18 Fun Zoom Meeting Ideas for Remote Work in 2023

Here is our list of the best Zoom meeting ideas.

Zoom meeting ideas are activities and games for teams to play during virtual meetings on Zoom. Examples include games like spot the difference, read my lips, and the question of the day. The purpose of these activities is to boost team building and employee engagement.

These ideas are similar to examples of Google meet games, online team building activities, and online team games for work.

This list includes:

• Zoom meeting dress-up themes
• Zoom background theme ideas
• fun activities for Zoom meetings
• Zoom games for meetings

Let’s get started!

List of Zoom meeting ideas

In addition to discussing key work updates, meetings should also be used to reconnect and engage with teammates. Here is our list of fun ideas for Zoom meetings with your team.

1. Spot the difference

One of the most interactive Zoom games to engage your team is spot the difference. To begin the game, ask each team member to change one aspect of their at-home work area. For example, if one team member has a dining room table set behind their desk, then this player can remove one chair from the set.

After all team members have joined the meeting, ask each player to take turns guessing the difference in each teammate’s background. This game can help employees spot small changes in typical situations.

2. Zoom in

Zoom in is a fun guessing game to get your teammates thinking. The objective of this game is to guess an item from an extremely zoomed-in image.

Here are the steps to play this game:

1. Take a normal photo of an object in your home
2. Edit the photo by zooming in as much as you desire
3. Share your screen on Zoom showing your edited photo
4. Have teammates guess the object in your image
5. Award any player who guessed the object correctly

A fun way to end the game is by showing the original photo side-by-side with the edited version. If you are unsure what items to photograph, then we recommend using common office supplies or household items, such as a couch, desktop, or pet.

3. Meet gala

One of the most extravagant Zoom meeting dress-up themes is a meet gala. Meet gala is a fun parody of the iconic Met Gala in which celebrities dress to the nines in chic and fancy outfits. For your team’s meet gala, you should encourage participants to dress in over-the-top creative outfits that can be considered a fashion statement. For example, one employee may wear a curtain as a cape along with outrageous sunglasses.

We suggest rolling out the red carpet virtual backgrounds and awarding the most creative team member a prize, such as a virtual gift card or an extra day of PTO. Meet gala is a fun way to bring out your creative side while making memories with your team.

4. A trip around the world

If you are looking for Zoom background theme ideas, then we recommend playing a trip around the world. As part of this game, have each team member choose a virtual background from a different global location, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, or Machu Picchu. You can encourage employees to choose their location and dress up in outfits that fit their destination. For example, an employee who chooses Mount Everest as their background may dress up in a winter coat, hat, and gloves.

As part of this activity, you can also prepare a trivia game full of fun facts from different locations worldwide. A trip around the world can help you bring adventurous energy to your next Zoom meeting.

5. Tell me more

One of the most fun activities for Zoom meetings is called tell me more. This activity allows employees to educate coworkers on a topic or hobby they enjoy.

You can follow these steps to conduct the activity:

1. Ask employees to choose a topic or hobby that they enjoy
2. Have team members prepare a five-minute presentation
3. Remind participants to include information and facts about their topic
4. Give the presenter the spotlight to take the team through their topic
5. Give teammates a chance to ask questions to the presenter

Participants should present a topic or hobby that they enjoy. For example, if an employee loves to knit, this team member can give coworkers a step-by-step knitting tutorial. This team member can also show pictures of their knitting creations.

We recommend reserving the last five minutes of your meeting to have employees take the team through their presentation. Assigning one presenter per meeting is an effective way to ensure that all team members have the chance to share their passions with the group.

6. Read my lips

Read my lips is an interactive game perfect for any virtual meeting. To begin the game, assign one team member to serve as the host and moderator.

Here are the instructions on how to play:

1. Remind players to turn on their cameras
2. Have the host choose a secret word
3. Ask the host to send the secret word to the first player via private message
4. Set a timer for one minute
5. Have the first player go on mute and repeat the secret word
6. Ask the remaining teammates to guess the secret word by reading the player’s lips
7. Continue for 10 to 15 rounds or until each player has a turn
8. The player with the most correct guesses is the winner

We recommend using this game to communicate casual work updates, like upcoming time off or changes on your team. In addition, this game is a fun way to build problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

7. Bet on it

Bet on it is a fun team building activity that allows team members to discover how much they know about their coworkers. To play this game, use Zoom’s polling feature to pose fun questions about team members.

Poll questions for this activity may include:

• Who is most likely to make the whole team laugh?
• Who is most likely to schedule a meeting for 4 PM on a Friday?
• Who is most likely to win a team debate?
• Who is most likely to reply-all to an email?
• Who is most likely to have a successful side hustle?
• Who is most likely to forget to go on mute during a Zoom call?

Before revealing the poll results, have your team guess the majority’s answer. Any player who guesses the correct answer is the winner of this game. Bet on it is a fun and interactive way to bring laughter and fun to your Zoom meeting.

8. Tic tac toe

Your teammates may remember playing tic tac toe during their childhood. This fun variation of tic tac toe is made specifically for video conferencing platforms like Zoom. This game requires a minimum of 11 players.

Here are the game instructions:

1. Have the moderator enable gallery mode on Zoom
2. Ask nine players to turn on their cameras
3. Ask two off-camera players to choose Team X or Team O
4. Have the off-camera players ask on-camera players to make an X or O with their arms
5. Award winner to the first off-camera player to achieve three X’s or O’s in a row

On Zoom, each player sees a different order of players, so encourage players to take screenshots to prove that they won. Your team will surely enjoy seeing their favorite childhood game come to life during your meeting.

9. Pet meetings

Pet meetings are one of the best Zoom meeting ideas. Most employees may argue that the best part of a Zoom meeting is when a coworker’s pet gets in the shot. We recommend hosting a virtual meeting where all pets are welcome. As an icebreaker for this pet-friendly meeting, give each team member the spotlight to introduce their animal friend with their name, breed, and fun fact. Team members who do not have pets can participate by sharing details about their dream pets or favorite animals.

Hosting a pet meeting is a great way to lighten the mood of your session while getting a glimpse of your teammates’ home lives.

10. College spirit day

College spirit day is one of the most practical Zoom meeting dress-up themes. As part of this activity, ask team members to attend the meeting dressed in attire from the college they attended. The objective of this activity is to start a conversation among teammates while showing pride for their alma mater.

You can also use this dress-up activity to reminisce on your college days. Be sure to encourage participants to chat about their shared college experiences, most memorable moments, and majors. Some employees may learn that they attended the same college as a coworker, which could spark even more conversations.

11. Theme song

If you have any music lovers on your team, then we recommend playing the game theme song. To play this game, ask participants to think of the song they would choose as their life’s anthem. For example, you can encourage team members to select a song they would love to walk out to if they were in a movie.

Once each team member has chosen their song, have each participant play the clip that describes them best. After playing their clip, have team members explain why they chose this song and its personal significance. Theme song is a fun activity to help team members learn about their coworkers’ musical tastes and life experiences.

12. Caption this

Caption this is a fun and creative game to play during your next Zoom meeting. To play this game, have each employee submit a picture before the meeting. Pictures can include photos of family, friends, or coworkers. Be sure to collect all submissions and paste them into a Powerpoint deck. Then, during your meeting, share your screen and have coworkers caption each picture with a funny or meaningful sentence. For example, if one team member submits a screenshot of a virtual meeting with the entire team, one player’s caption might be, “Best team ever!”

Caption this is a great way to test your team members’ photo captioning skills while getting a good laugh at some of the photo submissions and caption suggestions.

13. Five things in common

One of the best games to help your teammates get to know each other better. The objective of this game is to find similarities between coworkers.

Here are the steps to play this game:

1. Pair employees up randomly
2. Create multiple breakout rooms in Zoom
3. Send pairs off into their own breakout rooms
4. Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes
5. Encourage pairs to chat about various topics in hopes of finding similarities
6. Regroup in the main Zoom room
7. Have each pair share their five similarities

We encourage creating conversation cards on Powerpoint to help team members find topics to discuss with their partners. Topics can include food, trips, challenges, and goals. By the end of the game, each pair should walk away with five similarities, including shared experiences, common interests, and similar goals.

Five things in common is an engaging icebreaker that allows teammates to find insightful similarities with each other.

14. Codenames

If you are looking for Zoom games for meetings that boost teamwork skills, then we recommend Codenames. The objective of this game is for teams to work together to uncover their hidden words on the game board. To play this game, split your group up into two teams. Be sure to assign one team member to act as the code master. The code master’s job is to provide hints and clues for their teammates to guess the correct words.

Codenames is the perfect game to promote critical thinking, collaboration, and teamwork skills. We recommend swapping code masters each round so all players can lead the game at least once.

Learn more about Codenames.

15. Question of the day

If you are looking for ways to break the ice and get teammates to chat with each other, then we recommend playing question of the day. During this game, you should pose one question to your team for the day. Team members can answer these questions during the meeting or at a later time via Slack. The objective of this activity is to pose an insightful question that participants can think about throughout the day.

Questions for this activity can include:

• What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced at work?
• What cartoon character best describes how you feel at work?
• What are some of the biggest benefits of working from home?
• Is there anything you miss about working in the office?
• What is your biggest goal for this year?

Question of the day is an engaging icebreaker that will get your teammates to chat and get to know each other better.

16. Birth map

We recommend creating a birth map if you are looking for fun activities for Zoom meetings. To make your birth map, download a blank map of the world and paste it onto a slide. Next, share your screen on a Zoom meeting as you populate the map. Then, one by one, have each team member drop a red pin on the city of their birth. As each player drops their pin, encourage them to share any fun facts or stories about their city, such as how many years they lived there or any major landmarks.

Birth map is a fun and interactive activity to help you learn more about your teammates’ personal lives.

17. Book club

Book club is a fairly straightforward activity that is perfect if you have any bookworms on your team. To organize this activity, poll your team on their top genres and favorite books. Be sure to use your poll results to choose a book that all members will enjoy reading. Before your meeting, ask team members to read a certain number of pages or chapters of your chosen book. Then, use your meeting time to discuss the assigned reading in detail.

Book club is a great activity to help employees improve their communication skills as they discuss stories in great detail.

18. No agenda team scrum

Zoom meetings are the perfect time to get together as a team and discuss important projects and updates. However, time may run out quicker than you want. Therefore, we recommend hosting a 10 to 15-minute daily scrum in which each teammate lists their top three daily priorities. The objective of this meeting is to provide quick and bite-sized pieces of information to teammates.

Each scrum meeting should be loosely structured with no agenda. Instead, we suggest going one-by-one in a rapid-fire style, with each teammate sharing essential information. Scrum meetings are a great use of your team’s time.

Conclusion

Zoom meetings provide an opportunity for work updates, as well as social interactions among teammates. These gatherings allow teams to prioritize team building and bonding. We suggest incorporating fun and creative activities like group discussions, games, and icebreakers to make your meetings more engaging and interactive and to stave off the much-dreaded Zoom fatigue.

Next, check out online team building icebreakers and online employee appreciation ideas. You can also read our list of how to make virtual meetings fun.