Most team building activities are quietly terrible. Everyone knows it. The facilitator with the laminated instructions knows it. The person who booked it definitely knows it by 11am when half the room is glancing at their phones during the trust fall debrief.
Here’s what actually works: put people in a room with a genuinely good game, a drink, and a reason to compete or collaborate – and the team building happens by itself. No worksheets. No breakout sessions. No forced insight moments. Just people figuring each other out in real time, which is what team building is supposed to be anyway.
East London – specifically the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area – has quietly become one of the better parts of the city for a group day or evening out. Here’s what’s worth knowing.
Draughts: Team Building That Actually Works
We’ll be direct: we’re a brilliant option for team building, and we know exactly why.
We’re a bar, restaurant and board game cafe at 5 Aquatics Walk, inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 2AS. Over 1,000 games. A full food and drinks menu and a great space for groups.
Board games are unusually good at revealing how people think. A strategy game shows you who plans three steps ahead and who plays instinctively. A social deduction game shows you who reads people well and who’s an unconvincing liar (useful information in any organisation). A cooperative game shows you who takes charge and who defers.
You learn more about your colleagues in two hours of Ticket to Ride than in a full day of most structured activities. It also helps that it’s genuinely enjoyable. People who are having a good time are more open, more themselves, and more likely to actually talk to colleagues they don’t normally work with. That’s the outcome most team building is trying to achieve – we just get there without the lanyards.
You learn more about your colleagues in two hours of Ticket to Ride than in a full day of most structured activities.
Groups of any size are welcome. Book in advance – we’d always recommend it for groups of six or more, and especially for Friday and Saturday evenings when we fill up quickly. Head to draughtslondon.com to reserve.
The Best Games for Team Building at Draughts
Not all 1,000+ games work equally well for groups at work. Here are the ones that consistently create the best team evenings – and what they’re good for:
Codenames
Two teams, two spymasters, a grid of words. The spymaster gives a one-word clue linking several words on the grid; the team tries to guess which ones. It’s fast, it’s tense, and it’s brilliant at showing you how differently people think. Someone gives the clue “water – 3” and half the team immediately agrees while the other half stares blankly. You’ll talk about that clue for the rest of the evening. Works for 4-8 players, takes about 20 minutes, plays brilliantly multiple times in a row.
Wavelength
One player spins a hidden dial between two poles – say, “cold” to “hot” – and gives a clue to help the team guess where on the spectrum it’s pointing. The debates that follow are genuinely revealing. Where does “the moon” sit between Cold and Hot? Where does “a startup” sit between Stable and Chaotic? It’s a conversation generator disguised as a game, and it works particularly well for teams that don’t know each other well.
Secret Hitler
A social deduction game where some players are secretly fascists trying to pass fascist policies while the liberals try to stop them. It sounds alarming. It is, in practice, one of the most fun games in our library – and one of the best for groups who work together regularly. You’ll find out who’s a good liar, who trusts too easily, and who spots the pattern everyone else missed. Best for 6-10 players.
Dixit
One player plays a card from their hand and gives a clue – a word, a phrase, a sound, anything. Everyone else plays a card that could match the clue. Players vote on which card they think was the original. The scoring rewards being neither too obvious nor too obscure. Dixit is the gentlest game on this list, and often the most surprisingly revealing – how people interpret abstract images tells you something real about them. Good for mixed groups and people who think they don’t like games.
Pandemic
A fully cooperative game: everyone is on the same team, trying to contain and cure four diseases spreading across the globe. You win together or lose together. The board state gets worse every turn. It’s one of the best purely cooperative games ever made, and the pressure it creates produces exactly the kind of communication and decision-making moments that team building is supposed to generate – without any of them feeling manufactured.
Captain Sonar
Two teams of up to four, each crewing a submarine, hunting each other in real time. One player navigates, one manages systems, one tracks the enemy, one engineers repairs – simultaneously, in real time, with both teams playing at once. It’s controlled chaos, and it’s one of the most purely team-oriented games we have. Best for exactly eight players (four per team), but it’s worth planning around if you can make the numbers work.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: A Great Group Destination
Beyond Draughts, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park makes for a genuinely good team day if you want to make a full event of it. The park itself is free to enter and covers 560 acres – large enough for a group walk between venues without feeling cramped.
Sadler’s Wells East, the world-class dance and performance venue that opened in the park in 2025, has an events programme that works well for groups wanting something cultural before or after dinner. V&A East Museum, which opened in 2026, is free entry and gives groups something to explore together. The ArcelorMittal Orbit – the 114.5-metre observation tower – is an option for groups who want something a bit more active, especially with the world’s longest tunnel slide at the top.
For larger corporate events, London Stadium (62,500 capacity, right inside the park) has its own events infrastructure. We’re a ten-minute walk from the stadium and well-placed as a before or after venue for any group gathering there.
Getting Here
Stratford station is one of the best-connected stations in London. Elizabeth Line, Jubilee Line, DLR, Overground, and National Rail all run through it. From Liverpool Street it’s four minutes on the Elizabeth Line. From Canary Wharf, six minutes. From King’s Cross, twelve. From London Bridge, fourteen.
For teams travelling from across the city or from outside London, Stratford is a genuinely easy meeting point – no one has to come to the centre first. Maryland Overground is also an option for groups coming from east or north.
There’s parking at Westfield Stratford City, directly connected to the station, if some of your group are driving.
Practical Tips for Group Bookings
- Book in advance. For groups of six or more, we always recommend reserving ahead. Popular evenings – Fridays especially – fill up fast. Book at draughtslondon.com.
- Tell us what you’re after. When you book, let us know it’s a team building event and roughly how many people. Our team will have games ready that fit your group size and will help you get started quickly.
- Mix competitive and cooperative. A session that includes one head-to-head game and one cooperative game gives you the best of both – competition brings energy, cooperation builds something different. We can help you structure the evening.
- Feed people first. A group that arrives hungry is a group that doesn’t focus. We’d suggest ordering food when you arrive and letting everyone settle in before picking up the first game.
- Give it time. Two to three hours is the sweet spot. The first game everyone’s learning. The second game people start to relax. The third game is where the real conversations happen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best team building activities in east London?
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford offers some of east London’s best team building options. Draughts (a board game cafe at 5 Aquatics Walk, E20 2AS) is particularly well-suited to groups – with over 1,000 games, a bar and restaurant, and staff who can help you pick the right games for your team. The park also contains V&A East Museum (free entry), Sadler’s Wells East (world-class performance venue), and the ArcelorMittal Orbit, making it possible to build a full team day across multiple venues.
Is Draughts good for team building?
Yes – genuinely well-suited to it. Board games are unusually effective at revealing how people think and communicate, which is what most team building is trying to achieve. Codenames, Wavelength, Pandemic, and Secret Hitler are all particularly good for work groups. Our team will help you choose games that fit your group size, and we have space and capacity for groups of all sizes. Book ahead at draughtslondon.com.
How many people can Draughts accommodate for a group booking?
We welcome groups of all sizes. For large groups, we’d recommend contacting us in advance via draughtslondon.com to arrange seating and have the right games prepared. Our team can help structure the evening to work for your group.
What board games work best for team building?
For team building, the games that work best depend on what you want to achieve. For communication and lateral thinking: Codenames and Wavelength. For reading people and social dynamics: Secret Hitler and Spyfall. For genuine teamwork under pressure: Pandemic and Captain Sonar. For a gentle, inclusive option that works for mixed experience levels: Dixit.
Where is Draughts London Stratford?
We’re at 5 Aquatics Walk, London E20 2AS, inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A five-minute walk from Stratford station and ten minutes from the main London Stadium entrance.
How do I get to Stratford for a team event?
Stratford station is served by the Elizabeth Line, Jubilee Line, DLR, Overground, and National Rail – one of the best-connected stations in London. From Liverpool Street it’s four minutes on the Elizabeth Line. From Canary Wharf, six minutes. From King’s Cross, twelve minutes. There’s also car parking at the adjacent Westfield Stratford City for anyone driving.
Is there parking near Draughts Stratford?
Yes – Westfield Stratford City has multi-storey car parking directly connected to Stratford station, a short walk from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. That said, Stratford’s public transport connections are excellent and most people travelling for a team event find the train more convenient.
What else can we do near Draughts for a team day?
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has several options for building a full team day. V&A East Museum is free entry and has interesting design and craft exhibitions. Sadler’s Wells East puts on world-class contemporary dance and performance. The ArcelorMittal Orbit has an observation deck with views across London and the world’s longest tunnel slide. London Stadium hosts major events and has its own corporate event infrastructure. The park itself – 560 acres, free to enter – is worth walking through between venues.
What is the difference between team building and a work social?
A work social is a night out together – dinner, drinks, an informal gathering. Team building implies a structured activity designed to develop communication, trust, or collaboration. Draughts works well for both: the games add structure and purpose without requiring a facilitator or a programme, and the bar and restaurant make it feel like a genuinely good night out rather than a work exercise. Most groups who come for team building end up having what feels more like a social – which is, honestly, the best possible outcome.
What is Captain Sonar and why is it good for team building?
Captain Sonar is a two-team game where each team of four crews a submarine hunting the other in real time. Each player has a different role – navigator, engineer, first mate, captain – and all four must communicate under time pressure while the opposing team does the same simultaneously. It’s one of the most intensely team-oriented games ever made: roles are meaningless without coordination, and the game collapses without communication. Best played with exactly eight people and genuinely unlike anything else in our library.
Can we do a team building evening at Draughts on a weekday?
Yes – weekday evenings are often a great option for team building, with more availability and a slightly quieter atmosphere than Friday and Saturday nights. We’d still recommend booking in advance to guarantee your table and have the right games prepared. Book at draughtslondon.com.
How far is Draughts from Canary Wharf?
Canary Wharf to Stratford is six minutes on the Elizabeth Line – one of the fastest connections in east London. Draughts is a five-minute walk from Stratford station. It’s a genuinely easy journey for teams based in Canary Wharf, and the quick journey time makes an after-work team building session practical rather than an ordeal.
What food options are available at Draughts for a group?
We’re a full bar and restaurant as well as a board game cafe – the food menu is a proper offer, not an afterthought. We’d recommend ordering food when your group arrives to get everyone settled before the games start. For large groups, let us know when you book and we can make sure everything is ready for you.
