Halloween Party Games for Adults

On this page

1. How to pick games for your crowd
2. Printable Halloween games for adults
3. Costume party games
4. Games for a small group or dinner party
5. Active Halloween games for adults
6. Optional drinking versions
7. How to run the night
8. Prize ideas
9. Questions hosts ask

Most grown-up Halloween parties have the same shape: people arrive in costume, stand around admiring each other for half an hour, and then someone asks, “So are we doing anything?” Have a trivia sheet ready for that moment.

Our trivia sheet has 30 multiple-choice questions on Halloween history, jack-o’-lanterns, candy corn, classic monster novels and spooky movies. Add your party name to the top, print one per team, and the answer key comes out on its own page. You can also run it from a phone or TV and read the questions aloud.

Below are 15 games, that one included, grouped by the kind of party you’re throwing. Each one says how long it runs, what you need and what can go wrong. Every game on the Halloween games page is free to print, with no email sign-up.

How to pick games for your crowd

Match the games to the room, not the other way around. A few quick rules of thumb:

• Dinner party of 6 to 10: This or That over appetizers, trivia after dinner, then a round of Werewolf if people are still at the table.
• House party of 15 to 40: a costume contest, charades in two teams, and bingo running quietly in the background during a scary movie.
• Coworkers or people who don’t know each other: start with low-pressure games that don’t single anyone out. Trivia in teams is safe. Charades can wait until round two.
• Couples’ night: the mystery candy taste test and a pumpkin decorating contest work well with pairs as teams.

Plan two or three games, not seven. Adults at a costume party want time to talk, and a packed schedule makes the evening feel like work.

Printable Halloween games for adults

1. Halloween trivia

Teams of three to five answer 30 questions, from where the word “Halloween” comes from to which horror star speaks on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Allow 20 to 30 minutes. Supplies: the printed sheets (above), pens, and a prize for the winning team. Collect phones before you start, or the game becomes a race to Google.

2. Halloween charades

This is charades on a clock. One player acts out cards like “A vampire at the dentist” or “Squeezing into last year’s costume,” and their team has 60 seconds to guess as many as they can. It suits groups of 8 or more who don’t mind being a little silly. Print the cards, cut them apart and toss them in a candy bucket.

Five rounds per team takes about 20 minutes. The cards go fastest when the actor skips anything they can’t figure out within ten seconds.

3. Halloween This or That

Read a card aloud (“Vampire or werewolf?” “Full-size candy bars or a big bag of mini ones?”) and everyone points to a side at the same time. The people in the minority each defend their choice in one sentence. No supplies beyond the cards, no winners, no losers. It’s the easiest icebreaker on this list and fills anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.

4. Scary movie bingo

Put a scary movie on and hand out bingo cards. Players mark a square when that thing shows up on screen or gets said out loud: a black cat, a full moon, fog, a creaky door. First to five in a row wins. It works for a party where half the room wants to watch the movie and half wants to talk, because nobody has to pay full attention. Pick a movie that has most of the classics (an old haunted house film works better than a slasher).

Our bingo prints as many different cards as you need from a pool of 50 Halloween words, with a calling sheet for the host if you’d rather play it the regular way.

Costume party games

5. Costume contest with categories

One “best costume” prize means one happy person and 30 people who feel ignored. Split it into categories instead: scariest, funniest, best group or couple, most creative, and best last-minute costume. Hand out small paper ballots when people arrive and collect them in a jar by 10 p.m. Announce winners before anyone leaves, or the contest fizzles.

Supplies: ballots, pens, a jar, and a few small prizes. Let people vote for anyone but themselves.

6. Costume guess

For a party where people wear vague or clever costumes, give everyone a sheet with guests’ names and a blank next to each. Players write down what they think each person is dressed as. At the end, each guest reveals their costume and players score a point for every right guess. It gets people talking to someone new, which is half the point of a party.

7. Costume runway walk

Clear a strip of floor, play a spooky song and have each guest (or couple) walk it in character. Nobody scores anything. It takes 10 minutes for 20 people and gives the costume contest voters a proper look at everyone.

Games for a small group or dinner party

8. Werewolf (hidden-role game)

This is the classic party game also called Mafia, and it suits a Halloween night. The host secretly deals a role to each player using playing cards: a couple of players are werewolves, one is the seer, and the rest are villagers. Each “night,” everyone closes their eyes while the werewolves silently pick someone to knock out of the game. Each “day,” the village argues and votes on who they think is a werewolf.

It works best with 8 to 15 players and takes 20 to 40 minutes. You need a deck of playing cards and a host who doesn’t play. Expect loud accusations, so it’s better for friends than for a first-time office party.

9. Two truths and a ghost story

Each person tells three short spooky “true” stories about themselves: a strange noise in an old house, a creepy encounter on a trip, a time they swore something moved. Two are true and one is invented. Everyone guesses which story is the fake. Allow a minute per person, and it takes about 15 minutes for a table of eight.

10. Mystery candy taste test

Cut fun-size candy bars into bite-size pieces and number them on a plate. Players taste each one blindfolded (or with eyes closed) and write down which candy they think it is. Chocolate bars with caramel, nougat or peanuts are harder to tell apart than you’d think. Ten candies takes about 15 minutes. Ask about nut allergies before you plan the lineup.

11. Pumpkin decorating contest

Give each pair a small pumpkin and a box of supplies: paint pens, glue, googly eyes, felt, ribbon. Set a 30-minute timer and a theme if you want one (“a pumpkin that looks like someone in this room” is a good one). Everyone votes on the winner at the end.

We’d skip carving knives at a party with drinks. Decorating gives you the same fun and a much shorter trip to urgent care.

Active Halloween games for adults

12. Mummy wrap race

Teams of three get two rolls of toilet paper each. Two players wrap the third into a mummy, and the first team to use up both rolls wins. Keep the paper off faces and necks, and clear furniture out of the way. It takes about 3 minutes and looks great in photos.

13. Donut on a string

Hang glazed donuts from a string (a broom handle across two chairs works) at mouth height. Players keep their hands behind their backs and try to finish their donut first. It’s messy, fast and easy to set up. Have napkins ready.

14. Name that spooky theme

Play the first 10 seconds of well-known horror movie themes, spooky TV theme songs and Halloween party songs. Teams write down the title. Twenty songs takes about 15 minutes. Build the playlist ahead of time so you’re not scrolling while everyone waits.

15. Survey game, Halloween edition

Two teams try to guess the most popular answers to prompts like “Name something people give out on Halloween that kids don’t want” or “Name a costume you’d see at every party.” Write your own top answers with points before the party, or borrow the format and questions from our survey game questions and answers. It plays like the TV show Family Feud and runs 20 to 30 minutes.

Optional drinking versions

Plenty of adult parties skip this entirely, and every game above works fine without it. If your group does want a drinking version, keep it light and always offer a non-alcoholic option in the same cup.

• Scary movie bingo: take a sip when anyone on your card gets marked, not just you. It spreads things out.
• Trivia: the losing team picks the next song instead of taking a drink. Or play it straight.
• I Have Never, Halloween edition: “I have never carved a pumpkin,” “I have never been scared by a haunted house worker,” “I have never eaten candy I meant to give away.” Anyone who has done it takes a sip. Our never have I ever questions have plenty more.

How to run the night

Say you’re hosting 20 people from 7 to 11. A simple plan looks like this:

1. 7:00 to 8:00: people arrive and eat. Hand out costume ballots at the door and leave This or That cards on the snack table.
2. 8:00: trivia in teams of four. It gets people sitting together and takes about 25 minutes.
3. 8:45: charades or the mummy wrap race while energy is high.
4. 9:30: costume runway walk and voting.
5. 10:00: announce winners and hand out prizes. Anyone who wants to keep playing can start a round of Werewolf.

Prize ideas

Prizes for adults can be small and a little silly. A full-size candy bar, a mini bottle of hot sauce, a tiny potted succulent, a scratch-off ticket, or a cheap trophy spray-painted gold. For the costume contest, a plastic skull or a gold-painted pumpkin makes a good trophy that goes home with the winner.

If kids will be at the party too, our Halloween party games for kids list has games sorted by age. For more grown-up party ideas that aren’t tied to the holiday, see our game night ideas for adults and our list of would you rather questions.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.