How do I prepare and use Halloween word games in one pack?

What the pack includes and who it suits

The pack has five seated pencil-and-paper games: a word scramble, a word search you fill in yourself, an A-to-Z race, a code message to decode and hangman. Players can work in teams of two or three, or the whole group can solve the puzzles together.

If your group would rather invent answers than solve scored puzzles, silly story sheets can replace one round. Players fill in nouns, adjectives and verbs for a funny story, a different format from these games. See Halloween silly story sheets.

Each game has a sheet labelled Sheet 1 to Sheet 5. These labels name the games, but they do not tell you how many printed pages you will get. The page also has word cards with clues and caller words, plus host keys for checking answers.

The suggested ages are a starting point, not a reading test. Choose clues and words that suit the guests who are playing. Pair children who cannot read yet with a reader, or offer Halloween picture bingo instead.

Print the sheets and get them ready

Use the print control or your browser's Print command to print one proof copy. Look at the print preview and check the grid and answer spaces before you make more copies. Try half-inch margins in the print settings, then check the preview again. Plain paper works, or use card stock if you prefer.

Once the proof looks right, print only what each person needs: player sheets for the teams, and the answer keys and marked word-search copy for the host. The general guide to preparing printable party games covers checking the preview and keeping host material on a separate copy.

Keep the answer keys off the player copies. You can cover them, separate them after printing or, where your print dialog allows it, choose only the player pages.

• Print and check one proof copy.
• Fill in the word-search grid and mark a separate host copy before copying the grid for players.
• Make one set for each team of two or three, plus two spare sets if useful.
• Separate the host keys from the player sheets.
• Put out one pencil per player, a timer and a clipboard for the host keys.

Work out how many copies and pencils you need

Count the people who will actually play: the birthday child or host child, any siblings joining in and any staying adults who want to play. Do not count anyone twice. Group the players into teams of two or three. You need one set of sheets per team, plus two spare sets if you want them, and one pencil per player.

Before multiplying sets and pencils, check that teams of two or three suit your headcount and table space. Decide how you'll handle an odd player. Party games for your group size covers choosing the format.

Illustrative example: 12 children play and no adults join in. In teams of three, that makes 4 teams. You would print 4 sets plus 2 spares, so 6 sets in all, and put out 12 pencils. If 2 staying adults then join as an extra team of two, add 1 set and 2 pencils, making 7 sets and 14 pencils. The word-search host copy and the answer keys are extra to these totals.

How to play each game

Scramble (Sheet 1): Give teams 8 minutes to unscramble as many of the 22 words as they can, using the clues and letter counts. Award one point for each correct answer. BLACK CAT is two words, even though the scramble leaves out the space.

Word search (Sheet 2): Give players 10 minutes and check their finds against your marked copy. If teams have each made a different grid, they can swap grids and word banks for another round. Swapping identical grids will not give them a new puzzle.

A-to-Z race (Sheet 3): Set a five-minute timer. Call a letter and read its clue if needed. Each team writes a Halloween word or phrase that starts with that letter, and the first team with an accepted answer earns one point. Tied teams get a point each. Accept other answers if the table agrees they fit Halloween. Each team may skip one hard letter and ask for an unused one, so keep three uncalled letters aside if you use that rule. If you want a bonus for a hard letter, agree on it before play. For example, the first accepted X answer, such as X-RAY COSTUME, could earn two points.

A category game also uses letters, but players write answers for several categories during a timer, rather than racing to give one first answer. Points come from scoring the finished answers after time is up, and whether matching answers score depends on the rule you choose. Playing a category word game explains both scoring rules and which hard letters to leave out.

Decode the message (Sheet 4): Every plain letter has a matching code letter. Players find a code letter in the table and write the plain letter above it. For example, code L means plain E. Start with the full key showing. For an extra challenge, confident solvers can try for two minutes without it, and you can reveal the N to Z half first as a hint.

Hangman (Sheet 5): The caller draws one blank per letter. Spaces and hyphens are shown but not counted as letters. Agree before starting on a limit of 10 guesses per word. This counts every guess, right or wrong, but repeating a letter does not use up a turn. Guessing the whole word wrong counts as one guess. If the players solve the word, they choose the next caller. If not, the caller reveals the word, and the next word can come from an easier tier.

An example 45-minute game session

This illustrative plan has 38 minutes of games and 7 minutes for explaining rules, changing sheets and checking answers. Shorten or skip a round if guests are ready to do something else.

You don't have to play every game. Choose the rounds that fit the time you have between food and other activities, and keep the changeover minutes. The party-day timeline from arrival to goodbye shows a full two-hour plan.

Fill in the word search before the party

Write the 14 words into the blank 12-by-12 grid, one letter per square: GOBLIN, PHANTOM, COBWEB, FANGS, HAYRIDE, SHADOW, CACKLE, BANSHEE, GARGOYLE, TOMBSTONE, SPOOKY, HOWL, MOONLIT and CAPE. Words can run across, down or diagonally. For younger players, write the words forwards only. Words may share a matching letter where they cross.

Place each word once, then fill the empty squares with random letters. Check that the filler letters have not accidentally spelled a bank word a second time. Circle all 14 words on a separate host copy before copying the player grid.

Change the games to suit your group, and finish the session

If a game drags, cut it short and move on, or stop after one or two games. Younger guessers can start hangman with Tier 1 words such as BAT or GHOST (suggested ages 4 to 6). Older players can move up to phrases such as TRICK OR TREAT. When guests want to leave the table, a quieter seated activity or the Halloween hunt around the house can come next. Other holiday packs, such as the Thanksgiving and Christmas word games, have their own word lists and preparation, so check each page rather than expecting the same sheets.

• Proof printed and checked
• Word search filled in and host copy marked
• Sets printed: one per team, plus spares
• Keys separated and on a clipboard
• Pencils, timer and seating ready
• Race rules and hangman guess limit agreed before play

Sources and further reading

• Halloween word games in one pack

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