The best Family Feud team building game is not the questions you ask on stage. It is the survey you run before the event, because those ranked answers become the board everyone competes against. That pre-event survey is what separates a forgettable quiz from a game people talk about for weeks. With Gallup reporting that only 20% of employees feel engaged at work, a game built from your own team’s answers is a smart way to pull people in.
Connection is the point. Pew Research found that most workers value the social side of their jobs, and a survey-driven game turns that social pull into a structured event. When teammates see their own responses ranked on the board, the laughter is instant and the buy-in is real.
Most planners struggle with the same questions. What do you actually ask in the survey? How many people need to answer? How do you turn raw responses into a fair, fun board? And how do you keep the questions light enough for everyone yet specific enough to your company? The methodology and the 40-plus examples below answer all of it.
What You Need to Know
- The pre-event survey, not stage questions, is what separates a forgettable quiz from a memorable game.
- Ranked survey answers become the live game board everyone competes against.
- When teammates see their own responses ranked on the board, laughter and buy-in are instant.
- Only 20 percent of employees feel engaged; a game built from team answers helps close that gap.
- Pew Research found most workers value the social side of work, and this format delivers it.
How the Survey Becomes the Game Board
This is the part most DIY guides skip. The survey is the engine of the entire game. Here is the workflow that produces a board your team will love.
- Write the survey. Pick 8 to 12 light, opinion-based questions that fit your culture.
- Collect responses. Send the survey to at least 25 to 50 people a week before the event.
- Tally the answers. Group similar responses, then count how many people gave each one.
- Rank the top answers. The most common answer sits at the top, worth the most points.
- Build the board. Show only the top five or six answers per question on game day.
The magic is that the answers are not opinions from a TV studio. They come from the people in the room, so every reveal feels personal. The goal is to guess what your coworkers said, not what is objectively correct.
What Makes a Good Survey Question
Strong survey questions share a few traits. Get these right and the board builds itself.
- Open-ended: the question invites many possible answers, not yes or no.
- Light and safe: nothing about performance, salary, or anyone by name.
- Relatable: every employee has a real answer ready.
- Specific to your group: a question about your office lands harder than a generic one.
Survey Questions About Office Life
These produce clear, rankable answers and warm up the room.
- Name something everyone keeps on their desk.
- Name the first thing people do when they get to work.
- Name something that always runs out in the supply closet.
- Name a reason people are late to a meeting.
- Name something coworkers do to look busy.
- Name the most-used app on a work laptop.
Sample ranked answers: Name something everyone keeps on their desk.
- Coffee mug (35)
- Phone charger (24)
- Snacks (18)
- Family photo (14)
- A plant (9)
Survey Questions About Coworkers
These spark the most laughter because teammates recognize each other instantly.
- Name a type of coworker every team has.
- Name something a coworker does that drives people crazy.
- Name a phrase your boss says all the time.
- Name something people only share with their closest work friend.
- Name a coworker most likely to organize a party.
- Name something people gossip about at work.
Sample ranked answers: Name a type of coworker every team has.
- The always-late one (30)
- The overachiever (23)
- The office comedian (19)
- The snack hoarder (16)
- The quiet genius (12)
Survey Questions About Food and Breaks
Food is the great equalizer across departments, so these questions rank cleanly.
- Name the most popular lunch spot near the office.
- Name a food that disappears fastest at a potluck.
- Name something people always steal from the office fridge.
- Name a snack that lives in every desk drawer.
- Name the go-to office coffee order.
- Name something people do on a coffee break.
Sample ranked answers: Name a food that disappears fastest at a potluck.
- Pizza (33)
- Cookies or brownies (26)
- Fried chicken (18)
- Chips and dip (15)
- Fruit, last (8)
Survey Questions About Work Habits and Remote Days
Hybrid teams answer these fast, and the results bond in-office and remote staff.
- Name something that always goes wrong on a video call.
- Name a reason people work from home.
- Name the first thing you do after a long meeting.
- Name something people do when they should be working.
- Name a tab everyone has open all day.
- Name something that makes a Monday harder.
Sample ranked answers: Name something that always goes wrong on a video call.
- Someone is on mute (38)
- Frozen screen (25)
- A pet or child appears (18)
- Background noise (12)
- Wrong screen shared (7)
Survey Questions About Company Culture
These tie the game directly to your brand and create the proudest reveals.
- Name something our company is known for.
- Name the best perk of working here.
- Name a tradition unique to our team.
- Name something people brag about to friends about this job.
- Name the most popular meeting room.
- Name a word that describes our team in one breath.
Common Challenges When Building the Survey Yourself
The methodology is clear, but execution trips up most planners. These are the obstacles to plan around.
- Low response counts: fewer than 25 replies produce a board with ties and weak rankings.
- Messy tallying: grouping “coffee,” “a coffee,” and “my latte” into one answer takes judgment and time.
- Questions that flop: some prompts return scattered answers that will not rank into a clean top five.
- Timing the survey: sent too early people forget, too late you cannot tally in time.
- Hosting the reveal: running buzzers, points, and strikes while reading the room is a real job on game day.
Why Teams Hand the Survey to It’s PlayTyme
Building a great board takes time and a practiced eye. It’s PlayTyme Game Shows designs the custom pre-event survey for you, distributes it, tallies the responses, and builds the ranked board, then sends a professional host with buzzers and broadcast-style screens to venues across New Jersey, New York City, and Connecticut. Your team answers a short survey, then shows up to compete.
Because the questions and answers come from your own people, the reveals hit hard. The host handles scoring, pacing, and fairness, so HR never has to facilitate. The result is a game built for your culture, not pulled off a template.
Want a survey-driven game shaped around your team? Contact It’s PlayTyme to start the survey, or see our team building game shows running across NJ, NYC, and CT.
How to Choose Your Survey Questions
Start with your goal. If you want cross-department mixing, choose coworker and culture questions that everyone can answer. If you want easy laughs, lean on food and remote-day prompts. Pick 8 to 12 questions, send the survey to at least 25 people, and reserve a couple of spares in case a prompt returns scattered answers. Keep every question light and free of names or performance. Do that, and your board will feel personal, fair, and worth competing for.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many people need to take the survey?
Aim for at least 25 to 50 responses so the rankings are clear and ties are rare. More responses produce a stronger board with cleaner top-five answers. For large companies, 50 or more replies give the most satisfying reveals.
How do I turn survey responses into a game board?
Group similar answers together, count how many people gave each, then rank them from most to least common. The top answer earns the most points. Show only the top five or six answers per question on game day.
What survey questions work best for team building?
Open-ended, light questions about office life, coworkers, food, and company culture rank cleanly and bond the group. Avoid anything about performance, salary, or specific people. Questions tied to your own workplace land harder than generic prompts.
When should I send the survey?
Send it about one week before the event. That gives people time to respond without forgetting, and leaves you a few days to tally answers and build the board. Sending too early lowers response rates as the event slips off the radar.
Can It’s PlayTyme build the survey for us?
Yes. It’s PlayTyme designs the custom survey, distributes it, tallies responses, and builds the ranked board, then provides a host with full equipment. Your team only answers a short survey and shows up to play across NJ, NYC, and CT.
