Bingo and Other Fun for Remote Teams
I like a good party. I love games. And I especially enjoy raising the happy quotient with my teams. So let’s take a journey of what works and what doesn’t when “making happy happen.”
Bingo!
One way we’re having fun in these work-at-home times is playing virtual bingo. It might seem obvious, given the amount of buzz-word bingo cards laying about. But actually the joy comes from having cards that are unique to your team’s projects and culture.
The card above was developed by a Documentation squad, who runs virtual bingo games every six months or so. So why is their game so much more fun? A few things make all the difference:
- The aforementioned personalized card that reflects the culture (such as inside jokes), recent work activities, and also current events (such as Covid-19).
- Slack channel for banter and questions
- Time limit
- Evidence so people feel the game is fair
Since I’ve been working with local and remote teams for over 20 years, I’ve tried a variety of activities to connect folks as well just have fun. Here’s a few winners and few fails.
Winning ways remote teams have fun
HUMOR! When I was building a team quickly and across Austin, Raleigh, and London, I realized we needed a playful name for the squad, one that eventually got a mascot. The team did its own brainstorming and art design, coming up with Doctopus.
GAMES! On another team, we started playing Pictionary via web cameras and white boards. It was a simple setup, using an online generator for things to draw. Cell phones were used for timers. The best part was having the guessing person being remote from the drawer. Nowadays, many games are set up to be played remotely (for example Sketchful.io), and you can enhance some of the game chatter with tools like Discord. Your mileage may vary about how many players want to install extra tools. So, do tests, have a strong sense of humor, and be patient as you work out game play across locations.
CELEBRATE! One thing that I saw and repeated immediately was leveling-up celebrations. My favorite way to do that is with music during web conferences. Yes, it’s a surprise to suddenly hear music at the start or end of a meeting. And yes, the sound quality tends to be pretty terrible. But it doesn’t matter, if you snag an infectious song that everyone knows, such as Happy or All I Do is Win. A couple tips:
- Use YouTube or Vimeo to find a song. You might have to work to find one without an ad.
- Listen to the entire clip you intend to play. Some songs turn out to be NSFW.
- If you show video too, watch the entire clip. Once again, some visual aspects could be offensive.
- Turn it up. I’ve used the speaker directly on my laptop. You can use a separate bluetooth speaker too. You will be essentially blocking anyone else from speaking.
Failed attempts
I’ll admit it. I’ve tried a lot of things. Some ideas just didn’t land.
IT GETS PERSONAL. For example, during the early days of the pandemic in the U.S., I tried to encourage my team to share a photo, short video, or brief story about their weekends. The idea was to connect with others while we’re all isolating at home. No one posted but me for a few Mondays in a row. Oh well. I morphed that idea into a Monday check-in with my closest colleagues, so we start the week with a smile.
ALL PLAY. Insist that everyone participate — because games are fun, right? Not necessarily. Some folks are just not going to participate because they’re busy, because they’re introverts, because they’re on holiday, because whatever reason. That’s totally OK. Don’t insist.
LATHER RINSE REPEAT. Fun is one of the weird things that you cannot schedule into a regular occurrence. Fun is about spontaneity, novelty, and serendipity. So although it sounds good on paper to schedule weekly events, attendance and enthusiasm normally wane in just a few weeks. Unless you throw really great parties, like my friend’s weekly Janky-oke (Karaoke via Zoom with no special sound systems or talent).
So I hope that this little tour of fun during isolation and on-going remote work helps you think about how to bring your teams together while staying apart. I’d also like to send you over to see what Elayna Spratley has been posting on LinkedIn (for example, celebration ideas). She’s been an inspiration with tips and thoughts about work life in the new normal.
