Looking for activities for friends in Stockholm? Start with two questions: how many of you are there, and do you want to compete or just have fun together? The answers decide almost everything. This guide covers how to choose a group activity and what suits a small or a large group, indoors and outdoors. It also explains how VR, escape rooms and AR work for different group sizes. At the end there is a table that helps you pick a format by group size and time.
How do you choose a group activity?
Choose by group size, the time you have, and how much you want to talk to each other during the activity. A good group activity lets everyone take part at the same time, not only the people who already know how it works. It has a clear start and a clear end, and it gives you something to talk about afterwards.
Four questions usually sort it out:
- How many are you? 4 people and 25 people need completely different setups.
- How much time do you have? An hour, an evening or a full day.
- Competition or cooperation? Some groups want to beat each other, others want to solve something together.
- Indoors or outdoors? In Stockholm, the season decides more than you would think.
Activities for a small group of friends
For 2–6 people you have the most options. You fit at one table, in one car and in one room. Classic choices in Stockholm are dinner, bowling, karaoke, padel, a cooking class, or an archipelago boat trip in summer.
If you want something where everyone is equally involved, an escape room works well. One room takes 2–6 players, you have 60 minutes, and you count on about 1.5 hours in total. At Questrooms on Södermalm you can choose classic rooms like Russian Mafia and Horror Escape, or one of our VR escape rooms.
Activities for large groups in Stockholm
For large groups, the main challenge is keeping everyone together. Many activities split you into small tables or lanes, and after an hour half the group has not spoken to the other half.
There are two ways to solve that:
- Play at the same time in several rooms. At Questrooms, 7–8 people can play two physical rooms at the same time, for example Horror Escape and Russian Mafia. With 13–20 people you split across three rooms playing simultaneously. With 21–26 you play as four groups in two rounds: two groups play while two have fika in the lounge, then you swap.
- Play the same game. Quest-to-Go is our mobile AR game where 19–200+ people play at the same time at your own location, indoors or outdoors. The game takes 60–90 minutes and ends with an award ceremony.
If you are more than 26, contact us and we will build a schedule together.
Activities for groups who want to compete
Some groups are at their best when there is a winner. Then the activity needs points, a clock or two teams.
- BACK-TO-BACK: our two VR rooms connect with a total of 10 VR stations. Up to 10 players split into two teams, for example 5 vs 5, and play the same mission. The team that finishes first wins.
- Two rooms at once: two teams play different escape rooms side by side and compare times and hints used afterwards.
- Quest-to-Go: several teams race the clock and each other, and the scoreboard is shown at the end.
Activities for groups who just want to have fun
Not every group wants to compete. Sometimes the goal is to laugh, talk and do something other than sit in a restaurant.
Then a cooperative game works well. In BACK-TO-BACK co-op mode, up to 8 players join the same VR session. In a classic escape room you are one team against the room, not against each other, and you can take hints whenever you like so nobody stays stuck for long. Groups who want some tension without being scared often like Survival VR, where your plane crashes on a deserted island and you have to find resources and fix a transmitter.
Indoor activities in Stockholm
Stockholm has dark, wet months, and then indoor activities are the safe choice. Common options are bowling, billiards, climbing gyms, arcades, museums and escape rooms.
At Questrooms, all classic escape rooms and VR games are indoors, at Kocksgatan 21A, a few minutes from Medborgarplatsen. For more ideas, we have also written about alternatives to cinema and bowling in Stockholm.
Outdoor activities in Stockholm
In the lighter part of the year, Stockholm has a lot to offer outdoors: archipelago boats, cycling, kayaking, city walks and picnics in the parks.
If you want to combine a city walk with a mission, there is Operation Mindfall, an augmented reality spy game where you follow clues through the streets of SoFo with an iPad. It takes 2–10 players, is 16+, and lasts a maximum of 2 hours. The mission starts and ends with us at Kocksgatan 21A. If it rains, you can play with umbrellas and take coffee breaks, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before start.
VR for groups
VR suits groups who want to try something new, where everyone starts at the same level. Nobody needs VR experience: the game master goes through the equipment before you start.
At Questrooms you play with Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3s headsets, 2–6 people per game. There is sci-fi like Signal Lost VR, fantasy like Frozen Castle VR, adventure and horror. With 7–10 people you play BACK-TO-BACK across both VR rooms.
Escape rooms for friends
An escape room is a room you are "locked" into and get out of by solving puzzles together before time runs out. It suits friends because everyone is needed: one person finds the clue, someone else understands what it means.
At Questrooms there are two classic rooms for adults:
- Russian Mafia: a crime story set in 90s Russia. Calmer, with no scare element, but a little trickier. We recommend at least 3 players if you are new.
- Horror Escape: our horror room, strictly 18+, minimum 3 players. Write "light version" when you book if you want to skip the live actor.
AR and Quest-to-Go
AR, augmented reality, places digital clues and objects on top of the real world through an iPad. You move through real places while playing a game at the same time.
At Questrooms, AR comes in two forms. Operation Mindfall is played outdoors from our venue on Södermalm. Quest-to-Go comes to you, at an office, a party venue or a park, with iPads and spy kits for every team. Quest-to-Go fits when you are too many for an escape room or want to stay at your own location.
Ideas for birthdays, reunions and afterwork
- Birthday: an escape room or VR game first, then dinner. At Questrooms you can rent the lounge and keep celebrating after the game. See private events for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties.
- Reunion: when people have not met in a while, a shared task helps. Split old classmates into mixed teams across several rooms at once, so everyone talks to someone new.
- Afterwork: an hour of play after work, then a bar in SoFo. For companies, there are ready-made packages for 10–38 people on our team building page.
Choose a format by group size and time
| Group size | Suggestion at Questrooms | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 2–6 | One escape room or VR game | About 1.5 hours |
| 2–10 | Operation Mindfall outdoors | Max 2 hours |
| 7–8 | Two physical rooms at the same time | About 1.5 hours |
| 7–10 | BACK-TO-BACK VR (co-op up to 8, versus up to 10) | About 1.5 hours |
| 13–20 | Three rooms at the same time | About 1.5 hours |
| 21–26 | Four groups in two rounds, with fika in between | About 2.5 hours |
| 19–200+ | Quest-to-Go at your location | 60–90 minutes of play |
Price: the more players in a room, the lower the price per person. You see the current price when you book an escape room or a VR escape room. Quest-to-Go is priced by number of participants and distance.
Frequently asked questions
What can you do with friends in Stockholm? Common choices are dinner, bowling, karaoke, padel and boat trips in summer. For an activity where everyone is equally involved, an escape room or VR game works well. At Questrooms on Södermalm, one room takes 2–6 players, the game takes 60 minutes and the whole visit about 1.5 hours.
Which activities suit large groups in Stockholm? Activities where everyone can play at the same time. At Questrooms, 7–10 people can play BACK-TO-BACK in two connected VR rooms, 13–20 people split across three rooms at once, and 19–200+ people can play Quest-to-Go at their own location.
What can adults do in the evening in Stockholm? Besides restaurants and bars, there are evening activities like escape rooms, VR and horror experiences. Questrooms has late start times on Fridays and Saturdays, and Horror Escape is a horror room with a strict 18+ age limit.
What can a group do when it rains in Stockholm? Choose something indoors. At Questrooms, all classic escape rooms and VR games are indoors, a few minutes from Medborgarplatsen. The outdoor game Operation Mindfall can be played with umbrellas, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before start.
Find an activity for your group
Count how many you are and pick a format from the table above. For 2–10 people, book an escape room or VR escape room directly. For large groups, parties and your own location, get in touch through private events or Quest-to-Go and we will plan the day with you.
Read also: Weekend activities in Stockholm: indoor and VR ideas
More from Questrooms: BACK-TO-BACK · Operation Mindfall · Team building · FAQ