Office Christmas party games that work for any team

The office Christmas party is planned months in advance, and the entertainment is usually sorted out the week before. That's how you end up with a quiz that only three people enjoy, or a game that depends on everyone being loud and slightly drunk.

It doesn't have to be like that. A few simple rules, and a handful of games that suit them, make for an evening that most people actually remember fondly.

What makes a good office party game

• Everyone can join in. No games that need special knowledge, physical skills or being the life of the party. The new hire and the CEO should have the same chance.
• Nobody is put on the spot. The best games have everyone answering at once. Few people want to perform alone in front of their manager.
• Short rounds. Ten to fifteen minutes per game, then back to food and conversation. A game that drags is worse than no game.
• It works without alcohol. Plenty of people don't drink, and they should be just as included.
• Remote people can play. If part of the team is at home, pick games that run on a phone or laptop and a shared screen.

Games that tick the boxes

Guess the grocery prices

Everyone thinks they know what things cost, and almost everyone is wrong. Show real grocery items and have people guess the price. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive guesses is always entertaining.

Tombola has two games for this, using real Norwegian grocery prices. In Price is Right, you guess the price of one item at a time, every miss adds a fee to your receipt, and the cheapest receipt wins. In Grocery Battle, two items appear and you tap the more expensive one, with fast correct answers scoring more.

Guesstimation

Ask questions with a number for an answer and have everyone guess at the same time. Nobody knows the answer, so nobody looks silly. Tombola's Guesstimator has players answer with a slider on their phone, and the closest estimates score highest. We've also collected twelve good estimation questions if you'd rather run it on paper.

A music quiz

Christmas songs are an obvious theme, but mix in some general hits as well, so people who don't love Christmas music get a chance too. Short clips, written answers and points for both artist and title keep it fair. We've written a full guide to hosting a music quiz.

Real or AI?

Show two pictures, one real and one AI-generated, and have everyone vote on which is real. It takes five minutes, needs no knowledge, and starts plenty of arguments. Real vs AI runs it with the pictures on the big screen and votes from phones.

Secret Santa

The classic. Set a budget, draw names well in advance, and do the reveal at the party. Keep the budget low enough that nobody feels awkward.

Make the prize draw a show

Most office parties have a raffle or a prize, and the draw is usually someone reading a name off a piece of paper. It can be the highlight of the evening instead. (We've also written about how to pick a random winner fairly.)

That's what Tombola is built for. The host adds everyone, with photos if you like (backgrounds are removed automatically), and puts a physics game on the big screen:

• Marble Race: everyone is a marble racing down a winding track, and the lead changes constantly.
• Sumo Ring: fighters shove each other until one is left standing in the ring.
• Pachinko: tokens bounce down through pegs into buckets with different point values.
• Skyfall: runners dodge falling spiked balls until there's one survivor.
• Vertical Race and Pong round it off.

Nobody controls the outcome: the physics decides, live, so the draw is fair and nobody knows who'll win until the very end. The whole room ends up cheering for their own face. One race takes a minute or two.

The three quiz games above (Price is Right, Grocery Battle and Guesstimator) are in Tombola too, and players join those with a link or QR code, no account needed. The host pays for a subscription after a 7-day free trial.

A simple running order

1. Arrival and food: no games yet, let people talk.
2. Icebreaker, 10 minutes: Real or AI, or a guesstimation round.
3. Main game, 15 minutes: Price is Right or a music quiz.
4. Secret Santa reveal.
5. The prize draw: a marble race on the big screen to finish the evening.

Keep the games short and the gaps between them long. The party is for the people, not the games.