Top 5 Reasons for Teambuilding Activities Improves Interpersonal Communication Motivates Employees to Take on New Challenges Ignites Creativity and Fresh Ideas Builds Problem-Solving Skills Increases Trust Between Managers and Employees To use this activity to enhance your company culture and promote team building throughout the organization, the more people in your company that participate the better. Set aside a day where everyone will be given a two-hour lunch or set the activity for a Friday afternoon. Next, find an area where everyone can assemble. Instruct everyone to leave their cellphones at their desk. Furthermore, computers are off-limits to prevent cheating. Before the activity begins you’ll need to write down the name of the participants, including employees, managers, and executives. Put everyone’s name into a hat and pull out names to form teams of 5 to 7 people. Come up with a minimum of 5 different types of brainteasers so that people of all skill levels and aptitudes will have a chance to shine. We’ve prepared 7 brainteasers that are geared toward 7 different personality types. You can use the ones we provide or come up with your own. Make enough copies of each brainteaser so that each group can have a copy. Once a team has solved a brainteaser they get another one. The first team to solve the most brainteasers in the allotted time wins! As the organizer, you’ll hold the solutions to each brainteaser and once a team thinks they have the answer, they will come to you to verify. To add a little more fun, we suggest that you have more than one awards category. For instance, prizes could be awarded to the team who demonstrates the most persistence, (i.e. a team that continuously gets the answer to the teaser wrong and has to go back and try again). Or you could give a prize to the team who gives the most creative answers. When you create multiple award categories you create multiple opportunities for people to go home as winners and the more people who go away happy, the better. Also, make sure the prizes are worthy. People will be more enthusiastic about participating if they are working for something they truly desire.

1. Brainteaser Activities
For The Office
Find useful HR and managers tips at www.herdwisdom.com/blog

2. Johnny’s mother had three children. The
first child was named April. The second
child was named May. What was the third
child’s name?
1
Answer: ____________________________
Verbal–linguistic

3. In the basement there are 3 light switches in the "off position."
Each switch controls one of three light bulbs on the floor above.
You may turn on any of the switches, but you may only go up
stairs one time to see which light(s) were affected. How can you
determine which switch controls each particular light bulb?
2
Answer: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Logical–mathematical

4. Change the direction of the fish by moving only 3 matchsticks.
3
Answer: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Visual-spatial

5. A blind man is alone on a deserted island. He has two blue pills
and two red pills. He must take exactly one red pill and one blue
pill or he will die. How does he do it?
4
Find employee engagement tips at www.herdwisdom.com/blog
Answer: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Logical–mathematical

6. How many squares are in this picture?
5
Answer: ________________________________________________
Visual-spatial

7. Grandpa: "My grandson is about as many days as my son is
weeks, and my grandson is as many months as I am in years. My
grandson, my son and I together are 120 years. Can you tell me
my age in years?"
6
Answer: ________________________________________________
Logical–mathematical

8. MARRY NO OILMEN (7,6) (actress) A: __________________________________________
HOMBURG THERAPY (8,6) (actor) A: ____________________________________________
TEN ELITE BRAINS (6,8) (physicist) A: ___________________________________________
A COOL ROMP (5,4) (explorer) A: ______________________________________________
ADMONISH TOES (6,6) (inventor) A: ____________________________________________
SILVERY SLEEP (5,7) (singer/actor) A: ____________________________________________
ART CHEF HID CLOCK (6,9) (director) A: __________________________________________
A WALTZ OR FUN GAMES GO MAD (8,7,6) (composer) A: _____________________________
EXTERNAL HATE RAGED (9,3,5) (conqueror) A: _____________________________________
CASUAL JURIES (6,6) (emperor) A: _______________________________________________
PUBLIC SO MUCH SHORTER (11,8) (explorer) A: ____________________________________
PEARL COAT (9) (queen) A: ____________________________________________________
LOCATED MENU (6,5) (painter) A: _______________________________________________
ERA LOST IT (9) (Greek philosopher) A: ___________________________________________
HERO GETS IN WAGGON (6,10) (former US president) A: _____________________________
LIKE A WEE SHRIMP ALAS (7,11) (playwright) A: ____________________________________
7
Verbal–linguistic
An anagram is the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase
to produce other words, using all the original letters exactly once.

9. Answers
A3.
A2. Turn any one switch to the on position for 5 minutes. Then turn that switch off and
quickly turn on one of the other two switches to the on position. Then run upstairs and
touch the two lights that are on One of them will be hot because is was turned on for 5
minutes. Obviously the hot bulb is controlled by the first switch you turned on. The light
that is currently on is controlled by the switch you last turned on The cold bulb that is off
is controlled by the only switch left.
A1. Johnny

10. A5. 40
Answers
A4. Break every pill in half. Throw one half of each pill and take the rest.

11. A6. 72 years is my age
g = grandson's age s = son's age m = my age
"My grandson is about as many days as my son is weeks,"
s = 7g
my grandson is as many months as I am in years.
m = 12g
g + s + m = 120
Substitute for m and s
g + 7g + 12g = 120
20g = 120
g = 6 years is grandson's age
then
s = 7(6) = 42 years is son's age
and
m = 12(6) = 72 years is my age
Answers

12. A7. Anagram
MARILYN MONROE
HUMPHREY BOGART
ALBERT EINSTEIN
MARCO POLO
THOMAS EDISON
ELVIS PRESLEY
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
JULIUS CAESAR
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
CLEOPATRA
CLAUDE MONET
ARISTOTLE
GEORGE WASHINGTON
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Answers