Build connections in Microsoft Teams with Games for Work, a new Microsoft Teams app| Microsoft 365 Blog

What is the best way to get in touch with colleagues? Yes, please.

Everybody is struggling with trust and team building. It’s time to play games. The power of playing games together with colleagues can foster collaboration and relationships. While games can be a distraction at work, they have many positive effects. Brigham Young University found that teams that played video games with each other were 20% more productive than groups who engaged in traditional group-building activities.¹

App for Games for Work

Microsoft Teams allows you to bring your entire team together.

The shift to remote and hybrid work has affected our social capital, affecting cross-group collaboration as well as employee retention.²According to Work Trend Index, more than 40 percent of executives consider building relationships the most difficult challenge in remote or hybrid environments.³Gaming can help us build trust and connect with others. Sometimes we just need to have a little bit of fun with each other.

Through play, build connections at work

Today I’m excited to announce the App for Games for Work,* Microsoft Casual Games (an Xbox Games Studio) developed the game.** Now, you can easily add a game in the context of where work happens: in Microsoft Teams meetings. A selection of casual games are available, such as Microsoft IceBreakers, Wordament, MinesweeperPlease see the following: Solitaire—all easy to play in quick, interactive, and multi-player versions (from 2 to 250 players). They are safe for work (verifiably “E” rated) and ad-free. The app features a variety of games that focus on team building, to meet the diverse needs of different teams.

“Over 3 billion people around the world play games, serving a crucial role in bringing people together – especially during these last few years,” Jill Braff is the General Manager for Integrations and Casual Games at Microsoft. “Games promote creativity, collaboration and communication in powerful and unique ways, and we can’t wait to see the how the Games for Work app on Microsoft Teams inspires productivity and helps foster connections in the workplace.”

Microsoft IceBreakers

It’s a great way to encourage new teams and allow them to easily communicate with each other. It’s a variation on This or that—pineapple or pepperoni on your pizza? It’s so simple and intuitive, you can’t help but answer the question. You can use it to spark lively, sometimes passionate conversations that foster team bonding and improve morale.

Microsoft Minesweeper

It is considered the best cooperative game. This game encourages teamwork and collaboration to quickly solve problems. This game could be a great tool for your team.

Microsoft Wordament

A word challenge is a great way to exercise your brain, and encourage team competition. Wordament can easily be used with large groups. It is designed for up to 250 players.

Microsoft Solitaire Collection

The fan-favorite Microsoft Solitaire Collection features a competition for group participation. This might sound like an oxymoron—the multi-player capability and enhanced spectator mode allows everyone, whether actively playing that round or not, to follow the action and engage with the players on-screen. It’s like calling out the answers while watching a game show or assisting a friend with a word puzzle.

The Games for Work app integrates directly into the flow of the workday—once the app is added, you and your co-workers can seamlessly enjoy the experience inside Teams meetings, on desktop and mobile. You can get all four games today for no cost thanks to Microsoft’s security and safety.  

Discover other apps for social networking in Team

In addition to the Games for Work app, there are more apps in Teams to help strengthen your team’s relationships, boost productivity, and, of course, have fun!

• Polly in Teams: Run live polls, surveys, quizzes, trivia, and Q&A for an instant, live engagement. You’ll get your hands up, creativity flowing, and minds active. You can make your team feel comfortable and allow for open responses. Polly is a tool that can be used to facilitate conversations, meetings, and channels in Teams. Learn more about Polly and Microsoft Teams by watching How to Use Polly.
• Kahoot! Team Learning: Start a team game. For those colleagues that can’t join a live game or are on the go, assign a challenge that is self-paced, with questions and answers displayed on players’ devices. For some friendly competition, you can track your progress using a leaderboard. Kahoot! You can use Kahoot in a channel or chat with Teams.

Our ecosystem of partners will continue to power more apps in the next year.

Find out more

The Games for Work app is designed to connect people in Microsoft Teams by sparking discussion, creativity and community through play. Please send us your feedback—these games will continue to evolve, and we will add new games based on your recommendations.

*Available for Microsoft Teams Enterprise and Education customers only; if not available in your Teams app, reach out to your IT admin for support.

**Games for Work is a pilot app and its performance as well as feedback from users will influence the casual game roadmap in Microsoft Teams; the current Microsoft Teams gaming policy is unchanged until we complete the pilot.  

¹Study: Collaboration video games can increase productivity in the office, Todd Hollingshead at Brigham Young University. January 28, 2019.

²Four ways to rebuild your team’s social capital, Nicole Herskowitz, LinkedIn. May 20, 22.

³Hybrid Work is Just Work. Is It A Mistake? Microsoft, Work Trend Index Special Report. September 22, 2022