Team Building Millennial Style: Stop Worrying and Embrace the Holy Hand Grenade

Many of my generation and younger grew up with Worms. The lovable worms that give the game its name have a special place in people’s hearts. In every place I’ve worked, there were quite a few people who recognized the game immediately. So, in my opinion, it is the best team-building activity for any IT team.

Getting dragged to an off-site once a year, may be a nice change of scenery, but I’ve found that the best culture is built in the small, frequent moments. A quick game of Worms after lunch takes no time and brings people together better than any other activity I have ever seen. People often tell me they come to the office just for “Worms Wednesday.” I have organized Worms Wednesdays in my past four companies, and some of those teams are still playing today.

There is something therapeutic about smacking your colleague’s worm in the face with a baseball bat. Nothing says flat hierarchy louder than, when the student worker sends the security lead into the drink. Sometimes I wonder what HR would think if they overheard the completely ridiculous cartoon-violence commentary that comes with the game: “Use a bazooka,” “Put a dynamite under him,” “Fire punch his ass!” In any other context it would be alarming, but in Worms it’s just part of the charm.

There is something to be said about easing people into the game though. Tempering the overly competitive and bringing out the cooperative. I think Worms lends itself to it through its unique sense of humor. I guess, most people imagine you feel best when you demonstrate competence, but in my experience it is quite the opposite.

I found that the moments when someone completely fumbles it are when real bonding happens. The greater the ambition, the greater the laughter when an evil plan fails—either by a misplaced Holy Hand Grenade or a missed Ninja Rope swing. This builds a kind of psychological safety; if we can laugh together when we accidentally blow ourselves up in a game, it’s a lot less scary to admit when we break a build in production.

With my departure looming, I’ve taken the time to 3D print some trophies for the team. A memento of Worms Wednesdays. But honestly, the real hand-off isn’t the trophies; it’s the ritual itself. Any team can build this kind of culture if they anchor it in simple, repeatable moments of shared laughter and low-stakes failure. The projects might change and the staff might rotate, but as long as someone knows how to use a Ninja Rope, the team will be just fine.