Corporate events in Vaughan have the risk of running on the dry side, even if your company is known for its fun work environment. The problem arises when staff and management aren’t feeling completely comfortable mingling together.
It’s tough to let down your “business casual” guard and let loose when a job is on the line. Work parties are more enjoyable when everybody relaxes enough to have fun. That’s where playing party games becomes a great ice breaker and equalizer.
At Château Le Jardin, we host one of the most luxurious and well-equipped venues for corporate events in Vaughan. With years of experience working with staff from a variety of industries, we’ve seen some pretty unique party games. We’d love to share a few of our favourites to help your next event kick-off without a hitch. Here are the best party games for corporate events.
Get to Know Each Other with Truth or Lie
Normally, telling lies is a faux pas at a social gathering, but with Truth or Lie, it’s the aim of the game. This is an excellent way to help everyone get to know each other and to shake off the corporate stiffness. Each participant receives a piece of paper and a pen. You can also choose to do it all from memory without the paper. Everyone writes down two truths and one lie about themselves. An example could be:
Truth – I’ve worked with this company for 15-years.
Truth – When I was 5, I met Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music.
Lie – I have a dog named Daisy.
Using a mundane lie and one far-out truth helps add to the confusion. Take turns guessing, which is the truth and which is the lie. There’s no winners or losers, just lots of laughs and tons of fun.
Work on Eye Contact with Death Wink
One of the strongest tools in any corporate arsenal is the rapport you build with staff and customers. A great exercise for working on eye contact, while having fun is Death Wink. While the name sounds a bit dicey, the game itself is an absolute blast. To begin with, slips of paper are made for everyone involved. Each piece has a “v” for the victim, except two. One of the two is marked with a “d,” the other an “m,” for the detective and murderer.
As you play, each player looks around the room, making eye contact with others. If a player is winked at by the murderer, they “die.” The detective seeks out the murderer by watching who dies and trying to see who winked. This is an excellent game because there’s no time limit. You can play as long or as short a game as you like, rotating papers to share the role of murderer and detective.
Get Cognitive with Name the Tune
There are a few ways to play this fun musical game. In one version, the group is split into teams of 2-4, depending on the number of participants. Each group has a piece of paper and a pen. A clip of a popular song from the past 2-3 decades is played sans lyrics.
Each team chats amongst themselves to decide if they know the tune and writes an answer on the page. This continues, and whichever team got the most right at the end, wins! Another way to play uses just a clip of the original songs, lyrics included. Usually, the clip doesn’t include the chorus or the most well-known verse of the song to throw off participants.
This is great for team building, concentration, and brain-teasing. It’s also a good ice breaker if you choose to pair teammates from different departments who have yet to get to know each other.
Get Closer with Guess the Guest
Once you’ve done introductions, a fun way to work on remembering names is Guess the Guest. This game requires you to write the name of each party guest on a slip of paper. These are shaken up and placed into a bag, basket, hat, etc. Each guest then pulls out a slip of paper. Going around the room counter-clockwise, you must try to help your colleagues guess whose name you have on your slip of paper without using their actual name. Examples of descriptions could be:
- This person wears glasses and always has a ponytail.
- This person works in accounting and has the best taste in shoes.
- This person is in management, drives a Volvo, and always wear striped ties.
If your staff weren’t familiar with each other before the game, they certainly would be afterwards.
Get Silly with Corporate Charades
There’s a reason why charades have remained the “old faithful” throughout decades of party games — it’s always a blast. Whether you choose to have everybody writes a clue on the spot or you make them up beforehand, try to stick with a theme within your industry or workplace. You could use a colleague’s name, a department in the office, a tool you use daily.
For example, if somebody got the photocopier, they could mime scanning a document, getting frustrated with the copier getting stuck and ripping up the original. If they pulled the name of someone known for their strut in the office, you could mimic the walk, stopping to shake hands on the way.
As long as everything stays professional and lighthearted, this game is wonderful for loosening up and getting the party rolling.
For more fun ideas for your next corporate event, call Chateau Le Jardin at 1-888-517-0682, or contact us here.
