The Fun Party Game You Need to Try This Halloween (Plus 14 Others!)

Sure, you can play the same-old, same-old party games for Halloween like making toilet paper mummies and seeing who can paint the best pumpkin. But how about something a little more unique — and a little more fun? Try these 15 Halloween games for adults at your next bash.

Set up drink stations around your home, each one for a different color drink. Mix up the drinks at each station so some are delicious and some are, well, horrifying. Then send your guests around to each station. Will they get a drink? Or a trick?

Take regular charades, but make it spooky. Horror-themed categories only!

This is one of the more creative party games for Halloween, and it works best if you live near a bunch of friends who can all decorate their homes. Challenge everyone to create the spookiest haunted house using just decorations or one you walk through with jump scares — you decide. Everyone visits each one and votes on the scariest. 

Who says hide-and-seek is just for kids? When it’s fully dark out, have everyone dress in black and scatter into the yard. The host of the party tries to find all the guests. Some important rules for this one, though: Stay away from roads or anything dangerous, and stay on the property. 

It’s a cocktail and mocktail making contest! Blood orange bourbon smash, anyone? Whoever can make the most delicious drink wins. Add some spooky decorations for people to embellish their drinks with, and award another prize for the best decorated beverage. 

Write a bunch of Halloween-themed words on slips of paper, and put them in a candy bucket. As each guest comes in, they draw a word from the bucket and pin it to their shirt. They are no longer allowed to use that word for the rest of the party. If they do, come up with some fun and silly consequences!

Dust off those acting chops, because in this party game for Halloween, guests compete as teams to act out scenes from different horror movies. Amp up the fun with costumes and impromptu set design, too! Whichever team does the best job wins. 

Write the names of horror movie villains on cards. When each guest arrives, tape one of the cards to their forehead and make sure they don’t see what it says! The first guest who guesses their villain wins.

This is exactly what it sounds like. Split your guests into teams of two: one makeup artist and one model. Each makeup artist should try to create the scariest Halloween makeup on their model. 

You’ve got two options for this game. One, have two guests go into a closet or small room and give them three minutes to swap Halloween costumes completely. Or two, open every closet in the house, set a limit of 10 minutes, and see who can create the spookiest costume from what’s in the closets. 

Why not outsource your party games for Halloween? Hire a fortune teller to come over and look into your party guests’ futures. It could be tarot, tea leaves, or even cheese reading. (Hey, it’s a thing! That this writer does!) There’s no “winner” here, but really everyone wins because they’re having fun. 

Designate one partygoer to be the zombie hunter. Everyone else is down on the ground. The zombie hunter has to keep an eye on all the undead. You can move when they’re not looking at you — but if they are, you have to be motionless. The goal is to stand all the way up and be the first to reach the zombie hunter so you can get them before they get you.

Break your crew up into teams and give each team a balloon, markers, and a paper plate. First, every team should decorate their balloon and plate to look as much like a severed head on a platter as possible. Then, the relay starts! Have each team member do a lap around a course you set up. The goal is to keep your severed head on the platter — but remember, you can only hold the plate.

Send your guests on a scavenger hunt around your home to find the spookiest items. Hide Halloweeny things throughout your house, and then come up with a set of clues. Try to theme them after something tied to the spooky season, like Edgar Allen Poe lines or quotes from horror movies. The first person to complete all the clues gets a fun surprise! 

Get a life-size skeleton from the party store — it doesn’t have to be fancy, it can just be one you’d otherwise hang on the wall — and put on some spooky and fun music. Then, have a dance-off. Everyone has to hold the skeleton and come up with a partner’s dance. Have a panel of judges to rank each dance. The highest scorer wins.