If you're planning corporate team building activities in NYC, the number of options at your disposal may seem overwhelming, and finding activities in New York City that encourage team bonding and increase employee job satisfaction can be like finding a needle in a haystack. That's why we, the self-proclaimed team building gurus at Gotham Immersive Labs, have assembled a list of company outing ideas that engage employees and help build new connections among team members.
If you're looking for something challenging, something immersive, something that will lead your team to places they've never been, then look no further. The Great Gotham Challenge combines scavenger hunts, escape rooms, and immersive theater to create an experience that encourages cooperation, problem solving skills, and thinking outside the box.
Groups are divided into teams of 4-6, so there's no limit on the size. Challenges take place on both the streets of NYC and virtually, making it friendly to all kinds of workplaces. GGC is one of the most challenging and unique team building activities in NYC.
If the thrill and challenge of a GGC event seem a little too intimidating for your workgroup, you may want to try a traditional scavenger hunt. It's a great way to get people looking at their environment in new ways and considering things from a different perspective, especially amongst large groups, and can be easily integrated into other fun corporate events.
This is a pretty easy DIY team building event, but if you want to let the professionals handle it, team building companies like CityHunt are happy to provide pre-built and custom-fit scavenger hunts for any other team building activities you need.
In a place as dense with history as New York City, it's easy to overlook some amazing things right in front of you. A guided tour is a great team building event that can illuminate the streets you inhabit and can help your organization find its place in those streets. Taking a tour relating to your company's purview can also be a way to build up a shared knowledge base among coworkers.
For team outings with a more historical and sociocultural bent, GGC recommends Keith Taillon to lead the way. For a breath of fresh air, Central Park offers various guided walks with natural history and the environment.
In addition to immersive puzzle adventures, Great Gotham Challenge offers "Murder in the Mighty Metropolis," a murder mystery party that can be hosted at a venue of your choice. Gotham brings in a troupe of trained improv actors, who scatter into the party, and through large-scale scenes, small-group interactions, and puzzles hidden in the party supplies, partygoers can deduce who did the crime.
Whether the experience is hosted at a seedy speakeasy, a fine dining restaurant, a hotel ballroom, or even the lounge at your office, adding this Murder Mystery to your party will add an extra element of theatricality and interactivity to an evening of eating, drinking, and socializing. You won't find a corporate team building activity like this anywhere else.
The best way to get people talking is to get them laughing with each other! Improv comedy is a great way to encourage creative collaboration and fast thinking– skills that can be essential in the workplace.
Groups like New York Improv Theater host corporate team building sessions that aim to get employees building off of each other and problem solving on the fly for the goal of some good guffaws.
There are more than 150 museums in the NYC metro area, meaning that no matter what interests you and your team, you're bound to find a team outing that will be fun for everyone, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park, MoMa in midtown, or even El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. Museum tours are flexible for a wide span of group sizes, and many museums host special programs for company outings. Host scavenger hunts within the museum, discuss your team's favorite works of art or give small presentations on your favorite works.
For an extra level of engagement, companies like Museum Hack integrate educational tours with team building exercises, games, challenges, and scavenger hunts to add an element of friendly competition for a fun corporate event. Museum Hack's interactive tours are one of the best team building activities for art lovers.
Image provided courtesy of Beat The Bomb.
Race through puzzles, laser mazes, and memory games to build up enough time to Beat the Bomb. In this one of a kind team building activity, you'll be suited up head to toe while you complete challenges of dexterity and wit because if, in the end, you fail to beat the bomb… things get a bit messy. With two different tracks, teams can run simultaneously, making it a race to win and beat your coworkers.
Everyone loves to eat, so what better way to prompt team bonding than to share food with the whole team? A group cooking class is a great way of encouraging cooperation, and all that hard work pays off with a tasty treat.
For a New York classic that's sure to please, try Pizza School NYC on for size. For a healthier option, Allergic to Salad has you covered. If your group has dietary restrictions, tailor your meal with My Cooking Party.
If you want your team event to give employees a new perspective, why not get them to look at their surroundings from a new angle? Boat tours offer fresh air, beautiful views, and a chance to see daily sights in an unusual way.
While this activity is probably most enjoyable in the warmer months, Circle Line hosts tours all year round. Choose from a best of NYC tour, a landmarks highlight, or an evening cruise designed to show off the lights of the city.
Image provided courtesy of Paint Nite.
Don't be afraid to get a little messy in your next company team building activity! Wine and paint events like those hosted by Paint Nite are a fun, casual way to get to know coworkers, express yourself, and encourage employee creativity.
An artist on staff will guide you through the creation process, and you may end up with something worthy of hanging on the office walls.
If you don't want to face the heat of the kitchen but still want to encourage employee bonding over a good meal, worry not. From sidewalk food tours to pizza to beer, there are good eats to be found all around NYC, and a food tour is a great way to broaden horizons and spark discussion through a fun corporate event.
Each tour offers several options, allowing your group to compare and contrast and ultimately choose their favorites.
From bowling to basketball to bouldering, there are many fun activities and games to be had at Chelsea Piers, and the sports complex is a great arena for some friendly competition. Participate in one of their ready-made team building programs or create your own, and then end the day with one of their many dining options.
Nearly all of their offerings are indoors, so this is a year-round athletic option that won't be ruined by rain or snow.
The most important thing about a karaoke is not the quality of one's voice but the passion with which they sing. Let your employees cut loose and encourage them to share their passions at one of NYC's many karaoke rooms. A private karaoke room gives your team a private and personal fun group activity they are sure to remember.
Gagopa Karaoke has rooms that hold up to 30 people at a time, as well as catered drinks and snacks so the whole team can get in on the musical action.
Part cooking class, part trivia game, part reality competition, The Great Guac Off is among NYC's best team building events, and no wonder. It combines the collaborative team work of making food together with the friendly competition of a fast-paced game. You bring the team. They bring the ingredients.
If you want to bring your team together and feel good while doing it, there's no better way than to organize a day of service. Volunteer to make a meal at a soup kitchen or spend a day lending a hand in a Habitat for Humanity building project.
Local service organizations are always looking for volunteers and often have programs for corporate groups who want to help out. Check out a cause that has its headquarters near yours.
A foolproof corporate event idea and team building activity for the warmer months, spending a day in Central Park is an easy and inexpensive way to get fresh air and interact with colleagues in a more casual setting.
There are plenty fun group activities to do in the park, like sightseeing or a nature walk. A game of frisbee or a cornhole competition will round out the event nicely. Bring your own food or have it catered by a group like Perfect Picnic.
Image provided courtesy of Barcade.
If you're looking for a casual night out for your next team building event, arcade bars like the eponymous Barcade provide fun and excitement, plus a chance to show off those pinball skills you honed as a kid. You can even stake the next round of drinks on a game of Frogger for some additional friendly competition.
Just finish a frustrating project? Are you trying to mitigate a high-stress work environment? Let your team let it all out by smashing some breakables at a rage room. Places like The Rage Cage are perfect for getting employees to let loose and clear their heads.
You'll be provided with bats, sledgehammers, protective equipment, and plenty of junk to be destroyed. Computers and printers are a favorite for demolition.
The High Line . Photo by Timothy Schenck. Courtesy of the High Line.
Formerly a rail line, now an elevated park and walking trail, the High Line is a great place to take a historical tour or just walk and enjoy the cultivated greenery. Add in the numerous eateries just off the path (including Chelsea Market), and you have the recipe for a fun, low-key team outing.
There are plenty of entrances and exits along the trail, so the walk can be as short or as long as you wish, and you can start wherever is most convenient for you.
Looking for a holiday event that thinks outside the box and the house? Gingerbread Wars is a teambuilding activity that will have you building something, giving your group a chance to show off their craftsmanship and creativity as they create molasses-y masterpieces.
All gingerbread, icing, and decorations are provided; you supply the imagination.
Whether playing singles or doubles, ping pong is an accessible game that large groups can rotate in and out of while kicking back with a drink. In New York City, Cellar Dog (formerly known as Fat Cat) is a great basement venue that also features pool, shuffleboard, and jazz in the West Village. Spin Flatiron on 23rd St is a more all-inclusive venue, with large group spaces available to reserve and a deep bar and food menu.
To mix it up, try playing "Berlin style," where a large group circles around the table, two players opposite with paddles. One serves the ball, and in the intervening time before the player at the other side returns the ball, passes the paddle to the next player, who rotates in. The player at the other end does the same, and players move in a circular motion until the ball cannot be returned, and that player is out. This continues until there are only two players left!
Image provided courtesy of Kick Axe.
A novel experience for nearly everyone, axe throwing has grown in popularity as a fun team building activity for all types. Axe throwing ranges like Kick Axe encourage you to learn a new skill, relax with a drink, and drum up some friendly competition trying to hit that bullseye.
Lessons and axes are included, so be ready to hone your technique.
Image provided courtesy of Chocolate Noise.
More than just a chocolate tasting event (though that in itself would please many) Chocolate Noise walks you through the chocolate making process from bean to bar, showing how source, processing, and other ingredients affect how chocolate tastes. If you've got an office full of sweet tooths, this is a great way to satisfy them.
For an extra level of extravagance, you can also pair your tasting with a wine or tea tasting.
Like a cooking class with a bit of a lime twist, mixology classes such as those offered by Liquid Lab are a great way to learn a new skill as a group while also integrating a cocktail party vibe to your next team outing or building event. From simple mixed drinks to elegant bartending flair, there's something for everyone to learn.
Image provided courtesy of Unarthodox.
As the name suggests, Unarthodox is not your typical paint-along experience. With offerings like blindfolded sculpture and intuitive art, you can expect an out of the box experience that will have team members discovering new things about themselves and their coworkers.
Unarthrodox also offers company personalization for many of their projects, so if you want to keep the creativity on-theme, they have you covered.
Of course, a bunch of passionate puzzlers like ourselves couldn't let this list of classic team building activities go by without mentioning escape rooms. Escape rooms are (in our humble opinion) one of the best NYC team building activities for fostering problem solving skills, teamwork, communication, and leadership amongst coworkers, and the best ones will give each team member their chance to shine.
New York is home to some of the finest escape rooms in the world, so of course, we can't name all of the ones that we love here, but we will shout out Mission Escape Games, Myystic Rooms, and The Escape Game as places that we can confidently say deliver an excellent escape experience that will provide some great team bonding activities and building events.
There are almost as many fun company team building activities here in NYC as there are workplaces. It's important to know what might interest your group, as well as what you want to get out of a company outing. Do you want to push your team towards cooperation or competition? Is your event trying to bring people together for a greater cause, or are you just looking to have fun?
Whatever the makeup of your group may be, there's something out there for everyone, and hopefully, you'll find an option that fits your needs on this list.
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"We had high expectations and they were far exceeded. The challenges were difficult, extremely creative, and completely customized to our group. Suffice it to say our group couldn't have possibly had more fun. Thank you for making me look great!"
"I'm always very skeptical of these "team-building" events, but this one was over the top. They successfully handled our 120-person team, with puzzles that were really challenging. The whole experience couldn't have been more engaging!"
"One of our directors told me it was one of the best organized online challenges they've done."
"[The challenge] shattered any expectations I had. For a fully remote event, I expected a bit of cheesy fun, but the production quality is unbelievable. I absolutely recommend everyone to try it."
"To quote one of my teammates: "This [challenge] was mean and hard, and resultantly perfect." Thank you for the stellar experience, service, and fun."
"For a few hours, you get to feel like a secret agent as you traverse the mundane real world with a VIP pass for curated wonder."
"A mixture of live actors, custom puzzles, and clues built around pre-existing and famous structures in lends the event a sort of glam DaVinci Code energy."
Great Gotham Challenge is a once-in-a-lifetime event that starts at $2000 for our most basic, 2-hour in-person experience. However, most of our events are several times that scale - If you're dreaming big for a custom event, so are we!
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