Most meeting icebreakers fall flat for the same reason: one person talks while everyone else waits their turn. A survey game show fixes that. Everyone answers first, privately, on their phone — then the whole call plays together, guessing what the team said. It takes about ten minutes, needs no budget, and works whether your team is fully remote, hybrid or in one room.
This guide shows you how to run Survey Says, a free Family Feud–style game, inside a Microsoft Teams meeting. The same steps work in Zoom, Google Meet and Webex.
What you need: a free WebDesks account for the host, a Teams meeting, and five minutes before the call to write your questions. Players don’t need an account or an app.
Step 1 — Write 3 to 5 questions
Open Survey Says, sign in, and create a game. Good survey questions have many possible answers but a few obvious favourites. Mix general questions with a couple about your team:
- Name something people do right before a big meeting.
- Name a phrase you hear in every team meeting.
- Name an app our team couldn’t live without.
- Name an excuse for being late to work.
- Name something you’d find on a messy desk.
Set the survey to close on a timer, or leave it open and close it yourself when you’re ready to play.
Step 2 — Collect answers in the Teams chat
Copy the game link and paste it into the meeting chat or your team’s channel. You can send it the day before so answers are waiting, or give everyone two minutes at the start of the call. On the host screen you’ll see the answer count go up live.
In a hybrid room, open the Join screen and share it: it shows a giant QR code and the link, so people in the room can scan with their phone camera while remote colleagues click the link in chat.
When everyone has answered, click Close survey. Survey Says groups matching answers (“coffee”, “Coffee!”, “cofee”) automatically, and you can merge similar ones like “grab a coffee”, rename or hide any that need a tidy-up. The most popular answers become the board.
Step 3 — Share only the board
Click Play the game, then open the presenter window. It shows only the game board and follows your controls. In Teams, choose Share → Window and pick the presenter window — not your whole screen — so the answers on your host screen stay private.
Step 4 — Play
- Split the call into two teams (by department, by first name A–M vs N–Z, or cameras-on vs cameras-off).
- The active team calls out guesses. Type each guess; if it matches an answer on the board it flips over and the points go into the pot.
- A wrong guess earns a strike. After three strikes, the other team gets one chance to steal the pot.
- Award the pot, move to the next question, and the board keeps score until a winner is crowned.
You can also reveal tiles with number keys 1–8 and add a strike with X, which is handy when people answer out loud quickly.
Tips for a great meeting game
- Keep it short. Three questions is perfect for a stand-up; five fills a social.
- Rotate the host. A different teammate writes the questions each week.
- Use it for onboarding. Ask “Name something every new hire should know” and turn the answers into a welcome list.
- Turn on cameras for the reveal. The reactions are half the fun.
Frequently asked questions
Can you play a Family Feud–style game in Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Survey Says runs in the browser: paste the survey link into the Teams chat, then share the presenter window so everyone sees the game board while you keep the host controls private.
Do participants need a Teams app or add-in?
No. Players answer in any browser on their phone or laptop and don’t need an account. Only the host signs in to a free WebDesks account.
Does it work in Zoom and Google Meet too?
Yes. Share the presenter window the same way in Zoom, Google Meet, Webex or Slack huddles.
How long does a game take?
About two minutes to collect answers and 10–20 minutes to play three to five questions.
Survey Says is an independent game by WebDesks, inspired by classic TV survey game shows. Family Feud is a trademark of its owner; WebDesks isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by it.