Remote work sometimes seems like running a marathon alone. It’s a mix of Slack messages, Zoom calls, and never-ending email threads. The long list of tasks in Jira, code reviews, and production bugs is not enough to unite the team.
That’s where remote developer team-building activities should come in, embracing fun, meaningful, and yes, even silly, team-building activities.
Why silliness works
The activities that make us laugh or feel vulnerable are the ones that truly connect us. Vulnerability builds trust. When people trust each other, collaboration becomes smoother, problems are solved faster, and everyone feels safer sharing ideas.
”If we never allow ourselves to be authentic — or even a little bit silly — we miss out on the deeper trust that sparks breakthroughs,” — the vulnerability expert Brené Brown says.
Why Remote Team Building Matters in 2025
According to Forbes, more than 16% of companies worldwide work remotely. Studies show that 70% of remote workers can feel disconnected from their colleagues. Disconnection cause eroding communication, killing creativity, and misunderstanding the common goal.
So, team-building isn’t a perk. It’s a survival tool for distributed teams.
The power of play: Embrace Silliness!
“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.” John Cleese.
Play isn’t childish — it’s how adults drop their guard and see each other as human beings, not just job titles.
When developers trust each other enough to be goofy, they create strong bonds that cannot be achieved otherwise. Informal connections transform into more effective collaboration and faster problem-solving in real-world settings.
What we’ve learned at Smartexe
At Smartexe, we’ve seen how silly activities transform personal connections and lead to smoother workflows. For example, we incorporate football matches for our teams, and the results were amazing. The process we describe in the article Competitive sports as a tool for team-building at the workplace.
If teammates know each other beyond their GitHub commits, it’s easier for them to communicate online, ask for help, and share feedback.
Here are some of the fun activities we’ve tried and are ready to repeat.
10 Fun Activities That Are Great for Hybrid Teams:
- Donut chats. These are quick, 15-30 minute chats with random teammates. Work talks are not allowed. It is time to know each other. You’d be surprised how talking about local food or your favorite music can help build real bonds.
Remote Karaoke Night. Of course, you can belt out “Bohemian Rhapsody” on a group call! Just use a karaoke app or screen-share karaoke videos.
Suddenly, your serious back-end developer can turn into Freddie Mercury, and your QA lead is busting out as Taylor Swift. It’s goofy and awkward in all the best ways.
Wanna add extra flair? Encourage folks to sing a song from their home country.
- Remote Office Olympic Games. Get the team moving with daily step challenges. Try to add any fun fitness activity that gets the blood pumping. Set up a leaderboard (nothing like a little friendly competition) and let the smack talk begin! But why stop there? Add some funny “office goals” like:
- Desk Plank Challenge: Hold a plank right at your desk and tag your remote colleague. Record your time and share it on the leaderboard — the longer the better!
- Keyboard Blitz: Create an online typing test. So that the team has access to the list of predetermined phrases and can compete in typing speed.
- Chair Spin Contest: See who can perform the most spins in 30 seconds (but remember safety first!). It is a fun way to get moving and have a laugh.
Virtual Excursions. What about inviting your colleagues to make a virtual trip around your workplace or to your favorite remote working locations?
It might not be for everybody, but some folks get really excited by the idea of becoming video guides. Meanwhile, the rest of your team might be inspired to find some courage and show theirs.
Alias or Crocodile Online. Alias is a game that requires a description of a word or phrase without using the “secret word”; the other team is guessing the word. Crocodile, on the other hand, requires using mimics, entirely based on body language and gestures, to explain the word. Also, the drawing apps that allow playing a crocodile, where you should draw, and players are guessing the word. It is a good activity for the design team.
Split your team into small groups, and let the verbal or visual charades begin. It’s a nice way to sharpen communication skills, as players have to use imagination and associations.
Watch your quietest developer light up when they try to explain “API” in the most bizarre way possible.
- Digital Detective. Create a mini online scavenger hunt or quiz. Teammates must dig into the company wiki, Slack channels, or even inside product documentation, following clues, and uncover the right answers. Once all answers are found, participants submit them (Google Forms works well).
This activity can be organized by HR, as they know all the secrets about colleagues' lives and the company. This playful approach nudges everyone to explore corners of your project they normally miss. - Online Storytelling Competition. Challenge people to write or tell a short story in five minutes. The catch? Each story has to include 3-10 random words or phrases you provide. Also, you can set the genre: comedy, drama, western, etc. And, other participants will count points for the words.
- Cooking Challenge. Send each teammate a box with the required ingredients. Maybe, they all will attempt a classic international dish, and maybe each team member will present a unique one from their country. Share photos, swap tips, and revel in the cross-cultural culinary chaos.
- Local holidays: show and tell. If half of your team is offline for a national festival, ask them to take a photo or describe how they celebrate it during the next meeting. Understanding and celebrating each other’s traditions makes us like our teammates better. Also, you may prepare small gifts for local holidays so the team will feel that they are valued.
- An online watch party around a big sports event — football, basketball, tennis, even eSports tournaments. Stream the game together on Zoom, Discord, or Teleparty. Encourage everyone to bring snacks, wear team colors, or show off their favorite fan gear.
Add fun mini-games during halftime — quick polls on who’ll score next, trivia about the sport, or even a friendly wager for bragging rights.
One month it might be the NBA Finals, next month a Champions League match, or even the Dota 2 International.
Make It a Habit, Not a Gimmick
The team building shouldn’t be a one-time event. It should be a habit.
Start small with a culture spotlight repeating every 2-3 weeks, then gradually add bigger events once or twice a quarter.
Do not forget to ask for feedback. It helps to improve, and it keeps improving. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas; you never know if it works until you try.
The goal of the activity is to keep everyone engaged, happy, and feeling like they’re more than just avatars in Slack.
Because once your team survives a karaoke duet of Bohemian Rhapsody, fixing production bugs suddenly feels a lot less scary.
Your next step. Don’t Hesitate!
Don’t overthink it. Pick one idea from the list above and send out an invite today. The sooner your team starts laughing together, the stronger they’ll work together.
Scaling a team? Contact us. We do know the ropes of building high-performing teams.
Looking to augment your workforce with a strong organic team of professionals?
Give us a ping - we might have just the right people ready to start from day one.
