With Teams, Microsoft offers companies a professional collaboration tool. Now the program gets four games, which should loosen up the everyday work.
The corona pandemic has prompted many companies to allow employees to work from home. However, this poses a problem for “team building” – the development of a team spirit. That’s why Microsoft is now giving its Teams software four games that are designed to help connect employees.
Games in Microsoft Teams
To add some variety to everyday work, the four games are available in video conferences with Microsoft Teams. Employees can form groups of 2 to 250 people and compete against each other. The games are part of Microsoft’s Games for Work initiative. According to the announcement on the Microsoft 365 blog, a study showed that “teams that played short video games together were 20 percent more productive than those that participated in traditional team-building activities.”
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Two classics and two new titles
In total, Microsoft Teams gets four games. Two of them are real classics that almost everyone knows: Solitaire and Minesweeper. IceBreakers and Wordament are new. Each of the four games is designed to promote a specific aspect of team building.
minesweeper
The 1989 classic is about uncovering all squares without hitting a mine. A number on each square indicates how many mines can be found in the squares around it, but players must find the actual location. In the version of the game for Microsoft teams, employees can puzzle together as to which fields are free and which are mined.
solitaire
The well-known card game Solitaire, launched in 1990 with Windows 3.0, has also been adapted for multiple players. Although one person plays, others can give tips. Microsoft likens the experience to a game show.
IceBreakers
This game is intended to help employees get to know each other better. It’s a simple question and answer game with two options. One of them is whether you would rather work in the quiet or noisy part of the office.
Wordament
Wordament is a word game in which terms must be found in a grid of letters. It’s meant to be thought-provoking and create some competition among employees.
Of course, the games are not automatically available in Microsoft Teams. However, the organizers of a meeting can use the Games for Work app add to a video conference. The app was developed by Microsoft Casual Games, a studio belonging to Xbox Games.