Are you in need of some simple and fun Halloween games? If we’ve learned anything from the past two years, it’s that plans can change in an instant! And while we’re rejoicing that a multitude of events are back in person this year, there may be an occasion where you find yourself at home entertaining your family on Halloween or better yet– planning your very own Halloween party for a group of families!

After years of entertaining preschool to high school-aged children, I’ve got a few family-friendly and simple-to-execute games you can whip up in a flash with minimal resources.

Ghost Marshmallows (or Donuts) on a String  

This hilariously competitive game can be used with either marshmallows or donuts. If using marshmallows, I like to draw little ghost faces on them to enhance the spooky feeling, but you can do this without.

How to Play:

  1. Tie your food of choice (donut or marshmallow)onto a string and tie the other end of the string to a broomstick.
  2. Rest the broomstick between two pieces of furniture so it is parallel to the floor. Place a sheet or mat under the broomstick for sanitary reasons and because the game can get messy.
  3. Children/teens/adults who are taller can sit on their knees on the floor under a donut/marshmallow with their hands behind their backs. Their hands must stay there!
  4. When the organizer says “Go!” all participants try to eat their piece of food before the others. If it falls off the string, the participants need to use only their mouths to pick it up and keep eating.

Mummy Relay Race 

If you have some toilet paper rolls left over from the Great Toilet Paper Hoard of 2020, this is a great game to use them up!

How to Play:

  1. Participants should be divided into teams of at least 2, but no more than 4.
  2. Each team needs a roll of toilet paper (or more) and to decide who will be the “mummy.”
  3. A finish line needs to be established, because the mummies will need to race once wrapped
  4. When the organizer says “Go!” all teams wrap their mummy from head to toe covering at least 80% of their body with toilet paper.
  5. Once the mummy is fully wrapped, the mummy will make their way to the finish line without coming unraveled! If they come unraveled, they need to stop and be wrapped up before they can continue!

Pumpkin Sweep

Grab a few pumpkins and a few brooms and you’ve got yourself an easy game! This is best done outside, but can easily be adapted to play indoors.

How to Play:

  1. Designate a start and finish line.
  2. Each participant gets a pumpkin and a broom.
  3. When the organizer says “Go!” the participants must use their broom only to roll their pumpkin over the finish line.

Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe

A classic and easy indoor game to play repeatedly with some tiny pumpkins.

How to Play:

  1. Use tape on the floor or on a table to map out a tic-tac-toe grid.
  2. Ensure you have about 6 pumpkins (3 for each player)
  3. Paint or use a Sharpie to label 3 pumpkins with an “X” and 3 pumpkins with an “O”.
  4. Players take turns placing their pumpkins on the board to try and make a line of their X’s or O’s

Pumpkin Ring Toss

This is a fun one to do outside, but can easily be done indoors as well. All you need are some glow stick necklaces (found at the dollar store) and at least one pumpkin (though more makes it more challenging!)

How to Play:

  1. Wrap some glow-in-the-dark tape around a few pumpkins with good handles if you intend to play in the dark. If not, label your pumpkins with numbers and arrange them in a triangle on the floor
  2. Next, each player gets a few rings and takes turns tossing them to try and get them onto the pumpkins. If you paint/write numbers on the pumpkin, it also becomes a great opportunity to practice addition with kids. Fun AND educational– win-win!

Balloon Catch

I love playing this game with my young kids because balloons seem to entertain them for hours, but I have also tossed a balloon into a group of teenagers and been impressed with how long they kept it afloat. You might be surprised how long you can keep a game going with a simple balloon!

This game uses paper snow cone holders as balloon catchers, but I’ve made my own out of construction paper in a pinch or used funnels from the kitchen.

How to play: Two options using the same materials

  1. Each person gets their own balloon and own catcher and needs to keep their balloon in the holder while they complete a relay race (or maze)
  2. Each person gets a catcher and there are a few balloons tossed into the middle of the group. The group needs to work together to catch a balloon and toss it to another person only using their catcher.

Frankenstein Bowling

This game takes a little bit of preparation but can be made entirely by kids or ahead of time by adults for the kids to play. All you need are some empty tin cans, some paint, and a ball.

How to play: 

  1. Paint your tin cans (Frankenstein, pumpkins, ghosts– whatever your artistic level allows)
  2. Once dry, stack your cans in a pyramid
  3. Have kids take turns tossing a ball at the cans to see how many they can knock down *this can also be done as bowling instead of tossing*

Spiderweb Walking

With some masking tape and some white paper, you’ve got yourself a game! This can be turned into a competition for those who are competitive or just used as a fun activity for one or more children.

How to play:

  1. Using tape, create a spider web on the floor. For a simple version of the game, have child(ren) practice their balancing skills to walk on the “strands” of the web without stepping off.
  2. For an added challenge, place white paper “ghost” cut-outs along the way. The participants need to walk along the taped web and collect the ghosts without stepping off.

If you want to add to the competition for older kids, time them to see how long it takes them to collect all the ghosts and complete the web without stepping off.

What Are You Doing?

This is a popular improvisation game that all ages can participate in regardless of level and it can be played with just two people, though it’s more fun with a group.

How to Play:

  1. Stand in a circle with one person in the center.
  2. The person in the center starts to (silently) act out an action. I usually start with an easy one (ex: brushing my teeth, playing soccer, etc.
  3. Then, someone in the circle asks “What are you doing?” and the actor in the middle gives them a different action (Ex: I’m chopping down a tree!) and
  4. Finally, the new actor (the person who asked “What are you doing?” goes into the middle and mimes the new action.  This repeats until you end the game.

Note: My 3-year-old and I play this all the time, but we modify by just taking turns doing actions and asking “What are you doing?” With small kids, it’s a great way to get them to use their bodies and work on language. With older kids/teens, it’s great for creativity. You can increase the difficulty by adding a theme to it- for example, every action has to be Halloween related!

Pumpkin Waddle

How well can you waddle with a pumpkin between your knees?

How to Play:

  1. Using the same orange balloons from the Pumpkin Catch game, place the balloons between your knees and see who can waddle across the finish line first without dropping their ‘pumpkin’
  2. If your balloon comes out, go back to the start line and try again!

If you try any of these games at home, be sure to tag us @familyfunyvr on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok!

For great Halloween Events, check out our Halloween Guide or the Halloween category on our Homepage