Halloween Fun Factory

The Perplexing Hunt is a game that’s fun for kids and a good way to get a party started. In this game, participants are guided from place to place by strategically placed notes that ultimately lead them to a prize. Participants are started on the hunt with this rhyme:

“Perhaps you’ll find it in the air;
If not, look underneath a chair.”

Beneath the chair they find the following:

“No, you will not find it here;
Search the clock and have no fear.”

Under the clock they find:

“You will have to try once more;
Look behind the parlor door.”

Tied to the door-knob they discover:

“If it’s not near the TV cable;
Seek beneath the kitchen table.”

Under the kitchen table they find another note, which reads:

“If your quest remains uncertain,
You will find it underneath a curtain.”

And here the quest is rewarded by finding the prize.

Now, of course, you can change this up a bit and use outdoor clues to add more adventure to the game. Just have fun with it!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Bobbing for apples is a classic Halloween party game. If you’ve ever tried it, you know that it’s not one of the easiest to play but certainly one of the funnest. Here are a few tips for bobbing success.

First , look for the smallest apple in the tub. The smaller the apple, the easier it will be to get your mouth around it. Once you’ve chosen just the right apple, push it with your mouth to one of the tub’s surfaces (the bottom, a side or a corner) and pin it there. Pluck your apple from the tub and do a victory lap around the room to showcase your skills.

If you really want to be a show off, go for a quick kill and duck your head in as fast as you can. The apple won’t know what hit it.

Now, if the thought of swapping water and apples in a tub with a group of complete strangers or even strange friends grosses you out, here’s an alternative. You can modify the game by tying ribbon around the apple’s stems. Use thumbtacks to hang them from the ceiling or the top of a door frame. You can also clip the string to a clothes line.

Next, set the apples in motion. With one participant per apple, and just like bobbing, the first person to get a hold of his or her apple wins. Remember, no hands allowed.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Most children love all things Halloween. Most would assume it’s because Halloween means lots of candy and children generally love candy. But many children love more than just the abundance of candy at Halloween time. They really get into the ghoulish aspect of the holiday and delight in the displays of goopy brains and squishy body parts. Halloween games, therefore, can be really fun and goopy too.

The Brain Game

First up, a brain game. There’s a fun game on store shelves where you pick through a rubber “brain” to figure out what’s in it. You can create this easily yourself. Make some jello and fill it with a variety of items, like gummy worms and other gummy candies, some small candy and trinkets and other items. Tell the children to root around in the bowl of jello (call it a “brain” if this will get the kids more interested) to figure out what’s in it. It’s goopy and messy and kids love it. Best yet, color the jello black so it’s too dark to see what’s inside and it looks more like goopy brain matter (the way kids see it, anyway).

The Spaghetti Game

Kids also love the spaghetti game. Be sure they are wearing a smock over their clothes or are wearing play clothes before playing this game. Make a big bowl of spaghetti and fill it with all kinds of items, like plastic bugs, gummy worms and other items that might feel a bit strange. Make the children feel around in the bowl of spaghetti and identify the items they feel. Once they are done and cleaned up, have them list as many items as they can remember. Whoever gets the most items listed (and right) gets a prize.

The Black Box

Another similar game that’s always popular is to take a cardboard box and paint it black, both inside and outside. Carve a small hole in the top, really just large enough for the children to get their hands into, and fill the box with a variety of items. They can be related to Halloween (like a small pumpkin) or not (wrapped Tootsie rolls or a tiny toy Hummer car). Have the children guess what’s inside the box and award the box itself to the child who guesses the most number of items correctly. To make this goopy and silly, be sure to include some items that might feel like body parts or brain matter.

Halloween Scary Stories

Kids love creating silly fictional stories, often with absurd plotlines. Halloween is the optimum time to let them run wild with their imaginations. Have them spend a bit of time writing out the scariest story they can think of. Once the stories are written, have the children hand them in and then have a guest reader for each one of them. Each child will read the story with as much dramatization as they can muster. Once the story is read, everyone has to guess who wrote the story. The writer should play along, otherwise everyone will know it was their story! The winner is the child who wrote a story so intriguing and unusual that nobody knew it was his or hers!

Word Find Games

Kids love word find games. Give them Halloween-related words and ask them to find as many scary words as they can. Alternatively, you might give them the word “Halloween” and see how many scary words they can make from the letters. Or you could give them a series of words and let them rearrange the letters in all of the words to create scary words, or even create a story from the scary words. Put a time limit on this game and award a prize for the child who creates the most words in the least amount of time.

For more Halloween games for kids, visit our Halloween store for a selection of printable Halloween games.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Here’s another set of Halloween games for kids that will be all the rave at any party. Add some Halloween music and lots of treats, and even the adults will want to participate. So, here you go:

Musical Chairs

No game has held onto children’s interests for more years than the classic “musical chairs.” This version includes playing Halloween music (such as “Monster Mash” or “Thriller” by Michael Jackson) and asking the kids to act as spooky and scary as they can while they race around the chairs. For example, you can add challenging elements, such as make scary faces as you walk around the chairs, do the monster mash (whatever that means to the individual kid) and other things like that. You’re sure to get some creative responses.

Cake Walks

Cake Walks (or Treat Walks) are a great Halloween game for kids. You’ll need plenty of treats and some monster pictures like Count Dracula, Frankenstein and characters from “The Munsters” or “The Adams Family.” Mark off a circle in the walk area with the monster pictures and have corresponding monster names in a jar or hat. Usually you’ll want to have at least 12 to 18 pictures, players and name.

Players are to start out standing on or next to a picture. Announce the treat or prize for the current round. Start playing some music such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” “Monster Mash” or Halloween scary sounds. Stop the music after 10-30 seconds. Players should end up on a monster. Once everyone has a monster to stand on, pull out a monster name randomly from the jar or hat. The player standing on the corresponding monster wins the treat or prize. If no one is standing on one of the monster names pulled, pull out another name until someone wins.

Although these Halloween games are not specific to Halloween, properly adapted as noted above, they can create hours of Halloween fun. The added benefit is that the games attract the interest of all party goers, so make sure to get some candid shots and videos that can be shared all year long.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Halloween is a favorite among kids, particularly when it comes to Halloween fun and games. And what better way to celebrate than with a raucous Halloween party. With lots of fun Halloween games and activities, and plenty of treats for prizes, it’s sure to be a hit with kids of all ages. The games listed below are sure to get the little ones screaming with delight.

Pumpkin Bowling

Pumpkin bowling is great for younger children. You’ll need several small pumpkins about four to six inches in diameter and a plastic (children’s) set of bowling pins. You can also use 10 empty liter plastic soda bottles as bowling pins and let the kids decorate them before the game. You should add about a cup of sand or pebbles to each bottle so they will stand without falling over.

Set up the bowling pins several feet from the starting line and let the pumpkins roll. Award prizes or goodie bags for kids who bowl strikes and spares.

Mummy Wrap

Kids of all ages enjoy making mummies out of themselves and their friends. Here’s how this works. Get lots of white toilet paper or crepe paper. Divide the kids into teams of two and give each pair a roll of paper. Instruct one member of each team to race to wrap their partner, mummy-style, at the sound of music (play something devilish, such as “Monster Mash”). Kids must use up the whole roll, avoiding the head and wrapping arms separately from the torso.

Once wrapped, the mummy hops to a finish line, holding their arms to their sides and trying not to break any of the wrapping. The mummy can then break out of the wrap with a scary “roar.” Award the winning team and then reverse partner roles. Begin the game again with fresh rolls of toilet paper or crepe paper.

Scary Halloween Stories

Have all the kids get in a circle and begin a spooky story. The story can begin with the classic, “It was a dark and spooky night…” and then the person next in the circle continues the story. Each child adds something to the story as it moves around the circle.

For more Halloween games for kids, visit our Halloween store for a selection of printable Halloween games.

Popularity: 13% [?]