8 Halloween Party Games to Up the Excitement (and Fear!) Factor

Key Points

• Cornhole and scavenger hunts are cheap, simple party games that are still lots of fun for your guests.
• Murder is a time-tested game that is perfectly themed for Halloween.
• Make sure to keep some extra food around for when your guests get hungry playing all these great games!

Halloween is all about fun! This is one night in the year when we dress like freaks; eat pure sugar for dinner and all with a smile on mom's face. If the same old Halloween time traditions are getting old, or if your youngsters are looking for more entertainment than a pillowcase full of tootsie rolls can offer, keep reading. You will find lots of games fit for the witching hour.

Create a simple scavenger hunt to do while trick or treating. This will take the focus off of the candy and add an element of fun. Scavenger hunt items can include certain costumes, decorations, or even specific kinds of candy. If you're up for the trip, you can travel to a different destination to have your scavenger hunt! The local park can be a fun place, but make sure it's okay for you to be there after dark before committing to this one. You can also ask some neighbors if they'd be open to letting you use their yards as part of your scavenger hunt!

The era of silent horror movies can provide great ideas for Halloween party games. This might be best for older kids who can grasp the concept of not talking, can operate cameras, and who aren't easily scared. One silent movie game involves the actual use of video cameras and props. You can either prepare bags of props, costume clothing, and make-up beforehand, or have this be part of the game. Divide into teams and have each team gather items that should be used in the other team's movie and pick a theme. Once the items are gathered and themes picked, switch bags. It is helpful to assign a time limit for preparation and filming. Then let the groups go! When the films are complete come together and have a screening. The results will range from zany to terrifically terrifying, but no matter what this party game is sure to entertain!

No Halloween party is complete without a good game of murder. This game has many variations and can be very simple or quite complex. One of the funniest versions is played sitting in a circle, with or without a corpse. The murderer is chosen at random. This can be done by marking the underside of the chair or pulling papers out of a hat. Once your killer knows who he or she is, play becomes deadly. This killer kills with a single look and with a wink of the eye. The killer tries to kill as many players as possible by winking at them without being caught by another player. The unlucky victims must fall over dead; dramatics are fun but not necessary. To make an accusation, a player announces "I would like to make an accusation." If they are correct, a new killer is chosen, all victims are revived and a fresh game is begun. If they are wrong, they die. More complicated versions of this game add other roles, such as a detective and a doctor.

For a less bloodthirsty crowd, Halloween relay races are always fun. Try a twist by adding a broomstick that the players must "ride" through a course. To really make it a challenge, set up a few cones, chairs, or other objects to serve as slalom markers. Place a ball at one end and have the teams attempt to ride their brooms while pushing the ball in and out of the course markers.

There are about a zillion ways to modify an ordinary relay to fit Halloween parties. Try having the players race to dress in Halloween costumes, or apply face paints. Maybe have them race to unwrap candy with only their mouth, or while wearing monster claws. Inspiration can come from anything. Kids love relay races so get thinking and come up with an idea or two of your own.

For younger kids, bean bag tosses are great fun. They are easy for you to assemble and cost next to nothing. To make this toss fit for Halloween try painting a huge jack-o-lantern on a big box. The kids can score points by tossing their bean bags through the eyes, nose, and mouth. Don't have a box? Try tossing bean bags into trick-or-treating buckets, witch's cauldrons, or actual pumpkin tops. If you don't have bean bags, then you can make your own by buying some beans and filling Ziploc bags with them. As a tip, you may want to clip the bags shut in addition to sealing them as normal. The force of them hitting the cornhole box may cause them to blow open if they don't have this extra seal! You can also use any other alternative that you come across; just make sure it's similar enough to bean bags to keep the spirit of the game.

A spin off of pin the tail on the donkey makes a fun Halloween party game. In this version, kids pin the wart on the witch's nose. Draw a witch on poster board. With play-dough, make "warts" for each child to try to attach to the witch. Make wart sized lumps out of green play-dough, then blindfold each child. They should try attach a wart on the witch's face as close to her nose as possible. If you want to make it extra difficult for your players, have each of them spin several times before trying to pin the wart on! You can also have them approach the witch backwards. There are many fun twists that you can add on to this simple and cheap party game to keep everyone entertained!

In this Halloween party game, you use rolls of toilet paper and see which team can wrap up their partner the fastest. It's a good idea to keep safety scissors nearby so you can cut someone free if there's an emergency. Some variations of this game require teams to completely wrap their person so that no part of them is visible, while others allow for the face to remain uncovered. Which version you pick is entirely up to you, but definitely consider the variation that leaves the face free if you have young children playing this game. You can also let your guests decide!

No matter what Halloween party game you choose, you can't lose with all the pomp of Halloween costumes and free candy as your back drop! Just let your hair down and have a good time, and party until the vampires flee from the crack of dawn.

If you're going to be playing all these party games, then chances are you're going to get pretty hungry! While your guests might fill themselves up on Halloween candy, it's still a good idea to have some other food around that they (or you!) can munch on.

A go-to idea is some Halloween cookies! Pillsbury usually sells ready-to-bake cookies that have pumpkins or ghosts printed on them, if you want something that's fast and easy to whip up. Or, you could make basic sugar cookies and frost them in orange and black! You could even have a cookie frosting contest as part of your party.

Another fun idea is to bake a cake and put eyes on it! These eyes can be edible or not- just be sure you let your guests know which! It isn't a hard addition to a cake; it's even easier if you choose to use a box cake mix instead of making a cake from scratch. Consider using black or orange frosting for your cake to give it a Halloween look!

Caramel apples, a no-bake strawberry cheesecake brain, pumpkin-shaped cheese ball, punch with fake eyeballs, or a crispy witch's hat are all great ideas! Check out this article here to read more about these great recipes, and to find some more that might interest you!