Easy Halloween Party Games for a Night In

Give each pair one roll of toilet paper and pick a volunteer to be the mummy. On the signal, race to wrap the body below the shoulders. Leave the face and feet clear and have the mummy stand still. First pair to empty its roll with the wrapping still on wins.

Set upright short foam tubes or empty bottles with ghost faces at the end of a hallway. Roll a soft ball or round plastic skull from a tape line and give each player two rolls. Count the pins knocked down. Move the line back for adults and closer for younger kids.

Hand out different cards with pictures of things like witches, bats, and pumpkins. Draw matching pictures from a bowl, show each one, and have players mark their boards. First to complete a row wins. Use four pictures across for a shorter round or play five across with older guests.

Set sturdy cone-shaped witch hats on the floor and take turns tossing rings over them. Score a point for landing a ring, or give the farthest hat more points. Put a closer tape line down for kids so everyone can aim for the same hats.

Cut a large mouth into a cardboard monster, stand it up, and give each player three beanbags or rolled socks to feed it. Score for every toss through the mouth. The box catches the throws that go in, so it works in a room with a short, clear throwing lane.

Put peeled grapes, cooked spaghetti, or other distinct textures in separate bowls inside covered boxes. Players reach through a hand-size opening and write down what they think each item is. Count correct guesses at the end. Put a towel under the boxes and keep one dry box for guests who want to skip the wet textures.

Play music, then pause it and call out a creature. Everyone freezes as that creature until the music comes back. Make the last person to freeze the next caller so the game can keep going without sending anyone away to watch.

Sit or stand in a circle and pass a small stuffed pumpkin while music plays. When the music stops, whoever has the pumpkin steps out and runs the music for the next round. The last person left wins. Bring everyone back in for a new round if it ends quickly.

Draw a large web on paper and stick it to the wall. Give each player a paper spider with removable tape. With eyes covered and feet in the same place, reach forward and stick it to the web. Closest to the middle wins. Use tape instead of pins.

Balance a plastic eyeball or an eyeball-marked ping-pong ball on a spoon held in one hand. Walk to a tape mark and back, then hand the spoon to a teammate. Restart the leg if the eyeball falls. Choose a short, clear route so it stays a balancing race.

Hang ring doughnuts on individual strings at mouth height. Each player keeps their hands behind their back and tries to take a bite without knocking their doughnut down. Give everyone room between strings and put a tray or towel underneath to catch crumbs.

Float an apple in a shallow bowl and time how fast each player can lift it out with tongs. Set out towels for splashes. For the traditional hands-free version, give each player their own basin and apple. The tongs work well if players want to keep their faces dry.

Give each player a straw and a lightweight plastic spider. Put the spiders behind a line and blow through the straws to move them across a table. Reset a spider if it falls off. A smooth tabletop is enough, and everyone can watch the finish close up.

Mark lanes and a finish line on a hard tabletop. Wind up a few Halloween toys, release them together, and see which crosses first. Make a crooked walker part of the challenge by leaving it in play when it wanders, or keep each toy in a shallow cardboard lane.

Mark a few stopping zones with tape on carpet and give each zone a point value. Roll a small round pumpkin toward the marks. Count only the zone where it stops. An uneven pumpkin makes even a good throw unpredictable, so play a few rounds and total the scores.

Line up empty pumpkin buckets or wide cups along a table and mark a throwing line. Take turns tossing ping-pong balls into the buckets. Use buckets at different distances and make the far ones worth more points. It works as a quick head-to-head game while everyone else watches.

Put a set of loose skeleton pieces in front of each team. First to build a complete skeleton with the pieces in the right places wins. Cut the pieces out of card stock if you don’t have plastic bones. Play on a tabletop when space is tight.

Tape a big grid on the floor and divide plastic spiders into two colors. Two players take turns placing a spider. The first to line up three wins. Put the board on a table if floor space is tight or players find it hard to bend.

Place pairs of picture cards face down in a grid. Each player flips two and keeps matching pairs, turning any mismatches back over for the next player. Start with fewer pairs for young kids, or set out a full grid so an adult group has more to remember.

Write prompts like walking through a spiderweb or a witch losing her broom on slips of paper. Give each player a short turn to act one out with no talking. For a bigger group, have a whole team act out the same prompt while one teammate guesses.

Write a handful of Halloween words on slips of paper. A player draws one in silence while teammates try to guess it before the timer runs out. Switch artists after each turn. Use objects like pumpkins with younger players and trickier prompts like a haunted elevator with older groups.