5 of the Best Virtual Team Building Escape Rooms
Although you love the freedom that comes with managing a remote workforce, things are starting to feel a little dull, and it’s getting harder to develop and maintain a strong, connected team with employees scattered all over the globe. Don’t resign yourself to more months of virtual isolation. We’ve got just the solution: escape rooms.
Virtual escape rooms are online puzzle games where players must use their wits and teamwork to solve puzzles and escape. They’ve been growing in popularity for the past few years, and for good reason — they’re a blast! Let’s take a look at five of the best virtual team-building escape rooms for your remote team.
Virtual Team Building is All the Rage
Why focus on team building in the first place? Virtual teams are more isolated and disconnected than in-person teams. They need a bit of extra TLC. That’s why so many remote teams are placing an emphasis on virtual team building — and why you should, too.
What is virtual team building?
The goal of virtual team building is to stoke camaraderie and connectedness between team members who are often spread out all over the globe. Teams are full of moving parts, where everyone has a unique personality, set of skills, and way of working. Team building is the process of bringing those parts together to strengthen the team as a whole, which can be done via team-oriented challenges that develop trust, communication, and problem-solving skills.
How are different companies using it for their employees?
There are plenty of different ways to team build remotely, but virtual escape room team building is a great option due to the fun involved. They’re also versatile, meaning they can be tailored to fit any team size and skill level. Whether your remote team is full of seasoned pros or fresh-faced newbies, there’s an escape room out there that’ll challenge and engage them.
Other companies conduct regular Kahoot! meetups on Zoom, or use video conferencing software to have regular brainstorming sessions. There’s no right or wrong answer — as long as you’re finding ways to get your team working together.
How do escape rooms break the mold?
When you think of virtual team building, what comes to mind? An awkward video call where everyone gives a thirty-second introduction? A cheesy online trivia game nobody wants to play? With virtual escape rooms, you can throw all of that out the window. Escape rooms are a fun, stimulating way to work on team building while also breaking up the monotony of remote work. They work for any team size – from small teams of two or three to large groups of ten or more.
A Variety of Ways to Play
At Puzzle Break, our goal is to break the mold by offering a next-level immersive experience. Our escape rooms aren’t your run-of-the-mill variety. You and your team will have to use all of your cunning, intelligence, and teamwork in order to escape.
What to expect once you’re playing online
When you book our virtual escape room, you’ll be assigned a ‘Game Master’ — one of our escapist experts who will guide your team through the game. They won’t give away any spoilers, though… it’s up to you to figure out the clues and solve the puzzles. You’ll be immersed in visual, audio, and graphic clues that will test your lateral thinking skills.
Unite over a common goal… to escape!
Your team will solve puzzles via a group video conference call, so your communication skills will be put to the test. Who will emerge as a natural leader, problem solver, or tension smoother? You’ll see the team’s strengths (and weaknesses) in action — perfect for developing your team’s overall cohesion. At the end of the day, you’re trying to escape, and the only way to escape is to unite, communicate, and work together as a team.
Ready to Play?
Before diving headfirst into your first virtual escape room, you may wonder: what will my team gain from this? What are the tangible skills we can take away from this experience? Escape rooms foster some of the most crucial skills for virtual teams: communication, problem-solving, and creativity.
Communication is key
In order to be successful in a virtual escape room, team members need to be able to communicate effectively with one another. If everyone’s talking over each other, and nobody’s taking heed of the clues, it’s going to be difficult to make progress. Escape rooms are the perfect opportunity for team members to practice taking turns speaking, listening, and communicating.
Problem-solving 101
Our virtual rooms have a way of bringing out your team members’ hidden talents. Who is best at cryptic clues? Who’s got a secret math brain? In order to progress through the room, your team will need to pool their collective knowledge and brainstorm solutions. This is a great opportunity for team members to learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Unleash your creativity
If there’s one thing that escape rooms are known for, it’s creative puzzles. Escape rooms show teams that creativity is a huge asset. Sometimes the best way to progress is by taking a step back and thinking outside the box.
Let’s take a look at the escape rooms we offer at Puzzle Break.
Disco Detectives
Don your dancing shoes and pocket your magnifying glass — there’s been a robbery!
A priceless artifact has been stolen from the Firestone Museum of History, and it’s up to the legendary Puzzle Solving Investigator unit to crack the case. Can your team do the job?
Focus areas
- Active collaboration
- Exploration
- Multi-tasking
- Thinking with a global perspective
- Pattern recognition
- General teamwork
Monsterpelago
Ever been to the fabled isle of Monsterpelago? Now’s your chance.
Travel to the land famous for its mystical inhabitants: monsters! Does your team of dedicated experts have the skills and teamwork to save them from extinction?
Focus areas
- Working with ambiguity
- Adapting to an unfamiliar environment
- Following instructions
- Memory
- Pattern recognition
- General teamwork
The Grimm Escape
Calling all witches, wizards, hobbits, and elves. In this fantasy adventure, your troupe has become trapped in an enchanted forest. Do you have the wit and wisdom to defeat the curse before time runs out?
Focus areas
- Task delegation
- Concentration
- Logic
- Prioritization triage management
- Coordination
- Observation
- General teamwork
Hackfiltration
Here’s one for the coders and tech geniuses. In this irreverent cyber adventure from decades past, you and your team of elite hackers must infiltrate a system to fight the powers that be. Can you do it in time?
Focus areas
- Active collaboration
- Attention to detail
- Working with ambiguity
- Trust
- Critical thinking
- Pattern recognition
- General teamwork
School for Spies
Travel back in time to your old high school halls — it’s finals week at Spy Academy, and a professor has gone missing! Where could they have gone?
You and your ‘class’ must find the clues scattered around the globe to pass your exam. Crack them all, and you just might have a chance…
Focus areas
- Research & reference
- Communication
- Information analysis
- Thinking with a global perspective
- Attention to detail
- Memory
- General teamwork
Get Started Today
Ready to spice up your next company outing? Send us your details for a quote, and one of our team members will be in touch to help get you started. We make team building easy so that you can focus on the task at hand – escaping the room! Plus, at Puzzle Break, we can work around any time constraints or special requirements.
In the meantime, keep an eye on our website and socials. We’ve got more exciting rooms in the works…
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