Seasonal guide
Chinese New Year office games people actually join.
The Year of the Goat starts on Saturday 06/02/2027, so most offices celebrate in the working week before. You have one lunch hour, a box of mandarin oranges and a team that groans at the word "games". Here is what works anyway.
The short answer: pick games that take ten minutes, need no skill and end with something to eat. A mandarin orange relay, a chopstick race and a zodiac quiz all pass. Long icebreakers and anything involving a microphone do not.
The office Chinese New Year party is one of the few events where people already want to gather. The games only have to give them a reason to talk to someone outside their own row of desks.
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Pick the date before the games
Chinese New Year's Eve falls on Friday 05/02/2027. Plenty of Singapore offices let people leave early that afternoon, so a celebration planned for the Friday often happens to half a room. Wednesday 03/02 or Thursday 04/02 is safer.
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Six games that work in an office
Mandarin orange spoon relay
Teams of four carry an orange on a spoon from the pantry to the meeting room and back. Fastest total time wins. Nobody has to touch anybody, which is why it beats the old pass-it-under-your-chin version in a workplace.
Chopstick race
Move as many sweets as you can from one bowl to another in 60 seconds, chopsticks only. Use wrapped sweets rather than peanuts, because someone on the floor will have a nut allergy and you will not find out until it matters.
Guess the zodiac
Everyone writes their animal sign on a card. The team then tries to match each colleague to their sign. Our Chinese New Year page has a character chart for all 12 signs and a chart of who works well with whom, which makes a handy answer sheet. It is all for fun, and it starts more conversations than any icebreaker.
Red packet design contest
Hand out blank red packets and markers, give it 20 minutes, then let the team vote. The packets stay empty. The prize is bragging rights and a spot on the pantry wall until the Lantern Festival.
Lantern riddles
Hang paper lanterns around the office with a riddle on each. People wander, guess and compare answers over the week. Riddles belong to the fifteenth day, Chap Goh Meh (20/02/2027), but nobody will mind if you start early.
Pineapple tart blind tasting
Three brands, unlabelled, ranked by the team. It costs almost nothing, takes ten minutes, and the arguments about crumbly versus chewy pastry outlast the tarts.
Lo hei is not a game, but it does the same job. Everyone stands, everyone reaches in, everyone gets a little loud. If the lunch includes yusheng, put the toss in the middle of the games so the room is warmed up before it.
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Match the games to your time
Most offices pick too many games for the time they have, then rush the last two. Choose for the slot you really have.
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When to bring someone in
Games are fine for a lunch hour. For anything longer, a session with a real activity holds attention better. Two that fit the season: 3D art jamming, where each person paints a figure that lifts off the canvas, and a TCM talk, which lands well in the weeks of reunion dinners and pineapple tarts. Thrive at Work organises both end to end for Singapore companies, from the partner to the materials to the timing.
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Common questions
Short games with no skill needed work best: a mandarin orange spoon relay, a chopstick race with wrapped sweets, a zodiac guessing game, a red packet design contest, lantern riddles and a pineapple tart blind tasting. Each one takes 10 to 20 minutes.
Chinese New Year falls on Saturday 06/02/2027 and its eve on Friday 05/02. Many offices let people leave early on the eve, so Wednesday 03/02 or Thursday 04/02 usually gets a fuller room.
Yes. Thrive at Work organises sessions such as 3D art jamming, TCM talks and custom team bonding days for Singapore companies, and handles the partner, materials and timing. Book four to six weeks ahead for the weeks before Chinese New Year.
Start the Goat year together.
Tell us your team size and the week you have in mind. We reply with a proposal within one working day and handle the partner, materials and timing.