Team building challenges in San Francisco that have new hire cohorts build a working catapult, then lay siege with soft ammunition until a winner is knighted.
Onboarding cohorts in San Francisco arrive as strangers from different teams, and the first weeks are heavy on reading and light on doing. This program gives a new group something to build together early. The California based crew travels to your office or venue with every component, and over 90 minutes teams design, assemble and test a working catapult before the medieval siege begins.
Build first, then live with the design
The build comes first and the siege settles it, so the engineering choices a team makes early decide how it fares once firing starts.
Team building challenges in San Francisco that have new hire cohorts build a working catapult, then lay siege with soft ammunition until a winner is knighted.
Onboarding cohorts in San Francisco arrive as strangers from different teams, and the first weeks are heavy on reading and light on doing. This program gives a new group something to build together early. The California based crew travels to your office or venue with every component, and over 90 minutes teams design, assemble and test a working catapult before the medieval siege begins.
Build first, then live with the design
The build comes first and the siege settles it, so the engineering choices a team makes early decide how it fares once firing starts. That is a useful lesson for new hires: decisions made under time pressure have consequences, and the team that talks through a plan usually beats the team that grabs parts and hopes. The catapult team building activity rewards listening as much as building.
Siege rules
Ammunition is soft, so the siege is safe for a general corporate audience. As firing starts, teams adjust aim and design between attempts and keep an eye on what rival catapults are doing. This is the high energy end of the program, loud and full of cheering, and it is where a quiet cohort usually finds its voice.
Why onboarding leaders use it
New hire programs need people to meet beyond their own function. Mixing the cohort into teams during the opening icebreaker puts an engineer, a recruiter and a finance analyst at the same build table. Among team building activities for new hires, this one stands out because everyone has a job: someone reads the design, someone assembles, someone aims and someone keeps the team on schedule. The result is a cohort that has learned names and working styles before the first real project.
The knighting
Winners get knighted at the close, which gives the session a defined ending instead of a fade out. The ceremony is a good moment for a leader to welcome the cohort officially, and it hands everyone a shared joke for the weeks ahead.
What the crew brings
- Every catapult component and the tools to build it
- Soft ammunition for the siege
- A host and facilitators to run the build and the firing rounds
- Medieval theming that carries from the build to the knighting
- Full setup and teardown, so the onboarding team only has to show up
Space, group size and energy
This listing covers 15 to 1,000 guests and runs indoors or outdoors. Each team needs table or floor space for the build, plus a clear area for the siege. It is one of the more physical team building challenges in the catalog, so it suits groups ready to move and cheer. It also fits startup team building activities, since a small company can run a full siege with only a few teams, and it works as one of the fun team building activities in person that need no prior skill.
Common questions
No engineering background is needed, since facilitators guide the build and every component is supplied. Ammunition is soft, which keeps the siege safe in offices and ballrooms. Every guest has a role, whether that is building, aiming or keeping the team on schedule.
Pairing with an onboarding week
Many onboarding programs open with presentations and close with a happy hour. A siege in the middle gives the cohort a shared story to bring into those other sessions, and it lets team leads and mentors join the build alongside new colleagues. The medieval theme keeps the tone playful, so nobody feels tested in their first weeks.
Indoors or out
Ballrooms, cafeterias, courtyards and lawns all work, as long as there is room to fire safely. The firing area is mapped to your venue during planning, and the crew handles setup and teardown.
Planning across the Bay Area
In person team building activities like this one are customized for each group, and the crew has refined them across thousands of teams since 2011. A team building catapult challenge works as well for a summer intern class as for a quarterly hiring wave. For weekday dates, four to six weeks of lead time is comfortable, and summer programs should plan eight to twelve weeks out. Check availability for your San Francisco date, share your cohort size, and review the transparent pricing and verified inclusions on this page.
