Halloween is really a kids’ holiday, which means it’s time to let your inner child run wild. For those of us adults who haven’t quite grown up yet, it’s a great time to get reacquainted with some of the nostalgic, classic Halloween games of our youth. Obviously, we made them a little more adult-friendly by adding the extra element of booze. Check out some of our favorites below. If it makes it any more exciting, we ranked them for your pleasure.
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Ranked! Nostalgic Halloween Games
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8. Scarecrow Relay
Similar to other games, this one requires two teams. Set the makings of a scarecrow costume (or just old, baggy clothes) at the end of the race. It’s a relay race consisting of players running to the clothes, scrambling to put them on, running back, taking them off, and then the next player goes. This continues until your whole team has completed the task or you get tired and decide to crack open a bottle of whiskey instead.
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7. Dangling Donuts
Similar to bobbing for apples, dangling for donuts is fairly self-explanatory. Hang a bunch of strings spaced apart with donuts tied to them. Everyone who’s playing picks a donut. They put their hands behind their back, and someone starts a timer. Whoever eats the most of their donut or finishes it in one minute wins all the candy corn they can stomach.
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6. Gourd Bowling
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Set up a few tall gourds as bowling pins. Stand 10 feet or so away and roll a pumpkin (with the stem removed) and enjoy. Keep score and chug a beer after every turn.
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5. Mummy Wrap
Make two teams and pick one soon-to-be mummy for each squad. Each team should wrap their mummy in toilet paper. As soon as he or she is completely covered, they win. You might need an impartial judge for this one.
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4. Mystery Box
A Halloween mystery box is like a container full of nostalgia. It should also be filled with brains (Jell-O), eyeballs (grapes with the skin removed), worms (spaghetti), and tarantula legs (grape stems). Drink every time someone screams in revulsion.
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3. Pumpkin Carving
If you haven’t carved your pumpkins by Halloween, what are you waiting for? If you do happen to have a few of those round, orange gourds un-carved, make a contest out of carving them. Break up into two teams, make your best jack-o-lantern and then have an impartial judge declare a winner. The loser chugs pumpkin beer.
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2. Ouija Board
This isn’t a game so much as it’s an activity where either nothing happens or you literally summon demons to torment you and your family for the rest of your days. Either way, it’s a fun party activity that will remind you of that time you’re sure you talked to a ghost when you were a kid.
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1. Bobbing For Apples
There are few Halloween games as nostalgic as the classic bobbing for apples. Literally consisting of a tub of water filled with apples, you bop your head in and attempt to bite and pull out apples. You might want to stay away from this in the age of COVID.
