Choose the participation rules before the game
Write a short activity brief: purpose, invited group, optional-participation wording, expected duration, team size, space, seating, movement, sound, lighting, reading, speech, fine-motor demand, equipment, data collected, prize arrangement, facilitator, stop rule and alternative role.
Use the office party ideas matrix for the whole event and the invitation templates to communicate the approved format. Do not surprise people with a physical, personal or recorded activity after they arrive.
GOV.UK says employers must make reasonable adjustments so workers with disabilities or health conditions are not substantially disadvantaged and includes recreation and refreshment facilities among its examples. The employer must assess the actual people and request; labelling a game “inclusive” does not prove that it is.
Six seated or low-movement game formats
| Game | Basic round | Demand to test | Adaptation route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Festive picture puzzle | Teams identify or connect clearly printed seasonal objects | Vision, colour distinction, reading distance and copyrighted images | Provide large high-contrast print, descriptive text and an audio or facilitator-read route |
| 2. Fact-or-fiction cards | Teams sort prepared festive claims, then reveal cited answers | Reading, cultural assumptions and factual accuracy | Read every card aloud, avoid faith or identity tests and keep a source sheet |
| 3. Timeline sort | Put a fictional hosting sequence into dependency order | Fine motor control, table reach and reading | Use numbered verbal choices or a shared digital board as an equivalent route |
| 4. Menu detective | Match fictional dishes to ingredient or service clues | Allergy disclosure and unsafe assumptions | Use invented menus only; never ask workers to identify colleagues’ dietary or health information |
| 5. Desk-free word grid | Teams solve a large printed or projected seasonal word grid | Language, dyslexia, vision and time pressure | Offer spoken clues, untimed contribution and a non-writing recorder role |
| 6. Scenario decision cards | Choose the safest next organiser action in fictional event failures | Work hierarchy and fear of giving a “wrong” policy answer | Use fictional roles, allow private team discussion and reveal the approved policy route rather than scoring personal judgement |
Low movement does not mean low demand. Test font, contrast, language, sound, table reach, time pressure and how answers are submitted.
Six social, creative or active formats
| Game | Basic round | Demand to test | Adaptation route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. Table build brief | Teams build a freestanding shape from identical safe craft materials | Dexterity, reach, standing, materials and cleanup | Give design, timekeeper and verbal-director roles; confirm materials and seated workspace |
| 8. Drawing relay | One person describes a neutral image while teammates reproduce it | Vision, speech, hearing, writing and performance pressure | Allow text description, tactile or digital routes and opt-in roles without individual scoring |
| 9. Voluntary charades | Teams guess pre-approved neutral prompts | Movement, speech, visibility and forced performance | Make acting opt-in, allow drawing or clue-reading and provide a seated role |
| 10. Music recognition round | Identify short, properly authorised clips or facilitator-provided clues | Hearing, volume, cultural range, licensing and venue noise | Provide simultaneous written clues, controlled volume and a no-audio route |
| 11. Station puzzle trail | Small teams solve clues at several controlled positions | Mobility, crowding, routes, lighting and separation | Bring every station to seated teams or provide the same clues on one accessible board |
| 12. Remote shared-board challenge | Onsite and remote teams solve the same timed or untimed digital puzzle | Platform access, captions, keyboard use, bandwidth and unequal room audio | Send accessible material in advance, provide dial-in or text contribution and test hybrid facilitation |
A supplier-led activity stays at review until the employer has written evidence about demands, restrictions, equipment, supervision, emergency arrangements, data and workable alternatives.
Use one scoring system for the game—not the people
Score team outputs against rules declared before the round: correct matches, completed puzzles or a transparent judging rubric. Do not award or deduct points for drinking, disclosing personal information, physical speed, appearance, seniority, popularity or willingness to perform.
- Use team labels or neutral table numbers on the shared score sheet.
- Keep participation and employment assessment separate.
- Give the same time, materials, clue route and appeal route unless an agreed adjustment changes the method.
- Publish the tie rule before the final round.
- Record only the minimum result needed to run and close the game.
If photographs, recordings, platform accounts or identifiable results are proposed, route them through the employer’s approved privacy process before the event. A party RSVP is not automatic permission for another purpose.
Build a 30-minute three-round example
This fictional plan uses six mixed tables and three opt-in contribution routes. The 30 minutes is a planning choice, not a universal recommendation.
| Clock | Round | Release evidence | Stop or fallback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00–00:04 | Explain optional roles, team labels, score and stop rules | Large-print rules, spoken route and facilitator ready | Pause if any route cannot receive the rules |
| 00:04–00:11 | Fact-or-fiction cards | Cited fictional question set and answer route | Read cards aloud or remove an unsupported claim |
| 00:11–00:19 | Timeline sort | Identical card sets and digital/verbal equivalent | Use numbered verbal choices if handling or reach fails |
| 00:19–00:26 | Table build brief | Checked materials, seated space and equivalent roles | Switch to design-only round if material or route control fails |
| 00:26–00:30 | Transparent score, tie and close | Team totals and pre-declared tie rule | Declare a shared result if scoring evidence is incomplete |
The facilitator must be able to shorten or remove a round without pressuring a person to explain why. Do not fill the recovered time with an unassessed surprise activity.
Keep conduct and alcohol outside the competition
EHRC guidance identifies alcohol, work social events, travel, overnight stays and power imbalances as relevant sexual-harassment risk factors. The employer should assess the real activity, communicate expectations and provide effective reporting and response routes.
Do not use drinking games, forfeits, sexualised prompts, personal confessions, imitation of colleagues, “most likely to” votes or dares that depend on status. A manager’s invitation to participate can carry different pressure from a peer’s; optional must work in practice.
Use the workplace drinks guide for stock and handover planning, but never connect a score, prize, access to food or social standing to alcohol consumption.
Check the room, equipment and emergency handover
HSE guidance says organisers should understand the activity and audience, assess venue suitability, define shared responsibilities and plan proportionately for incidents. For each game, mark the actual play area, seated and alternative routes, equipment, cables, lighting, sound, entry, exit and dispersal state.
Name who sets up, checks, facilitates, stops, clears and reports the activity. Keep aisles and required routes clear; do not turn a safe venue layout into an unsupported one by adding stations, screens, speakers or crowd movement.
This guide does not certify equipment, capacity, licensing, fire precautions, first aid, accessibility or a supplier. The responsible employer, venue and competent advisers remain in control.
Print the game release register
| Game / round | Demand | Primary route | Equivalent route | Owner | Stop rule | Evidence / status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rehearse one round with an uninvolved person. Remove a visual clue, block the planned movement route, lose the facilitator and challenge one score. The game passes only if the equivalent route works, the replacement owner can apply the stop rule and the score closes without exposing or pressuring an individual.
Questions people ask
What are good games for an office Christmas party?
Consider a picture puzzle, fact-or-fiction cards, timeline sort, fictional menu challenge, word grid, scenario cards, table build, drawing relay, voluntary charades, authorised music round, station puzzle or remote shared-board challenge. Choose only after testing the actual group, venue and participation routes.
How can office party games be more inclusive?
Expose every physical, sensory, language, technology and disclosure demand; make participation genuinely optional; provide equivalent roles and formats; ask about requirements privately; and test the real space and materials. The employer must assess actual reasonable adjustments.
What office party games need no alcohol?
Every format in this guide works without alcohol. Scores, prizes and social participation should never depend on drinking, and appealing water and alcohol-free drinks should remain part of the wider event.
Should employees be forced to join party games?
This page cannot decide employment terms, but it recommends clear optional-participation wording and an equivalent non-performing route. The responsible employer should review whether hierarchy or the event design creates pressure despite the wording.
How long should office Christmas party games last?
There is no universal length. The worked example uses a fictional 30-minute block with three rounds. Test attention, access, meal service, venue and travel dependencies, then shorten or remove rounds rather than running late.
Can hybrid teams play the same Christmas party game?
Yes, if the chosen platform, audio, captions, keyboard or text routes, materials, timing and facilitation provide a workable equivalent. Test the actual onsite room and remote connection before promising parity.
Sources and checks
- GOV.UK — reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions — current employer duty and examples including recreation and refreshment facilities
- HSE — getting started with event safety — proportionate planning, responsibility, audience and activity scope, risk assessment, venue liaison and contractors
- HSE — venue and site design — audience and activity knowledge, venue suitability, access, capacity, infrastructure and shared responsibilities
- EHRC — workplace Christmas parties and the preventative duty — alcohol, travel, overnight stays, power imbalances, expected behaviour, reporting and third-party risks
- ICO — data minimisation — personal data should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the stated purpose