Conversation, food, and alcohol can be all a party needs, but given the festiveness and mischievousness of Halloween, it's fun to plan a few games and bump it up a little. That’s why the fun games for adult Halloween parties can be such a blast.
This list includes many different types of games, so you can pick ones that suit your speed. Some games can be thrown together at the last minute; others require more preparation. A few of the more elaborate ones may dictate that the guests are aware in advance, in case they need to come in specific costumes or bring props with them. But for the most part, there’s a perfect game for every sort of Halloween get-together, from the low-key hangout to the all-out costume bash.
I'm not particularly crafty (okay, I can't even cut a straight line) so for the more project-intensive games, I would need to enlist a friend or two with the prep. Allow yourself to get hokey and bring back adult versions of some of the kids' games you used to love. You may be surprised by how much your friends appreciate the chance to get silly, because adults all need a chance to let their guard down now and then.
Pumpkin Bowling
Set up some bowling pins and try to knock them down with pumpkins. The later the party goes, the weirder this one is going to get. (This might be best as an outdoor activity.)
Sleepover Games Redo
Give all those games you played at sleepovers another go. Try a round of Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board (yes, like in The Craft), or re-learn how to play Bloody Mary. Best of all, you can follow up these scary games with an actual Bloody Mary drink, so who’s the real winner here?
Spooky Card Game
Make your typical game of Poker or Rummy a little more sinister. Grab a deck of spooky playing cards such as the Lil' Reaper Playing Card deck to embrace the season’s theme. Better yet, use the cards to play spoons, AKA the best way to turn any party into a screaming, silverware-grabbing laugh fest.
Halloween Movie & TV Trivia
Your friends might know the names of Casper the Ghost's girlfriend (Wendy) but do they know the last name of the three witches in 1993's Hocus Pocus (Sanderson)? Channel your inner Halloween geek and test your friends on their trivia knowledge, seeing how much they know about scary movies and TV shows. Find a list of Halloween movie trivia questions you can use and prep some prizes for the winners.
Murder Mystery
Everyone loves to solve a good mystery. A few weeks before the party, let your guests know that someone was murdered and they are going to need to find the killer. They can each be assigned a character and come dressed as them. The Balance has a list of free murder mystery games that you can go through to find the one that best suits your guests.
Shot In The Dark
Find a classic Halloween movie and pick a phrase, an object, or an action. Each time that phrase is uttered or the object or action appears on the screen, the guests need to do a shot or take a sip. For example, take a shot every time someone screams in Scream or whenever you see a potential weapon.
Monster Mash Dance Contest
Very little prep is needed for a dance contest except a Halloween playlist. If you want some pre-party participation, your guests can vote for their favorite song before the party and the winning song can be revealed during the dance contest. Pick two judges and the guests can do solo dances, partner dances or group dances. The best dancers win — anything from an orange and black construction paper certificate to a fake plaque to their own mirror ball trophy.
Bobbing For Apples
If the kids can do it, why can't we? Get a little extravagant and fill the bucket with wine instead of water, as suggested in Great Time Party Games, and ask everyone to secure an apple before taking a drink. It’s about to get messy.
Monster Match Up Ice Breaker
This one is great if you have a lot of people who don't know each other at your party. Create categories (like vampire or animals) that serve as team and create a series of index cards, each with a word on it that fits into one of those categories. Hand each guest an index card and let them find their teammates. Once all the teams have been assembled, they can play some more games as a group.
Mummy Wrap
Get your toilet paper ready for this one. Break your guests into teams, with each team selecting one player as their mummy. The mummy stands stiffly in the center of the group as the team members wind the toilet paper around their body in an attempt to completely cover the mummy. The first team to finish wins.
Themed Scavenger Hunt
Hide a whole lot of Halloween-themed swag around your house and give teams or individuals a list of items to find within a window of time. Bonus points for creative interpretations of the items on the scavenger hunt list.
Who Am I?
Upon arrival at the party, the host tapes an index card to each guest's back. The card contains the name of a character from a scary movie or Halloween-themed movie or TV show. Guests have to ask other guests questions to help them guess their own identity.
Halloween Punch Pong
It's your typical college beer pong game, but with orange punch. Similarly, you could play quarters with the punch. Or use pumpkin beer. Or really any beverage that you'd like.
Spooky Charades
Play the classic party game with a super-spooky twist. Halloween charades only uses ideas that are related to the holiday, such as skeletons or jack-o-lanterns. You could even play a version over video chat, in case you have guests who are tuning in virtually.
Scary Board Games
If you and your friends are into board games, then there are plenty of options that suit the Halloween season. Some of the best horror board games include One Night Ultimate Werewolf, in which villagers try to find the wolf in their midst, and Mysterium, in which a ghost and psychic mediums work together to solve a murder. Whether you’re into subtly spooky themes or straight-up monsters, there’s a board game sure to fit your party. (Also, there’s always the option of dusting off the old Ouija board and seeing what messages pop up.)
Trick-Or-Treat Shots
If your party includes some adult beverages, then add a little trickery to the menu. Create a round of identical shots, half cut with apple juice, and the other half made with pickle juice. Have everyone choose a shot at random, and hope you get the sweet version. If you need more inspiration for spooky beverages, check out the easy Halloween drinks on Bustle, including a poison apple cocktail and a zombitini.
Truth Or Dare
Bring back this classic game from childhood. For a grown-up version of Truth or Dare, write down questions to answer and dares to perform on tags and attach them to a variety of drinks. In order to enjoy each drink, your guest has to first perform the dare or respond to the question. Feel free to use your favorite party drinks. Make the questions and dares as silly or bizarre as you like to suit this particular party group.
Pumpkin Carving Contest
Granted, this one will get a bit messy, but it’s worth the effort. After your guests have finished their spooky creations, give out pumpkin carving contest awards for cutest pumpkin, scariest pumpkin, or any other category. Alternatively, have your guests decorate the pumpkins at home and then bring them to the party (or online meet-up). Or try another twist with a little bit less mess: pumpkin painting.
Throwback Halloween Game
Bring some old-school Halloween fun to your party. Have guests bring photos of themselves as kids dressed up for Halloween, and post all the photos on a board. Can your guests connect the photo with the adult?
Halloween Touch Box
This classic Halloween game is just as spooky for adults, promise. Fill a box with things like cooked noodles, peeled grapes, or tiny sausages and ask the party-goers to identify everything by touch alone. Honestly, even something as innocuous as an orange slice or some pretzel sticks can seem spooky if you aren’t expecting it. Have everybody use a blindfold to make sure nobody peeks. (To make the game safer, consider giving every guest their own touch box, and encourage plenty of hand-washing.)
Whatever you get up to this year, these Halloween themed games will make your celebration that much more memorable.
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