A well-run gaming zone is one of the most consistently popular choices for corporate events. It works for almost any crowd, any venue size and any brief.

The key words are well-run. A row of screens in the corner with nobody encouraging people to play is very different from a proper competitive setup with a leaderboard, a host running races and rivalries, and guests who’ve never spoken before suddenly deep in a Mario Kart grudge match.

Scalextric slot car racing, arcade-style cycling, Roll-A-Ball racing and PAC-MAN Battle Royale all have simple rules, fast rounds and enough competition to keep people coming back. You don’t need to be a gamer to enjoy them.

For most events, two to five games give guests enough variety without spreading attention too thin. Three games with leaderboards running across all of them is usually the sweet spot.

It works when a professional host draws people in and keeps the energy going from arrival to last orders. It suits evening parties, awards receptions, summer events and office parties. See our gaming experiences.

For summer events and outdoor venues, giant garden games are one of the most reliably enjoyable options. They look impressive once set up, anyone can play them and they create a sociable atmosphere that’s hard to manufacture any other way.

Think crazy golf winding through your venue space, human table football, Last One Standing with the whole group watching, Connect 4 Basketball or Footpool. These games start conversations and give guests something to photograph and share.

Give people fresh air, competitive games and a cold drink and you’ve created the relaxed, sociable atmosphere most corporate events are aiming for.

It works when the games suit your outdoor space, because not everything works on every surface or footprint. Our team will advise on what’s right for your venue. It suits summer parties, outdoor venue events, daytime events and away days. See our garden games.

There’s something about a fairground stall that makes adults forget they’re at a work event. Tin Can Alley, Hook a Duck, Coconut Shy and Cork Shoot are games everyone knows how to play, and the collective groan when someone misses is brilliant.

It works because it strips away any awkwardness. There’s no skill barrier and no learning curve, just quick, nostalgic fun.

Fairground setups also look fantastic as part of a themed event. Paired with candy floss, a pick n mix cart and festoon lighting, they can turn an ordinary venue into something that feels special.

It works when the presentation is right. Pristine stalls, branded where relevant, with a host who plays up the showman angle make it a real moment. It suits summer fairs, themed evenings and Christmas parties. See our fairground games.

Live music either makes an event or exposes every weakness in it. When it’s right, it transforms the room. When the volume, the style or the read on the audience is wrong, everyone notices quickly.

The difference usually comes down to experience. A four or five-piece band that regularly plays corporate events knows how to start at the right volume for dinner conversation, build through the night and peak at exactly the right moment. A DJ who knows how to read a corporate crowd is worth their weight.

Beyond music, a magician working the room during a reception or a caricaturist sketching guests during dinner gives people something to gather around and talk about.

It works when the act matches the moment. Save the loud band for after dinner and keep the drinks reception for something guests can talk over. See our live acts and music.

Some entertainment creates a moment. A mind reader who seems to know things they couldn’t possibly know, or a close-up magician who leaves a group of sceptical colleagues baffled, gives people something they’re still talking about on Monday morning.

These acts work well at corporate events because they ask nothing of the audience except to watch and react. Nobody has to volunteer, compete or step out of their comfort zone. The performer does all the work.

It works when you book performers with experience of corporate crowds. A stage performer and a close-up artist who moves between tables and small groups are very different skills, and for most corporate events you want the second. It suits drinks receptions, awards dinners and Christmas parties.

The photo experience has moved a long way beyond the basic booth. Done well, it can be a centrepiece of the evening.

A photo mosaic wall that builds into a branded image over the night, a bullet rig that captures a multi-angle freeze-frame or a mirror booth with animated overlays and instant prints are experiences in themselves.

They also give guests something to do. People who might otherwise stand around have somewhere to go, and the branded images keep your event going long after the room is cleared.

It works when the experience is hosted. Someone welcoming guests and setting up shots keeps it busy all night. It suits evening events, awards parties, product launches and Christmas and summer parties. See our photo experiences.

If team building is on the agenda, the bar is higher than it used to be. People have sat through enough mandatory fun to be wary. The answer is to do team challenges properly.

A GPS treasure hunt across London that needs real teamwork and problem-solving feels completely different from an exercise in a conference room. A hosted game show challenge with rounds, scoring and real jeopardy is memorable in a way a breakout workshop isn’t.

The best challenges are enjoyable first and team building second. Connection and collaboration happen because people are having fun together.

It works with professional facilitation. An experienced host keeps the energy high, manages the competition fairly and makes sure quieter team members get involved. It suits away days, offsites and end-of-year events. See our team building experiences.

The right food and drink experience creates a moment, draws a crowd and adds to the atmosphere of the event.

A candy floss machine draws people over like a magnet. A pick n mix cart brings instant nostalgia and twenty minutes of colleagues arguing about the best sweets. A toffee apple cart at a Christmas party adds to the whole feel of the evening.

These stations become natural gathering points. People drift over, chat to whoever else is there and drift back out, which is exactly the kind of easy mixing most corporate events are trying to create.

It works when the station is well presented and placed somewhere prominent. It suits Christmas parties, summer events and any event with a long drinks or networking period. See our food and drink experiences.

One of the most common mistakes is choosing great individual elements that don’t connect. Good games, good food and a live act still feel random without a coherent feel to the evening.

A theme doesn’t have to mean fancy dress. A pop-up pub night with shuffleboard, digital darts and your company’s name on the swing sign, or a retro arcade evening with neon, racing games and a tournament leaderboard, gives the night a mood and a story.

To skip the curation work, our ready-made themed packages, including Retro Arcade, Pop-Up Pub Night and Christmas, come with games, décor and hosting included, in tiered options from £3,495 excluding VAT.

It works when someone has thought about which elements belong together and how to pace the evening across them. See our themed packages.

Everything above can go wrong if it isn’t delivered well. The gaming zone nobody uses because there’s no host. The band that doesn’t adapt when the room isn’t warming up. The photo booth with a queue and nobody managing it.

Corporate event entertainment comes down to execution. That means equipment that’s owned and kept in perfect condition, a full-time team who know how to work a room, and an account manager who has thought through the logistics before the day.

At Clownfish, we’ve been doing this for 17 years. We own everything we bring, our team is full-time, and we back every event with a money-back guarantee.

If you’re planning a corporate event and want the entertainment to work, our corporate event entertainment team would love to hear about it.

• The games have nobody running them. A gaming zone without a host is often ignored within the first hour.
• The band starts too loud. Volume that suits a dancefloor kills conversation over dinner.
• The photo booth has a queue and nobody managing it. Guests give up and don’t come back.
• Equipment breaks with nobody there to fix it. A dead machine in the corner looks worse than no machine at all.
• The elements don’t connect. Good games, food and a live act still feel random without a plan for the evening.

Ask your supplier who will be on site, what happens if something breaks and how the evening will be paced.

• Match the entertainment to your crowd and the stage of the evening.
• Choose two to five activities, three is usually enough.
• Make sure every activity has someone running it.
• Save the loudest act for after dinner.
• Use a theme or package to tie everything together.

Hosting clients rather than colleagues? Our guide to corporate client event ideas covers what changes. For something smaller, see our office party entertainment ideas.

Clownfish suits companies that want entertainment run properly, from a games area for 30 colleagues to a themed party for several hundred.

Our corporate event entertainment team brings the equipment, the hosts and the plan for the evening. If you need the venue, production and running of the whole event, our corporate event management team can take that on too.

Read our satisfaction guarantee for the commitment behind our delivery.