Virtual Escape Rooms for Team Building

Remote and hybrid work isn’t going anywhere. Work-from-home positions tripled between 2019 and 2021, resulting in a 2023 workforce where 27% of Americans work remotely. Sixteen percent of U.S. companies are fully remote, and about three out of four use or plan to use a hybrid model, which includes some level of remote work. 

So remote work is here to stay, which presents unique challenges. It’s harder to build a company culture with remote employees, for example, which is why team building is more important than ever. 

Enter the virtual escape room. The virtual escape room can replace indoor and remote team building activities for distributed teams. Here are three benefits of giving one a shot, and how to get started for your next team building activity. 

What Is a Virtual Escape Room? 

Many people have tried an escape room in person. In this traditional typical escape room, you and your team solve a variety of fun puzzles to unlock a door in a certain amount of time. Virtual escape rooms work similarly except everyone can join the “room” from their own computers. 

With a virtual escape room, all of your team members log into the session you’ve created and start solving puzzles together. Many virtual escape rooms don’t have time limits, so your team can work through the entire escape room for the activity. There are also a wide variety of themes and challenges you can choose from when picking a virtual escape room, so you can find one that suits your team’s interests — from Golden Girls to Hogwarts.

Why Virtual Escape Rooms Are a Fun Team-Building Activity

One of the great things about virtual escape rooms is that there’s more than one great thing about virtual escape rooms! This one activity can provide your teams with multiple benefits at the same time.

Team Bonding

Virtual escape rooms can be a great form of team building for distributed teams. Social isolation is one of the most common complaints from remote workers, who are not as able to naturally form bonds with co-workers through chance interactions. That social isolation can lead to decreased productivity and even a desire to leave the company. Nobody benefits from loneliness! 

Virtual team building helps create bonds, increasing productivity, collaboration, and efficiency. The great news is that virtual escape rooms are a way to create a great bonding and team building experience. These virtual activities are a chance for your teams to get together and build a sense of camaraderie by working together toward a joint goal.

Improved Memory

You have to be able to keep track of lots of information to successfully solve problems in a virtual escape room. Doing that can help improve your memory skills, something that can help you in nearly every aspect of work and life.

Better Collaboration

To escape the escape room, your team needs to work together. In fact, a lot of escape rooms are designed so you have to work with somebody else to succeed. That means virtual escape rooms are geared to help improve your team’s collaboration. 

Enhanced Decision-Making

Escape rooms involve a lot of decisions and problems, which means you need to practice your decision-making skills to succeed. In the business world, there are a lot of decisions your team will need to make together. An escape room is a great low-pressure way to practice.

How to Set up a Virtual Escape Room for Your Team

Whether your team is remote, hybrid, or just in need of a midweek morale boost, escape rooms offer an energizing way to foster connection. Here’s how to make it happen.

Step 1: Define Your goals

Start by asking: What do you want your team to get out of this?

Your goal might be:

• Team bonding
• Creative problem solving
• A fun break during a heavy week
• Reinforcing specific soft skills like communication or delegation

This will help you pick the right escape room experience—and communicate its value to leadership.

Step 2: Choose Your Format

There are two main types of virtual escape rooms:

• Hosted: A facilitator leads your team through the challenge on Zoom or Teams. Great for hands-off planning.
• Self-Guided: Teams follow prompts at their own pace, often using a shared link or interactive PDF.

If this is your team’s first escape room, a hosted experience might be the way to go.

Step 3: Pick a Platform or Provider

There are dozens of great options—some free, some paid. A few to explore:

• The Escape Game Remote Adventures (Live host, very engaging)
• Puzzle Break
• Trapped in the Web
• TeamBuilding.com
• Enchambered (self-guided)

Choose a platform that fits your budget, team size, and tech comfort level. Many offer demos!

Step 4: Schedule and Invite

Pick a time when your whole team can unplug. Avoid heavy meeting days. Send a calendar invite with clear instructions about:

• How to join (link or video platform)
• What to bring (pen, paper, enthusiasm!)
• What to expect (length, format, vibe)

Step 5: Prep the Tech

• Test the link or platform a day in advance.
• Encourage teammates to join from laptops or desktops for a better experience.
• If using breakout rooms (on Zoom, for example), assign in advance.

Step 6: Set the Tone

Kick things off with energy! Start with a warm welcome, a quick icebreaker, or a few words about why you’re doing this. You’re not just solving puzzles—you’re strengthening your team.

Step 7: Debrief Afterword

Wrap with a few minutes of reflection:

• What did we learn about each other?
• What moments stood out?
• What skills did we lean on as a team?

This helps turn a fun activity into a meaningful moment of growth.

10 Virtual Escape Rooms Your Team Will Enjoy

Here are 10 excellent virtual escape room options ideal for team bonding—organized by style and team size:

1. Puzzle Break

• All games are private.
• Highly rated for fostering teamwork and problem-solving.

2. The Escape Game – Remote Adventures

• Live-hosted gameplay via guide streaming in real rooms.
• Suits groups of 4–500, ~60 minutes long.
• Hosts use 360° scans and inventory tools.

3. Escapely

• Offers themes like Ice Palace, Desert Island and Whodunnit.
• Scalable from 15 to 600 participants.
• Can be customized and run via Zoom.

4. Wildgoose

• Crafted as remote team challenges with logical puzzles.
• Built for assessing and boosting team performance.

5. Mobile Room Escape

• Real escape room filmed and streamed by a live game master.
• Supports groups from 4 to 4,000 via Zoom browser-based play.

6. Best Corporate Events – Pharaoh Quest

• Browser-based, no install needed.
• Team members hold unique clues emphasizing communication.

7. Beat The Lock Escape Room

• Uses screen-sharing over Zoom to simulate a real room.
• Well-suited for global teams and large groups.

8. TeamBonding’s Virtual Escape Rooms

• A curated list of six popular corporate options.
• Covers a wide range of styles and difficulty levels.

9. Cofundrum Escape Rooms

• 3D graphics and video-game like feel.
• Cost: ~$30 per session.

10. Brain Chase

• An educational twist with themes in coding, engineering, and more.
• Price starting around $19 per activity.

Quick Comparison

Support the Wellbeing of Your Entire Team

Team building is a way to help support your employees’ wellbeing. Consider that employees are 80% more likely to report having better emotional wellbeing when engaged in collaboration with their teams. And 93% of employees consider an employer that supports their wellbeing as important as their salary, so finding ways to focus on employee wellbeing is so important.

Wellhub makes wellness programs available to all your employees, no matter where they are. This allows companies with distributed teams to support everyone’s wellbeing. Talk to a Wellbeing Specialist today to get started!

References

• Ascalon, A. (2021, May 17). What to Do When You’re Stuck in an Escape Room. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://theescapegame.com/blog/what-to-do-when-youre-stuck-in-an-escape-room/.
• Atlassian. (n.d.). Ways of Working. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.atlassian.com/practices.
• Flynn, J. (2023, June 13). 25 Trending Remote Work Statistics Trends, And Projections. Zippia. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.zippia.com/advice/remote-work-statistics.
• Herman, M. (n.d.). 10 Simple Ideas to Improve Team Building for Remote Workers. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.lumapps.com/digital-workplace/improve-team-building-for-remote-workers/.
• McCain, A. (2023, June 15). 30 Essential Hybrid Work Statistics Work Model, Data, And Productivity. Zippia. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.zippia.com/advice/hybrid-work-statistics/.
• Mind Tools. (n.d.). Escape Rooms. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.mindtools.com/atzbzw2/escape-rooms.
• Neat, S. (2022, August 5). Why Remote Working Makes Team Building Crucial. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.teamtactics.co.uk/blog/why-remote-working-makes-team-building-crucial/.
• Olzmann, Amy E. (2012). Problem Solving and Memory: Investigating the Solvability and Memorability of Remote Associates Problems. University of Michigan. Retrieved October 3, 2023 from https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/91798/aolzmann.pdf?sequence=1.
• United States Census Bureau. (2022, September 15). The Number of People Primarily Working From Home Tripled Between 2019 and 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/people-working-from-home.html.
• ViewSonic. (2022, October 5). Managing a Remote Team – Top Challenges and Solutions. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://www.viewsonic.com/library/business/managing-a-remote-team-top-challenges-and-solutions/.