13 Ideas for Halloween Team Building Activities

In-Person and Virtual Halloween Ideas

The spookiest holiday of the year is the perfect time to bone up on ideas for lifting spirits and reviving morale. After all, Halloween is many people’s favorite holiday. And like a cheerful Frankensteinian monster, it’s custom-built for treating spooky times with a smile.

To help you plan a successful event, dig deep into these 13 ideas for fun Halloween team building activities. You’ll find a mix of in-person and virtual options to accommodate whatever your workplace situation might be this October.

Skeleton thinking about Halloween

Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Virtual Ghost Hunt: The Haunted Online Halloween Scavenger Hunt takes our real-world “haunted scavenger hunts” and translates them into an online quest with new ghost-plagued places and bone-tingling tales. Using websites, virtual tours, and our custom game app, you and your colleagues will virtually explore haunted places. You might visit the bizarre Winchester Mystery House. Or step onto the surprisingly deadly Queen Mary. Or discover the torturous history of the Tower of London.

An international version of the hunt is available for groups with ESL participants. And a slightly less haunted family edition of this hunt is also available for events with children.

Costume Contest

A Halloween costume contest is another great option in-person or virtually. And it can be as elaborate or simple as you want. Ask your team whether they’d like to do full costumes, or something like a goofy-hat contest, for example. Or set a theme, like Disney characters or super heroes. You can even have colleagues vote and give small prizes for things like spookiest, silliest, and most artistic costumes. And dressing up can augment every other option on this list.

In-Person Scavenger Hunts

If you’re ready to get together in person, try the Halloween Grab ‘n’ Go Scavenger Hunt. You’ll crack a mysterious message, enjoy a spooky challenge with your Hunt Host, and create memorable themed photos. And this game can be played anywhere, including your office or favorite neighborhood.

Speaking of which, you can opt instead to hunt down the haunted history of cities around the country. In-person Haunted Scavenger Hunts are available in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Salem, Massachusetts.

Carve or Paint Pumpkins

Jack o lantern

This is a great activity for in-person, virtual, and hybrid workplaces. Provide your team with some pumpkin-carving kits or paint markers, set a time, and have fun. Once again, colleagues can vote for their favorites. (To save on time and mess, encourage any carvers to scoop out their pumpkins’ innards beforehand.)

Hidden Objects

This is a great in-office option for smaller groups. Cut out little paper ghosts, print pictures of pumpkins, or whatever you like, and number them (so you know later which ones get found). Then, in the lead-up to Halloween, hide them throughout your workplace or department. Behind the water cooler, on the back of the printer, on the underside of a cabinet drawer, wherever.

When you’re ready, set your colleagues loose to find the hidden items. Because this is a low-key game everyone can enjoy throughout the workday, it provides hours, or even days, of fun.

Virtual Halloween Trivia

Is trivia more your team’s speed? If so, take on the fun challenges of the Halloween Trivia Slam. It’s basically a pub-style trivia game, with some spoopy twists. You might be asked to identify movie monster dating profiles and ponder ridiculous DIY costumes. But that’s just the start. You’ll also recall characters from Halloween episodes of classic TV shows, name famous haunted places, and more.

DIY Trivia

Whether you devote an entire event to it or sprinkle it into meetings throughout October, don’t be afraid to keep it simple with Halloween trivia. You might find a list of horror-movie trivia online or borrow some of our at-home Halloween trivia. Then compete in groups or individually, and award the winner with a prize.

Zoom in Spooky Style

Watson Adventure Halloween Zoom Background

In the lead-up to Halloween, your team can get into the spirit with haunted Zoom backgrounds. Customizing your Zoom to a theme offers a low-effort, high-impact way to boost morale and enjoy fun surprises, literally in the background of whatever else you decide to do!

Halloween Happy Hour

Another great add-on to other options on this list! You can go fancy with delivered cocktail kits, or mix it up yourselves with Halloween cocktail ideas. With a spooky Zoom background behind you, and maybe a silly hat on your head, a Halloween happy hour is a nice excuse to hang out and discuss your favorite scary movies.

Halloween Potluck

Speaking of excuses for a haunted hang, organize an in-person Halloween potluck. There are plenty of Halloween-themed recipes out there. As with any potluck, make sure to spread out responsibility so you’ve got appetizers, entrees, and of course desserts covered.

Mummies in the Making

Split your colleagues into teams, grab some rolls of toilet paper, and turn a teammate into a mummy! Simple but fun. Feel free to try to get elaborate with decorations, vote on the winner, and hand out candy as prizes.

Halloween Bingo

Print out free Halloween bingo cards, order a set, or make your own. And because bingo is so much fun (and a little unpredictable), make sure to have prizes on hand for a bunch of rounds.

Find More Fun

Now it’s your turn! Contact us to learn about scheduling a private Halloween game, or check the calendar for upcoming weekend games for the public.