Organising virtual games and activities for large groups
It’s no understatement to say that when you are running a virtual game or event for a large group of people, there is a lot to think about. With large online group events, complexity scales with the number of participants, and as a general rule, it’s best to assume that everything that can go wrong with your event, will go wrong!
We have collected our best tips from successfully running thousands of virtual games and activities for companies and organisations, including groups with hundreds of participants- hopefully they will give you some ideas to help you make your online event a success!
What types of virtual games are good for large groups
When it comes to choosing the type of virtual team game or activity that is going to work for your large group, there are a lot of different things to think about.
Our first suggestion is that virtual team games where the large group is broken up into smaller groups are usually better than single player activities like Kahoots, trivia, or quizzes. This is because unlike single-player activities or games, virtual activities that are optimised for group engagement will still allow players to socialise, and limit the chances of them only engaging passively or drifting off due to a lack of feedback.
Activities that focus on teams of 4-5 work best, and it can be an amazing experience to attend what you think is going to be a passive large group event, and ending up making actual real-life connections with colleagues.
Competition is always a great motivator for getting groups of people to engage, so a virtual activity or game where smaller teams compete against each other for glory, bragging rights, or, even better, an actual prize will help to drive engagement and participation in your event. Competition combined with a strong team element can be the secret sauce of making your large group virtual event a success.
Virtual games with a simple format are more likely to work better- something like our social games with a straightforward format and helpful but not overly complicated tech is a good option- more on the tech aspects below!
2. How to organise virtual games for large groups
One of the most important things for running a successful virtual activity for a large group of people is that your organization of the event is on point. This includes everything from communications to video conferencing logistics. We all know by now that there is nothing more awkward than watching a ZOOM fail unfold in real life, and the agonising moments where you watch your colleague fumble to share their screen is no way to spend a virtual event.
Figure out early what video conferencing platform will work best for your virtual game- what features do you need (breakout rooms, share screen, chat, message broadcasting, etc) and more importantly, are you and your participants familiar with the platform’s functionality? If struggling to decide, check out our breakdown of Microsoft Teams vs ZOOM breakout sessions article to give you some ideas.
Another important thing to keep in mind when organising your online virtual event is the balance of helpful tech versus overly complicated tech- you want the tech to support you in running a great online event, but unfortunately sometimes it can get in the way of a good online experience for your team if it's overly complicated.
This is particularly the case with large groups- the more people participating in your event, the greater the spread of technical abilities that you will need to cater for. A good guiding principle for deciding how complicated your online activity should be is pretending that every participant in your large group event is a middle-aged relative who will most likely join from their iPad and ask you a question about “putting an emoji in the chat”. Our recommendation: keep it simple.
3. Will you host your virtual game or should someone else?
Another important question when you are organising a virtual event for a large group is who exactly is going to run it. Perhaps you have an internal events team that you can reach out to, or a particularly outgoing and funny colleague who is willing to step up to host your activity.
However, if your group has more than 100 participants, a facilitated team game where you bring in a professional host could work better than trying to run your virtual game in-house. Large-scale events with 100s of participants is where logistics and presentation skills become make-or-break for the success of your virtual event.
There are a few reasons for this- firstly, you can expect less real-time engagement from participants in large online group events to create a fun atmosphere- particularly if sharing video is optional. Also, the bigger your group is, the less likely that the participants in your virtual event know each other- one of their most important relationships during the online activity is going to be with you as the presenter.
For these reasons, a company that specialises in online events for large groups might take the pressure off you as the organiser. The feeling of hundreds of eyes peering at you from behind a ZOOM screen can be overwhelming, and it can be worth the extra money to hire someone who can bring the energy and the laughs. Not to mention that you might actually be able to join your colleagues and play the virtual game too!
4. How long should your virtual game be?
When you are thinking about the length and format of your virtual event, it is good to remember that the larger your group, the more likely that a virtual game or online activity with a shorter format will suit your needs. This is because no matter how hard you try to create an engaging and interactive atmosphere, online events for large groups can feel a bit impersonal for the participants or players.
We think that virtual games that take around 1 hour can work well for very large teams, but it is important that the event format includes a transition from a plenary, all-hands sessions, to smaller group or breakout sessions so that everyone will stay engaged.
All of our online social games are perfectly designed for this- the format is optimised so that there is a natural flow from all-hands activities, to working in smaller groups, to an engaging presentation and awards ceremony to sum everything up at the end.
When done right, large group events where you are online with hundreds of your colleagues can be the absolute highlight of several months of working in varying degrees of isolation, and something that your team will remember for a long time- whatever online activity you choose, good luck and may the ZOOM gods be with you!