When you think of celebrating Halloween, the first thought is of little kids getting dressed up in costumes and going door to door for candy around the neighborhood.
But Halloween is not just for kids, it is for adults too. It is a great time to have fun, dress up, and celebrate all of the things that are spooky during this time of year.
Some of the main differences with an adult Halloween party is that the games can be a little spookier and sometimes they can even involve some alcohol.
If you are throwing a Halloween party for adults, then you might want games to keep the fun going. Below are some ideas for Halloween games that adults can enjoy.
Fun Halloween Games for Adults
1. Murder mystery
A good murder mystery is the perfect Halloween game for adults to play. It is a nice Halloween party theme and a long game all rolled into one.
In order to play this game, you will need a murder plot and guests who will be willing participants for this game. You will also want the guest list number to equal the number of characters in your murder mystery plot, though sometimes extra characters can be written in if necessary.
While you can hire a company to perform the murder mystery for you, you can also buy your own murder mysteries and do them yourselves.
There are many murder mystery kits available to purchase online. These come complete with scripts, roles, storylines, and everything you need in order to have a successful murder mystery party.
To help the guests keep track of the characters that everyone is playing, you can give everyone a name tag with their characters name or role on it.
From a haunted house or masquerade theme to a 1920s theme, there are many themes that you can go with for your Halloween murder mystery party. The possibilities are endless.
To ensure that your murder mystery party is successful, your guests should be sent their roles and scripts ahead of time. Encourage each person to study their roles and to remain in character for your murder mystery game.
A murder mystery party is not complete without the right environment. Ask your guests to dress up for their roles and decorate the party space to fit the theme for your murder mystery. This will make the event and the game even more fun for everyone.
You may also enjoy these 14 drinking games for couples.
2. Name the monster
As each of your guests arrive at the party, they will receive the name of a monster written on a piece of paper. This paper will not be read by the guests and will be stuck on their backs.
The players can ask other people questions about the kind of monster they are and the goal is to correctly guess your monster. They should be questions where the answer is either yes or no. Here are some ideas for questions to ask and some ideas for monsters to use.
The names of scary movie characters and serial killers are also listed below if you want to play “Name the Scary Movie Character” or “Name the Serial Killer” instead.
Monsters:
-Vampire
-Mummy
-Ghost
-Werewolf
-Zombie
-Demon
-Goblin
-Medusa
-Skeleton
-Witch
-Grim reaper
Questions:
-Do I have sharp teeth?
-Am I alive?
-Do I have fur?
-Am I green?
-Am I white?
Scary Movie Characters:
-Freddy Kreuger
-Jason Voorhees
-Hannibal Lecter
-Chucky
-Norman Bates
-Jigsaw
-Carrie White
-Victor Frankenstein
-The Phantom of the Opera
-Patrick Bateman
-Frank N Furter
-The girl from the Ring (Samara)
-It
-Dracula
-Frankenstein’s Monster
-Jekyll and Hyde
Serial Killers:
-Elizabeth Bathory
-The Zodiac Killer
-Ted Bundy
-Jack the Ripper
-Aileen Wuornos
-Jeffrey Dahmer
-John Wayne Gacy
3. Trick or Treat
This fun game involves some alcohol. Put out trays of cups that have juice in them. Some of these cups will be spiked with alcohol.
Each guest gets a drink and whether they get a trick (the juice) or a treat (the alcohol) is a complete surprise. You can also do this with jello shots or pudding shots instead.
4. Don’t say Halloween
Give each guest the same type of Halloween-themed clip or something else that they can wear, like a spider ring. The goal is to avoid saying Halloween all night.
If someone is caught saying Halloween, then they give their clip or ring to the person who caught them saying it. At the end of the night, the person with the most clips or rings is the winner.
5. Bobbing for alcohol
Instead of bobbing for apples, have the guests bob for alcohol. Fill up a beverage bucket with water and tiny, single-serving bottles of alcohol.
If you want to stick with the traditional apples in the bucket, then instead of filling up the bucket with water you can fill it with a mixed drink like sangria.
6. Costume contest
What good is a Halloween party without a costume contest? While the best costume is an obvious prize that you will give out, you can give out prizes for other kinds of costumes as well.
Other ideas for costume categories include the scariest costume, best DIY costume, best couples costume. Most creative costume, funniest costume, sexiest costume, and best group costume.
Have every guest vote for these categories, but emphasize that people cannot vote for their own costumes. For prizes, you can give out awards printed on paper, trophies, or a fun prize that they will enjoy like a bottle of wine or a gift certificate.
If you really want your guests to get competitive, then let them know that there will be a contest ahead of time. You can mention it when you send out the invitations to your Halloween party. That way, your guests will have time to plan and prepare their costumes.
You can even let the guests know ahead of time what the categories will be. Or if you want, you can keep it a surprise.
7. Pumpkin carving contest
Nothing else quite screams Halloween like a bunch of carved pumpkins. Supply your guests with pumpkins and carving knives so they can make their own unique creation.
Alternatively, you can ask guests to bring their own pumpkins so that you have one less thing to worry about.
Some other supplies you will want to have on hand include bowl for the pumpkin guts and seeds, newspaper to line the tables, paper towels to wipe hands on, and tea lights to put inside the finished carved pumpkins.
If you want to make it even more fun, you might choose to throw in additional supplies like paint and paintbrushes, washi tape, yarn and ribbon, googly eyes, and other craft supplies. You can provide carving templates as well.
Ideas for best pumpkin categories include cutest pumpkin, scariest pumpkin, most colorful pumpkin, most creative pumpkin, and best overall pumpkin. Winner can take home a fun prize like a pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin pie baking contest:
For this contest, tell everyone to bring their appetites. Those participating will bring their own homemade pie to the party and the host will keep track of whose pie is whose.
The other guests should not know which person baked which pie so they can vote for the best pie without being biased. You can have your guests vote for 1st place or for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best.
When it comes to judging or voting for the best pie, keep in mind the following categories: appearance, crust, and filling. How does one pie stack up against the others?
8. Pie eating contest
For this contest, you might want to supply the pies. Get the same type of pie so that it is fair for the contestants.
Have a table and chairs ready for the contestants. To make it really fun, you can have the hands of the contestants tied behind their backs. This will give them an added challenge.
Pumpkin pies are great to use for a Halloween party since pumpkins tie into Halloween so nicely.
Here is another idea, especially if you want something a little easier and cheaper. Instead of using traditional pies, you can put gummy worms at the bottom of plates and then cover the plates in whipped cream. The contestants have to get all the gummy worms out and whoever is first wins.
9. Circle of Death
This is a great drinking game to play especially if you have a variety of alcohol lying around. If you have a half-empty bottle of liquor, pour them into a plastic pumpkin or cauldron. You will also need a deck of cards.
Spread the cards face down in a circle around the concoction that you have prepared. Everyone will take turns picking a cards
Certain numbers will require that the player take a drink from the pumpkin or cauldron. Let’s say those numbers are 6 and 10.
The person who draws the last card has to finish the whole drink.
10. Eyeball beer pong
If you cannot find eyeball ping pong balls, you can print them out and glue them onto white ping pong balls.
Play beer pong as you would normally play it. You need a long table and an equal number of cups to form a triangle on each side.
Take turns tossing the balls into the opponent’s side. If you get a ball into their cup, they drink. And if they get a ball into your cup, then you drink.
11. Zombie, Witch, Ghost
For this game, you will count to 3 each round to see who turns into a zombie, witch, or a ghost. A zombie stretches their arms out in front of them, a witch will put their arms above their head in a triangle shape, and a ghost will stretch their arms out to the side and wave them.
After you count to 3, the guests will decide to be zombies, witches, or ghosts. If most of the guests become zombies, then they all have to drink. The same goes for witches or ghosts.
Keep repeating this until everyone has had a bit to drink.
12. Donuts on a string
There are fewer things that are more fun than seeing adults get really messy while trying to eat. For this game, all you need is donuts with holes, string, and a long stick such as a broom handle. Tie the string so that the donuts are dangling from the stick.
Each donut should be spaced apart so that there is room enough for each person to stand or kneel underneath. Tie everyone’s hands behind their backs. The goal of the game is to finish your donut first.
13. Halloween charades
For Halloween charades, you will divide the party up into teams. If you are not familiar with charades, it is a game in which a person acts out a certain word or set of words that their team will have to guess.
In a game of Halloween charades, you can write down Halloween themes on pieces of paper. Then people will have to draw a slip of paper to find out what thing they have to act out.
You can have it all just be a general Halloween theme or you can choose to do specific Halloween themes like Halloween costumes or scary movies.
Here is a list of ideas for Halloween charades:
-Pumpkin
-Spider web
-Jack o’ lantern
-Mummy
-Scarecrow
-Werewolf
-Black cat
-Potions
-Dracula
-Witch riding a broom
-Cauldron
-Bat
-Ghost
-Mad scientist
-Zombie
-Putting up Halloween decorations
-Trick or treating
-Watching a scary movie
-Eating candy
-Headless horseman
-Full moon
-Michael Jackson’s Thriller
-Smell my feet
-Monster Mash
-Black widow
-Caramel apple
-Tombstone / Gravestone
-Coffin
-Texas Chainsaw Massacre
-Voodoo doll
-Igor
-Jekyll and Hyde
-Ghostbusters
-Bones
-Skeleton
14. Halloween Pictionary
Split up your party into 2 groups for a fun game of Halloween Pictionary. Each team sends up a member up to a drawing board where cards are picked.
The drawers will race against the timer to draw out what the cards say as their times try to guess what is being drawn.
Below are some ideas for the card:
-Haunted house
-Hay ride
-Crypt
-Corn maze
-Apple cider
-Ghost story
-Secret lab
-Doorbell
-Scream
-Witchcraft
-Mask
-Phantom of the Opera
-Potion
-Candy apple
-Candy corn
-Harry Potter
-The Addams Family
-Friday the 13th
15. Halloween plate drawing
The plate drawing game is always a fun one where the results are quite funny to look at. To play this game you will need paper plates and markers or pens.
Give each person a plate and a pen to write with. First, ask everyone to put the paper plate on top of their head. Then they will listen to your drawing instructions.
For a simple challenge, you can have everyone draw a pumpkin with a stem, leaves, and vines. To make it even more challenging, you can have them draw a jack-o-lantern with eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
Because they cannot see what they are drawing, the results will be funny. Give a prize to the person who comes up with the best drawing.
16. Halloween Bingo
Instead of using numbers for a Bingo game, you can use Halloween-themed words or pictures that are on the Bingo squares. The Bingo cards can have a general Halloween theme or a specific one such as Halloween costumes, scary movies, and so on.
17. Scavenger hunt
There are many different ways to do a scavenger hunt. You can have people participate as individuals or as teams.
One way to do a Halloween scavenger hunt is to hide the items around the party area. Then you can call out the items one by one as people go looking for the item that you have named. When the item is brought to you, then you call out the next thing.
You can also print out pictures of Halloween items and tape them around the party area, especially on walls. That way, they will blend in with the Halloween decorations.
If you like to be more mysterious, you can give out clues instead of being so straightforward. Write your clues in rhymes to make the game extra fun.
For a very simple scavenger hunt, you can print and hand out lists of the items that need to be found.
Here are some examples of what you can put on a Halloween scavenger hunt list:
-Spider
-Witch hat
-Witch broom
-Cauldron
-Bat
-Eyeball
-Jack-O-Lantern
-Black cat
-A mask
18. Mummy wrap
This is a classic game that is great for all people, young and old. You will need rolls of toilet paper for this game.
Divide people up into small teams of 2 or 3. Each team will choose one person to be the mummy. Then when you say go, they will have to race to wrap their mummy in toilet paper.
The game can be finished either by timing it or by whoever finishes using up their toilet paper first. Or you can let everyone finish and then choose the best-looking mummy.
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19. Halloween Taboo
If you like to play regular Taboo, then you will love playing it with a Halloween theme. Use themed Halloween Taboo cards and then split your guests into two teams.
Here are some ideas for Halloween Taboo cards. If you are not familiar with the game, then here are the rules. Each team takes a turn sending a person up to pull out a card.
The word or words at the top is what that person’s team has to guess. The words underneath are words that you cannot use. Those words are taboo.
Have a person there to time the person who is going and to also make sure that the taboo words are not used.
Here are some examples of words to use and the taboo words for them:
Pumpkin
-Orange
-Jack-o-Lantern
-Carve
Cauldron
-Black
-Stir
-Potion
-Witch
Mummy
-Wrapped
-White
-Bandage
Witch
-Warlock
-Green face
-Broom
-Pointy hat
Ghost
-Boo
-White
-Sheet
Bat
-Black
-Fly
-Vampire
Vampire
-Blood
-Sharp / pointy teeth
-Dracula
-Night
Alien
-Planet
-Spaceship
-Human
Candy corn
-Yellow
-Orange
-Corn
20. Would you rather
The game of “Would you rather” is a great ice breaker for any group of people to play. Use some of the Halloween-themed questions below to get your guests talking and warmed up to play even more fun Halloween games.
Sample questions:
-Would you rather eat 5 pounds of candy corn or eat 10 candy apples?
-Would you rather be abducted by aliens or chased by a serial killer?
-Would you rather stay the night in a haunted house or in a cemetery?
-Would you rather have a pumpkin as a head or have knives as hands?
-Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?
-Would you rather celebrate Halloween every day or once a year?
-Would you rather be chased by 5 zombies or chased by one werewolf?
-Would you rather sleep in a coffin or in a haunted insane asylum?
-Would you rather wear a scary Halloween costume or a sexy Halloween costume?
-Would you rather buy a Halloween costume for $100 or make one yourself for free but it takes 20 hours to make?
-Would you rather watch a scary movie at the theater and then walk home alone, or walk alone through a cemetery at midnight?
-Go trick or treating as an adult with no costume or hand out candy at home with a really ridiculous costume on?
-Would you rather see a ghost or meet a real vampire?
-If you were in a scary movie, would you rather be the first one to die or the last one to be alive?
-Would you rather have a murderous doll or a murderous clown in your house?
-Would you rather deal with a haunting or a home invasion?
-Would you rather be a vampire or a vampire hunter?
-Would you rather be married to Frankenstein or a mummy?
-Would you rather be covered in snakes or spiders?
-Would you rather have a tarantula or a bat for a pet?
-Would you rather use a Ouija board or be part of a séance?
-Would you rather watch a horror movie every day or never be able to watch another movie again?
Want more questions? Check out our 170 Would You Rather questions here.