Team building is an integral aspect of running a healthy business, yet it remains one of the most overlooked and underutilized tools available to business owners. Engaging in team-building activities provides a variety of benefits that can help propel the company forward.
Team building activities allow employers and employees to get to know one another on a more personal level. Departments that otherwise might not be connected get the chance to engage with each other. Your staff can work with their teammates to overcome challenges and come up with unique solutions to problems. Depending on the activity, they may even get to engage in a bit of healthy and fun competition.
There are an endless amount of team-building retreats and experiences that you can choose from. But if you’re looking to host a team building event that’s a little more low-key, then these outdoor team building activities might be right for you. Classic outdoor games can provide you with everything you need to hold a team building event that your employees will enjoy and remember.
We’ll go over team building activities you can host with Giant 4 In A Row, Cornhole, and Giant Mountain Blocks, and show you how you can make a team building event utilizing various outdoor games with The Ultimate Teambuilding Tailgate.
Giant 4 In A Row
This unique take on Giant 4 in a Row makes it a fun way to encourage your teams to work together and avoid toxic internal competition on your teams. The number of Giant 4 in a Row sets you need for this outdoor team building activity is entirely dependent on how many people are in your company. If you can keep it to 4 people per set, that’s ideal, but you can also use larger teams to get the point across.
On a Post-It note, write down the names of each department and tape it to one side of every game piece. Then place the sides with the Post-It notes face-down. Tell your employees not to flip over the pieces when they pick them up.
In addition to the original win condition where players win by connecting four game pieces in a row, tell them that if a team places a piece in the top-most slot, they win. In theory, this should keep teams from pushing their pieces too high, and instead, they’ll try to utilize as many spaces on the lower half of the board as possible.
Once the game ends, flip the board around to show all the different department names on the pieces. Explain that the topmost slots of the board represent the company’s business goals and that those goals can only be achieved if the entire company is working together to reach those goals. Internal competition makes it harder to achieve those goals as coworkers start to view each other as rivals rather than teammates.
Company Cornhole Tournament
When you think of team building activities, Cornhole probably isn’t the first thing to pop into your mind. While typically, Cornhole falls within the domain of tailgates, parties, and barbecues, it is certainly one of the best outdoor team building activities you can host for your employees.
Cornhole is a very low-maintenance game that’s easy to set up and tear down. While the rules are simple enough, they can be a very challenging game to master. And it’s a lot of fun.
While you can certainly have a team building day where you get everyone together and just have some fun, holding a tournament adds a little bit of friendly competition that everyone can enjoy participating in.
Setting Up The Tournament
The number of Cornhole boards you need for a tournament depends on the number of employees at your company. Each set of boards supports 4 players, and only half the players really need to be playing at the exact same time. So if you have 32 employees, 3-4 Cornhole boards will probably suffice.
The structure of the tournament is also important. You can do a single elimination bracket where teams are knocked out each round until there is eventually 1 winner. Or you can do a double elimination bracket where teams enter the“second chance” (or losers) bracket after their first loss. Either way, your staff are sure to enjoy the thrill of trying to survive each and every round.
To encourage positive communication and encouragement, it’s best to assign teams randomly. That way, people have the chance to work with someone they might otherwise not talk to on a regular basis. If you let employees choose their own teams, they’re more likely to team up with someone they already know pretty well.
Variation For Larger Companies
Larger companies may want to take advantage of the American Cornhole Association’s new “team match play.” In this variation of cornhole, each team consists of 8 players.
The game takes place in 6 rounds. During the first 3 rounds, teams are split into doubles, and play continues as normal. During the 4th and 5th rounds, teams play singles matches. The final round is an “airmail shootout” that all players from each team participate in.
After each round, award teams with “match points” based on their performance. The number of match points awarded after each match increases as the rounds progress. The points per match are as follows:
The team with the most match points after round 6 wins the tournament! For a more in-depth overview of rules for this variation, check out the ACA official team match rules.
Giant Mountain Blocks
Giant Mountian Blocks provides a couple of unique opportunities for outdoor team building activities. While you can theoretically use this activity for any size group. It will probably work best for teams of 20 people or fewer. To set up the Giant Mountain Blocks game, all you really need is a white fold-up table and the Giant Mountain Blocks.
Game #1: Driving Home How Important Each Team Member is
Before building the tower, take 54 Post-It notes and either write down the names of your employees or the names of the various departments within the company. Place each Post-It note on a block and use scotch tape to ensure they stay in place. Once the tower is constructed, have your team members take turns removing blocks from the tower. But instead of putting the blocks back on top, have them set each block they remove to the side.
After the tower falls, tell your employees that each of them is one of the blocks holding the business together. And without all the hard work that each of them does, the company wouldn’t be able to stand. Without each department and the people that make up those departments, the company wouldn’t be able to achieve its various missions and goals.
In many unhealthy corporate settings, each department is an island competing for resources and recognition. In a healthy work environment, departments aren’t competing with one another. Instead, they’re all working together towards the same goal: the company’s survival.
Game #2: Getting To Know Your Teammates
Whether you’re a new business that is just starting out, or an established business that recently brought on a slew of new employees, this is one of the best outdoor team building activities to encourage your teams to get to know one another.
Take 54 Post-It notes and write down a different question on each of them. These questions can include anything ranging from favorite sports teams, favorite cocktails, secret or hidden skills and talents, their favorite past-time, and so on. Just make sure to keep the questions work-appropriate.
Use scotch tape to keep the questions stuck to the giant wooden blocks, and build the tower. When someone pulls out a brick, they answer the question and play passes to the next player.
Ultimate Team Building Tailgate
This outdoor team building activity is really all about giving your employees some time just to hang out, get to know each other, and have a good time. Instead of just a single activity, this is more of an event with multiple outdoor team building activities that employees can rotate between. It’s good for building interpersonal relationships, increasing camaraderie, and giving back to your teams.
It includes several cooperative team-based games like Cornhole, Washer Toss, and Social Pong, as well as individual games like Giant Mountain Blocks and Giant 4 in a Row. You can choose any traditional outdoor games that you can think of that you think your employees will enjoy. Set out a clipboard next to each game and encourage everyone to write down who won after each game they play. Once the games are set up, let your employees rotate between their games and socialize with their coworkers. And don’t forget; no tailgate is complete without some great snacks and drinks!
At the end of the event, announce who had the most wins at each particular game, and thank everyone for participating!
Finding The Perfect Games For Your Outdoor Team Building Activities
If you’re looking for the perfect set of outdoor games to host outdoor team building activities that your employees will enjoy and remember, you’ve come to the right place.
Elakai Outdoor provides individuals and businesses like yours with unique outdoor games that are fun to play and built to last. Each game is beautifully designed to be both functional and stylish. We make our products with longevity in mind, so we use only the highest-quality materials available.
Whether you’re looking to host a cornhole tournament, encourage teamwork through Giant Mountain Blocks and Giant 4 in a Row, or host your own corporate tailgating party, Elakai has the games you need to make your team building event a hit.
Be sure to check out our entire lineup of outdoor games to find exactly what you need for your next outdoor team building activities.
Need a refresher on the rules for classic outdoor games? We have detailed rule breakdowns for all of your favorite games!
