12 Easy Halloween Party Games for Kids (With Printables)

12 easy Halloween party games for kids ages 5 to 12: calm games, active games and quiet ones, with what you need and how to play.

The best Halloween party games are cheap, quick to explain, and work with a room full of excited kids in costumes. Here are 12 easy games for ages 5 to 12, grouped by energy level, with what you need and how to run each one. Most use things you already have at home.

How to plan the games

A two-hour party usually has room for four or five games. Mix it up:

• Start calm while guests are still arriving (bingo, coloring, a craft table).
• Add energy in the middle (relays, a scavenger hunt, freeze dance).
• Wind down at the end (a story, word games, the pumpkin contest results).

Keep each game to 10 or 15 minutes and stop while kids are still having fun. Have small prizes ready. Stickers, pencils and small toys work as well as candy and help kids with allergies join in.

Calm games (great for arrival time)

1. Halloween bingo

You need: bingo cards, markers (candy corn, dried beans or pennies), a caller's list. How to play: call Halloween words at random; players mark them. First to get five in a row shouts "BOO!" For bigger groups, play for "four corners" or a full card to keep more kids in the game longer. Every card must be different, or everyone wins at once.

2. Pumpkin decorating contest

You need: small pumpkins or paper pumpkin outlines, markers, stickers, glue, yarn. How to play: give kids 15 minutes to decorate, then have adults judge categories like spookiest, funniest and most creative, so several kids can win. No carving knives needed.

3. Monster drawing relay

You need: paper and crayons. How to play: fold paper into three sections. One child draws a monster head and folds it over, the next draws the body without looking, the third draws the legs. Unfold and enjoy the results.

4. Word scramble

You need: a sheet of scrambled Halloween words (PUMPKIN becomes KIPMUNP) and pencils. How to play: first to unscramble them all wins. Pair younger kids with older ones.

Active games

5. Mummy wrap

You need: rolls of toilet paper. How to play: teams of two or three race to wrap one teammate as a mummy in two minutes. Judges pick the best-wrapped mummy. Save the paper for the next round.

6. Pumpkin bowling

You need: a small round pumpkin or ball, and 6 to 10 empty plastic bottles or toilet paper rolls decorated as ghosts. How to play: set up the "pins" in a triangle and take turns bowling. Two tries per turn, like regular bowling.

7. Freeze dance, monster style

You need: spooky-fun music. How to play: kids dance while the music plays and freeze when it stops. Call out a monster to freeze as ("zombie!", "bat!") for extra laughs.

8. Candy corn relay

You need: spoons and candy corn (or pom-poms). How to play: teams race to carry candy corn on a spoon to a bowl across the room and back. Dropped pieces go back to the start.

9. Indoor scavenger hunt

You need: a list of things to find: something orange, something that glows, a sock, something with a face. How to play: kids or teams race to find everything on the list in 10 minutes. List items that already exist around the house so you don't have to hide anything.

Quiet games for the end of the party

10. Would you rather?

You need: a list of spooky-silly questions ("Would you rather have a pet bat or a pet black cat?"). How to play: read a question; everyone picks an answer and explains why. It's perfect while parents are arriving.

11. Guess the goo

You need: covered bowls with peeled grapes ("eyeballs"), cold spaghetti ("worms") and a squishy tomato ("heart"). How to play: kids reach in without looking and guess what they're touching. Check for food allergies first, and keep hand wipes nearby.

12. Pass the pumpkin

You need: a small pumpkin and music. How to play: like hot potato. Pass the pumpkin while the music plays; whoever holds it when the music stops answers a would-you-rather question or does a silly monster pose.

Tips for a smooth party

• Explain each game in two sentences, then play one practice round.
• Pair older and younger kids for games that involve reading.
• Have a quiet corner with coloring pages for kids who need a break.
• Write the schedule on a sheet so you're not deciding what's next on the spot.
• Photograph costumes early, before face paint smudges and masks come off.

A pack of Halloween stickers and some glow sticks make simple prizes that every kid can take home.

Save the prep time

Our printable Halloween party games pack includes 12 different bingo cards with a caller's list, an indoor scavenger hunt, a word scramble with an answer key, 20 would-you-rather questions, pumpkin contest score cards and a party planning checklist. Print it and the party is ready.