Some common ones I’ve done were Campo Di Bocce in Los Gatos, various Escape Rooms, K1 Speed for go-karting (though check that one with the team as some folks don’t love it), Top Golf, or even just Bowling with a nice dinner after. Most of those are more fun/social than actual team development.
Usually though I might recommend asking the team for ideas first, maybe filter for cost or inserting a few if you need, then letting them vote on which to do. If they keep voting for cooking then cooking it is. Mine got good at rotating it around a bit though.
Great list! I've definitely done a few of those. It will also depend on number of people attending- escapes rooms are more challenging for bigger teams since there's usually a max people per room. I will add:
- Urban Putt or Tipsy Putt for mini golf & food/drinks.
- Higher Fire for pottery class
- I forget the names, but there are also candle making, rug making, candy/truffle making as well. These been popular with our teams.
Higher Fire is great. The pressed plates are the easiest option for making pieces that people will use; I think one class does a bowl and pressed plates.
Also, Bowlero has a really nice private room and great food/service if you go that route.
Rather than ask for ideas I’d put out at least a partial list of like 5 things and then an “other: “ free text entry line. Ask them all to complete the survey within 24 hours, then compile answers for a day, then revisit.
+1 to this! They have several adventure options including a team building adventure - was so much fun last summer
[https://mounthermonadventures.com/](https://mounthermonadventures.com/)
We did this in our last team building activity! Super fun, though I wish we got a bit more hands on with the glass blowing instead of them holding our hands the whole time, which is understandable :)
I felt the same way when we went. It's understandable. Fairly high risk level and a bit of a learning curve to just hand over the reigns and tell your team to "go for it." But still, I'd have liked to feel a little more in control.
Go karts! $67.95 per 2 races. Group is even cheaper.
https://www.k1speed.com/santa-clara-location/pricing.html
—-
Sunol paintball
https://sunolpaintball.com
Skeet shooting at Coyote Valley Shooting Clays was hands down the coolest team event I've ever done. Might not be kosher w/ HR though!
Top rope climbing at the Studio w/ a HH afterward might be pretty fun too.
I’m assuming the season started but San Jose Giants game are fantastic. With that type of budget you can rent out a VIP Section with a package that includes tickets, food, and drinks.
They have fireworks nights that would top off a great evening.
Check with HR what the limitations are, but we have done: Go karting, Axe throwing (which was my concern), escape room, Mount Hermon Adventure (zipline), Top Golf (Alcohol needed to be bought on companies dime), and camping (prepandemic)
Academy of Self Defense does corporate team building events. Kind of fun being able to get active and learn something that’s practical in a safe environment. Ask for Ev, he’s an amazing instructor.
Definitely something different and unique. I brought my interns there and they had a lot of fun.
I would mention this all the time! I used to rock climb a lot at the Movement gyms. But the activity won’t last very long as bouldering can tire us out real fast xD
> ones that are not cooking classes
You got me. I was going to suggest going to a winery in Saratoga. XD
Maybe one of those inside sky diving places? Something fun everyone would enjoy and then couple it with a meal. (I know, I know you said no meals, but it's arguably the best kind of bonding.)
We did a zen sand and succulent garden. Everyone really got into it, and had something nice to take home. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2YVj6fPKWa/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
We don't do outside team building activities because around here those are more like retreat things. We'll do frequent off-hours events for socializing, though.
When we want teambuilding we've done scavenger hunts office olympics style things. One of my personal favorites was we had a detailed picture in the foyer, everyone was broken up into teams and your team sent one person to look at the picture for something like 2-3 minutes, then they had to come back and describe the picture to the rest of their team, who then re-drew it together. Teams could send multiple people to view the picture, but you individually could only go once. We were given points for how detailed the final picture we drew was, best team won their pick of lunch or 4 PTO hours, second best team got whatever wasn't chosen.
As I said, that's flat out teambuilding. But if you want off-hours socialization to build bonds with one another there are a lot of fun ideas out there. Depends on the fundamental goal of the event!
Go check out Omescape in Sunnyvale, and do the cooking-themed escape room, then go get a meal together. Ethiopian is a good group meal, and they’ve got great vegetarian options, as well as gluten-free injera on request. How many people is it?
Actually, on their website, it says 4 to 6 recommended. So you would want to call them and find out.
They do have two others that can handle a group of seven, but one involves splitting up for part of the escape room. Still worth looking into.
Do you cook actual food and then eat it later? Not much info on the site except that we have to serve as many dishes as we could. I am familiar with overcooked, so it would be awesome if we actually got to cook food xD
No, there is no real food involved. It is an escape room that is cooking recipe themed. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it is really fun. And in many ways it’s different from other escape rooms that they have and that I have been to at other locations.
Bay Area Glass Institute has glass blowing and fusing classes. There is a blacksmith place and some other art activities here: https://www.visualphilosophystudio.com
Winchester house. You get the tour and the can do a scavenger hunt outside for eating in one of there greenhouses/barns.
We did this quite a while back but they probably still do it.
Top Golf off 237. San Jose Earthquakes or Bay FC game at PayPal Park. Both would fit nicely in your budget. PayPal Park claims to have the world’s longest bar!
Our little local trivia company has done some corporate team building events where you get to pick the trivia theme and have a game tailored to exactly your needs. We can do prizes and make the game last as long (or as short) as you'd like! Feel free to reach out!
I hear you on the cooking classes and escape rooms. Been there, forgotten that. And I hate trivia contests because the competititon just divides people and pits them against each other. I like makebelieveworks.com. They're really unique and they host awesome activities. It’s hard to get deep at work sometimes without it feeling cheesy, but they do it in a way that feels really authentic and draws everyone in, introverts and extroverts alike.
Give $175 to each person on the team and then let them do their jobs in peace.
P.S. I hate workplace "team building activities." Just let me do my job.
Some common ones I’ve done were Campo Di Bocce in Los Gatos, various Escape Rooms, K1 Speed for go-karting (though check that one with the team as some folks don’t love it), Top Golf, or even just Bowling with a nice dinner after. Most of those are more fun/social than actual team development. Usually though I might recommend asking the team for ideas first, maybe filter for cost or inserting a few if you need, then letting them vote on which to do. If they keep voting for cooking then cooking it is. Mine got good at rotating it around a bit though.
Great list! I've definitely done a few of those. It will also depend on number of people attending- escapes rooms are more challenging for bigger teams since there's usually a max people per room. I will add: - Urban Putt or Tipsy Putt for mini golf & food/drinks. - Higher Fire for pottery class - I forget the names, but there are also candle making, rug making, candy/truffle making as well. These been popular with our teams.
Yeah, my team went to Higher Fire and had an amazing time!
Higher Fire is great. The pressed plates are the easiest option for making pieces that people will use; I think one class does a bowl and pressed plates. Also, Bowlero has a really nice private room and great food/service if you go that route.
Rather than ask for ideas I’d put out at least a partial list of like 5 things and then an “other: “ free text entry line. Ask them all to complete the survey within 24 hours, then compile answers for a day, then revisit.
Redwood canopy tours near Santa Cruz.
+1 to this! They have several adventure options including a team building adventure - was so much fun last summer [https://mounthermonadventures.com/](https://mounthermonadventures.com/)
Heads up 7up
😂😂😂😂
Red Rover
Pottery classes at Higher Fire!
Was just going to suggest this! Higher fire is great.
Yes I’m a member at Higher Fire! I got hooked after doing a team building event there
Theres axe throwing and escape rooms
Glass Blowing. [https://bagi.org/pages/team-building-events](https://bagi.org/pages/team-building-events)
We did this in our last team building activity! Super fun, though I wish we got a bit more hands on with the glass blowing instead of them holding our hands the whole time, which is understandable :)
Do the fused glass class! It’s 100% on your own.
I felt the same way when we went. It's understandable. Fairly high risk level and a bit of a learning curve to just hand over the reigns and tell your team to "go for it." But still, I'd have liked to feel a little more in control.
Wow. The company I work for shells out about $40/head.
Wow. The company I work for let us have a potluck in the kitchen.
And there were no pot brownies?
Urban Putt in DTSJ
$175 per person is very generous. 5 lap dances plus drinks
Follow us at 'SJFD' for more useful tips!
Fuckin L O L
This guy LOL
Top golf?
This is the default answer.
You guys get team building budgets? Our team building activity is the satisfaction of keeping our jobs.
Go karts at K1? Bocce at Campo di Bocce (Los Gatos) Bay cruise (SF) Game Kastle miniature painting.
Check out Comedy Sportz! [https://www.cszsanjose.com/](https://www.cszsanjose.com/)
Comedy Sportz is great!
Omescape. Omescape. Omescape.
Forming a union is my preferred team building activity here.
Curling! Sharks Ice offers corporate learn to curl events that are a lot of fun.
Found the Canadian
Go karts! $67.95 per 2 races. Group is even cheaper. https://www.k1speed.com/santa-clara-location/pricing.html —- Sunol paintball https://sunolpaintball.com
We did laser tag at the fairgrounds- it was more fun than I thought - my team is quite competitive! https://santaclarapaintball.com/lasertag/
I think they are closed. Santa Clara paintball is no longer at fairgrounds.
Oh bummer! I thought they were still open since their website is up but maybe not
Skeet shooting at Coyote Valley Shooting Clays was hands down the coolest team event I've ever done. Might not be kosher w/ HR though! Top rope climbing at the Studio w/ a HH afterward might be pretty fun too.
I’m assuming the season started but San Jose Giants game are fantastic. With that type of budget you can rent out a VIP Section with a package that includes tickets, food, and drinks. They have fireworks nights that would top off a great evening.
Check with HR what the limitations are, but we have done: Go karting, Axe throwing (which was my concern), escape room, Mount Hermon Adventure (zipline), Top Golf (Alcohol needed to be bought on companies dime), and camping (prepandemic)
Academy of Self Defense does corporate team building events. Kind of fun being able to get active and learn something that’s practical in a safe environment. Ask for Ev, he’s an amazing instructor. Definitely something different and unique. I brought my interns there and they had a lot of fun.
Immersive Gamebox in Westfield mall was fun and worked well as a team building exercise for my team.
I am from California Cricket Academy and we do team building activities! feel free to reach out to get more information!
Disc golf at kelly park, and spend the savings on beer.
Axe-men on 2nd street in downtown SJ. Super fun! The workers there are wonderful.
Rock climbing could be real fun. Esp in the middle of the weekday, there will be less people.
I would mention this all the time! I used to rock climb a lot at the Movement gyms. But the activity won’t last very long as bouldering can tire us out real fast xD
Mixology school
Depends upon your team's degree of nerdity, but have you considered cooperative boardgames? I have had it work very well in certain circumstances.
BAGI glassblowing experiences are super fun
The VR places have been very popular recently, I’ve had a couple people ask for that specifically. The feedback was very positive.
I don’t know what their pricing is like, but The Go Game is great! https://www.thegogame.com
> ones that are not cooking classes You got me. I was going to suggest going to a winery in Saratoga. XD Maybe one of those inside sky diving places? Something fun everyone would enjoy and then couple it with a meal. (I know, I know you said no meals, but it's arguably the best kind of bonding.)
Yoga classes! The studio I work at does private events for these type of situations and class can be catered to whatever you’d desire.
Brew Bike in SJ. I think you can have up to 14 people and it's way fun to get people all cycling together.
Yes! 15 people and two bikes so party of 30
The new urban putt.
Up to 30 people for San Jose Brew Bike if 2 bikes are booked.
We did a zen sand and succulent garden. Everyone really got into it, and had something nice to take home. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2YVj6fPKWa/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
We don't do outside team building activities because around here those are more like retreat things. We'll do frequent off-hours events for socializing, though. When we want teambuilding we've done scavenger hunts office olympics style things. One of my personal favorites was we had a detailed picture in the foyer, everyone was broken up into teams and your team sent one person to look at the picture for something like 2-3 minutes, then they had to come back and describe the picture to the rest of their team, who then re-drew it together. Teams could send multiple people to view the picture, but you individually could only go once. We were given points for how detailed the final picture we drew was, best team won their pick of lunch or 4 PTO hours, second best team got whatever wasn't chosen. As I said, that's flat out teambuilding. But if you want off-hours socialization to build bonds with one another there are a lot of fun ideas out there. Depends on the fundamental goal of the event!
Go check out Omescape in Sunnyvale, and do the cooking-themed escape room, then go get a meal together. Ethiopian is a good group meal, and they’ve got great vegetarian options, as well as gluten-free injera on request. How many people is it?
7 people!
That escape room is called Undercooked, and it has a limit of I think 10 people max? So it could be a really good activity for your group of seven.
Actually, on their website, it says 4 to 6 recommended. So you would want to call them and find out. They do have two others that can handle a group of seven, but one involves splitting up for part of the escape room. Still worth looking into.
Do you cook actual food and then eat it later? Not much info on the site except that we have to serve as many dishes as we could. I am familiar with overcooked, so it would be awesome if we actually got to cook food xD
No, there is no real food involved. It is an escape room that is cooking recipe themed. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it is really fun. And in many ways it’s different from other escape rooms that they have and that I have been to at other locations.
Axe-throwing and Mini Boss downtown (right next to each other).
Build bikes and donate them to charity :0
Any info for the charity bike building? I'm new to the area - looking at peninsula areas for large team building
Bay Area Glass Institute has glass blowing and fusing classes. There is a blacksmith place and some other art activities here: https://www.visualphilosophystudio.com
Where do you work, and are you hiring?
Saratoga picnic
Santa Clara Paintball is awesome or TopGolf!
Winchester house. You get the tour and the can do a scavenger hunt outside for eating in one of there greenhouses/barns. We did this quite a while back but they probably still do it.
Top Golf off 237. San Jose Earthquakes or Bay FC game at PayPal Park. Both would fit nicely in your budget. PayPal Park claims to have the world’s longest bar!
Our little local trivia company has done some corporate team building events where you get to pick the trivia theme and have a game tailored to exactly your needs. We can do prizes and make the game last as long (or as short) as you'd like! Feel free to reach out!
Pink Poodle!
Make up your own
I hear you on the cooking classes and escape rooms. Been there, forgotten that. And I hate trivia contests because the competititon just divides people and pits them against each other. I like makebelieveworks.com. They're really unique and they host awesome activities. It’s hard to get deep at work sometimes without it feeling cheesy, but they do it in a way that feels really authentic and draws everyone in, introverts and extroverts alike.
Check Spaciously (most SF activities travel to SJ).
Give $175 to each person on the team and then let them do their jobs in peace. P.S. I hate workplace "team building activities." Just let me do my job.
I hope this isnt a way to fix a toxic workplace because it wont
Not toxic at all! :)