In our experience at FocusU, when we ask participants at the start of a team-building workshop, “When was the last time you truly played?”, the room often goes silent.
For many adults, “play” has become an afterthought – something relegated to childhood, or squeezed into rare vacations. The statistics echo this reality: Over 50% of adults report that they seldom engage in play, citing a lack of time, stress, or feeling that play is simply not “productive” enough.
And yet, when you observe high-performing teams, there’s something unmistakable about them:
They know how to play together. They collaborate effortlessly, trust deeply, innovate freely – and often, they genuinely enjoy working with one another.
Coincidence? We don’t think so. And that’s why we firmly believe – and have seen firsthand – that games are not just fun diversions during team building. They are powerful, intentional tools for growth, connection, and performance.
Related Reading: 26 Fun Outdoor Experiential Team Building Activities
Why Games? The Science Behind Learning Through Play
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To understand why games are so central to team-building activities, we need to revisit a fundamental truth: Learning by doing is a natural, powerful human instinct.
In his book Understanding How People Learn, David G. Reay describes learning as an innate human process – something we’re wired for, not something that needs to be forced.
Think about how a toddler learns. A child doesn’t learn how to fit a square peg into a square hole by attending a lecture. They experiment, fail, adjust, and try again – until the lesson clicks.
In our experience, adults are no different. The only problem? Over time, formal education and rigid work environments have trained us to associate learning with passive experiences: listening to lectures, reading manuals, watching PowerPoints.
But real, lasting learning? That happens when multiple senses – sight, touch, emotion, action – are engaged. It happens when learning feels alive.
This is where games shine.
As the saying goes: “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand.”
Related Reading: 5 Steps for using Experiential Learning with Power of Play
The Experiential Learning Advantage
Research from the National Training Laboratory (USA) shows that:
| Method of Learning | Retention Rate |
| Lecture | 5% |
| Reading | 10% |
| Audio-Visual | 20% |
| Demonstration | 30% |
| Group Discussion | 50% |
| Practice by Doing | 75% |
| Teaching Others | 90% |
Notice where Practice by Doing stands?
In our team-building workshops, we have consistently seen that when participants engage in games, simulations, and experiential activities, their retention of lessons skyrockets.
Games don’t just deliver information. They immerse people in it.
Related Reading: Why Experiential Learning?
Games Help Overcome Barriers to Learning
If learning is natural, why does it feel so hard sometimes – especially at work?
Here’s what we’ve observed as common barriers to workplace learning:
- Lack of motivation
- Fear of failure
- Negative past experiences
- Low self-esteem
- Rigid self-image (“I’m not creative” or “I’m bad at teamwork”)
- Cognitive overload and stress
Here’s where games come in as an elegant solution:
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Games lower defenses:
In a game, participants focus on the challenge at hand, not on protecting their egos. Playfulness disarms self-consciousness.
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Games boost motivation:
Winning, achieving, solving — games naturally trigger our dopamine pathways, keeping us energized and curious.
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Games normalize failure:
In a game, failing is expected — even fun. It reframes mistakes as part of learning, not something shameful.
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Games tap into intrinsic skills:
Unlike traditional lectures, games don’t rely heavily on memorization. They leverage problem-solving, collaboration, agility – abilities that are often buried under workplace formality.
In short:
Games help people learn not because they lower standards, but because they lower the barriers that keep people stuck.
Related Reading: Why PLAY Works!
Games Build Teams, Not Just Skills
Another reason games are so central to team-building? They build human connection.
When people collaborate in a game:
- Hierarchies dissolve.
- Hidden talents emerge.
- Laughter becomes a shared language.
- Vulnerabilities are shared safely.
- Trust is built, one playful moment at a time.
In our workshops, we’ve seen introverted engineers blossom during a problem-solving challenge. We’ve watched senior leaders let down their guard during a simple (but hilariously competitive) relay race. We’ve seen cross-functional teams bond over shared victories – and more importantly, shared failures.
As Plato wisely said: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
Workplaces aren’t transformed by policies alone. They are transformed by relationships. And games, when done thoughtfully, accelerate the building of those relationships.
Why Games Work (Even for “Serious” Teams)
Some leaders initially resist games, worrying:
“Our team is too serious for this.”
“Won’t it feel juvenile?”
“Will it really lead to measurable impact?”
In our experience, the answer is simple: It’s not about the game. It’s about the design.
When games are chosen and facilitated well:
- They tie back to real-world challenges (communication, collaboration, problem-solving, innovation).
- They surface insights that lectures cannot.
- They create safe spaces for difficult conversations (conflict styles, leadership dynamics, etc.).
- They link directly to business outcomes (team cohesion, faster decision-making, resilience).
The laughter and energy you see are not distractions. They are signs of deep engagement – the fertile ground where true learning and transformation happen.
From Games to Growth: How to Maximize Impact
If you’re considering team-building games, here are some principles we always keep in mind (and encourage our clients to think about too):
1. Always Connect to the Why
Every game must tie to a broader learning objective:
- Are we building trust?
- Practicing communication under pressure?
- Learning about leadership styles?
- Strengthening collaboration across silos?
When participants understand the “why,” the learning sticks.
2. Facilitate Reflection, Not Just Activity
Games are fun. But growth happens in the debrief.
- What worked in the game?
- What broke down?
- How did individual styles show up?
- What parallels do we see with our real work?
In our experience, the richest insights emerge when participants connect the dots between the play space and the workplace.
3. Design for Inclusivity
Not everyone enjoys highly physical games. Not everyone shines in purely verbal tasks. Great team-building designs ensure:
- Multiple intelligences are tapped (physical, emotional, analytical, creative).
- No one feels excluded because of ability, language, or style.
Psychological safety starts with thoughtful design.
4. Focus on the Journey, Not Just the Score
Winning is fun, but the deeper goal is shared experiences. We encourage teams to celebrate:
- Creativity in approach.
- Risk-taking.
- Supporting each other.
- Reflecting honestly.
Because in real-world teams, these skills matter far more than “winning.”
Final Thoughts: Play Isn’t a Luxury. It’s a Leadership Strategy.
In today’s fast-changing, high-pressure workplaces, teams are expected to be:
- More agile
- More innovative
- More collaborative
- More resilient
In our experience, one of the most underrated ways to build these capabilities is simple: Help your people play – purposefully.
Play creates safety. Safety breeds trust. Trust unlocks risk-taking. Risk-taking fuels growth and innovation.
It’s a virtuous cycle. And it often starts with something as simple – and profound – as a game.
So the next time you wonder, “Why do all team-building activities involve games?” remember:
It’s not about escaping work. It’s about building better ways to work together.
Because when teams learn to play together, they also learn to #BeMore together.
