In the warm season, but of course also in the fall, team building games can be played outdoors. Autumn – and with it the start of school – is fast approaching. After the summer, many pupils and teachers see each other for the first time or meet again after the summer and many things have changed in the meantime.
Clever teachers use these circumstances and the first days of school to promote class cohesion and establish or deepen communication in a relaxed atmosphere. But company workforces, groups of friends and families also use the end of summer and the beautiful fall days to do something together outdoors.
To make sure it’s not just an uneventful walk or a visit to the beer garden, here are the five best outdoor team building games for you.
Outdoor team building games: OPOLUM recommends
Outdoor team building game #1: Geocaching
The quirky English founded the original form of geocaching. In 1854, “letterboxes” were first hidden in the south of England, which had to be found with the help of a compass and map. These boxes contained a stamp to certify the find.
This game, known as “letterboxing”, is still popular with British islanders despite the modern version “geocaching”. In the current version of these scavenger hunts, the hiding places (= caches) are tracked down with the help of GPS devices or GPS apps on smartphones. The aim is to discover as many geocaches as possible and document your finds on internet platforms using photos, for example.
Outdoor team building game #2: Doing sports together
The health-promoting trend of doing morning exercise with the entire company workforce before the first office hour has also reached Europe from Asia. After all, doctors have been saying for some time: “Sitting is the new smoking!” And early morning exercise is an effective way of preventing postural damage caused by desk work.
In China, you can see young and old practicing Tai Chi or Chigong outdoors every morning. If there is no professional in your company who can demonstrate the movements, then simple variations such as squats, press-ups, jumping rope and other familiar gymnastics exercises are also ideal for getting the circulation going and keeping the body fit and flexible.
Outdoor team building game #3: scavenger hunt or outdoor escape room
In the classic scavenger hunt, several teams are drawn by lot and given a treasure map with clues to the various locations where the “treasures” can be found. The team that finds the most hidden items within a certain time limit is the winner.
A contemporary and particularly varied and exciting form of scavenger hunt is the outdoor escape room adventure. The OPOLUM team, for example, has developed its own app for its unique Outdoor Escape Game Hamburg, which uses augmented reality and GPS to take the scavenger hunt to a whole new level. With a tablet, compass, binoculars etc., you can experience an exciting adventure in the breathtaking setting of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt warehouse district that you won’t soon forget.
Outdoor team building game #4: The spider’s web
In this outdoor team building game, two ropes are stretched between two trees (or poles or similar). One rope is stretched as high as possible and one very low to the ground to create a large rectangle. Between these two ropes, strings and wool threads are stretched in a criss-cross pattern so that large and small holes are created between them at different heights. However, these holes must be large enough for the team members to get through to the other side without touching any part of the spider’s web. This requires ideas, team spirit and planning, as each team member can only use one hole at a time. This means that a team of eight people has to create eight different holes that can somehow be negotiated.
It may be the case that the penultimate team member has to be transported horizontally from the group to the other side, while a hole has to be left free for the last remaining team member to negotiate without help. The team that is the fastest or causes the fewest touches is the winner.
Outdoor team building game #5: Open air cinema
Here’s our most chilled-out tip for teams who are already working hard in the office all day and only want one thing in the evening: to relax! But a cozy evening at the cinema under the stars with ice-cold drinks and a film that will be a source of discussion afterwards can also be a real enrichment for team building.
If possible, a screen and a projector are set up on the company premises or a rented green space and deckchairs are set up. Beforehand, a newly released film from a streaming provider is democratically selected from several options and viewed. Afterwards, everyone has to give their personal criticism and it can and should be discussed.
If an individual film selection is not possible due to a lack of space or technical facilities, there is always the option of visiting a public summer cinema, where you can secure your own segment of seats for the team.
Outdoor and indoor team building games in Hamburg
The ingenious adventures created by the OPOLUM team in Hamburg are absolutely unforgettable – and, on special request, also give you goosebumps. Sometimes with the use of actors who actively intervene in the respective story, the boundaries between reality and play quickly become so blurred that the teams can be expected to experience a heightened adrenaline rush. But of course there are many more ideas that are ideal as team-building games!
