24 Halloween Party Games to Keep the Celebration Going
These frightfully fun ideas will keep everyone entertained.
No party is complete without a few fun games! Whether you’re having a sophisticated Halloween bash with all your friends or inviting every kid in the neighborhood over for a celebration, these fun Halloween games take any celebration to the next level. We’ve included some classic games, like a pumpkin carving contest, along with fresh games everyone can learn together. We’ve also included some classic party games that are easy to put a Halloween twist on. For instance, you can make a ring toss with witch hats or pin the spider on the web instead of pinning the tail on the donkey.
If you’re in the mood for a Halloween craft, you can DIY many of these games. But if you’re too busy putting the finishing details on your family’s costumes or whipping up some spooky treats, don’t worry: We’ve included plenty of simple games that don’t require a ton of setup. Some games—like a spooky PJ contest or a freeze dance competition—don’t require any supplies at all. Just add guests!
Ahead, check out some of our favorite Halloween party games. If you’re looking for even more party inspiration, check out our collections of our favorite Halloween party games for adults, DIY Halloween decorations, and the most creative Halloween table decoration ideas.
Scary PJ Showdown
Think your Halloween pajamas are the spookiest, silliest, or most scream-worthy? It’s time to prove it with a Spooky PJ Showdown — a cozy costume party where your sleepwear is your statement! Who has the spookiest or most on-theme pair? Winner gets extra candy!
Eyeball Beer Pong
Paint ping-pong balls with spooky eyeball designs and toss them into a beer bong funnel. The goal is to get the eyeballs to travel through the tubing into the cup below. Score points for each successful shot.
Glow in the Dark Treasure Hunt
Hide glow sticks or glowing toys around the yard or house and have guests search in the dark with flashlights.
Zombie Freeze Dance
Play music, everyone dances – when the music stops, they must freeze in a zombie pose. Anyone who moves is out. Continue until one zombie remains.
Haunted Hot Potato with a Twist
Use a spooky plush toy (like a ghost or vampire), play Halloween music, and pass the toy. When the music stops, whoever is holding it must answer a Halloween-themed riddle or do a silly dare.
Witch Hat Ring Toss
Place witch hats at different distances and toss rings (glow-sticks or rope loops) to score points.
Bean-Bag Toss Pumpkins
This year, get two spooky season activities for the price of one: carve your pumpkins into a fun bean-bag toss. To make this game, cut a large hole in the bottom of one large and one medium pumpkin and scoop out the pulp and seeds.
Trace this face template onto the pumpkins, scaling up or down as necessary. Cut out the faces, and then stack the medium pumpkin on top of the large one, using skewers to help hold them in place. To play, toss beanbags into the pumpkins' mouths and award 10 points for the bottom gourd and 20 for the top.
RELATED: The Best Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Halloween Piñata Game
Piñatas are great to include in any event. Whether you have a unicorn, pumpkin or ghost, let everyone take turns hitting the candy-filled decoration with a bat. Whoever gets the candy to fall out gets it all!
Apple Bobbing
Apple bobbing is a classic Halloween game where everyone races to pick up as many apples as possible in a pail of water before time runs out. The best part: They use their teeth! Make sure everyone has their own bucket and apples for sanitary purposes!
Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe
This version of tic-tac-toe may not be glow-in-the-dark, but it's just as cool when playing with pumpkins! Draw Xs and Os on little pumpkins and create a tic-tac-toe board using masking tape.
Spooky Musical Chairs
Let these fake skeletons play musical chairs too! Place your boney friends on every other seat to give players a fright when the music stops.
Name That Halloween Tune
Create a playlist with the most popular Halloween songs of all time. Think "Ghostbusters," "Monster Mash" and "Monster Boogie." Let your little ones, tweens and teens included, guess the name of each one.
Pumpkin Carving Contest
Keep everyone engaged with a good ol' pumpkin carving contest. Help little ones carve classic, silly or surprised faces, or get super creative with cooler designs like candles or flames. The ideas are endless! If you don't want to name one "winner," everyone can get a superlative like "Funniest," "Scariest" or "Most Creative."
Halloween Freeze Dance
This is always a fun game to play — no matter what holiday or event that's hosted. Kids will love dancing to their favorite Halloween songs before the music cuts off and they have to freeze!
Mummy Relay Race
Divide kids into groups of two and have one wrap the other up like a mummy as quickly as possible. Whichever team's mummy runs to the finish line first wins. You can also dole out points for creativity, and include dress-up items like hats, boas and sunglasses.
Sticker Stalker
After purchasing cute Halloween stickers, give them to everyone at the event. Let kids write their names on paper before sticking them in a bowl and inviting them to pick a random name. The goal: to sneakily place as many stickers on their chosen partner before the night is over!
Halloween Heads Up
Everyone has to write down a Halloween word on a Post-It. Then, one person picks a word from the pile (without looking!) and tries to guess what it is based on the clues.
Cup Knock Down
Draw little faces on white cups and assemble them in a tower. Kids can then try to knock down as many as they can with a small ball. Whoever gets the most is the winner!
Pumpkin Checkers
'Tis the season for rustic fall crafts — and this is one that you can reap the benefits of year-round. To make this checkers game, paint a board onto a slab of wood. Then, play checkers using mini gourds of different colors.
Witch Hat Ring Toss
No pumpkins? No problem. Buy or DIY witch hats and let the ring tossing begin! When the game ends, have your kids wear the hats as part of their costumes.
Mariah Thomas (she/her) is an assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home and lifestyle content. Mariah has more than four years of editorial experience, having written for TLC, Apartment Therapy, Women's Health and Avocado Magazine. She received her master's degree in journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and published her first book, Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts and Emotions, in 2019. She's also the founder of RTF Community, a platform for creatives of color to connect, learn and showcase their work.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
Isabelle Adler is a contributor for ELLE.com, Esquire.com, Harpersbazaar.com and Town&countrymag.com. When not writing about all things fashion, she can be found at a sample sale or sipping a Hendricks EXTRA dirty martini.
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