Halloween Games
The sound of crunching leaves, the crisp fall air, apples aplenty… Halloween is almost here. As the rush of sweet sugary goodness keeps us awake long after the last trick or treater comes to your door, why not take the opportunity to play a game. Though not just any game, it has to be a Halloween themed game.
Topping my own personal list is Werewolf. This is a great game for a large group of (at least 6-8 and up to 20) friends to play. Imagine yourselves as townfolk hunting down a werewolf or two among you, while a couple players try to blend in as the normal average everyday town folk.
Call your local Barnes and Noble if they have a copy too.
On my wish list is Last Night on Earth. I’m a sucker for a good zombie story and this game really does a good job of placing you smack in the middle of a zombie storyline. People play as stereotypical zombie survivors and some play as the ever lovin’ mindless braineaters. Gameplay is about an hour.
For a Halloween themed game for the younger set, you should give Monster Maker a try. Be the first player to make your monster with 6 parts cards. Monster Maker is an outrageous race to create colorful Monsters by trading and exchanging “parts cards” with opponents or drawing from the “garbage pile”. A creative Monster Maker story book is also included in each pack. A nice short game at about 15 minutes.
Call your local Barnes and Noble if they have a copy and I’ve seen it at Target before.
A monster maker game for an older audience is It’s Alive. Designed by the creative Yehuda Berlinger. It’s a race to find and purchase eight body parts to complete your own monster. You can even auction off body parts you don’t need. It is a fairly casual strategy and auction/purchase game with a gameplay time of about 30 minutes. I should note that the age listed is 12+ for gory images, but the gameplay is easy to understand for the younger set.
For families and those that want a dash of Halloween in their classic games, Boo-opoly is a good choice. Nice clean art and with familiar rules, with a Halloween slant, this game can be played easily with all ages familiar with Monopoly.
I played Guillotine for the first time this year at a local game night. Not a Halloween game in a direct sense, but with all the head cutting, it would make a nice 30 minute game for your Halloween party. The cartoon illustrations and names are fun. Basically it’s a card game where players have action cards and control the flow of nobles heading off to the guillotine. Try to save the good ones and score points overall.
What game will you be playing this Halloween?
Please note : With Halloween just around the corner, the couple online sources I provided for purchase may be sold out, if so please ask your local specialty game shop if they have any or can special order them quick enough for your party. Good luck and happy zombie and werewolf hunting 
Note:
See all of my Halloween 2009 posts for food, snacks, games, movies and other ideas for your Halloween party
Last Night on Earth looks like a cheesy hollywood b-movie. I’ll probably play that just to get a few laughs and validate the irony of horror movie stereotypes.
Yeah, I love it for the B movie storyline scenarios and characters. Good for a mixed play group just for the silly story factor
The kids can’t get enough Monster Maker and I recommend it for anyone who wants to pry their kids away from the TV. I’ve played it a bunch with them and the parent’s will have a little fun with it.
Definitely… I like mixing it up with some tv and some game playing. The colorful monsters attract the kids too. It’s a fun game to play with the kids. Not really for an all adult group, but for families it;s alot of fun.
For our Halloween party we will be having another Murder Mystery party. Its going to be at my house this Saturday. Its a masquerade ball theme. Everyone’s character has a costume theme. I am the queen. I have decided to go with a dark queen =] You buy the games online and they are soooo much fun. This will be our second one. Our first one was an 80’s high school reunion theme. RIght now I am in the process of writing my own murder mystery.
not a fan of monopoly but the kids like it so maybe i’ll try boo-opoly. monster maker looks different too. better than monopoly I’m sure.
We will play Werewolves if we have enough people. Great fun with the lights off and candles.
My kids will LOVE the monster maker game Thanks Tim
Last Night on Earth looks perfect for my halloween group. I’ll try to get a copy before the weekend and let you know.