing.

Problem Solving Group Activities & Games For Team Building

3. coworker feud, “it’s all fun and games”.

Coworker Feud is a twist on the classic Family Feud game show! This multiple rapid round game keeps the action flowing and the questions going. You can choose from a variety of customizations, including picking the teams yourself, randomized teams, custom themes, and custom rounds.

Best for: Hybrid teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Coworker Feud comes with digital game materials, a digital buzzer, an expert host, and a zoom link to get the participants ready for action! Teams compete with each other to correctly answer the survey questions. At the end of the game, the team with the most competitive answers is declared the winner of the Feud.

How to get started:

• Sign up for Coworker Feud
• Break into teams of 4 to 10 people
• Get the competitive juices flowing and let the games begin!

Learn more here: Coworker Feud

4. Crack The Case

“who’s a bad mamma jamma”.

Crack The Case is a classic WhoDoneIt game that forces employees to depend on their collective wit to stop a deadly murderer dead in his tracks! Remote employees and office commuters can join forces to end this crime spree.

Best for: Remote teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: The Virtual Clue Murder Mystery is an online problem solving activity that uses a proprietary videoconferencing platform to offer the chance for employees and coworkers to study case files, analyze clues, and race to find the motive, the method, and the individual behind the murder of Neil Davidson.

• Get a custom quote here
• Download the app
• Let the mystery-solving collaboration begin!

Learn more here: Crack The Case

5. Catch Meme If You Can

“can’t touch this”.

Purposefully created to enhance leadership skills and team bonding , Catch Meme If You Can is a hybrid between a scavenger hunt and an escape room . Teammates join together to search for clues, solve riddles, and get out — just in time!

Best for: Small teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Catch Meme If You Can is an adventure with a backstory. Each team has to submit their answer to the puzzle in order to continue to the next part of the sequence. May the best team escape!

• The teams will be given instructions and the full storyline
• Teams will be split into a handful of people each
• The moderator will kick off the action!

Learn more here: Catch Meme If You Can

6. Puzzle Games

“just something to puzzle over”.

Puzzle Games is the fresh trivia game to test your employees and blow their minds with puzzles, jokes , and fun facts!

Best for: In-person teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Eight mini brain teaser and trivia style games include word puzzles, name that nonsense, name that tune, and much more. Plus, the points each team earns will go towards planting trees in the precious ecosystems and forests of Uganda

• Get a free consultation for your team
• Get a custom designed invitation for your members
• Use the game link
• Dedicated support will help your team enjoy Puzzle Games to the fullest!

Learn more here: Puzzle Games

7. Virtual Code Break

“for virtual teams”.

Virtual Code Break is a virtual team building activity designed for remote participants around the globe. Using a smart video conferencing solution, virtual teams compete against each other to complete challenges, answer trivia questions, and solve brain-busters!

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Virtual Code Break can be played by groups as small as 4 people all the way up to more than 1,000 people at once. However, every team will improve their communication and problem-solving skills as they race against the clock and depend on each other’s strengths to win!

• Reach out for a free consultation to align the needs of your team
• An event facilitator will be assigned to handle all of the set-up and logistics
• They will also provide you with logins and a play-by-play of what to expect
• Sign into the Outback video conferencing platform and join your pre-assigned team
• Lastly, let the games begin!

Learn more here: Virtual Code Break

8. Stranded

“survivor: office edition”.

Stranded is the perfect scenario-based problem solving group activity. The doors of the office are locked and obviously your team can’t just knock them down or break the windows.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Your team has less than half an hour to choose 10 items around the office that will help them survive. They then rank the items in order of importance. It’s a bit like the classic game of being lost at sea without a lifeboat.

• Get everyone together in the office
• Lock the doors
• Let them start working together to plan their survival

Learn more here: Stranded

9. Letting Go Game

“for conscious healing”.

The Letting Go Game is a game of meditation and mindfulness training for helping teammates thrive under pressure and reduce stress in the process. The tasks of the Letting Go Game boost resiliency, attentiveness, and collaboration.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Expert-guided activities and awareness exercises encourage team members to think altruistically and demonstrate acts of kindness. Between yoga, face painting, and fun photography, your employees or coworkers will have more than enough to keep them laughing and growing together with this mindfulness activity!

• Reach out for a free consultation
• A guide will then help lead the exercises
• Let the funny videos, pictures, and playing begin!

Learn more here: Letting Go Game

10. Wild Goose Chase

“city time”.

Wild Goose Chase is the creative problem solving activity that will take teams all around your city and bring them together as a group! This scavenger hunt works for teams as small as 10 up to groups of over 5000 people.

Best for: Large teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: As employees and group members are coming back to the office, there are going to be times that they’re itching to get outside. Wild Goose Chase is the perfect excuse to satisfy the desire to go out-of-office every now and then. Plus, having things to look at and see around the city will get employees talking in ways they never have before.

• Download the Outback app to access the Wild Goose Chase
• Take photos and videos from around the city
• The most successful team at completing challenges on time is the champ!

Learn more here: Wild Goose Chase

11. Human Knot

“for a knotty good time”.

The Human Knot is one of the best icebreaker team building activities! In fact, there’s a decent chance you played it in grade school. It’s fun, silly, and best of all — free!

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: Participants start in a circle and connect hands with two other people in the group to form a human knot. The team then has to work together and focus on clear communication to unravel the human knot by maneuvering their way out of this hands-on conundrum. But there’s a catch — they can’t let go of each other’s hands in this team building exercise.

• Form a circle
• Tell each person to grab a random hand until all hands are holding another
• They can’t hold anyone’s hand who is directly next to them
• Now they have to get to untangling
• If the chain breaks before everyone is untangled, they have to start over again

Learn more here: Human Knot

12. What Would You Do?

“because it’s fun to imagine”.

What Would You Do? Is the hypothetical question game that gets your team talking and brainstorming about what they’d do in a variety of fun, intriguing, and sometimes, whacky scenarios.

Best for: Distributed teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: After employees or coworkers start talking about their What Would You Do? responses, they won’t be able to stop. That’s what makes this such an incredible team building activity . For example, you could ask questions like “If you could live forever, what would you do with your time?” or “If you never had to sleep, what would you do?”

• In addition to hypothetical questions, you could also give teammates some optional answers to get them started
• After that, let them do the talking — then they’ll be laughing and thinking and dreaming, too!

13. Crossing The River

“quite the conundrum”.

Crossing The River is a river-crossing challenge with one correct answer. Your team gets five essential elements — a chicken, a fox, a rowboat, a woman, and a bag of corn. You see, the woman has a bit of a problem, you tell them. She has to get the fox, the bag of corn, and the chicken to the other side of the river as efficiently as possible.

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: She has a rowboat, but it can only carry her and one other item at a time. She cannot leave the chicken and the fox alone — for obvious reasons. And she can’t leave the chicken with the corn because it will gobble it right up. So the question for your team is how does the woman get all five elements to the other side of the river safely in this fun activity?

• Form teams of 2 to 5 people
• Each team has to solve the imaginary riddle
• Just make sure that each group understands that the rowboat can only carry one animal and one item at a time; the fox and chicken can’t be alone; and the bag of corn and the chicken cannot be left alone
• Give the verbal instructions for getting everything over to the other side

14. End-Hunger Games

“philanthropic fun”.

Does anything bond people quite like acts of kindness and compassion? The End-Hunger Games will get your team to rally around solving the serious problem of hunger.

Best for: Medium-sized teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Teams join forces to complete challenges based around non-perishable food items in the End-Hunger Games. Groups can range in size from 25 to more than 2000 people, who will all work together to collect food for the local food bank.

• Split into teams and compete to earn boxes and cans of non-perishable food
• Each team attempts to build the most impressive food item construction
• Donate all of the non-perishable foods to a local food bank

Learn more here: End-Hunger Games

People Also Ask These Questions About Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities

Q: what are some problem solving group activities.

• A: Some problem solving group activities can include riddles, egg drop, reverse pyramid, tallest tower, trivia, and other moderator-led activities.

Q: What kind of skills do group problem solving activities & games improve?

• A: Group problem solving activities and games improve collaboration, leadership, and communication skills.

Q: What are problem solving based team building activities & games?

• A: Problem solving based team building activities and games are activities that challenge teams to work together in order to complete them.

Q: What are some fun free problem solving games for groups?

• A: Some fun free problem solving games for groups are kinesthetic puzzles like the human knot game, which you can read more about in this article. You can also use all sorts of random items like whiteboards, straws, building blocks, sticky notes, blindfolds, rubber bands, and legos to invent a game that will get the whole team involved.

Q: How do I choose the most effective problem solving exercise for my team?

• A: The most effective problem solving exercise for your team is one that will challenge them to be their best selves and expand their creative thinking.

Q: How do I know if my group problem solving activity was successful?

• A: In the short-term, you’ll know if your group problem solving activity was successful because your team will bond over it; however, that should also translate to more productivity in the mid to long-term.

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11 Problem Solving Activities That Will Blow Your Mind!

  Problem solving activities is a vital skill in the professional world, but many new graduates lack this skill.

Team building problem-solving activities offer a fun and interactive way to develop problem-solving skills while creating a stronger team.

Whether in-person or virtual, these activities provide an opportunity for teams to enhance their problem-solving skills and collaboration.

List of In-Person / Virtual Problem Solving Activities

Key takeaways.

• Problem-solving activities for team building are essential in developing problem-solving skills and creating a stronger team.
• Both in-person and virtual options are available for team building problem-solving activities.
• In-person activities include the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge, Egg Drop, Clue Murder Mystery, Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower, Corporate Escape Room , Wild Goose Chase, Face-2-Face Feud, Reverse Pyramid, Move it.
• Virtual activities include Virtual Escape Room: Mummy’s Curse, Virtual Clue Murder Mystery, Jewel Heist, and Virtual Trivia Time Machine.
• Each activity offers a unique challenge that requires teamwork and problem-solving skills.

In-Person Team Building Activities to Solve Problems

In-person team building problem-solving activities are a great way to strengthen your work group while developing crucial problem-solving skills.

These activities offer a hands-on and interactive approach to team building .

They allow participants to work together towards a common goal. Below are 11 engaging in-person activities that will challenge your team’s problem-solving abilities:

In-person team building problem-solving activities offer a fantastic opportunity to enhance problem-solving skills and foster collaboration among team members.

Here are 8 exciting activities that will challenge and engage your work group:

• Cardboard Boat Building Challenge:  Teams will design and construct a functional boat using only cardboard and tape. The objective is to create a boat that can float and navigate through water without sinking.
• Egg Drop:  Participants will create a protective casing for an egg using limited materials like newspapers, straws, tape, and balloons. The challenge is to prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a height.
• Clue Murder Mystery:  Teams will work together to solve a murder mystery by deciphering clues and identifying the culprit, motive, and means. This activity tests participants’ problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.
• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower:  The goal is to build the tallest freestanding tower using marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti, tape, and string. This activity promotes teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving.
• Corporate Escape Room:  Participants must collaborate to solve puzzles and uncover clues that will help them escape a locked room. This activity encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and quick thinking under pressure.
• Wild Goose Chase:  Teams will embark on a smartphone-based scavenger hunt, completing challenges and riddles in the city. This activity fosters problem-solving, communication, and teamwork.
• Team Pursuit:  Teams compete in a series of challenges that require problem-solving, teamwork, and communication. The objective is to accumulate points by successfully completing each challenge.
• Family Feud: Teams face off in a wild, yet friendly and funny game of revealing top surveys.  Questions can be customized specifically to your group. This activity requires problem-solving, communication, and coordination.

1. Cardboard Boat Building Challenge

Teams are tasked with designing and constructing a functional boat using only cardboard and tape.

The challenge lies in creating a boat that can sail across water without sinking.

This activity requires creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to engineer a sturdy and seaworthy vessel.

This activity not only fosters collaboration and teamwork but also encourages participants to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions.

It requires teams to analyze the principles of buoyancy, weight distribution, and structural integrity to design a boat that can support their team members.

Throughout the process, participants will face challenges and setbacks, but these obstacles provide valuable learning experiences and opportunities for growth.

The Importance of the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge

The Cardboard Boat Building Challenge offers several benefits for teams in the workplace.

Firstly, it promotes effective communication and collaboration as team members brainstorm ideas, delegate tasks, and work together towards a common goal.

Also, this activity enhances problem-solving skills as participants encounter unexpected obstacles and devise creative solutions.

By engaging in the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge, teams also develop resilience and adaptability.

They learn to embrace failure as a stepping stone towards success and understand the importance of persistence and continuous improvement.

This activity fosters a positive team culture, encouraging individuals to support and motivate each other throughout the challenge.

Overall, the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge is a fun and interactive team-building activity that not only strengthens bonds among team members but also cultivates essential problem-solving and communication skills.

It provides a memorable and engaging experience that can be applied in a professional setting, helping teams become more effective, innovative, and collaborative.

2. Egg Drop

The Egg Drop activity is a challenging and engaging team-building exercise that tests creativity, problem-solving skills, and collaboration.

Teams are given the task of designing a contraption that can protect an egg from a fall using limited materials.

With only items such as newspapers, straws, tape, and balloons at their disposal, teams must think quickly and strategically to build a casing that can withstand a drop without breaking the egg.

This activity not only promotes critical thinking and innovation but also encourages effective communication and teamwork.

Teams must work together to brainstorm ideas, share their knowledge and expertise, and come up with the best possible solution.

It requires a combination of individual creativity and collective effort to design and construct a successful contraption.

By participating in the Egg Drop activity, teams learn valuable lessons about problem-solving under pressure, thinking outside the box, and the importance of collaboration.

It provides a fun and interactive way for team members to bond and develop their problem-solving skills while facing a common challenge.

The Egg Drop is an exciting team-building activity that will leave participants feeling accomplished and motivated to overcome future obstacles together.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

3. Clue Murder Mystery

Teams become detectives in a thrilling murder mystery scenario.

By gathering clues, analyzing evidence, and working together, participants must solve the mystery by identifying the culprit, motive, and means.

This activity requires critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication to crack the case.

the Clue Murder Mystery is a popular choice. In this interactive and engaging activity, teams must put their problem-solving skills to the test as they work together to solve a murder.

By gathering clues, analyzing evidence, and collaborating effectively, teams can uncover the truth and identify the culprit, motive, and means.

This activity not only fosters critical thinking and problem-solving abilities but also promotes teamwork and communication.

Participants must work together to share information, brainstorm ideas, and piece together the puzzle.

The Clue Murder Mystery is a thrilling and challenging experience that will keep teams engaged and motivated while honing their problem-solving skills.

“The Clue Murder Mystery activity requires teams to think critically and collaborate effectively to solve the mystery and uncover the truth.”

5 Benefits of the Clue Murder Mystery Activity

• Promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Fosters teamwork and collaboration
• Enhances communication and information sharing
• Provides a thrilling and engaging experience
• Promotes creativity and analytical thinking

Overall, the Clue Murder Mystery activity is an excellent choice for in-person team building problem-solving activities.

It challenges teams to think critically, work together, and communicate effectively while having fun and solving a thrilling mystery.

By participating in this activity, teams can develop and enhance their problem-solving skills, which are essential for success in the professional world.

4. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower is a popular team-building activity that encourages collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

In this activity, teams are tasked with building the tallest freestanding tower using only marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti, tape, and string.

The challenge lies in constructing a stable structure within a given timeframe.

This interactive exercise promotes teamwork as team members must work together to brainstorm ideas, share perspectives, and delegate tasks.

It requires critical thinking skills as participants analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different tower designs.

Additionally, the activity encourages creativity as teams experiment with different techniques to construct a sturdy tower.

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activity is not only a fun and engaging team-building exercise but also serves as a metaphor for problem-solving in the workplace.

It highlights the importance of strong communication, adaptability, and resourcefulness when facing challenges.

By participating in this activity, teams can develop their problem-solving skills while strengthening their bonds and fostering a collaborative environment.

Example of a Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower:

In the example above, Team C built the tallest tower, standing at 32 inches.

This showcases the competitive nature of the activity and the determination of each team to excel.

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activity not only fosters healthy competition but also reinforces the importance of teamwork and problem-solving skills in achieving success.

5.  Wild Goose Chase

The Wild Goose Chase is an exciting and interactive team-building activity that combines the thrill of a scavenger hunt with the power of problem-solving and teamwork.

In this smartphone-based adventure, teams explore the city and complete challenges by taking photos and videos.

It’s a thrilling race against time as teams navigate their way through a series of clues, collecting points along the way.

Engaging in the Wild Goose Chase activity not only promotes problem-solving skills but also enhances communication and collaboration within teams.

The challenges require teams to think creatively and work together to come up with innovative solutions.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for team members to showcase their individual strengths and contribute to the collective success of the team.

The Wild Goose Chase is a versatile activity that can be customized to fit different team sizes and goals.

Whether it’s a small team bonding exercise or a large-scale company-wide event, this interactive game is sure to leave a lasting impression.

So gear up, grab your smartphones, and get ready for a thrilling adventure that will take your team to new heights!

“The Wild Goose Chase activity was both challenging and fun. It brought our team closer together and forced us to think outside the box. We had a great time exploring the city and completing the various challenges. Highly recommended!” – Participant from ABC Company

Get ready to embark on an adventure like no other with the Wild Goose Chase!

This team-building activity will not only strengthen your problem-solving skills but also foster collaboration and camaraderie within your team.

So, put on your thinking caps, keep your eyes peeled, and prepare for an unforgettable experience that will leave you with memories to cherish.

Benefits of the Wild Goose Chase:

• Promotes problem-solving skills
• Enhances communication and collaboration
• Encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking
• Builds camaraderie and teamwork

So why wait? Plan your Wild Goose Chase adventure today and watch your team bond, laugh, and conquer challenges together!

6.  Reverse Pyramid

The Reverse Pyramid activity is a fun and challenging team-building exercise that requires problem-solving and communication skills.

In this activity, teams are tasked with rearranging themselves from a pyramid shape horizontally, by flipping the base and the apex using only three movements.

It may sound simple, but it requires strategic planning, coordination, and effective communication among team members.

By participating in the Reverse Pyramid activity, teams can strengthen their problem-solving abilities and learn to work together more efficiently.

This exercise encourages creative thinking as teams explore different strategies to achieve their goal.

It also fosters collaboration and trust, as team members rely on each other’s input and support to successfully complete the task.

Through the Reverse Pyramid activity, participants develop their communication skills by effectively conveying ideas, coordinating movements, and adapting to changes in the team’s plan.

It promotes a sense of unity and camaraderie as teams celebrate their accomplishments together.

This activity can be adapted for various group sizes and is suitable for in-person team building events.

Benefits of the Reverse Pyramid Activity:

• Encourages creative thinking
• Fosters collaboration and teamwork
• Develops effective communication
• Builds trust and unity within the team

Overall, the Reverse Pyramid activity is an engaging and effective way to enhance problem-solving abilities and strengthen team dynamics.

It provides an opportunity for team members to work together towards a common goal, while also having fun and building stronger connections with one another.

Incorporating this activity into a team building event can lead to improved problem-solving skills and a more cohesive and productive team.

7.  Move It!

As a team-building activity, Move It! requires two teams to navigate specific movement restrictions and switch places.

This dynamic challenge promotes teamwork, decision-making, and adaptability.

The objective is to communicate, strategize, and problem-solve effectively to achieve a successful switch.

The activity tests the team’s ability to think on their feet and work together seamlessly.

Move It! encourages teams to work collaboratively and find innovative solutions to overcome the restrictions imposed.

By embracing open communication and actively seeking out strategies, teams can optimize their chances of a successful switch.

This exercise fosters a sense of unity and camaraderie, as team members learn to rely on each other’s strengths and support one another.

With its emphasis on teamwork, decision-making, and adaptability, Move It! cultivates essential skills that are vital in the professional world.

By participating in this activity, teams can enhance their problem-solving abilities, learn to make quick and effective decisions, and develop their capacity to adapt to changing circumstances.

Ultimately, Move It! provides a fun and engaging experience that strengthens team dynamics and encourages growth.

8.  Face to Face Feud

Looking for a  fun and interactive office game idea  for team building? Consider adapting the  classic game show Family Feud !

This game encourages communication, collaboration, and friendly competition among team members.

How to Set up Family Feud Style Game for the Office

To set up Feud  for the office, you’ll need to:

• Divide your team into two groups
• Hire a facilitator  to read the questions and keep track of points
• Create a list of questions related to your workplace or industry
• Create a survey to gather responses for each question from your team members
• Display the game board and prepare buzzers for each team

Once the game is set up, it’s time to play!

Teams take turns answering survey questions and earning points for the right answers.

The team with the most points at the end of the rounds wins the grand prize.

3 Main Benefits of Face-2-Face Feud

Face-2-Face Feud is a great game for team building because it:

• Encourages communication and collaboration among team members
• Promotes friendly competition and team bonding
• Allows team members to share their knowledge and insights with each other
• Builds team momentum and boosts morale

Basically, playing this game played in the office is just a fun and engaging way to build stronger teams  and enhance team morale.

Virtual Team Building Problem Solving Activities | Top 3

Virtual team building problem solving activities are an effective way to enhance collaboration and problem-solving skills for remote teams.

These activities provide an opportunity for team members to work together and tackle challenges in a virtual environment.

Here are five engaging virtual problem-solving activities that can transform your work group:

1.  Virtual Escape Room: Mummy’s Curse

In this virtual escape room, team members must solve puzzles and unravel the mystery of the Mummy’s Curse to successfully escape.

It requires critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication to work together and solve the challenges within a given time limit.

Team members will need to utilize their creativity and collaborate effectively to crack codes, decipher clues, and escape the room.

This activity fosters teamwork and encourages participants to think outside the box.

2.  Virtual Escape Room: Jewel Heist

In this virtual escape room scenario, teams are tasked with planning and executing a daring jewel heist.

Participants must work together to solve puzzles, decipher codes, and navigate through a virtual environment to successfully complete the mission.

This activity encourages problem-solving, teamwork, and effective communication as team members collaborate to achieve their common goal.

It’s an immersive and engaging way to enhance problem-solving skills in a virtual setting.

3.  Virtual Trivia Time Machine

The virtual trivia time machine is an interactive activity that combines problem-solving and general knowledge.

Teams travel through time, answering trivia questions and solving puzzles from different historical periods.

By working together, participants can pool their knowledge, brainstorm solutions, and strategize to win the game.

This activity fosters collaboration, critical thinking, and effective communication while having fun in a virtual team environment.

Frequently Asked Questions – Problem Solving Activities

frequently asked questions

What are some problem-solving activities for team building?

Some problem-solving activities for team building include the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge, Egg Drop, Clue Murder Mystery, Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower,

Corporate Escape Room, Wild Goose Chase, Reverse Pyramid, CI: The Crime Investigators, and Team Pursuit.

Are there virtual problem-solving activities for remote teams?

Yes, there are virtual problem-solving activities for remote teams. Some examples include Virtual Escape Room: Mummy’s Curse,

Virtual Clue Murder Mystery, Virtual Escape Room: Jewel Heist, Virtual Code Break, and Virtual Trivia Time Machine.

What is the Cardboard Boat Building Challenge?

The Cardboard Boat Building Challenge is an in-person team building activity where teams create a functional boat using only cardboard and tape.

Teams must work together to engineer a boat that can float and sail across water without sinking.

How does the Egg Drop activity work?

The Egg Drop activity challenges teams to design a contraption that can protect an egg from a fall using limited materials.

Teams must think quickly and creatively to build a casing for the egg using items such as newspapers, straws, tape, and balloons.

What is the Clue Murder Mystery activity?

In the Clue Murder Mystery activity, teams must solve a murder by identifying the culprit, motive, and means.

This activity requires problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and collaboration.

How does the Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activity work?

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activity promotes collaboration and problem-solving skills.

Teams must work together to build the tallest tower possible using only marshmallows, uncooked spaghetti, tape, and string.

What is the Corporate Escape Room activity?

The Corporate Escape Room activity immerses teams in a scenario where they must solve puzzles and decipher clues to escape a locked room.

Participants must collaborate, think critically, and use problem-solving skills to work through challenges and find the key to their escape.

How does the Wild Goose Chase activity work?

The Wild Goose Chase is a smartphone-based scavenger hunt activity where teams complete challenges by taking photos and videos in the city.

This activity requires problem-solving, communication, and teamwork as teams work together to complete fun challenges.

What is the Lost at Sea activity?

Lost at Sea is an in-person activity that simulates being stranded in a lifeboat with limited supplies.

Teams must work together to rank survival items in order of importance, making decisions under pressure.

This activity tests problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate and make tough choices in a high-stakes situation.

How does the Reverse Pyramid activity work?

The Reverse Pyramid activity challenges teams to rearrange themselves from a pyramid shape horizontally.

The goal is to flip the base and the apex of the pyramid using only three movements.

This quick and fun team-building activity promotes problem-solving and communication skills.

How does the Move It! activity work?

Move It! is a team-building activity where two teams must switch places while following specific movement restrictions.

Teams must communicate, strategize, and problem-solve to successfully switch places. This activity promotes teamwork, decision-making, and adaptability.

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Written by Lisa Lawrence

November 14, 2023, events & game shows, recent posts.

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Problem Solving Activities

All the Problem Solving Activities on this page help you and your group collaboratively tackle seemingly impossible issues.

If you are looking to build consensus around a difficult problem it is likely a tool or process on this page can help you.

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25 Team Building Problem Solving Activities

25 problem solving team building activities.

While we are in lockdown (transition to or from) and acclimating to virtual life, these activities will engender trust, create strong bonds, and improve the problem solving abilities of everyone that plays them!

Benefits of Team Building Problem Solving Activities

Problem solving skills are one of the most essential components of a competent workplace. When we attempt to solve problems within a group, we need strong communication skills, adaptability, and collaborative clarity. The team building activities in this list house a smattering of interactive and creative approaches that can help foster these skills in any healthy team. 

Scavenger Hunt

Embarking on a cityHUNT Scavenger Hunt is a thrilling team-building activity designed to enhance problem-solving skills, creativity, and communication. The goal is for each team to navigate a list of items and bring them all back within a set time frame, with the first team to return winning. The experience begins with a Discovery Call to tailor the event to your needs, followed by detailed planning and preparation. On the event day, teams use our state-of-the-art mobile app or receive full support from our Adventure Guides to explore the city, solve riddles, and complete tasks, all while earning points and fostering collaboration.

This cityHUNT Scavenger Hunt not only breaks up the workday with outdoor fun but also promotes critical thinking and effective teamwork. The activity’s customizable nature ensures it fits your team’s unique dynamics and objectives. Post-event, participants can relive the excitement through photos and videos shared in a thank-you email. Book your Discovery Call today and discover why cityHUNT is a top choice for enhancing team dynamics and creating lasting memories.

This cityHunt Scavenger Hunt is a fantastic way to get your group problem solving together!

Making decisions isn’t always easy, but the inability to make decisions can stagnate a team and lead to thought paralysis. Decision-making team-building activities, like the Egg Drop, help your staff make quick and effective choices, often relying on their gut instinct, which is usually spot on.

For the Egg Drop challenge, gather a carton of eggs and various construction materials such as newspaper, tape, and rubber bands. Head to the parking lot or any outdoor space with a safe ledge or platform. Divide your team into smaller groups and give each team an egg and the same set of materials. Set a timer for twenty minutes and let each team design and build their egg carrier. Once the time is up, take turns dropping the eggs from the ledge to see whose design can protect the egg from breaking. Continue this process until only one egg remains unbroken. Afterward, discuss the decision-making strategies and thought processes behind each team’s design, highlighting what worked and what didn’t. This activity not only encourages creativity and quick thinking but also fosters teamwork and problem-solving skills.

A Shrinking Vessel

Adaptability is a crucial aspect of effective problem-solving, enabling teams to navigate shifting needs and unexpected challenges with agility. Teams that excel in adapting on the fly can solve problems more efficiently and innovate even in the midst of a crisis. The “Shrinking Vessel” activity is designed to enhance these skills by putting your team’s adaptability to the test.

To set up the activity, lay a piece of rope or string on the floor to form a large shape that your team can comfortably fit within, such as a circle or rectangle. Over a period of fifteen minutes, gradually reduce the size of the shape by moving the rope or string inward. The challenge for the team is to work together to adjust and stay within the ever-decreasing boundaries. This requires continuous real-time communication and collaboration as team members must strategize and reposition themselves to ensure everyone remains within the shrinking space. The exercise emphasizes the importance of adaptability and quick decision-making, helping teams develop the flexibility needed to thrive under pressure and respond effectively to changing circumstances.

Virtual Team Building 

Remote work can present unique challenges, especially for teams that are accustomed to in-person interactions. Adapting to this new way of working can be daunting, but virtual team building offers a wealth of opportunities to foster connection and collaboration. The virtual world is brimming with engaging activities designed to bring teams together, even when they’re miles apart.

There’s no shortage of virtual team-building options that can be seamlessly integrated into your remote work routine. Virtual scavenger hunts, game shows, trivia competitions, and various team-based challenges can all be conducted via popular virtual conferencing platforms. These activities are not only fun but also serve as effective tools for problem-solving and strengthening team dynamics. For instance, virtual scavenger hunts can be tailored to include items or tasks that are relevant to your team’s interests or current projects, encouraging collaboration and creativity. By leveraging these virtual tools, teams can enjoy interactive and rewarding experiences that help bridge the gap created by physical distance, making remote work both productive and enjoyable.

Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower challenge might sound like a recipe for chaos, but it’s actually a fantastic exercise in collaboration and creative problem-solving. The goal isn’t to cook anything—just to use dry spaghetti noodles, marshmallows, and a few optional extras like tape and string to build the tallest and most stable tower possible.

This activity underscores the importance of teamwork and innovation. To start, divide your group into teams and provide each with a set of materials: dry spaghetti noodles, marshmallows, and, if you choose, tape and string. Set a specific timeframe for the challenge—typically 20 to 30 minutes is ideal. The teams must strategize and work together to design and construct their towers using only the materials provided. The catch is that the tower must be free-standing and able to support itself without collapsing.

As the teams work, they’ll need to communicate effectively, make quick decisions, and adapt their strategies based on what’s working and what isn’t. This process of trial and error fosters collaboration and encourages creative thinking. At the end of the allotted time, measure the height of each tower to determine the winner.

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower exercise not only brings out the competitive spirit but also demonstrates how effective teamwork can lead to innovative solutions and impressive results. It’s a fun and engaging way to build trust and cooperation among team members, proving that with the right mix of creativity and collaboration, even the simplest materials can lead to extraordinary achievements.

Dumbest Idea First

What’s more fun than a dumb idea? For this game, encourage your team to unify and quickly think of the dumbest ideas they can to solve a specific problem. Once accomplished, consult the list and flesh out the ideas that aren’t actually dumb so you can serve up a good solution to your problem. You might find that these so-called “dumb” ideas are actually fairly creative and host some original solutions!

This game helps everyone build strong communication standards and enhances the foundations of decision-making among your employees. It’s imperative that your teams learn proper communication strategies, especially when it comes to problem solving. In our remote-work world, communication skills are extremely important to mitigate frustrations and smooth the channels that lead to impactful problem solving.

To play Stranded:

• Your team is stranded in the office!
• The doors and windows are locked and cannot be opened.
• Give your team half an hour so they can choose up to ten items necessary to survive.
• Rank their ten items in order of necessity.
• The goal of this game is that at the end, each team member of each team will agree on the ten items needed and their ranked order, coming to a conclusion that will rescue them from being stranded.

End in Mind

The “End in Mind” activity is a dynamic problem-solving exercise designed to help your team approach projects from a unique perspective. By starting with the end result and working backward, this activity encourages strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.

Here’s how it works: Begin by defining the final goal or outcome of a project. Present this end result to your team first, then provide a series of milestones, deadlines, and steps in reverse order. The challenge is for the team to piece together these elements to construct a coherent plan that leads from the final goal back to the initial starting point.

The reverse order of the milestones forces team members to consider how each step contributes to achieving the end result. This method encourages them to think critically about each component’s role in the project, identify potential obstacles, and develop innovative solutions to ensure all pieces fit together seamlessly. By analyzing the project in reverse, teams gain a deeper understanding of the dependencies and sequences needed for successful completion.

The “End in Mind” activity not only sharpens problem-solving skills but also enhances strategic planning and foresight. It’s a valuable exercise for developing a comprehensive view of how complex projects come together and for honing the ability to anticipate and address challenges before they arise.

Legoman is an engaging team-building activity that leverages the nostalgia of childhood toys to improve communication and collaboration within your team. This exercise challenges participants to work together, translate verbal instructions into action, and build a shared understanding.

To start, divide your team into small groups of two to three people each. Select a person who is not part of any team to create a random Lego structure within a set time limit of ten minutes. This person will build the model out of sight from the other participants.

Once the structure is complete, each team is given the same ten-minute timeframe to replicate the model. However, there’s a twist: only one member of each team can view the original Lego construct. This person must describe the model to their team without directly showing it, relying solely on their ability to communicate details clearly and accurately. The rest of the team listens and interprets the description to assemble the structure as closely as possible to the original.

This activity highlights the importance of effective communication and listening skills, as well as the need for clear and concise instructions. It challenges team members to collaborate and problem-solve in real-time, fostering a deeper understanding of how well they work together and how they can improve their communication strategies. By using a familiar and playful medium like Legos, the exercise makes learning these essential skills enjoyable and memorable.

This fun game enhances collaboration amongst your staff. Utilizing clues and tools, they will attempt to unlock a room within a given time frame. You will need a room that you can (safely) lock, a key for that room, rope, and a set of puzzles and/or clues.

The basic idea of this game is to solve all the clues presented and find the key so that they can unlock the room. Hide the key somewhere in the room, and make sure that the list of clues and puzzles that lead to the key are solvable and not too obtuse. Once your team is ready to go, you can give your team a time limit to complete the activity.

This game truly shows why team building is important!

Let’s take a break from the communication problem solving activities and play a game that requires decision making and adaptability. To play Frostbite, you will need an electric fan, some card stock/sticky notes/rubber bands, and a blindfold.

Your team is out on an exploration of the arctic. Separate them into groups of about four or five people, and have them choose a leader for the adventure. Your teams need to construct shelters that will protect them from an oncoming storm front that will ruin them in thirty minutes. Like the name of the game, your team leaders are suffering from frostbite, and the rest of the team is blinded because of the snow. Using the provided materials, team leaders and team members must rely on one another to build shelters that can endure the “high winds” when the storm hits (the electric fan). When the time comes, turn on the fan and see whose shelter can weather the storm!

This is another fun adaptability game that encourages collaboration and communication among your staff. To play this game you will need at least one item that can “mark” a space, such as tape, paper, chalk, etc.

• Divide the group into two teams, and align these teams so that they’re facing one another. 
• Using your space marking item, label an area for each person to stand in.
• Make sure you leave some space between the rows of people facing each other.
• To solve the objective, have the two lines of facing team members swap places.

Caveats: Only one person can move at once, moving backward isn’t allowed, a person can only move around the people from the other team one at a time, and a person can’t move around anyone if they’re both facing the same direction.

It’s tough! 

What Would X Do

Is your team stagnating on new ideas? This problem solving activity might stimulate your staff toward innovation.

In order to play What Would X Do, allow your teams to pretend to be someone famous. As a famous person, address an issue at hand. Have them ask themselves, what might they do in this particular situation? What might they consider? What choices would they make? This helps your team consider things in a new light.

Bonding Belt 

For this game, divide your groups into five participants, binding them together with tape or rope in order to limit their movements. You want the teams to go from designated Point A to Point B, and make sure you record the time. Each team will work together in order to beat their previous scores. 

To play Minefield, we are going to place items around the room in a randomized fashion so that the path from one side to the other is properly occluded and confusing. Divide up your team. Blindfold one team and have the other team serve as the guides.

The guide team then navigates the blindfolded team through the minefield, being certain that players don’t touch (any players that touch are out!). This is a team building activity of trust and survival, one that requires concise communication and collaborative problem solving.

Reverse Pyramid

Direct your team to stand together in the shape of a pyramid. What you want to do here is “flip” the base and apex of the pyramid, limiting who can move to only two or three people. Your team will want to work together in order to flip the pyramid successfully, and this game works as a great communicative device that will need a lot of proper decision making. 

The Human Knot is a dynamic and engaging team-building activity that focuses on enhancing group coordination, communication, and problem-solving skills. This classic game is not only fun but also a powerful tool for fostering teamwork and developing collaborative strategies.

To begin, gather your team and instruct them to form a circle. Each participant should reach across the circle to grab the hand of someone who is not directly next to them, ensuring that everyone is connected. Once all members are linked, the challenge is to untangle the knot without releasing anyone’s hands. The group must work together to maneuver and twist their bodies to gradually unravel the knot and restore the circle.

The Human Knot exercise encourages participants to communicate clearly and strategize collectively. As they work through the physical and spatial challenges of untangling themselves, team members must discuss and agree on the best approach to achieve the goal. This requires a high level of cooperation and flexibility, as well as the ability to listen to and incorporate ideas from all team members.

Throughout the activity, team members will learn about the importance of coordination and the value of each person’s input in solving complex problems. The exercise also highlights how diverse perspectives and teamwork can lead to successful outcomes, even in seemingly difficult situations.

Dog, Rice, and Chicken

This is a fun, silly problem solving activity that might help your adult staff cut loose. Direct one team member to play the role of the farmer, and the other team members are the villagers that advise them. The farmer will get three items: a dog, some rice, and a chicken, which they take across a river via boat.

You may have played this game before, or maybe you’re aware of the narrative device: only one item can be taken across at a time, and there are limits. The dog will eat the chicken. The chicken will eat the rice. Your team will have to work together to figure out how to properly bring everything across the river.

Crack The Case

Have you ever played a classic murder mystery group game? These virtual “Whodunnits” force employees to work collectively to crack a case or solve a murder. Remote games are super fun, and everyone from commuters to remote workers to in-house staff can play together.

Virtual Clue Murder Mystery Games use video conferencing platforms and apps to let coworkers solve cases together. They can study case files, look over clues, and work together to parse out motive, method, and everything else behind classic mysteries. It’s a great time.

What Would You Do

This hypothetical question game will favor communication and brainstorming efforts by gathering your team together for a problem solving activity that is intriguing and silly. This game works by asking absurd questions and getting thoughtful answers. 

For example, you could ask someone “If you didn’t have to breathe, what would you do?” or “If you never had to eat, what would you accomplish?” Your hypothetical questions should be fairly optional and open, and they need to get your team talking. Try to come up with an inventive, fun list that garnishes thoughtful responses.

Can You Tell What I Changed?

This great communication-based problem solving activity doesn’t take too long and is fun for everybody. To play it, divvy up your team into groups and have them face each other in a line. Observe the individuals standing across from one another, giving them a minute or so to look. Then have them close their eyes.

Instruct the other line of people to make a bunch of quick changes to their appearances. They can put their hair up or down, take off their jackets, turn out their ties, and whatever else they might come up with in that short period of time. Have the other group open their eyes and identify each change as quickly as they can. Play this game as many times as you want, making it more and more complicated.

This is a fun problem solving activity that makes a great team icebreaker or just a quick break from office work.

Organizational Jenga

Organizational Jenga is a thought-provoking team-building activity designed to illustrate the importance of various departments within a company and how each role contributes to the overall stability of the organization. This game uses the familiar mechanics of Jenga to highlight the interdependence of different teams and the impact of removing key elements from the structure.

To set up the game, you’ll need a Jenga set or some similar blocks, each labeled to represent different departments or roles within your organization, such as HR, management, IT, support staff, and so on. Ensure the number of blocks for each department corresponds to the actual composition of your office.

Divide your team into small groups, giving each group an equal number of labeled blocks. Provide guidelines for the structure they must build, such as specific dimensions or shapes, and set a time limit for the construction phase. Once the structures are built, begin removing blocks in a manner similar to traditional Jenga, challenging the teams to maintain their structure’s stability as pieces are taken away.

This activity is more than just a physical challenge; it serves as a powerful metaphor for organizational dynamics. As blocks are removed, teams will see firsthand how the absence of certain roles or departments can destabilize the entire structure. This emphasizes the critical importance of each role within the company and the potential consequences of losing any individual team member.

Web of Wools

For this game, divide your team up into equal parts. Have your team form up a “web of wools,” one that should be as intricate as they can manage. Using yarn or string, your teams should entangle themselves together. Then switch the teams up so that everyone has a different web. Have one team member on each side be blindfolded and attempt to untangle each web only by the provided instruction of the other team members. Whoever does it first is the winner! 

This is a fairly difficult game that can come with its own unique frustrations. The blindfolded person will have to balance their own preferences and instincts with the instructions of their teammates. This is a great team building activity that balances communication with problem solving.

The Barter Puzzle

The Barter Puzzle is an insightful team-building exercise that challenges your groups to perform under pressure while honing their negotiation and communication skills. This activity is designed to highlight how well teams can collaborate, negotiate, and delegate tasks to achieve a common goal.

To begin, divide your participants into teams of about five people each. Provide each team with a jigsaw puzzle of varying complexity, but with a twist: the puzzle pieces are mixed among all the teams, meaning no single team has all the pieces needed to complete their puzzle. The objective is for one team to be the first to complete their puzzle, but this can only be achieved through negotiation and bartering with the other teams to acquire the missing pieces.

Teams must strategize and communicate effectively to determine which pieces they have and which ones they need. They’ll need to negotiate with other teams to trade puzzle pieces, assign roles within their team, and make decisions about how to best use their resources. It’s crucial that teams work together and avoid having individuals work independently, as the collaborative nature of the task is key to solving the puzzle efficiently.

This activity is a practical way to observe and assess several important skills: negotiation tactics, communication effectiveness, and the ability to function under pressure. It reveals which teams excel at strategizing and working cooperatively, and which may need to improve their communication and negotiation strategies. The Barter Puzzle is not only a fun and engaging challenge but also a valuable exercise in understanding and enhancing team dynamics.

Create your own

This is a unique version of the above games. The point of this game is for the team to brainstorm and come up with their own problem solving activity that is unique to your business and supports your values, ideals, and needs. By conquering this team building game, your team will build creativity and decision making skills.

Give them an hour to craft a team building exercise that is based on problem solving. Divide your staff into teams where they will be encouraged to develop new exercises that fit into your organization. The exercises should be unique, fun, and engaging. Then, have each team show off their created activities to everyone else. Have the others show the pros and cons of the created activities, and discuss how they came to the idea and what the benefits are.

No matter what you decide to play, we are certain that there are enough ideas on this list to get your group up and problem solving together! These team building activities are such a great way to get your team to communicate and negotiate, and best of all these games will bring your staff together during this tumultuous time. Problem solving is one of the backbones of any successful, growing business, and these games are sure to be celebrated by your staff for years.

If you’re looking for ways to bond beyond the rigors of the office, consider these virtual happy hour ideas that will bring your staff together in a relaxing way.

Related Resources

Team Building Activities Sacramento

Scavenger Ideas for Adults

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas 

Fun Employee Engagement & Team Building Activities

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Social Mettle

Adequately Intriguing Group Problem Solving Activities for Adults

Problem solving is one of the most basic skills to learn, be it in the professional or personal context. There are numerous problem-solving activities you can adopt and hone this skill thus.

The fact is that any situation, function, activity (and whatever other context you can think of) will have the emerging of problems at one point or the other in its course. Nothing can function smoothly from beginning to end. In that way, problems are a natural part of life, no matter what context they are placed under. The most effective thing to do therefore, is to develop the skills of problem solving. An innate understanding of how to tackle any problem head on will give one the confidence that no matter what situation they find themselves in, they have the capacity to come out of the same.

Learning the varied skills of problem solving especially helps in the professional world because one is required to work in a group for the sake of a bigger goal. While there are several ways in which problem-solving tactics can be learned, in this article we will focus on some of the most effective group problem-solving activities for adults.

Problem Solving Group Games

Why group games? For the simple reason that there is nothing quite as effective as games, to get one to learn the basics of problem solving. When you put it in the form of games, it takes the pressure off ‘learning’ something. You enjoy playing it instead and learn in the process. It’s as simple as that.

Blind Man’s Web

This game requires a lot of concentration, the ability to instruct correctly and to not crumble under pressure. Divide the group into teams of equal members. Provide them with a ball of wool that they have to use to create a web. Ask the teams to make the web in the designated area provided for them, without using any tapes or the like. Once the teams are done creating their individual webs, switch the teams into a different web so that the difficulty level increases.

Blindfold one member of the team and let him at the web, while his team members have to give him instructions on how to go about solving the web and retrieving the line of wool as is. Give them a calculated amount of time for solving this one. The team that manages to solve the web first, wins.

The No-Crack Egg

Divide the group into teams of equal numbers. Provide each of these teams with materials like straws, newspapers, cello tape, string, cardboard material and 1 raw egg. The objective of the game is to prepare an egg cover using the items provided, such that when the egg is thrown from a height of 15 feet, it should not crack.

Let’s Round Up

Divide the group into teams with equal members. Ask each team to stand in a circle. Now ask them to extend their right hand and grab hold of the right hand of another member in the team. Once everyone has done that, ask them to do the same with their left hand. When the group is all tied up like so, give them a time of 10-15 minutes in which they have to free themselves and form a circle again. The only condition? They can’t let go of their hands while they are doing that. A person needs to keep a watch on everyone while they are doing the exercise. If anyone’s hand slips out, the team is disqualified. The team that manages to free themselves and form a circle first, wins.

List of To-Dos

A take on the scavenger hunt game, this one provides for a whole lot of entertainment while bringing the skills of problem solving into the picture. The group is divided into teams and they are provided a list of to-do activities that they have to solve to get to the big prize. These activities are a mix of both – simple and tough. List activities like solving a puzzle, writing a poem on a particular theme, physical activities like retrieving a packet from the company lobby, drinking 5 glasses of milk, etc. This activity requires for continued levels of motivation to last throughout the course of the exercise. The team that manages to stay motivated and work through the tension and adrenaline rush to complete all the activities, wins.

Situational Skit

Write down a couple of situations that deal with everyday events. It could be any simple situation like dealing with an incompetent salesperson or dealing with an irate customer over the phone – anything that is challenging. Write in as many characters in the situation as possible. Divide the people in groups and then ask each group to pick out chits. Each group is given a calculated time to prepare a skit based on the situation. A panel of judges will judge the best act. This activity requires tremendous planning skills and the ability to handle a stressful situation.

Balloon Relay

The group is divided into teams of equal members. Each team is provided with a number of deflated balloons, water, water guns and an empty bucket. The objective of the game is that some members fill the balloons with water and then throw it over to their team members (who are standing at a calculated distance from them). They have to catch the balloons and put it in the bucket. It might seem to be a very simple game, but there will be that time until the team learns just how much water to fill in the balloon, how to throw it and the best technique to catch it so that the balloon doesn’t burst. The team that manages to learn and follow this will have less bursting of balloons and a higher chance of winning.

Duplicating Blocks

This is a simple problem-solving activity and one that most of us have played in our childhood. Divide the group into teams and provide them with building blocks and a model that they have to duplicate in a given time frame. The team that manages to do that first, wins. Keep the difficulty level high for more effect. The key is to be able to work with so many people giving so many instructions all together.

Group problem-solving activities can be of several kinds, and depending on the group that you’re dealing with, you can choose some that will suit the group in question in the best possible manner.

Leaving the fun quotient aside, these games truly help develop the required skills for problem solving.

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