Spooky season is around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about your festivities! If you’re planning a gathering, this list of the best Halloween games for kids will give you some great ideas. These Halloween party games work for kids of all ages and any kind of theme. Adults will enjoy quite a few of these options, as well. Get those invitations out, and start organizing your decor because everyone’s favorite night isn’t too far away.
Enjoying Seasonal Fun With the Whole Family
The calendar can fill up quickly with kids returning to school and the holiday season upon us. Keeping family time on the schedule can be a struggle, and checking out Halloween games for kids is a good start. But try to keep the momentum going all year long! We can help you there. Just set time aside on your calendar each week, and grab a copy of Adventures From Scratch: Family Edition. There are dozens of activities; each is a surprise until you scratch it off. Now, it’s easy to fill your designated family time with fun and memorable activities!
The 31 Best Halloween Games for Kids
This list of 31 fun games will help get your party started and turn it into a memorable event. Our Halloween party ideas range from super scary to fun, family-friendly activities, and we’ve got games that fit that entire range. Let’s jump into it!
1. Guess How Much Candy Corn
Guessing games are easy to play for any size group. Candy corn has a unique triangle shape and is perfect for a Halloween-themed party. All you need is a decent-sized glass jar. Count how many pieces of candy corn you add to the container, and write the number down somewhere safe. Leave pieces of paper and pens near the candy, and invite your guests to write down their guesses for how many pieces of candy are in the jar. Toward the end of the party, reward the person with the closest guess the entire jar of candy corn (hopefully they love the candy).
2. Spider Launch
Spiders are a fear for many people, so they fit perfectly in a spooky Halloween game. It’s easy to find little plastic spiders for this activity. Make your own spider web on the wall using cotton. Give the kiddos each a handful of spiders and a plastic spoon. Using the spoon on the edge of a table, launch the spiders towards the web, and see who can make the most stick. The little plastic legs will snag on the cotton and leave the spiders hanging out. It’s a fun arcade-style game!
3. Name That Tune
Music is critical to a party atmosphere, so why not turn it into a game? Put together a list of spooky Halloween songs, and then challenge party guests to name that tune. Customize your game however you like. Should people shout out the right answer or get a few seconds of each song and write down their guesses? If you need some ideas for music, check out this list of the 30 best Halloween songs.
4. Pumpkin Bowling
Kids of all ages love bowling. Swap out the bowling balls with pumpkins instead to make this game extra festive for the holiday. Use regular bowling pins (or maybe you can paint them up like candy corn?), and set them up outside. Give each child a pumpkin, and challenge them to roll it down a lane into the pins. Keep score, and see who can knock down the most!
5. Create a Mummy
You may have seen a version of this game played at bridal showers: Guests wrap one person up in toilet paper and make a TP wedding dress. For Halloween, swap a wedding dress for a mummy costume. Split the kids up into groups, and nominate one person on each team to become the mummy. Then, set a timer, and challenge the rest of the kids to cover the mummy with toilet paper as quickly as possible. You can award the fastest or the most creative at the end.
6. Spooky Movie Trivia
Watching Halloween movies is a fun evening activity this time of year. If you’re having a party with some movie lovers, consider organizing a spooky movie trivia game. There are great online resources for questions and ideas, or you can develop them yourself. Choose movies that give off a spooky vibe, like the Harry Potter movies, if you want something that isn’t necessarily a scary movie but still fits the season.
7. Werewolf
Werewolf is a great party game for tweens or older kids. This card game is available for purchase at game stores and online at Amazon. The deck of cards is distributed at the beginning. Each game has a moderator, a seer, a doctor, and two werewolves. The rest of the players are villagers. The game switches between day and night. During nighttime, the werewolf selects people to take out. During the day, the doctor can help heal people, and everyone works to figure out who the werewolf is. It’s an organized game that will challenge everyone!
8. Fear Factor
Fear Factor was a popular TV show that required contestants to face their fears. Bring it to your party by challenging your guests to guess the food while blindfolded. They’ll have to trust you! Taking away their sight adds a fun twist. Pick some sweet items and some that are a little funky. Peel a grape for a pretend eyeball if you want to make it spooky. Gummy worms are another fun item that can freak a few kids out.
9. Monster Matching
With younger kids, you want a few simple games. Memory is a fun game to play with preschool-aged children. Print out a few different colorful monsters, and tape them to playing cards. Lay them out as pairs, and then mix them up a bit. Challenge the kids to flip over two cards each turn. If they get a match, they get to go again. If the cards don’t match, they return them, and the next person goes. Encourage them to remember where the monsters are so they can find them on a future turn.
10. Halloween Charades
Charades is a great party game for any time of the year. Make it a perfect Halloween game for kids by coming up with a selection of themed topics for the kids to act out. Ideas include trick or treating, witches, bobbing for apples, Frankenstein, and other fun characters or activities. Set the scene, and let the actors take the stage.
11. Eyeball Toss
Set up bean bag toss but with a Halloween twist! Instead of beanbags, use eyeballs. Make them yourself using a beanbag tutorial with white fabric, and then draw on the pupil with permanent markers. Challenge the kids to toss the eyeballs, and use the same points system as a typical beanbag toss game. This is a great game for an outdoor party!
12. Halloween Decorations Scavenger Hunt
Plan your own unique Halloween scavenger hunt! Start by creating a list of Halloween decor and other spooky items that fit the theme. Put these items on a physical list, and hand it out to the kids. Then, start the timer, and set them free to search for items. You can also include fun challenges they need to complete before finishing. Scavenger hunts are great party games because they can be customized in a million different ways. If you have brave older kids, check out a ghost hunt scavenger hunt!
13. Witch’s Broomstick Race
In most cartoon depictions, witches (and wizards) use broomsticks to fly. Turn this into a fun Halloween party game! Grab all the brooms (and mops and vacuum cleaners) you can find, and line them up outside. Set up a start and finish line. Each kid should grab one and then proceed to race on their “broomstick.” You can set up obstacles or challenge them to pick things up along the way. Maybe you even give them witch hats and see if they can balance them on their heads while flying around the yard!
14. Putt with Pumpkins
Another fun DIY Halloween game perfect for a good outside day is miniature golf with pumpkins. Use the tiny durable ones, and set up a few holes. The stems and funky shapes make it hard to maneuver them in the way that you want, so the game is challenging and will get everyone laughing. If that seems too challenging, you can play with regular golf balls and use giant pumpkins as your holes. Carve out the bottoms, and see how many party guests can get a hole-in-one.
15. Eyeball Hunt
Many people associate Halloween with creepy and gory movies, so why not challenge everyone to do something creepy and gory? This game involves some food prep. Cook some spaghetti noodles, and cool them off in the fridge after they’re cooked. You can use oil to make them a little slippery. For eyeballs, use peeled grapes or any type of food that is round. When it’s game time, put out some bowls of noodles. Then, hide an eyeball or two in the bowl. Anyone brave enough to play has to wear a blindfold and not use their hands. The goal is to find the eyeballs with your mouth as quickly as possible. Just make sure to lay down newspapers or play somewhere that can get a little messy.
16. Follow the Witch Hats
You’ve probably played a version of this game with cups before, but this one is all about using your eyes and trying not to blink. Hide a piece of Halloween candy underneath one of three witch hats while everyone watches. Then, you start moving around the hats for at least 20 seconds. When you stop, everyone has to guess which hat the candy is under. It’s a quick game and a great way to hand out some candy.
17. Truth or Scare
Truth or Dare is a classic game for parties. Make it a Halloween game by changing the dare to scare and switching up the rules a bit. This game is based on a Discovery Channel show where the host would tell a ghost story about a haunted house or a ghoul spotting, and at the end, you’d find out if it’s true or just a scary story. For your game, you can find a few of those spooky stories and let the kids guess at the end if it’s true or not. It’s a fun way to tell some ghost stories. Try to incorporate local legends!
18. Pin the Bolt on the Frankenstein
Swap out the donkey, and put up Frankenstein. This spooky character famously has some bolts in his neck. Give kids small stickers or cutouts of the bolt, and blindfold them. The challenge is to place your bolts as close to the spot on his neck as possible. This could also be played with a witch and her nose or any other Halloween character.
19. Whodunnit Game
Murder mystery games are great activities for kids who are a bit older. Use the board game Clue, or pick up a full boxed set of a murder mystery event if you want a pre-organized game. The box sets come with instructions, character cards, and even suggestions about what kind of food to serve at the party. Just check the ages for the game because some are made for adults.
20. Ghost Sack Race
Turn those potato sacks into ghosts with a little white paint, or just use old pillowcases. Sack races get everyone up and jumping. Allow the kids to use black paint or markers to add a face to their ghouls. Make it a relay race if you’re short on supplies.
21. Bobbing for Apples
Bobbing for apples is a classic Halloween game. Find a large bucket (or a few), and fill it with water. Then, add some apples to the bucket. After all, it’s the perfect season for apple picking! Invite your guests to plunge face-first into the buckets, and see if they can sink their teeth into an apple and pull it out. Guests can’t use their arms, so it might be helpful to tie them behind their backs, especially little kids.
22. Monster Mash
Monster Mash is another game that involves some water. Fill up colorful water balloons, and add monster faces to them with markers. You could also use orange balloons and make them pumpkins. Add the balloons to a bucket, and invite party guests to hop in and stomp out all the monsters (or pumpkins). Set up multiple stations, and turn it into a race! They’ll have to get creative to stomp them all out as quickly as possible.
23. Ring Toss Game
Turn some painted black cones into witch hats for a Halloween ring toss game. Let the kids take turns tossing small rings and trying to land them on the cones. Each one can be worth a different point value, or you can give a prize to anyone who lands one on each of the different rings. The game is easy to set up and play.
24. Bone Collector
Skeletons are a common Halloween decoration. So challenge the kids to collect all the bones needed to make a skeleton. You can hide the different parts throughout the room or yard. Put up a skeleton they can reference, and then challenge them to locate all the parts and assemble their own skeleton.
25. Halloween Bingo
Bingo is a great party game for kids. Use free printable bingo cards online, and give each kid a sheet of stickers. The bingo cards can feature all kinds of Halloween characters or symbols. Call out the different objects on the bingo cards until one of the kids is lucky enough to get a whole row filled. Have a treat bag filled with fun-sized Halloween candy ready for the winner.
26. Donuts on a String
If you want a game like apple bobbing but don’t want everyone to dunk their faces into the same buckets, try this game instead. You need a strong string or thread and a box of donuts. String donuts on the line, or tie them to another string that hangs down (better if you have shorter guests). Have party guests line up underneath the string, and challenge them to try and eat the donut. They can’t use their hands, only their mouths. If you want to make it more challenging, you can have whoever is holding the string shake it a bit and watch everyone struggle to sink their teeth into it. You could even use blindfolds if you really want to make it difficult.
27. Pumpkin Checkers
If you love the pumpkin patch decor instead of the spooky stuff, stock up on pumpkins, and set up pumpkin checkers. You can use chalk on a sidewalk or driveway to make the squares. Collect enough white and orange pumpkins so you can play checkers with them. Let the kids take turns playing this fun board game with an autumn twist.
28. Roll a Frankenstein
There are lots of fun Halloween crafts, but this game invites kids to do a craft while playing a game. Divide Frankenstein into six parts: his head, bolts, body, arms, legs, etc. Cut out the parts of the body from a cardboard box or heavy construction paper, and make piles of each piece. The kids will take turns rolling dice, and whichever number they roll will allow them to grab the piece of Frankenstein that correlates with that number. The object of the game is to roll enough numbers to get all the parts necessary for building your monster. The finished products can be taken home as party favors. Make sure to put out markers and stickers so each kid can customize their monster when they’re done.
29. Spider Races
Remember the plastic spiders from the spider launch game? Well, this game allows you to use them again! Set up a flat, smooth surface for some spider races. Give the kids straws and one spider each, and have them use the straw to blow their spider along the course to cross the finish line. Set it up tournament style, and let the kids cheer each other on as they take huge breaths to beat their opponent.
30. Jack-o-Lantern Decorating Contest
Pumpkin carving is a favorite activity during this season. Consider setting up a carving station for your partygoers so they can carve a pumpkin to bring home. Set up stencils, safe carving tools, and paints to decorate with. At the end of the party, you can have a panel of judges vote on which pumpkins they think are the most creative, colorful, or spooky. It’s an activity that everyone can do at the same time. Let the creative juices flow!
31. Costume Parade
Halloween costumes rarely get worn more than once, so consider incorporating them into your Halloween party! That way, everyone gets at least one extra chance to rock their costume. Line the kids up, and have them parade around the neighborhood. You can organize a trick-or-treating event that happens before Halloween for a little extra entertainment for your neighbors as well.
Final Thoughts
Well, have we given you some ideas to liven things up this year? These fun Halloween games for kids are just what you need to make your event memorable. But don’t put this off! Put together your party plan, and start shopping for supplies because Halloween will be here before you know it. Get your costumes ready and enjoy the festivities with your kids this year!
If you’re looking for a bonus game to throw in the mix, check out “200 Truth or Dare Questions for Kids“!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re planning a party, the best Halloween games for kids include bobbing for apples, broomstick races, Halloween scavenger hunts, and anything that involves candy.
Halloween can be fun without being too scary! Check out some Halloween games for kids. Then, use pumpkins and familiar cartoon characters as decorations, and invite everyone to a costume parade!
Besides playing Halloween games for kids, you can also grab a copy of Adventures From Scratch: Family Edition. There are dozens of activities to be surprised by, and the whole family will love it!
Some of the best Halloween games for kids are non-competitive. Set up pumpkin carving, play Bingo, or enjoy the traditional bobbing for apples. Halloween crafts are always a fun idea, as well!
The best Halloween games for teens require a bit more planning. Werewolf or a Murder Mystery game would be perfect. You could also take them to a ghost hunt scavenger hunt if they’re brave enough!