Play Better
Together
A guide to understanding how your team plays, and how to find the right type of play the whole team can enjoy.
Imaginative Play
Pretending, acting, storytelling.
Creative Play
Building, drawing, crafting, LEGO, digital or analog making.
Object Play
Exploring how things work, tossing, stacking, testing.
Social Play
Teaming up, taking turns, friendly competition.
Movement Play (Locomotor)
Jumping, balancing, moving your body.
Role Play
Trying on characters or jobs to see what fits.
Communication Play
Jokes, word games, puzzles, debating ideas.
Mastery Play
Practising a skill to level up.
Exploratory Play
Poking around to learn how something works.
Rough-and-Tumble
safe, agreed-upon play fighting for kids; for adults we translate this into energizers and active challenges, not tackling.
Meditative / Slow Play (Order & Calm)
What it is: Slowing down, finding or creating order, gentle focus.
Examples: Watching light through tree branches, yoga, sorting, washing dishes, jigsaw puzzles, following a recipe, and arranging a shelf.
Try at work (5–10 min): Quiet “reset”: tidy a surface, sort sticky notes by colour, box-breathing.
Making / Producing (Hands-On)
What it is: Making something real,physical or digital—often with a clear “done.”
Examples: LEGO, assembling IKEA furniture, crafting from a kit, cooking, simple DIY, and editing a short video.
Try at work: Button/magnet mini-make, “prototype with scrap,” share a 30-sec screen record of a tip.
Creative / Expressive (Open-Ended)
What it is: Expressing yourself; you make choices and design the outcome.
Examples: Tinkering, drawing, dancing at home, singing in the car/shower, decorating, makeup looks, content creation.
Try at work: 2-minute doodle warm-up, team playlist, moodboard for a project.
Problem-Solving (Puzzles & Fixes)
What it is: Figuring things out—sometimes there’s a “right answer,” sometimes it’s a clever hack.
Examples: Escape rooms, word puzzles, “how do we fix this?” home solutions, and rearranging a space.
Try at work: 5-minute puzzle break, “one process we can improve today.”
Attention / Noticing (Curiosity)
What it is: Observing details and making meaning.
Examples: People-watching, bird-watching, cloud shapes, “everything is a clue.”
Try at work: Window safari—find 3 patterns, share one curiosity from your day.
Possibility / World-Building (Identity Play)
What it is: Trying on characters, communities, and imagined worlds.
Examples: Fandoms (tailgates, chants, cosplay), drag, virtual worlds/MMORPGs, Pinterest dream boards.
Try at work: Role cards for a meeting (the Clarifier, the Skeptic, the Dreamer), “pitch from a different persona.”
Competitive / Gameful (Rules & Mastery)
What it is: Clear rules, goals, and usually an opponent or score.
Examples: Sports, video games, chess, board games, axe-throwing.
Try at work: Friendly scoreboard for a sprint, “beat your last best” micro-challenge.
Embodied / Movement (Body as Playground)
What it is: Exploring through movement and sensation.
Examples: Dancing, skating, kayaking, yoga, roller coasters, and kickboxing.
Try at work: 60-second shake-out, walking one-on-ones, balance challenge.
Boundary Play (use wisely): Play sometimes pokes at norms. Keep it consensual, safe, and inclusive. The goal is joy and trust, not harm.
Let us help you find the right type of play for your team.
The best teams don’t all play the same way, they know how to play together.
We get it, finding the right activity for your team isn’t always easy. Whether it’s for team building, bonding, brainstorming, or just a little mid-week fun, planning can feel overwhelming.
But guess what? There is an easier way to make everyone happy, engaged, and connected, while keeping you stress-free when organizing your next team get-together.
The Jokers would love these experiences!
If laughter’s your team’s love language, you’re in the right place. These experiences bring out humour, energy, and connection, perfect for teams that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Release Your Inner Actor
LEGO Group Build
The Explorers would love to dive into these experiences!
Perfect for curious teams who love to learn, experiment, and wander into something new. Whether it’s creativity, connection, or just a fresh perspective, you’ll find it here.
The Artists & Creators would love these experiences!
If your team thrives on imagination, design, and bringing ideas to life, these experiences will spark creative flow, collaboration, and a little bit of magic.
The Directors would have a field day with these experiences!
These experiences are made for team members who love taking charge and turning ideas into something big. You bring the vision, we’ll bring the fun.
Board & Online Trivia Games 🎲 Interactive Gaming Experience
LEGO WARS - Creativity Build Edition
LEGO WARS - Build-It-Race Edition
LEGO GROUP BUILD
The Kinesthetes would jump right into these experiences!
Whether it’s yoga with a twist, a creative relay, or building something side-by-side, these experiences help teams connect through movement and momentum.
The Competitors would thrive here.
Designed for team members who love a challenge, these experiences blend strategy, teamwork, and just enough competition to keep things exciting, no sore losers, just shared wins.
Board & Online Trivia Games 🎲 Interactive Gaming Experience
LEGO WARS - Creativity Build Edition
LEGO WARS - Build-It-Race Edition
LEGO GROUP BUILD
The Storytellers would love these experiences!
These experiences help teams open up, listen, and express themselves in new ways. Perfect for building trust, empathy, and connection through the art of storytelling.
The Collectors would treasure these experiences!
Your team finds joy in saving, sharing, and celebrating the little things. These experiences blend creativity with connection, perfect for those who love leaving with something to hold onto.
I felt creative; I got to know my teammates better; I left feeling lighter or recharged
I learned something new; I got to know my teammates better; I felt creative; I left feeling lighter or recharged
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Testimonials
The Nice Things People Are Saying
I am sold on the Pop CoLab experience, both for our professional team and now I'm thinking "my family would love to spend some time here". For our team there was the genius of moving back and forth between work-based concerns and goals to just plain fun, and I saw the result of that technique come out in the final brainstorm that produced some really great things for our team projects.
James Kornelsen
Manitoba Council for International Cooperation
I wanted to let you know that everyone absolutely loved the session – they said the drinks were awesome, they had a ton of fun making the mocktails and appreciated doing something new and exciting. I’m sure we’ll be reaching out for future sessions.
Myckella McElroy
Richardson International Limited
Working with Pop Colab was such a great experience! Donavan went above and beyond to bring our vision to life. We just told him what we wanted, and he took care of everything, from finding the right team to delivering amazing programming, all within our budget. It saved us so much time and hassle. Pop Colab is definitely on our list for next year!
Mercy Oluwafemi
The Winnipeg Foundation
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