33 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: September 30, 2025

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

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. 

1. Cardboard Boat Building Challenge

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 team building problem-solving like having to make sure you don’t sink into the water!

2. Egg Drop

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 
• Straws
• Tape
• Plastic wrap
• Balloons
• Rubber bands
• Popsicle sticks
• Tarps
• Feathers
• 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. 

3. Clue Murder Mystery

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.

4. Blindfold Build

Imagine having to build something when you can’t even see it. In this team building problem solving activity, one partner slips on a blindfold while the other becomes their eyes. Whether it’s stacking cups into a pyramid, arranging Lego blocks, or balancing objects in a line, the only way through is sharp instructions and steady nerves.

Here’s what makes this interesting:

• The builder has to rely entirely on their partner’s verbal guidance
• The guide has to be specific, calm, and crystal clear (“move your left hand two inches” becomes a lifeline)
• Teams swap roles so everyone feels both the pressure of the blindfold and the responsibility of being the voice

It’s hilarious to watch, but also a wake-up call on how trust and communication can make or break a team under stress.

5. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower 

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! 

6. Corporate Escape Room

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.   

7. Resource Auction

Picture the scene: a mock auction with all the drama of a Vegas poker table. Teams clutch their stack of play money like it’s the last bankroll on earth. The bidding starts. Duct tape suddenly feels like gold, cardboard gets treated like real estate, and someone blows half their budget on balloons (because, apparently, “they’ll come in handy later”).

In this team building problem solving activity, the fun unfolds in a few chaotic stages:

• The auctioneer drives the pace with rapid-fire item drops, forcing teams to make snap decisions
• Groups weigh the risk of splurging on early items against the chance of scoring something better later
• Once the final hammer drops, everyone scrambles to turn their bizarre mix of supplies into a functional solution

By the end, you’ll have teams laughing at the absurdity of their purchases, marveling at their own creativity, and probably still arguing about whether those balloons were ever a good investment.t.

8. Wild Goose Chase

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!

9. Lost at Sea 

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 the 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:  

1. A shaving mirror (this can be used to signal passing ships using the sun) 
2. A can of gas (could be used for signaling, as it could be put in the water and lit with the pack of matches) 
3. A water container (for collecting water to re-hydrate) 
4. Emergency food rations (critical survival food) 
5. One plastic sheet (can be helpful for shelter or to collect rainwater) 
6. Chocolate bars (another food supply) 
7. Fishing rods (helpful, but no guarantee of catching food) 
8. Rope (can be handy, but not necessarily essential for survival) 
9. A floating seat cushion (usable as a life preserver)  
10. Shark repellant (could be important when in the water) 
11. A bottle of rum (could be useful for cleaning wounds) 
12. A radio (could be very helpful but there’s a good chance you’re out of range) 
13. A sea chart (this is worthless without navigation equipment) 
14. 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 team building problem solving 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. 

10. Survival Scenario Remix

Imagine your team stranded on Mars with a failing oxygen tank or trapped in a snowstorm with only half the gear you need. In this team building problem solving activity, groups are dropped into dramatic life-or-death situations where every decision feels urgent and quick thinking is the only way through.

The process works in three stages:

• Each person begins by ranking the survival items on their own, weighing choices like whether a tarp is more useful than a box of chocolate bars
• Teams then come together to compare lists and argue their way toward a shared ranking, defending priorities and challenging assumptions
• At the end, the expert answers are revealed, exposing which decisions would actually have improved their odds of survival

The fun comes from the debates, the curveballs, and the surprising realization that instincts under stress don’t always match reality. It is equal parts lively, eye-opening, and unforgettable.

11. Domino Effect Challenge

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. 

12. Tower Trade

Constructing a tall, stable tower is tough under normal circumstances. It becomes much harder when your team has only part of the supplies and must strike deals with other groups to complete the build. Tower Trade turns a simple task into a lively exercise in persuasion, strategy, and compromise.

Here’s how this team building problem solving activity plays out:

• Teams sketch their blueprints and quickly realize which crucial pieces they are missing
• Negotiations begin as groups barter, bluff, and haggle, trying to stretch limited resources as far as possible
• Once the trades are complete, the clock starts, and everyone races to build the tallest, strongest tower they can manage

The final creations are often crooked, surprising, and occasionally brilliant, but the real win is watching how people adapt their strategies under pressure and learn to work toward a shared goal.

13. Reverse Pyramid 

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!  

14. CI: The Crime Investigators

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.  

15. Mystery Bag Challenge

Sometimes creativity shows up best when resources are scarce. In this challenge, each group receives a bag stuffed with random supplies like balloons, straws, rubber bands, and tape. Their mission might be to build a bridge sturdy enough to hold a stack of books or a launcher that fires across the room. Whatever the task, the countdown is ticking.

The energy builds in three stages:

• Teams dig into their bags, swapping ideas and experimenting with unusual combinations of materials
• Trial and error takes over as prototypes collapse and quick fixes spark new rounds of innovation
• Everyone comes together for the grand test, watching each contraption either succeed spectacularly or fail in the funniest possible way

This team building problem solving activity always gets people laughing and proves that inventive thinking can come from the most unlikely scraps of material.

16. Team Pursuit

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.

17. The Silent Strategy Game

Remove spoken words from the equation and suddenly the simplest challenges become maddening. In this team building problem solving activity, teams must solve a logic or building problem without saying a single thing, forcing them to find new ways to connect and collaborate.

The silence shapes the experience in surprising ways:

• Participants rely on hand gestures, exaggerated facial expressions, and frantic scribbles on paper to get their ideas across
• Misunderstandings pile up, pushing teams to adapt and invent new communication methods on the fly
• When the silence finally lifts, the room erupts with laughter and stories about what everyone thought they were “saying” to each other

What sticks with people is the realization that great teamwork is not only about words but about patience, observation, and trust.

18. Bridge Builders

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!   

19. Hollywood Murder Mystery

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.

20. Code Break

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!

13 Virtual Team Building Problem Solving Activities for Your Work Group 

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.

1. Virtual Escape Room: Mummy’s Curse

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.

2. Riddle Race

Brains, speed, and teamwork collide in this fast-paced team building problem solving activity. Breakout groups are handed a chain of riddles and logic puzzles that grow tougher with every round. Each solved puzzle unlocks the next clue, and the race is on to be the first group back with all the correct answers.

The structure keeps everyone on their toes:

• Hint tokens are available, but using one adds extra time to your final score
• Puzzles span everything from classic riddles to lateral-thinking brainteasers and pattern-recognition challenges
• Teams sprint back to the main room to declare victory, sometimes seconds apart from each other

The energy is infectious, and the bragging rights for winning make this feel like trivia night turned up to eleven.

3. Virtual Clue Murder Mystery

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 team building problem solving 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.  

4. Virtual Blueprint Swap

This team building problem solving activity is a pure test of communication under pressure. Two breakout groups each receive half the instructions for building a simple object out of household materials, such as a paper-and-tape bridge or a utensil-based catapult. To succeed, the groups must shuttle between rooms, sharing their fragments of information while trying not to lose precious time.

The challenge unfolds in stages:

• Each group begins with a critical piece of the overall design and cannot move forward without their counterpart
• The pressure builds as teams juggle trading instructions with making actual progress on their builds
• At the end, the final creations are revealed and compared against the intended design

It is chaotic, funny, and a brilliant reminder of how clarity and timing can make or break a team effort.

5. Virtual Escape Room: Jewel Heist

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.

6. Online Crisis Simulation

Imagine being dropped into a high-stakes movie plot with no script. One moment you’re a PR team scrambling to handle a viral scandal. The next, you are astronauts stuck on Mars, rationing oxygen while systems fail around you. In this simulation, resources are limited, time is short, and new curveballs arrive without warning.

The scenarios are fueled by dramatic prompts such as:

• “You have five minutes before the news goes public. What is your official statement?”
• “The oxygen tank can only support three people. Who stays behind?”
• “Breaking update: the situation has just escalated.”

Once the simulation ends, each group must defend their decisions, sparking laughter, spirited debate, and plenty of second-guessing.

The experience is part serious problem-solving and part blockbuster thriller, and it always leaves teams buzzing afterward.

7. Virtual Code Break  

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. 

8. Collaborative Crossword

Think of this like trivia night meets teamwork bootcamp. Instead of one person quietly filling in boxes, the whole group works together to complete a giant crossword. The trick? No single team has the full picture. Each breakout group gets one section, but the puzzle only works if the words link up across groups.

Here’s how to make it work:

• Split everyone into breakout rooms and give each group a digital section of the crossword
• Encourage groups to solve as much as they can, but remind them that many answers overlap with other sections
• Periodically bring everyone back together to compare notes, share overlaps, and negotiate what fits where
• Once the final blanks are filled, reveal the completed crossword for a collective win

The beauty of this team building problem solving activity is that nobody can “go it alone.” Teams have to rely on one another, communicate often, and check assumptions. It’s equal parts problem-solving, collaboration, and “aha” moments when the whole puzzle finally comes together.

9. Virtual Trivia Time Machine

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.

10. Virtual Escape Grid

This team building problem solving activity feels like a race across a digital map where every square hides a challenge. Teams must solve each puzzle before moving forward. Correct answers move them closer to the finish line, while wrong answers send them backward. The tension escalates as the clock ticks down and teams gamble on risky choices to get ahead.

Here’s how to bring it to life:

• Create a grid in Google Sheets, Slides, or a virtual whiteboard, and assign each square a puzzle
• Mix challenges such as trivia, riddles, and quick logic problems to keep teams on their toes
• Give each group a starting point and let them choose their own path across the grid
• Track progress in real time and update the board as answers are submitted

The final moves often come down to bold guesses, quick thinking, and teamwork under pressure.

11. 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. 

12. Fact or Fiction?

This team building problem solving activity asks teams to separate unbelievable truths from convincing lies. They receive a list of bizarre claims and have to decide which ones are real before time runs out. Every round sparks passionate debate, confident guesses, and plenty of laughter when the answers are revealed.

You’ll need to:

• Write a list of surprising statements that blend genuine facts with clever fabrications
• Divide the group into teams and set a strict time limit for each round
• Decide whether you want to allow quick online fact-checking or keep it to pure discussion
• Score points for each correct decision and tally them up to find the winning team

Want some sample statements? Here are a few you can try:

• Sharks existed before trees
• Bananas grow on bushes
• Octopuses have three hearts
• Napoleon was taller than the average Frenchman of his era
• Goldfish only have a three-second memory
• The Eiffel Tower can grow more than six inches taller in summer heat

The highlight comes when players defend outrageous “facts” with total certainty, only to discover they were wrong all along.

13. Emoji Logic Challenge

This team building problem solving activity turns everyday emojis into puzzles that teams must crack. Strings of symbols might represent a movie title, a phrase, or even a math problem. It is quick, funny, and tougher than it looks once the emojis start piling up.

Here are four easy steps to make it happen:

• Create puzzles of varying difficulty
• Share one puzzle at a time and award points to the fastest correct answers
• Mix different formats, moving between movies, idioms, storylines, and equations
• Conclude with a lightning round of the most complex puzzles for double points

You didn’t think we’d leave you without emoji logic challenge examples, did you? Our favorites include:

• 🎬🧑‍🚀🌕 = Apollo 13
• 🦈🌊🚤 = Jaws
• ❄️👸🏻⛄️ = Frozen
• 🦖🏞️ = Jurassic Park
• 👀🍎 = “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”
• 🥜➕🍫 = Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• 🐝🔔 = Beetlejuice
• 12️⃣👢 = “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
• 🔥🚒🐈 = “Rescue a cat from a fire”
• 🧮➕➖✖️➗ = “Do the math”

The mix of creative thinking and ridiculous guesses makes this activity both competitive and hilarious, with plenty of “aha” moments when the answers click.

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! 

Want to host your own team building problem solving activity?

Get in touch with our Employee Engagement Consultants if you’d like to learn more about any of our suite of team building activities.

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