In my full-time job at the local energy company based in Alexandra, I am responsible for organising our company wide work event each year, along with a team of amazing people to help. Despite this, I haven't managed to organise a murder mystery for my work yet as our mystery kits are aimed at small groups between 10 and 40 and sadly our work functions are between 60 and 150 people. However, some of my colleagues have participated in our charity mystery nights, or hosted their own.
Below are some of the ideas of activities/functions that I have organised over the last 10 years in that hope that they may inspire you with some new ideas.
Human Foosball and Archery tag- One year we hired The Playground in Queenstown to bring their inflatable human foosball and archery tag equipment to Alexandra and they set up the games in the garden of the venue we hired. Everyone got really involved and it was great to see everyone giving it a go, including our CEO. The arrows are nice and soft, so everyone felt comfortable to play and weren't terrified.
Outdoor laser tag- Unfortunately the business in Alexandra isn't doing this anymore, but we hired a mobile laser tag business and played laser tag in the garden of our venue. The business was started to raise money for leukaemia so we had fun but also supported a great cause.
Archery/Cross bow lessons- We contacted the local archery club and arranged for a lesson in archery/cross bow for our staff. This was a real hit and not something a lot of people had done.
Amazing race- Pretty much like the show, I set up an amazing race through Wanaka! Unfortunately the wind wreaked havoc on the kayaking part of the race, and I may have made everyone walk quite far, but otherwise it was great fun for most people (except those who fell in Lake Wanaka :D :D ).
Cocktail making- The bartenders at our venue setup cocktail making stations and everyone learnt how to make a cocktail at the start of the evening.
Casino night - I usually suggest this for fundraising, but you can also do it for a work function. We have utlitised the local Lions club who have all the games on a few occasions, and give them a donation to manage the casino games. They bring monopoly money and at the end of the night we have an auction with the fake money for real prizes. Blind auctions are pretty funny!
Scavenger hunt- We set up a wee scavenger hunt with things for staff to find, photos to take etc, with a poem full of clues.
Paintball- I didnt do this with my current job, but for a staff party back in 2012. Paintball was absolutely epic, but is not for the faint hearted. Funnily enough, it's always the quietest colleague who is the most ruthless and despite all safety warnings, she still shot our boss at point blank range. She said it was an accident, but I'm not sure :D :D. Managers beware of this one.
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