12 Playground Games to Build Teamwork

Teamwork is a valuable lesson, and all the skills that come with it are essential for kids to learn. Fun team building activities for kids make learning communication skills and ways to support peers feel more like a game rather than a lesson. Students will be excited to join in the playground games and won’t even realize they’re developing those and other valuable life skills.

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If you’ve never thought about using team building activities for students or want to add new games to playground time, Sports Yodha is here to help. Find 15 playground games to build teamwork below and offer them to your students as activities that develop useful skills!

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Group Jump Rope
Hula Hoop Challenge
Over Under Relay
Sports Hot Potato
Agility Course
Hopscotch Relay
Blindfolded Toss
Body Spellers
Team Simon Says
Limbo Relay
Marco Polo
Birthday Line Up

1. Group Jump Rope

Outdoor team building games for kids encourage them to move and work together – just like jump rope does. Ask two adults or older children to hold the ends of a long rope. Then have a group of a few kids take turns to pass the jump rope between them. All the adults have to do is spin the rope at a good enough speed that the kids can play.

This simple activity works either as a fun way to keep moving or as a friendly competition. You can keep score or just ask a group of kids to jump and rotate between different groups for a fun activity. Count how many jumps a team has made before getting stuck on the rope and ask the groups to try to surpass that score.

Group jump rope gets kids to encourage each other to try their best while they jump. It also teaches kids that teamwork helps everyone succeed, because they can only continue jumping rope once everyone on their team has made it across.

2. Hula Hoop Challenge

In this challenge, children must carry a hula hoop from one end of a line to the other or around a circle. Each child must hold the hands of the children on either side of them to form a line or circle. The first child in line will take the hula hoop on their hand. You can also ask two children in the circle to link hands inside the hula hoop.

From there, children must move the hula hoop around their body and pass it to the hand of the child next to them. Encourage teamwork by asking children to raise their arms and help the child next to them pass the hula hoop. Make small teams of children and let them compete to see who can complete the challenge first.

3. Over Under Relay

For this fun team building activity, children stand in a line facing the same direction. Have a starting line and a finishing point for groups or competitive teams. Give the first child in line a ball, which he or she passes over his or her head to the next child in line behind him or her. That child passes the ball under his or her feet to the person behind him or her, who then passes the ball over their head behind them and so on.

Once the ball has reached the last child in line, they go forward and begin the process again. This activity motivates children to work quickly but precisely. This team building activity teaches children how important it is to stay focused on a task when others are depending on them.

4. Sports Hot Potato

For this game the children start in a small circle. They throw a ball to each other in the circle – whatever ball suits the age group and their abilities. If a child catches the ball, everyone takes a step back until the circle gets bigger and bigger.

This game is easy to change to suit your group. Asking children to indicate who they want to throw the ball to is a great icebreaker exercise. You can also play a version in which if someone drops the ball the children have to take a step forward. This version of Hot Potato teaches children the importance of every player on a team and the importance of helping others as they try to throw their best.

5. Agility Course

For kids’ team building games that emphasize movement, use your facility’s playground components to create an agility course for two teams. One child from each team runs through the course, climbing and sliding across playground equipment. Once they reach the finish line you set, the next child on the team runs through the course. The group whose members all cross the finish line first is the winner.

Expand the course with other components around the playground. Create an outline for the kids to hopscotch on or set up cones to add more movement to the activity. An agility course enforces the idea of supporting fellow team members and teaches how each part of the group is essential to success.

6. Hopscotch Relay

Add a twist of teamwork to traditional hopscotch. Draw two equal-sized outlines next to each other and divide the kids into teams of two. If you’re working with a larger group of kids, add more courses to keep the groups small. Give each group a beanbag to throw and explain the rules.

Instruct the kids to throw the marker at a random spot. Then they must jump down the course, landing on every spot except the one where the marker fell. When they get to 10, they turn around and come back, picking up the marker and dropping the number again. When they get back to the start, they pass the beanbag to someone else and go to the back of the line. The team with all of its members passing through the course first wins.

Add more rules to make the game more challenging. If a child accidentally jumps over the spot where he threw his marker, he has to start over. If they throw the marker out of the line, they must pick it up and throw it again. If they jump or stumble out of the hopscotch squares, they must go back to the starting square. The hopscotch relay shows children the importance of doing their best to help their group members succeed when they are on a team.

7. Blindfolded Toss

For this activity, children join teams of two. One child must close his eyes or wear a blindfold and try to throw a ball into a hoop or at a target. The other child on the team will not be blindfolded and will have to direct the blindfolded child where to throw the ball. You and the other adults can grab a hula hoop for each team, draw targets with chalk for the children to pass the ball to, or use a toss-up hoop. Use foam balls to create a safer game.

With this activity, children learn the importance of communication in teamwork. Extend that experience with a friendly competition. Form several teams of two and let them compete with their teammates to see who can get into the hoop or hit the target first.

8. Body Spellers

Divide children into equal teams for this game that you can play outdoors or indoors. Give the groups the same word to spell, choosing a short word for younger children in smaller teams or a longer word for older children in larger teams. They then have one minute to use their fingers, hands, arms, or bodies to spell the word. Whichever team spells the word correctly and in a legible way gets a point. Play for as many points as you have time for.

Spelling words in a group will reinforce classroom lessons and communication skills. Team building activities for children that require them to collaborate with their peers to achieve a goal will teach them what makes a group successful. They may naturally appoint a leader or rely on their group members for spelling knowledge, realizing that each person has something to offer.

9. Team Simon Says

Most children know how to play Simon Says, but adding teams can make the game more interesting. Make groups of equal size and have those teams stand together on the playing field. Then give the children instructions to follow. If you say, “Simon Says,” they are to follow your instruction, and if you don’t, they are not to do what you said. Any child who breaks those rules is out, and the last team standing wins the game.

If you assign a few adults or older children to be referees for each team, this game will be easier to play, especially if you have a lot of children playing. Simon Says teaches children the importance of listening, and a team version of the game emphasizes that skill. It also shows children how important every team member is to achieving the goal.

10. Limbo Relay

Turn limbo into a fun competition with two teams of kids. You will also need three additional adults or older children to hold the rope or limbo bar for each group. Start at the same height and let everyone in the line pass under it. Once everyone has passed, lower the bar a few inches and stay level with the other team’s bar.

If a child stumbles or can’t get under the bar, he or she is eliminated. The last team standing or the team whose bar is the lowest is the winner. Creating team building games from familiar activities for children is a great way to encourage students to work together and support each other while playing.

11. Marco Polo

Make it a teamwork game by forming two teams of kids and calling out “Marco.” All the kids respond to you by calling out “Polo,” and you try to tag them. For a greater challenge, draw or create a boundary beyond which the kids cannot step. Have other adults watch to make sure you and the kids don’t step out of the boundary. If a child steps out of the boundary or you tag them, they are out. The last team that has members left is the winner.

To clear teams, give kids coordinating pinnies, vests, or bandanas to wear. This will make the game easier and let kids know who is on their side and who they should help. Kids can then warn their teammates if they are about to be tagged, and they will understand the importance of communication and paying attention to supporting a team.

12. Birthday Line Up

Play this game for team building activities for kids that don’t involve competition. Instead, your group will work together to line up based on their birthday from January 1 to December 31.

Birthday Line Up encourages communication and teamwork to achieve a goal. Vary the game to make it more challenging and require additional teamwork. Set a time limit or use a stopwatch to see if they can beat a certain time. Or, make a rule that kids can’t talk and must use their hands to communicate only when it’s their birthday. To play another round, use new rules, such as lining up in alphabetical order based on first names.

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We’d be happy to answer your questions and guide you toward the best equipment options for your facility. Find a Sports Yodha representative near you or request a quote today!