Halloween Game Ideas

The kids will be having so much fun playing this Halloween game they might not even realize that they are learning something.

Directions

Make printouts with the words “HAPPY HALLOWEEN!” across the top of the page. Underneath make three columns of blank spaces( _______ ) for the kids to write their answers.

We’ve created a nice “Happy Halloween” word scrabble game sheet (get it here) for you if you don’t want to make your own. We also have a “Trick of Treat” version of the game (get “Trick or Treat” version here), too.

The object of the game is for the kids to write as many words as they can think of with at least three letters using only the letters from Happy Halloween. For example correct answers could include hello, pay, and weep. Set up a timer with about four minutes and once the time is up the person with the most acceptable words wins. You can optionally also give a prize to the person with the word with the most letters, most creative word or the word that best fits the Halloween theme.

It is no trick when you treat the kids at your party to an Easter egg hunt styled game with the Halloween Pumpkin Hunt. It will only take a few moments to explain the rules, kids know how this game works.

Directions

The rules of this game are exactly the same as an Easter egg hunt, except that you use pumpkins instead of eggs and Halloween candy bags instead of baskets. Hide the pumpkins around the house or outside in the yard. If the Halloween party guests are young kids make it very easy and increase the difficult of the hiding spots accordingly for older kids. It is a good idea to have prizes of sweets or small toys that the kids can get when they turn in the pumpkins they have found after the hunt. Having one or two special pumpkins that award a larger prize is a fun option.

That is the easy part, the more difficult decision is what to use for pumpkins. If the budget allows a great option is using actual miniature pumpkins. You can select from several different colored pumpkins and have each award a prize from a different prize pool. But particularly if you are going to have a lot of kids at your Halloween party this option can get expensive quickly. Another option is to use inexpensive plastic novelty pumpkins which can be found at most party supply stores around Halloween. If you are feeling crafty you can make pumpkins out of construction paper and either decorate them yourself or add a fun craft to your Halloween party by providing crayons or colored makers and letting the kids decorate the pumpkins before the hunt.

This is a messy game, really messy. But it is also a strong bet for the game the kids will most talk about after your Halloween party.

Directions

Get one pie tin for each party guest. Put 8-10 gummy worms on the bottom of the pie tin and then add a layer of whipped cream. Add more worms and then top it off with more whipped cream. Make sure that you put the exact same number of worms in each pie and 2-3 worms are sticking out of the whipped cream when you add the final layer.

The contestants sit at a table with their pie tins filled with worms and whipped cream in front of them and a plastic cup next to the pie tins. The object of the game is for the guests to take the worms out of the pie tins and put them in the cup. The catch is that they must keep their hands behind their backs and only use their mouths. Give them a Ready, Set, Go and they have 30 seconds to move as many worms as possible from the pie to the cup. The person who has the most worms in their cup is the winner and gets a prize.

Obviously this game is best if played outdoors or in an area that is easily cleaned. A good supply of towels and other products for wiping down the players afterwards is highly recommended.

Trick or treating is all that some people do on Halloween, so don’t forget your own “trick or treating” game at your party. Your guests will be rolling around (literally) with laughter at this fun acting/action game.

Directions

Using orange construction paper or thin foam sheets, create at least 12 paper pumpkins, more if you are having a large number of guests or want a large number of “actions”. You will want to try to make them all exactly the same size and shape, as well.

On 1 of them you will write the word “TREAT” (you can add more “TREAT” pumpkins depending on the number of guests and ease of winning you want to have – 1:10 is good odds), and on the rest you will want to write “TRICK” and a funny or silly action the person has to do such as:

• Howl like a werewolf
• Walk like a zombie
• Do your best vampire impression
• Make a scary/funny/freaky face
• Cackle like a witch
• Do the “Monster Mash”
• Crawl about like a spider

This makes a great game for both adults and kids since you can tailor the “actions” to the age range of your guests.

Put all your pumpkins in a bowl or container, a plastic witch cauldron or plastic trick or treat pumpkin is perfect. Have each player grab a pumpkin from the container and read it. If it says “TREAT” they get a small prize or maybe a small favor bag of candy and their turn ends, BUT if they get “TRICK” they have to do what is written on the card.

You can have each guest keep choosing pumpkins and doing the “TRICKS” until they get a “TREAT” card, or you can just keep going round the room taking one turn at a time until you have a certain number of winners. Either way, your guests will have a ghoulishly good time, and plenty of photo opps.

This Halloween version of the classic game Sardines is not a good fit for every party. It works best with smaller groups of around 6-8 people but if you have enough area with hiding places it can provide a real scare for some of your party guests.

Directions

This game is best when played outside in the pitch dark, no lights or flashlights. There is nothing creepier than coming across a group of your friends “dead” in this game, and makes it one that should only be played by older kids who won’t be scared of the dark or creeped out.

Explain to your party guests that for the purposes of this game one of them has been infected with a deadly, highly contagious virus and has until the count of 50 to live. Establish a large space outside with boundaries as the play area. The infected guest takes off in search of a hiding place while the remaining guests cover their eyes and slowly count to 50. Once the infected person reaches their hiding place they lay down and are considered dead.

When the count is finished the other players must split up and search for their sick friend. When one of the guests finds the hider they are instantly infected with the virus and must quietly lay down next to the original infected person and die beside them. This continues until the last person finds the others in their mass grave at which point the late comer is declared the loser and serves as the hider in the next round of the game.

Tip: This game is much better when played at night in a large area outside with as many lights as possible turned off.

This is actually a version of an old con that has been performed for centuries. It works great for Halloween because of the association with the super natural and this activity(if it works) will wow your guests and add some magic to your party.

Directions

There are three roles to be played in this Halloween prank; the salesman, the skeptic and the mystic. All three have important jobs to perform and if any fail the prank will not work. So choose your partners wisely. It all starts with…

The Salesman: At some point in party the person playing salesman will casually mention in conversation that the person playing the mystic has some psychic ability. Hopefully a few guests not involved with the prank will express interest. Once there is some discussion it is time for the skeptic to get involved and the role of the salesman is over. From this point on the salesman should quietly let events take place without much comment. The more the salesman is evolved after initially mentioning the psychic ability the more people will be suspicious of a set up. It now depends on…

The Skeptic: Once the conversation about the psychic ability has started the skeptic should become very interested. With any luck, one of the other guests will suggest that a test be performed at the party. If this happens the skeptic should immediately step forward and offer to run the test. If no one else has the idea the skeptic should suggest that they test…

The Mystic: The person playing the mystic from the outset should be very humble and noncommittal about their psychic ability. The story is that they have been able to show psychic ability in the past, but it does not always work and they have no idea how or why they are sometimes able to sense information they should not know. The mystic should appear almost embarrassed by the attention their psychic ability is getting from the other guests. Once the test is offered by the skeptic the mystic will halfheartedly agree, since people seem so interested.

The Prank: The skeptic and the mystic should trade ideas as to how the test will work. Eventually they settle on the mystic standing in another room with the door shut and the skeptic will call out five items which are in the room where the skeptic and all the Halloween party guests are located. The skeptic will be touching one of the five items when they call out the list and all of the party guests will be focusing on psychically projecting the item which the skeptic is touching.

So the skeptic might touch a lamp and call out, “There is a chair, a sofa, a lamp, and a coffee table, and a rug.”

That is all the information the mystic needs to get the correct answer. The key is the word “and” in the list. Whichever item is stated before the first use of the word “and” is the item the skeptic is touching. Since lamp is the item before the first use of the word “and” the mystic knows the correct answer is the lamp. If the skeptic does not use the word “and” at all then it is the first item the skeptic calls out.

There will be party guests that suspect a ruse that are trying to figure out how you are pulling it off. With that in mind it is a good idea to agree beforehand that the first three times the skeptic calls out the list of items the rules should be ignored and the mystic will just guest a random item from the list. You want to get a few wrong at the beginning and not to use your pattern. This will make it harder for people to figure out what you are doing. After three times start to follow the rules and reel off five or six consecutive correct answers. This should be plenty to amaze your guests. As soon as the skeptic thinks the guests are suitably baffled, immediately stop the test. If you keep going, soon or later someone will catch on. So once the guests are astounded there is no reason to continue.

Now just sit back and enjoy the evening. It is up to you if ever reveal your trick.