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The short answer The best office Halloween party games are low-pressure and work-appropriate: a find-a-coworker card, team trivia, a desk decorating contest, a no-carve pumpkin contest and a costume contest where dressing up is optional. Below are 17 games for in-person, hybrid and fully remote teams, with free printables you can personalize with your team name. Every one of them works in office clothes.
An office Halloween party has a different job than a house party. People didn’t choose each other, some don’t celebrate Halloween at all, and everyone has to sit in the same meeting on Monday. The games that work best get people talking across departments without putting anyone on the spot.
Start with a find-a-coworker card. Everyone mingles, nobody performs, and the new hire ends up talking to the VP of finance about corn mazes.
Halloween Find a Coworker
How to play: Hand every player a card and a pen at the start of the party or the day. Find a coworker who matches a square and ask them to initial it. Each person can initial only one square on your card, and nobody signs their own.
- Is wearing orange or black today
- Came in a costume or costume piece
- Has carved a pumpkin this year
- Prefers sweet snacks over salty
- Has been through a corn maze
- Can name three scary movies in 10 seconds
- Would rather watch a comedy than a scary movie
- Has worn a homemade costume
- Has a pet that has worn a costume
- Has worked here less than a year
- Has worked here more than 5 years
- Has been on a hayride
+ 18 more in the printable.
Mixers that get people talking
1. Find a coworker (free printable)
Each card is a 5-by-5 grid of squares like “Has been through a corn maze,” “Has worked here more than 5 years” and “Can’t stand candy corn.” Players find a coworker who fits a square and get their initials, one square per person. First to five in a row wins. Hand the cards out at 9 a.m. and let people fill them in all day, or give everyone 15 minutes at the party. It works for 10 to 80 people, and several squares have nothing to do with Halloween, so everyone can play.
2. Guess the childhood costume
A week ahead, ask people to send a photo of themselves in a childhood Halloween costume, if they want to. Number the photos on a slide or a bulletin board and let everyone guess who’s who. It costs nothing, and it works for people who’d never wear a costume to work. Make it opt-in, and have a second category (a favorite fall photo, say) for anyone without a costume photo.
3. Two truths and a spooky lie
Each person shares three short statements, and at least one has to be about Halloween or fall. The team guesses the lie. It works best in groups of 6 to 12, so split a big team into tables. Keep it light: costume mishaps, candy opinions, the year they got lost at a pumpkin patch.
4. This or That at the start of a meeting
Read one this-or-that question aloud at the start of each meeting that week: Haunted house or hayride? Full-size candy bars or a big bag of minis? Hands up for the first option. It takes 60 seconds and gives people something to laugh about before the budget review. Our would you rather questions include 45 office-safe ones for the rest of the year.
Contests with an optional costume
Costumes should never be required at work. Some people don’t celebrate Halloween for religious or personal reasons, and some just don’t want to. Build every contest so there’s a way to join in without dressing up.
5. Costume contest with a no-costume lane
Offer categories like funniest, most creative, best team costume, best costume under $10 and best office pun. Add a “spirit” category for anyone who just wears orange or black. Let people vote on paper ballots or a quick online form. Ask the team ahead of time to skip costumes that mock a culture, religion or real group of people, and to keep anything gory at home.
6. Desk or door decorating contest
Give teams a week and a small budget (or none) to decorate a desk, cubicle, door or shared space. Judge on a set afternoon. Set a few ground rules up front: no fog machines near smoke detectors, no open flames, nothing hanging from sprinklers and nothing that blocks a walkway. Check with facilities if you’re unsure.
7. No-carve pumpkin contest
Knives and office carpet don’t mix. Have teams decorate pumpkins with paint, markers, fabric, googly eyes or office supplies (binder clips make excellent teeth). Line them up in the break room and let people vote by dropping a wrapped candy in a cup beside their favorite.
8. Bake-off or chili cook-off
Not quite a game, but competitive cooks treat it like one. Ask entrants to list the main ingredients and common allergens on a card next to their dish, and use tasting cups so nobody double-dips. People’s choice wins.
Team games for the party itself
These work for a one-hour party in a conference room or break room. Mix departments on each team.
9. Halloween trivia (free printable)
Teams of four to six, one answer sheet each, and the host reads the questions or puts them on the conference room TV. It’s multiple choice, so nobody feels dumb. Winning team gets first pick of the leftover candy. For more questions, our Halloween trivia questions and answers has a full set with answers.
Halloween Trivia
How to play: Print one quiz per player or team, or play on a TV and read each question aloud. Players circle one answer per question. No phones. Swap sheets and mark them as the host reads the answer key.
- Halloween grew out of which ancient Celtic festival held at the end of the harvest?
- The word "Halloween" is a Scottish shortening of what?
- Halloween is the night before which holiday?
- Which pope moved the feast of all saints and martyrs to November 1?
- Before pumpkins, what did people in Ireland and Scotland carve into lanterns?
- In the Irish folk tale behind the jack-o'-lantern, a man tricks the devil and ends up wandering with only a carved lantern. What is he called?
- In old-time "souling," people went door to door offering prayers for the dead. What treat did they get in return?
- "Guising," going door to door in disguise for treats, is an old Halloween custom from which country?
- The earliest known use of the phrase "trick or treat" in print, from 1917, appeared in a newspaper in which country?
- In what year did kids first carry cartons door to door for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF?
- What was candy corn called when it was first made in the 1880s?
- The National Confectioners Association named which date National Candy Corn Day?
+ 18 more in the printable.
10. Hard-mode word scramble (free printable)
Eighteen longer spooky words like APPARITION, POLTERGEIST and CANDELABRA, scrambled, with the answer key on its own page. Leave a stack in the break room with a sign-up sheet, or race in pairs at the party. It’s a good pick for teams that are quieter than they are rowdy.
Halloween Word Scramble: Hard Mode
How to play: Hand each player or team a sheet and a pencil. Pairs work well for this one. Unscramble each set of letters into a spooky word. Most are 8 letters or longer. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- APPARITION
- POLTERGEIST
- CANDELABRA
- SUPERNATURAL
- PHANTOM
- BANSHEE
- GARGOYLE
- WARLOCK
- CATACOMBS
- MASQUERADE
- HOBGOBLIN
- INCANTATION
+ 6 more in the printable.
11. Halloween bingo
Bingo is the easiest game for a room of 30 or more, since everyone plays at once and nobody has to talk in front of the group. Our printable Halloween bingo prints a different card for everyone, plus a calling sheet.
12. Mummy wrap race
Teams of three wrap one volunteer in toilet paper, shoulders to ankles, over their clothes. First finished mummy wins. Only volunteers get wrapped, and the face stays clear. It takes two minutes and gets the whole room watching.
13. Blind candy taste test
Unwrap six to eight popular chocolate bars, cut them into bite-size pieces and number the plates. Teams taste and write down which bar is which. It’s harder than it sounds. Post the ingredient lists nearby for anyone with allergies.
14. Candy guessing jar
Set a jar of candy corn or wrapped candy on the front desk for the week, with a slip box beside it. Closest guess at the party wins the jar. It’s the lowest-effort game here, and people who skip the party can still play.
15. Office scavenger hunt
Hide paper pumpkins around the floor, or write rhyming clues that lead teams from the copier to the supply closet to the break room fridge. Keep it out of private offices and anywhere with confidential papers. Our Halloween scavenger hunt has clue ideas you can adapt.
Games for remote and hybrid teams
These work on any video call. Keep them short; 30 minutes is about the limit for a virtual party.
16. Pet costume or fall photo contest
Ask people to post a photo of their pet in a costume, their porch decorations or their best pumpkin in a shared channel. Vote with reactions. It lets people join without being on camera.
17. Virtual background contest
Everyone switches to a spooky or fall background for the first five minutes of the call, and the team votes on the best one. It’s the easiest “costume” there is. Follow it with a round of trivia on a shared screen, or the find-a-coworker card with squares claimed in the chat.
- Printed find-a-coworker cards, trivia sheets and word scrambles
- Pens and clipboards
- Paper ballots and a box for voting
- Pumpkins, paint, markers and googly eyes
- Toilet paper, two rolls per mummy team
- A clear jar and a bag of candy
- Plates and napkins for the taste test
- Small prizes: gift cards, a trophy made from a spray-painted pumpkin, a late-start pass if your manager signs off
How to plan an office Halloween party
Say you’re planning a one-hour party for 40 people on a Friday afternoon. A plan that fits:
- All week: the candy jar, the childhood costume photo board and a This or That card at the start of meetings.
- First 15 minutes: find-a-coworker cards while people get food.
- Next 20: team trivia on the TV.
- Next 15: costume and desk contest results, then the mummy wrap race.
- Last 10: guessing jar reveal and prizes.
Hold it during work hours so parents and people with long commutes can come, and send the plan out a week ahead so nobody is surprised by a costume contest.
Put one person from each department on every trivia team. The competition does the work, and people end up talking to coworkers they’ve only ever seen in email threads.
Keeping it inclusive
Call it a fall party or a “Halloween and harvest” party if your team is mixed, and make every game optional. Offer a non-candy prize or two, label food with allergens and keep the decorations more pumpkin patch than horror film. If someone opts out, don’t ask why.
You’ll find more games for work on our office party games page.
Questions hosts ask
What are good Halloween games for work?
Find-a-coworker cards, team trivia, a desk decorating contest, a no-carve pumpkin contest and a candy guessing jar all work in office clothes and suit most workplaces.
How do you make an office Halloween party inclusive?
Make costumes and every game optional, add a no-costume contest category, skip gory decorations, label food allergens and consider calling it a fall or harvest party.
What Halloween games work for remote teams?
Try a virtual background contest, a pet costume photo contest in a shared channel, trivia on a shared screen and a find-a-coworker card with squares claimed in the chat.
How long should an office Halloween party be?
About an hour during work hours is enough for three or four games, with low-effort games like a candy guessing jar running all week.
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.