25 Virtual Event Ideas for an unforgettable experience

If you are a part of a remote team, chances are that you are running out of virtual event ideas by now – especially so, if your company already used to hold such events even before the pandemic hit. And most people are not thrilled about the idea of doing the same activity again, especially since such events are supposed to be a bit of an escape from the everyday routine. But don’t worry – even if you’re struggling to find virtual team event ideas, there are probably more of them that you just haven’t thought of yet. To help you with that, we have compiled 25 great ideas to try at your next virtual corporate event – we’re sure that everyone will be able to find at least a few new ones on this list.

1. Virtual talent show

From our experience, every team has loads of undiscovered talent within it, as people often don’t share their hobbies and special abilities with their coworkers. So, this can give everyone an opportunity to shine and surprise colleagues with their hidden talents. The first thing to do is to announce the event and ask everyone who’d like to participate to apply. Once you have received all the applications, ask all of the participants to record a short video showcasing their talent, which will then be shown to everyone else during the event. To add a bit of a competitive edge to it, ask everyone participating in the event to rate the performances, determining the winner at the end.

2. Online movie night

Hosting a movie night has always been a great way of entertaining a group of people and there are several great platforms that allow you to set them up online as well. Most of them already existed before the pandemic, but of course, once the lockdowns started, they were discovered by more and more people. Let everyone suggest a movie to watch together and then vote to choose which one it should be. Once you have selected the movie, find out where you can stream it or buy it, and decide on how to set up the technical side of the watch party. If you choose a solution that requires everyone to log in with their account on a specific streaming service, keep in mind that some of your team members might not use it, so it’s a good idea to send everyone a gift card that covers a month’s subscription fee.

3. Watch party for a major event

For another kind of a collective viewing experience, you could set up an online watch party for a major event that you know everyone on your team will be following – for example, a large sporting event, the season finale of a popular TV show, or an awards ceremony like the Oscars or the Grammys. To set up the watch party, you can use one of the services we already mentioned when describing the online movie night or everyone can simply watch it on their TV while joining together on a video call to discuss the proceedings. To make it even more exciting you can send out care packages with snacks for the watch party (this also applies to the movie night idea).

4. Online quiz night

This is one of the simplest, yet also one of the most fun virtual event ideas, providing some friendly competition for your team. There are countless formats that you could use – you could create the whole quiz yourself or ask each team member to create a portion of it, or, if you have a small team, everyone could create their own quiz and you could play several of them during a single event. Alternatively, you could use one of the many available quiz apps or a well-known TV quiz show format, like Jeopardy! Or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

5. Tour each other’s homes

In companies where most or all team members work remotely, people often don’t know much about their coworkers outside of work. Holding a virtual event where the activity is each of the participants giving a virtual tour of the place they live in can help them get to know each other better, as the team members are inviting each other into their homes. And, as we all know, for most people their home serves as a reflection of their personality.

6. Online karaoke night

Karaoke is among the favorite pastimes for many people, so, chances are high that your team members might enjoy it as well. If that’s the case, try setting up a karaoke night online! Especially given the fact that you can easily find karaoke versions of many popular songs on YouTube. Using the feature that shares your screen together with your computer’s sound, which can be found on most video conferencing apps, you can easily host a karaoke night online that will let your colleagues sing their hearts out.

7. Play GeoGuessr together

GeoGuessr is a fun online game with a simple concept – the players are shown a street view image of a random location and must guess which country or which region of a country it is located in. To be successful at the game, the players need to use their deduction skills, looking at signage, geographic features and other clues to find out the answer, so it’s a great brain teaser. Plus, it has various game modes for multiple players, so the participants can compete against each other.

8. Hold a remote dinner party

Dinner parties have always been among everyone’s favorite social events because they combine two things that people really enjoy – food and great conversation. So why not bring the experience online? Send your team members vouchers for a meal delivery service in their area, so that everyone can order something they like and create a conference call where everyone can enjoy their meal together while chatting with each other. To make it even more interesting, you can pick a theme for the food and come up with specific topics for discussion.

9. Play an online version of a board game

As everything is now moving online, makers of many board games are following suit, providing digital versions of their games, so that players can enjoy the same gameplay while being at separate locations. There are countless board games that can be enjoyed remotely, from classics like Monopoly to newer favorites like Codenames. If you know that most of your colleagues enjoy playing board games, this is a great virtual social event idea for your next work party.

10. Online cocktail masterclass

Many people enjoy occasionally going for Friday drinks after work together with their colleagues, and it’s something that they miss after switching to a remote setting, where teams are scattered around the country or even across several of them. If that’s the case with your team members, you can recreate the same spirit in an online party. Of course, simply sipping your drinks together on a Zoom call wouldn’t be that fun, so you can turn it into an online cocktail masterclass. Decide on what cocktails you’d like to try and send everyone the necessary ingredients and recipes to make them at home. You could also enlist the services of a professional bartender to demonstrate how it’s done. Of course, keep in mind that some of your team members might not drink alcohol, so send them ingredients for non-alcoholic versions of the same cocktails.

11. Online coffee-making masterclass

Coffee is an indispensable part of the daily routine for so many of us, yet not everyone knows about the many different ways it can be prepared. Starting from the taste profiles of various coffee types to preparation methods, to many kinds of coffee drinks that exist around the world, there’s a lot to know about it. So, find a company that provides coffee masterclasses and take your team on a journey through the world of coffee.

12. Virtual escape room

Escape rooms were solidifying their place among the most popular team building games in the years before the pandemic started because they promote teamwork and problem solving. But they have also thrived in the world of virtual corporate events, with many companies providing the experience in an online setting. If you’d like to use this virtual event idea, you can either choose one of many ready-made experiences or use a gamification tool to bring your own virtual escape room ideas to life.

13. A night at the museum

No, we’re not talking about the book or movie series here – what we mean is dedicating an evening to explore some of the world’s finest museums together and then discussing the experience with each other. This is one of the most educational virtual team event ideas, giving everyone an opportunity to broaden their horizons. There are quite a few world-famous museums that offer virtual tours of their collection, including the Guggenheim in New York, Musée d’Orsay in Paris and many others. 

14. Virtual baking class

Who doesn’t love baked goods? And they taste even better when you have made them yourself. Give your team a chance to improve their baking skills by holding a group baking class online. Find a company that provides this type of virtual corporate event, decide what you would like to bake and experience an unforgettable culinary adventure with your colleagues!

15. Speed dating

When we say speed dating, we don’t mean that you should try to help your colleagues find romantic partners. The same format used in speed dating can also be applied to simply getting to know the colleagues you only meet online, by having a quick chat with all of them. You can use the breakaway rooms feature provided by Zoom and other video conferencing tools to split everyone up into pairs, and also provide some potential conversation topics to make the interaction go smoother. This is one of the best virtual social event ideas for work gatherings, as it’s designed to help your team socialize with each other.

16. Virtual painting class

If your team likes to show their artistic side, taking an online painting class together could be an exciting virtual event idea. Look online for classes and pick one that your team would enjoy the most – whether it’s portraits, still life, landscapes or a specific painting style. Many of the class providers also send out all the necessary equipment to the participants but if the one you have chosen doesn’t, make sure to do that yourself.

17. Play an online drawing game 

If most of your colleagues aren’t really at the level to take a painting class but they enjoy drawing nonetheless, another cool virtual team event idea is to play a Pictionary-style drawing game together. There are many online games that use this concept, so you can test them out to see which one you like the best.

18. Online craft workshop

Another virtual event idea designed to bring out the creative side of your team members is holding a craft workshop online. Offer this idea to your colleagues and if they like it, hold a vote on what kind of craft they would like to learn. For example, it could be candle making, origami folding, embroidery and so much more. As with other similar virtual event activities, just make sure to send out all of the necessary supplies to participants in advance.

19. Play online bingo

Good old bingo is a game that some dismiss as outdated and boring, but, if you ask us, it can actually be a lot of fun, because everyone likes to test their luck. It’s also a fairly simple virtual event idea because all you need to do is create the bingo cards for everyone and then call out the numbers, using an online bingo number generator. Alternatively, you could create a bingo card with situations that regularly happen in your line of work and the team member who has the most happened to them gets declared as the winner. And, of course, don’t forget about prizes for the winners!

20. Play guess the desk

If the whole of your team works remotely, a simple, yet fun virtual event idea could be asking everyone to take a picture of their home office setup and then having everyone guess whose desk they’re looking at. This is an activity that rewards being attentive and remembering facts about your coworkers, and it also helps everyone find out new facts about each other. Plus, it’s also one of the easiest ones to set up from this list.

21. Create a virtual book club

If you have a small team and you know that all of your coworkers like to read in their spare time, why not create a book club where you meet once in a while to discuss a book you have read. Allow all team members to suggest a book and then vote to determine which one should be selected. Once you decide on the book, send it out to everyone and agree on a date when you should meet and discuss it. If the first time goes smoothly, this can then become a virtual team activity that is repeated regularly.

22. Play guess who

This is a simple virtual event idea aimed at finding out new things about your coworkers. Ask all of your coworkers to send in a fact (or several) that people might not know about them and then make everyone guess which team member each one of them might be about. This is a low-effort virtual event, but it can still be a very effective way of bringing your team closer together.

23. Home workspace setup workshop

When working in an office setting, it’s expected that everyone is working at their desk, where an office chair and a desktop monitor are provided for them. And more and more companies are trying to set up their offices in a way that is beneficial to their employee’s health. However, it can be very different in the remote work setting, where some people choose to work from their couch, because that seemed like the most convenient option at that time or they are working at a desk, but have set it up in a way that will eventually end up causing them back pain. So it’s a great idea to hold an online workshop with an expert in setting up home workspaces, to make sure that everyone’s home office is set up in the correct way.

24. Play a murder mystery game

This activity has been long favored for in-person team building events, but it can work equally well in an online setting, serving as a fun online activity that teases the participant’s brain and allows them to demonstrate their problem-solving skills. There are many game providers that provide online murder mystery games – just pick your favorite scenario and prepare for an evening of fun with your team.

25. Create a custom online game

If you have a specific virtual event idea that you would like to bring to life but don’t know how, a great option is to create a custom online game for your game using a gamification tool. You can create a wide variety of experiences this way, from scavenger and treasure hunts to quizzes, escape rooms and so much more. You can also easily combine elements of several game types to create your own custom experience. Plus, the interface of such tools is usually created in a way that allows you to build your game without any coding – all you need to do is drag and drop the elements that you’d like to use into the game.