5 Can't-Miss Games to Build Stronger Staff

5 Can’t-Miss Games to Build Stronger Staff & Stronger Communities

Whether you're gearing up for summer or wrapping up the school year, giving your team the tools to connect, reflect, and lead with intention can have a lasting impact. The following five interactive games are low-prep, high-impact ways to strengthen your team and help them model confidence, empathy, and creativity with the youth they serve.

Each game is adaptable to your setting—camp, school, or any youth-serving organization—and includes ideas to bring it to life in your environment.

1. Work It Out (Silent Team Challenge)

Focus: Collaboration • Non-verbal Communication • Problem Solving

In this challenge, participants complete simple tasks—without talking. Line up by height, form shapes, or spell a word using only gestures. If anyone talks or physically guides someone, the facilitator calls “Freeze!”—but the clock keeps ticking.

Why it works: Encourages trust and creative communication under pressure.

Try this at…

Camp: Create a giant figure 8 with your bodies before the timer runs out.

School/After-School: Line up by birth month without speaking—can your classroom beat yesterday’s record?

2. Positive Action Game (Problem-Solving Relay)

Focus: Empathy • Conflict Resolution • Quick Thinking

Split into teams. Staff must respond to real-world behavioral or logistical challenges from youth (delivered by facilitators or actors) and “earn” their way through each prompt by resolving it positively and appropriately. Prompts might include “A participant refuses to join an activity” or “A youth starts crying during snack.”

Why it works: Models active listening and reframing tricky situations with empathy.

Try this at…

Camp: “A camper is homesick and won't get off the bunk.”

School: “A student refuses to participate and distracts others during group work.”

3. Moving Picture (Tableaux Storytelling)

Focus: Teamwork • Creativity • Values

Participants create three frozen scenes (tableaux) showing the beginning, middle, and end of a familiar story, theme, or value. Add dialogue to deepen the impact. This game is great for reviewing shared stories or processing group themes.

Why it works: Builds cooperation and opens the door to values-based discussion.

Try this at…

Camp: “Tell the story of Moana in 3 still scenes.”

School: “Act out the life cycle of a butterfly—with dramatic flair!”

4. Pizza Bagel (Identity Icebreaker)

Focus: Inclusion • Self-Awareness • Connection

One person stands in the middle of a circle and says, “The Pizza Bagel belongs to anyone who…” followed by a fun or personal fact (e.g., “…has ever been to a concert.”). Everyone who relates must move to a new spot—last person in is now in the center.

Why it works: Encourages vulnerability and reveals hidden commonalities.

Try this at…

Camp: “...has ever stayed up all night with a bunkmate!”

School: “...has ever been the new kid at school.”

5. Slideshow (Mainstages Classic)

Focus: Engagement • Humor • Improvisation

Facilitator calls out a scene—“a group cheering at a talent show”—then says, “Click click click, freeze!” Participants freeze in poses representing the scene. The facilitator dramatically (and humorously) misinterprets the poses for laughs. Great as a closing activity!

Why it works: Breaks tension, encourages spontaneity, and leaves staff smiling.

Try this at…

Camp: “Here’s a picture of the wildest Color War moment ever…”

School: “Here’s a picture of the first day of school—kindergarten edition.”

Final Thought: A Strong Start = A Strong Impact

The adults in your community are more than just supervisors—they’re mentors, role models, and memory-makers. When we invest in their connection to each other and their ability to lead with confidence, the ripple effect reaches every child they engage.

Whether you're closing out a school year or preparing for summer, these games offer a chance to reset, reconnect, and re-energize your team.

Want support leading these games—or a full interactive staff training session?