Left Right Story Game for Work – Clean Office Stories

Short: The Printer

There are two printers on our floor. One of them works. Everybody in Accounts knows which, and nobody has ever told the new people.

On Monday Omar needed one page. One page, for a meeting in five minutes.

Omar sent it to the printer on the LEFT. It thought about it, blinked a light, and asked for paper in tray two. Tray two was full. It asked again.

Omar looked LEFT down the hall for help, and RIGHT toward the kitchen. Nobody was around.

So Omar sent it to the printer on the RIGHT. Out came forty pages of somebody else's report, warm, with a staple in the wrong corner.

That is when Denise walked by. Denise has been here longer than the carpet.

"You want the one on the LEFT," said Denise. "But you have to open the side door first and shut it again. Not hard. Like you mean it."

Omar opened the door and shut it like someone who meant it. The printer hummed. The page came RIGHT out, the correct way up.

"How did you know that?" said Omar.

"Somebody showed me," said Denise, "in my first week. There was a sign once. It fell off."

Omar made the meeting with a minute LEFT. And there is a new sign on the printer now, in large letters, held on with a great deal of tape.

Whatever you are holding now is yours to keep.

How it works

A left right story game for work needs one reader and a small gift in every hand: at each LEFT or RIGHT, all gifts move one place. Press Start: give me 3 words to put your team in The Printer.

Read the full guide

How to play

Everyone brings one small wrapped gift, or is handed one, and forms a ring of three or more; standing round the desks works. One person reads. Each LEFT or RIGHT in capitals moves every gift one place that way, and people keep what they hold after the last line.

Pick a story

The Printer is the short one, for the start of a lunch. The Meeting That Moved is the long one. The Friday Fridge clears the shared refrigerator. Reply All is 13 rhymed couplets about one email. The Office Tour welcomes a new hire. None names a holiday, so they fit a team day in any month.

For a send-off, the retirement story, Clearing the Desk, is on the left right party game page.
For a white elephant swap at work, The Break Room Swap is on the white elephant page.

Questions and answers

How long does a left right story game for work take?

About 2 to 3 minutes a story. The Printer and Reply All take about 2 minutes, with 7 passes each. The Meeting That Moved takes about 3 minutes with 8 passes; The Friday Fridge and The Office Tour take about 3, with 7.

Are the stories clean enough for the office?

Yes. No drinking, no romance and no jokes about a boss. The worst a named coworker does is keep dishes in the shared refrigerator or send one email to everybody.

Does the left right game work with a large staff?

Yes, from three people up. In a room of forty, make one ring round the tables and wait after each cue until the passing stops. Every story ends one or two places from its start, so nobody gets their own gift back.

All 5 stories

Show the list

Short: The Printer Short, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. Two printers, one page and five minutes to a meeting. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 3 words: 2 × name, 1 × team.
Long: The Meeting That Moved Long, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 3. One meeting, three rooms and a single yes. Gifts end two seats left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × team, 1 × snack.
The Friday Fridge Standard, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. Clearing the shared refrigerator, shelf by shelf. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × team, 1 × snack.
Rhymed: Reply All Rhymed, 13 couplets, about 2 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. One email about a snack, and everyone who answered it. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × snack, 1 × team.
New Hire: The Office Tour For welcoming someone new, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. A six-minute tour nobody remembers. Gifts end one seat left of where they started. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × team, 1 × snack.

The kinds of words the game asks for

Name a first name; a made-up one is fine. More examples: Sir Reginald, Professor Plum, Doctor Noodle.

How these stories were written: All five stories were written for this site in October 2026, and none is adapted from a left right story in circulation. The team and the coworkers are the names you type, or samples; no real person or company appears. Pass counts are counted by script from the final text. Licence: own work