A Time to Play: When Games Become a Tool for Team Cohesion in the Workplace

At a time when companies are seeking to strengthen their employees’ well-being and rebuild connections between teams, an entrepreneur is proposing an original approach in the Alpes-Maritimes: using games as a vector for cohesion. Behind the company “A Time to Play,” we find Violaine, passionate about board games since childhood, who has chosen to transform this passion into a professional activity.

An idea born from an observation after Covid

The adventure begins in her own professional environment, after the Covid period. Violaine observes a transformation in exchanges between colleagues, increasingly replaced by screens. She then decides to introduce board games during lunch breaks.

A simple initiative, but one that quickly changes the group’s dynamics. “At first there were three of us, then others started to come, first to watch, then to play,” she recounts. Very quickly, these moments become a genuine meeting space. From this experience springs the idea of creating a full-fledged activity; she decides to launch and creates “A Time to Play”.

Games as a lever for cohesion

With “A Time to Play,” the objective is clear: to rebuild connections between people within companies. For Violaine, these gaming times are not simply moments of relaxation but a genuine human investment. “It’s not wasted time, it’s invested time,” she explains, referring to the frequent difficulty employees have in freeing themselves for such activities. The challenge is precisely to show that these moments can have a direct impact on team cohesion and workplace well-being. She also emphasizes the role of human relationships in professional engagement: “What makes people stay at a company is not just the work, it’s especially the colleagues and the atmosphere.”

Customized activities

Each intervention is prepared in advance with the company to adapt the content to the group’s needs: cohesion between departments, stress management, or simply moments of conviviality. Games are carefully selected to ensure an accessible and benevolent experience. The objective is to avoid any uncomfortable situation and allow everyone to participate, regardless of their profile.

Violaine also ensures that she adapts her activities in real-time based on the group’s energy. If a game works particularly well, it can be extended; if it doesn’t catch on, she doesn’t hesitate to change the dynamic.

Through her interventions, the founder has been able to observe concrete effects on participants. Some usually reserved people find it easier to fit into the group. She notably mentions the case of a very withdrawn participant in training, almost inaudible on a daily basis, who emerged during a collective activity. “We realized she was participating tremendously, much more than in regular training,” she recounts.

These experiences confirm, in her view, the value of games as a tool for expression and valuing individuality.

Activities also for individuals in the Alpes-Maritimes

While her activity is primarily aimed at companies, A Time to Play also develops formats for individuals in the Alpes-Maritimes. Among them, treasure hunts allow people to discover a city in a different way, in a playful and intergenerational manner. These activities can be adapted to different events such as birthdays, bachelorette parties, or retirements.

The objective remains the same: to create moments of sharing outside the usual framework, and to put games at the heart of collective experience.

Through her company, Violaine defends a simple idea: games are not reserved for childhood, but can become a genuine social tool.
In a daily life often dictated by work and screens, her activities remind us that sometimes it takes only a shared moment to rebuild connections and strengthen cohesion between individuals.