Interested in Virtual Team Building Events?
10 mins 
1. What Is Company Field Day?
A company field day is a teambuilding event where staff are transported out of the office for a series of entertaining, dynamic activities. These activities usually take place in a field or other open green area, but you can also play most of the games indoors, provided you have a large enough space.
2. 12 Field Day Games for Adults in the Workplace
2.1. Tug of War
One of the most popular field day games for adults, tug of war involves two teams grappling over a sturdy length of rope. Once the contest begins, each side tries to pull the other forward, until a predetermined distance has been achieved.
In professional contests, there are usually a total of eight people on each side, but you can adapt the format to suit the number of participants you have, whether that means creating bigger teams or more teams with fewer people.
While winning a tug of war isn’t all about brute strength, try to balance the teams evenly in terms of size and power.
2.2. Sack Race
Sack races are a staple of school sports days and village fairs, but they work equally well for office field days. The only thing you need to provide is burlap sacks for the participants and they’re off!
The setup is simple: each person receives a sack that they then step into, holding the sides up with their hands. Once the race starts, each person hops as fast as they can in their sack towards the finish line, with the first person to reach it declared the winner.
If you want to add more of a collaborative element to the game, you can turn the race into a relay, with teams of two or more working together to set the fastest time.
2.3. Three-legged Race
Another opportunity for plenty of hilarity, the three-legged race involves pairs of people racing one another between two set points. These pairs can be randomly assigned, or you can purposefully plan for two people from different parts of the business to be matched up to encourage interdepartmental mixing. Alternatively, you can be completely hands-off and just leave the participants to choose their own partners.
Once the twosomes have been confirmed, they are tied together at the leg using a piece of rope or an elasticated band. The winners are the pair that cross the finish line first, but expect a few falls from the less coordinated pairings along the way!
2.4. Giant Jenga
A supersized version of the popular home game, Giant Jenga consists of large wooden blocks that are arranged to form a tower. The aim of the game is to remove blocks one by one from within the tower without causing a complete collapse of the structure. Players take turns to make their move, with the person who brings about the fall of the tower declared the loser.
Giant Jenga is worth considering as part of field day activities for adults with disabilities, who might not be able to take part in more mobility-centered pursuits like the sack race or the three-legged race. It also offers a more cerebral element to what is largely a physical day out.
2.5. Obstacle Race
One of the most energetic and engaging field day games for adults, an obstacle course sees your team members traversing a range of hurdles, monkey bars, and tire runs to finish in the fastest time. As with the sack race, you can make it a team sport by introducing a relay aspect to the game.
Creating an obstacle course requires quite a bit of work, so it might be worth looking for companies that can either host you at their custom-built facility or supply you with equipment to use in an open green space. This will also avoid any of the health and safety issues that might arise if you try to create the course yourself.
2.6. Water Balloon Toss
A game for a hot, sunny day, the water balloon toss involves players passing a water-filled balloon back and forth to each other. The goal is to make as many passes as possible without the balloon popping and dousing an unfortunate member of staff in the water.
To introduce a competitive element, divide everyone into teams and have them stand in separate straight lines. When the game starts, the teams must pass their water balloon as fast as they can from one end of the line to the other without bursting it. If a team’s balloon does explode, they must start from the beginning with a fresh balloon.
2.7. Hula Hoop Challenge
Hula hoops are a good choice because they can be used in a variety of outdoor or indoor team building activities. For example, you can throw them at targets or try to keep them continuously spinning as you speed down a racecourse.
The most popular hula hoop challenge, however, is to see which of your colleagues can keep their hula hoop whirling around their waist for as long as possible. To lend the activity a bit more of a competitive edge, have your staff compete in heats, steadily whittling the competitors down until they reach the grand finale.
2.8. Capture the Flag
Capture the Flag is one of the best team building field day activities for adults who don’t mind some more strenuous exertion.
All participants are divided into two or more teams, depending on the total number of people playing. Each team has a ‘base’ inside their ‘home’ territory where their flag is stored. The object of the game is to venture into enemy territory to seize your opponents’ flag(s) while simultaneously defending your own flag from capture.
Any players tagged while in hostile territory are sent to a jail, where they remain either for a set period or until they are freed by a teammate, depending on the variation you want to play. A team loses if their flag is captured and taken back to another team’s base.
2.9. Blindfolded Obstacle Course
A blindfolded obstacle course places a greater emphasis on communication and teamwork than a traditional obstacle course. In this version, a player has their eyes covered by a piece of fabric before they traverse the gauntlet. The only way for them to successfully navigate the field is to listen to the instructions shouted out by another person or persons on their team.
Obstacles in the blindfolded game should be less physically challenging than in the sighted version so as to avoid injury. Instead, the focus is on skirting obstacles, which may be cones or other harmless objects. Every time a player does touch an item, they either suffer a time penalty or must start from the beginning.
2.10. Wheelbarrow Race
Make sure your colleagues play this game before you break out the hotdogs and burgers! To begin with, divide participants into pairs, then place a cone or other object as a marker at a set distance away from the start line.
One member of the pair starts as the wheelbarrow, who must move forward along the ground using their hands while their legs are held up in the air by their partner. Once a pair reaches the cone, they switch roles and return to the start line. The objective is to complete the course as fast as possible while balancing in this precarious position.
Wheelbarrow races are one of the few field day games for adults with no equipment required, as all you need is a start/end point, a midway marker (which can be anything visible), and pairs of eager players.
2.11. Frisbee Golf
Frisbee golf (aka disc golf) is one of the more skilled field day games for adults, requiring great aim and a light touch. Similar to golf, the goal is to get from the tee to the hole in as few turns as possible, except the hole in this case is usually a chain basket. Players take it in turns to throw their frisbee, with the person who completes all the holes using the fewest throws declared the winner.
While many places these days have purpose-built frisbee golf courses, it’s also possible to put together your own game using everyday buckets or baskets as holes.
2.12. Paintball Challenge
Something you definitely cannot DIY is a game of paintball. There are lots of companies that offer this form of team activity, with the aim usually being to eliminate all members of the opposing side, gunning them down in a barrage of colorful and (mostly) harmless paint pellets.
Even though all modern paintball places offer plenty of protection to avoid any accidental injuries, if you or your staff are worried about getting hurt, you can always opt for a game of laser tag instead. While it feels a bit less tangible, the principles are the same and the (symbolic) deaths will be totally painless.
3. FAQs
3.1. How do you host an adult field day?
The most important steps take place long before the actual event. Solicit input from your colleagues about what activities they might like to experience and give everyone plenty of notice, enabling as many of your staff to take part as possible. Make sure you have everything arranged well in advance so that on the day you can relax and enjoy.
3.2. What are some fun indoor games for adults?
There are lots of field day games for adults you can play indoors if you have enough space, including childhood-inspired pursuits like the three-legged race and blindfolded obstacle courses. If your team is fully virtual, there are also numerous activities your team can try from the comfort of their individual homes.
3.3. What games do you play on a field?
Many old-school sports day games make for perfect field activities, including wheelbarrow races and sack races. For something a bit more complex, capture the Flag and a DIY frisbee golf course are longer games that encompass a bit more strategy and skill.
3.4. How can field day games help enhance physical & mental fitness among adults?
Team field day games for adults take employees out of the office and into an environment where they are encouraged to participate in activities that benefit their well-being. With many people globally not meeting the World Health Organization’s recommended levels of physical activity, offices need to encourage exercise so that their staff stay healthy and fit for work.
Studies have shown that bodily exertion can have a positive impact on mental health as well, reducing anxiety and tiredness while simultaneously improving self-esteem and cognitive function. The resulting improvement in energy, stamina, and mood can be hugely beneficial not just to the individual but to the work environment as a whole.
