21 Halloween party games

Mummy wrap race

Players

Teams of 2 or 3

Minutes

10

Ages

4 and up

You need

A roll of toilet paper per team

1. One player in each team is the mummy and stands with arms by their sides.
2. On go, teammates wrap the mummy from ankles to shoulders.
3. Leave the face uncovered.
4. If the paper tears, tuck the end in and keep wrapping.
5. The first team to use the whole roll, with the mummy still wrapped, wins.

Ghost bowling

Players

2 to 12

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

3 and up

You need

6 to 10 toilet paper rolls or plastic bottles with ghost faces drawn on, and a small pumpkin or ball

1. Stand the ghosts in a triangle at the end of a hallway or a clear stretch of floor.
2. Mark a line to roll from, closer for the youngest players.
3. Each player rolls the pumpkin twice per turn.
4. Count the ghosts knocked down, then stand them up again.
5. After three turns each, the highest total wins.

Witch hat ring toss

Players

2 to 15

Minutes

10

Ages

3 and up

You need

3 witch hats or party cones, 5 rings such as glow bracelets joined into circles, and tape for a line

1. Stand the hats in a row a few steps from the line.
2. Give each hat a value: 1 for the nearest, 3 for the farthest.
3. Each player tosses five rings from behind the line.
4. Add up the points for rings that land around a hat.
5. Move the line closer for small children.

Monster freeze dance

Players

4 to 30

Minutes

10

Ages

3 to 10

You need

Halloween music

1. Everyone dances like a monster while the music plays.
2. When it stops, the host calls out a creature: bat, zombie, black cat, ghost.
3. Players freeze in that creature's pose.
4. Anyone still moving joins the host as a judge.
5. Keep the songs short so the rounds move quickly.

Doughnuts on a string

Players

3 to 10 at a time

Minutes

5 to 10

Ages

4 and up

You need

A ring doughnut per player, string, and a clothesline, broom handle or doorframe to hang them from

1. Check for food allergies before the party.
2. Hang each doughnut on a string at its player's mouth height.
3. Players put their hands behind their backs.
4. On go, they try to eat the whole doughnut without using their hands.
5. The first to finish, or the one with the least left after two minutes, wins.

Pass the pumpkin

Players

6 to 25

Minutes

10

Ages

3 to 10

You need

A small pumpkin or an orange ball, and spooky music

1. Sit in a circle and pass the pumpkin from hand to hand while the music plays.
2. When the music stops, the player holding the pumpkin says a Halloween word, such as bat or broom.
3. A word already used does not count, so the words get harder each round.
4. A player who is stuck can ask the circle for help.
5. Keep going until the songs run out.

Spider web step

Players

2 to 10, one at a time

Minutes

10 to 20

Ages

4 and up

You need

A ball of yarn, chairs or furniture to tie it between, and a small bell if you have one

1. Zigzag the yarn between chair legs across a hallway or doorway, with every strand below knee height.
2. Hang the bell on the web so a touch makes it ring.
3. Players step through from one side to the other without touching the yarn.
4. Each touch adds a point to the player's score.
5. The fewest points wins; time the crossings to break a tie.

Flashlight pumpkin hunt

Players

3 to 15

Minutes

15

Ages

4 and up

You need

20 to 30 paper pumpkins or ghosts, a flashlight per child or pair, and a darkened room or yard

1. Hide the paper pumpkins around a room or yard where the children can move safely.
2. Turn the lights down and hand out the flashlights.
3. Children search for the pumpkins; leave a small lamp on for the youngest.
4. Draw a star on the back of a few pumpkins that win a small prize.
5. Count the finds together when the lights come back on.

Costume parade

Players

Any number

Minutes

15

Ages

All ages

You need

Music, and an award title for every child written in advance

1. Write an award for each child: best cape, most colorful, best monster walk, best homemade and so on.
2. Children walk one at a time across the room while the music plays.
3. Each child tells the room what they are dressed as, or passes.
4. Hand out the awards so every child gets one.

Mystery feel boxes

Players

4 to 30

Minutes

15

Ages

5 and up

You need

4 to 6 boxes with a hole big enough for a hand, holding things that feel strange: peeled grapes, cold cooked spaghetti, a wet sponge, a hairbrush

1. Label each box with a spooky name, such as eyeballs for the grapes or worms for the spaghetti.
2. Players reach in one at a time and say or write what they think is really inside.
3. A child may peek first or skip a box.
4. Reveal the contents at the end and give a point for each right guess.
5. Leave out any food a guest is allergic to, and keep wipes nearby for hands.

Pumpkin decorating contest

Players

Any number

Minutes

30 to 45

Ages

4 and up, with help for the youngest

You need

A small pumpkin per player, paint pens, stickers, glue, craft scraps and covered tables

1. Give each player a pumpkin and share out the supplies.
2. Set a time limit, such as 30 minutes.
3. Decorate without carving, which keeps knives away from children.
4. Line the pumpkins up with numbers and let guests vote.
5. Give awards in several categories: funniest, spookiest, most creative.

Halloween bingo

Players

3 to 30

Minutes

20

Ages

5 and up

You need

A different card per player, the call list, and candy corn or buttons as counters

1. Print a card for each child and one call list.
2. Read the items in a random order and tick each one off.
3. Players cover the called items.
4. A full line calls boo instead of bingo, and the caller checks it.
5. Play until a few children have won, then switch to a full card.

Without a printer: Children draw a grid and fill it with words from the list, written on the board.

For this game: Halloween bingo cards

Halloween word search in pairs

Players

Pairs, any number

Minutes

10

Ages

7 and up

You need

A copy of the puzzle and a pencil per pair

1. Pairs share one puzzle: one partner reads out the word list and the other circles.
2. Swap roles halfway through.
3. Stop at 8 minutes and count the words each pair has found.
4. Check the sheets against the answer key.

Without a printer: Put the puzzle on the classroom screen and let pairs take turns coming up to point out a word.

For this game: Halloween word search

Halloween riddles

Players

4 to 30

Minutes

10 to 15

Ages

6 and up

You need

The riddle list

1. Read a riddle aloud in your best spooky voice.
2. Players raise a hand to answer, or teams write their answer.
3. Give a clue after 30 seconds if nobody has it.
4. Reveal the answer and move on to the next riddle.

Without a printer: Read the riddles from a phone or the classroom screen.

For this game: Halloween riddles with answers

Classroom Halloween quiz board

Players

A whole class in 2 to 5 teams

Minutes

25 to 40

Ages

8 and up

You need

The classroom screen or a projector

1. Show the board and split the class into teams.
2. Teams take turns choosing a category and a point value.
3. Give each team 30 seconds to agree on one answer.
4. Reveal the answer and add the points.
5. Finish when the board is empty or party time is up.

Halloween costume contest

Players

Any number

Minutes

20

Ages

Teens and adults

You need

Ballots, pens, a box and small prizes

1. Announce the contest and its categories in the invitation: scariest, funniest, best group, best homemade.
2. At a set time, gather everyone for a costume walk.
3. Guests vote on paper for one costume per category, never their own.
4. Count the ballots out of sight.
5. Announce the winners from the last category to the first.

Vampire wink

Players

8 to 25

Minutes

15 to 20

Ages

10 and up

You need

Playing cards: an ace for the vampire, a king for the detective, and number cards for everyone else

1. Deal one card to each player in secret; the player with the king shows it and becomes the detective.
2. The vampire, who holds the ace, strikes by winking at another player.
3. A player who is winked at waits a few seconds, then faints dramatically out of the round.
4. The detective watches the room and has three guesses to name the vampire.
5. The round ends when the vampire is named or only one other player is left.

Spooky story circle

Players

4 to 15

Minutes

15

Ages

10 and up

You need

A flashlight and a dim room

1. Sit in a circle with the lights low; only the person holding the flashlight speaks.
2. The first player opens a story in one sentence, such as: The last bus stopped at the gates of the closed fairground.
3. Pass the flashlight, with each player adding one or two sentences.
4. After an agreed number of rounds, the last player must end the story.
5. Keep it mild if younger children are listening, and let anyone pass.

Monster drawing fold

Players

3 to 30, in groups of 3

Minutes

10

Ages

6 and up

You need

A sheet of paper folded into three strips, and pens, for each group

1. The first player draws a monster's head in the top strip, with the neck lines running just over the fold.
2. Fold the head out of sight and pass the paper on.
3. The second player draws the body and arms, then folds and passes.
4. The third player draws the legs and feet.
5. Unfold the sheet, name the monster together and show it to the room.

Halloween charades

Players

6 to 30, in two teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

8 and up

You need

Halloween prompts on cards and a one-minute timer

1. Write prompts on the cards: carving a pumpkin, a vampire at the dentist, trick-or-treating in the rain, a ghost who is scared of the dark.
2. Teams take turns sending up an actor, who acts without speaking.
3. The team has one minute to guess for a point.
4. Mix in easy single words, such as bat or witch, when younger players are in the room.

Without a printer: Write the prompts on scraps of paper and fold them into a bowl.

For this game: Printable blank charades cards

Halloween trivia

Players

4 to 40, in teams

Minutes

20 to 30

Ages

12 and up

You need

The question set, answer sheets and pens

1. Split into teams, each with a spooky team name.
2. Read 10 questions per round.
3. Teams write their answers, without phones.
4. Read out the answers while teams swap sheets and mark them.
5. Give a bonus point to the best-dressed team.

Without a printer: Read the questions from a phone; teams answer on any paper.

For this game: Halloween trivia questions