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[Part 2] Recommended DIY Games for a Halloween Party
Halloween is such a fun event for kids—they get to enjoy costumes they can’t usually wear and collect lots of sweets! When October comes, many families decorate their rooms with Halloween motifs and throw a Halloween party on the day.
In this article, we introduce ideas for handmade games recommended for Halloween.
Many of the ideas use materials you can find around the house, like recycled items, so you can prepare for Halloween while enjoying crafts with your children.
Feel free to use these as a reference, make them, and have fun playing the games together!
[Part 2] Recommended DIY Games for a Halloween Party (1–10)
Ghost Ball Toss
It’s an easy-to-understand game where the goal is to hit a ball at a target.
Precisely because it’s simple, putting care into the design of the target and the ball is important.
Using motifs like ghosts or skeletons would make it perfect for Halloween.
For example, if you set the target as a ghost’s hat and have the ghost’s expression change when the hat is hit, it would add to the fun when players land a hit.
If you construct it with two pieces of cardboard held together at the target area, you could adjust the throwing strength required by devising how they’re fixed in place.
Apple bobbing
Apple bobbing is a game where apples float in water and players try to grab them using only their mouths, without using their hands.
Because it uses water and apples—both considered sacred—it also carries an apotropaic, protective meaning.
Timed with apple harvest season, it has become a classic Halloween game, especially in the United States.
Players dunk their heads into a bucket and chase the bobbing apples, making it challenging for the participant and entertaining for onlookers.
As long as you account for getting wet and take hygiene into consideration, it’s an easy game that anyone can try.
Spiderweb Darts
When it comes to Halloween, some people might think not only of ghosts but also of eerie, abandoned ruins.
Here’s a darts game inspired by the spiderwebs that are essential to such ruins.
We’ll recreate a key characteristic of spiderwebs—the way they stick when touched.
Using vinyl tape or masking tape, we’ll make a dartboard, but by facing the adhesive side outward, you’ll end up with a sticky, spiderweb-like target.
Throw balls at this target and compete for points as in darts.
If you design the balls with pumpkin or ghost motifs, it will enhance the Halloween atmosphere even more.
Halloween bean bag toss game
It’s a game where you cut holes in a board or sheet and throw bean bags—like the small hand-sized bean bags used in Japan—into those holes.
The concept is simple, so focusing on decorations is key to creating a seasonal feel and matching the atmosphere of the event.
Using motifs like ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns, and framing the game as “defeating” them, could really emphasize the Halloween vibe.
By varying the hole sizes, assigning different point values to each, and competing on total score, you can make the game more exciting and competitive.
Halloween Spot the Difference
Spot-the-difference games—finding what has changed in a picture or photo—are fun for people of all ages.
You can prepare photos to use as the puzzles, or, to match the Halloween vibe, it might be interesting to use a costume as the theme.
First, the presenter appears wearing a costume and lets everyone look for a while, then steps out of sight.
They then add something to the costume, change an accessory, or make a few other adjustments before reappearing.
Participants try to recall the earlier version and figure out what changed.
Costumes with lots of accessories make it easier to introduce changes, which could help more people enjoy the game.
Ghost-hunting game
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkVR45mJcH8/When it comes to Halloween, you can’t do without ghosts! So let’s try a ghost-hunting game.
The ghost-hunting game is fun whether you’re indoors or outdoors.
First, decide the area where the game will take place, and hide handmade ghosts within that area.
The rule is that the children all search for them at the same time.
You can end the game once everyone has found all the ghosts, or you can make it a competition where the person who finds the most ghosts wins—either way, it’s sure to be exciting!
Candy scooping
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkaEQ7LgO9r/On Halloween, there’s a custom where children say “Trick or Treat” and receive candy, right? In that spirit, let’s try a candy scooping game! But instead of just scooping candy, we’ll add a couple of rules.
First, set a time limit.
Second, players wear a headband with a paper plate glued to it, balance a ball on top of the plate, and scoop candy while keeping the ball in place.
Of course, if the ball falls, the game ends there.
It sounds like a lively game everyone can enjoy together! Another plus is that it’s easy to adjust the difficulty—like changing the shape of the plate—based on the ages of the participating children.
Ghost-busting game with paper plates
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDyv37nD9ET/Let’s defeat ghosts made from paper plates! When you hear “defeat,” you might think of a target-throwing game, but this one’s a little different.
Any kind of ghost is fine—like the famous One-Eyed Boy or the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
You use cards with pictures of their weaknesses to take them down.
For example, sunglasses for the One-Eyed Boy, and pomade for the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Prepare a few cards and try it while thinking about what each ghost might be bad with.
You’ll get lots of different opinions, and it’ll be really fun.
Whack-a-Ghost Game
It’s a ghost-version whack-a-mole! Replace the moles with ghosts and knock them down with a toy hammer.
Build a whack-a-mole board, and when a ghost pops up, strike fast! See how many you can defeat within the time limit.
If making a whack-a-mole board is tricky, you could do it “WaniWani Panic”-style instead.
You can use a cardboard box by cutting out the bottom, and if you stick ghost cutouts onto plastic bottles, you can manually move them up and down.
Try decorating the board with a Halloween vibe, too.
Candy grabbing game with a ghost catcher
How about enjoying a candy-grabbing game with a ghost catcher made from two milk cartons? One carton becomes the catcher, and the other forms the outer frame.
Hold the outer frame and pull up the inner catcher to pick up the candies.
Make several of these and have participants grab and collect candies spread out on a table! Setting a time limit adds excitement and thrill.
However, if small children are participating, prepare candies that are easy to grab and set a more generous time limit for them.