While the utility of most video chat features is debatable - this is Rich Stanton attending a meeting from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise - I still wasn't expecting Microsoft Teams' latest feature, video games.

The Games for Work app (opens in a new tab) allows bosses around the world to add games to Teams meetings. The games currently available are Microsoft IceBreakers, Wordament, Minesweeper, and Solitaire, all of which are ad-free and can be played in multiplayer from 2 to 250 players.

Playing video games has traditionally not been associated with productivity, but that is a thing of the past. Microsoft believes that playing games with colleagues has a "powerful ability to foster relationships and collaboration," before citing a Brigham Young University study that really shouldn't be cited.

According to this study, "teams that played short video games together were 20% more productive than teams that participated in more traditional team-building activities." That's true, but there is a tremendous caveat here. The study was conducted with teams composed of individuals who did not know each other: "The researchers acknowledge that when team members already know each other well, competitive video games may reinforce prejudices and negative relationships fostered by previous experiences.

Well, perhaps games are good and perhaps bad. One wonders exactly how competitive solitaire will affect intra-departmental rivalries, but we are going to see all of this play out in real time.

Microsoft's broader rationale is even better. One of the big problems with remote and hybrid work is building personal relationships, they say, so that employees can connect and trust each other. In other words, the sense of community that comes from working toward the same goals in the same place. This way of working is where the game can help, he believes.

Microsoft's Jill Braff said that "more than 3 billion people around the world play games, and especially in the last few years, they have played an important role in bringing people together," adding that she hopes they will "help stimulate productivity and promote connection in the workplace."

Almost certainly, you have played some version of these games. Icebreakers is a quiz game that encourages "passionate conversations," Minesweeper is a cooperative game, Wordament is a word challenge game, and the real dark horse is solitaire.

Solitaire "provides a head-to-head game that encourages group participation. This means that while some players are playing, others are watching and helping. This is going to be tricky. (No, you cynic.)

Microsoft has been slyly adding gaming elements to Teams for a while now, but this is the first time it's been this upfront: the Polly app lets teams vote live, and Kahoot! basically lets you run quizzes. According to Microsoft, more such things will be coming in the next year. It may not be long before we can play "Hunt: Showdown" at our weekly meetings. The "Games for Work" app is available now (open in a new tab) and more games will be added over time.