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Halloween Pictionary: Fun for The Whole Family This Year

It’s hard to believe it, but Halloween is just around the corner already. This year we have to look at holidays and celebrations a little differently because of the pandemic. With many people choosing to skip Trick or Treating this time, it’s a good idea to think of some different ideas for family time at home.

You and your family can still find ways to have fun (and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune, either). You could watch a Halloween-themed movie, carve pumpkins, or play family games. One of our favorite games in my house is Pictionary, so this year we are going to try Halloween Pictionary.

What is Halloween Pictionary?

halloween pictionary game

Halloween Pictionary and charades are very similar to each other. You need enough people to make 2 teams, so at least 4 players. Each team takes turns sending one player to the head of the room, where they will choose one of the fun Halloween words out of a bowl.

Then, they draw that word or phrase while the rest of their team tries to guess what it is. Make sure the person drawing doesn’t say a word! You are not allowed to talk or use hand signals to try to help your team guess the word. People can start guessing as soon as the person drawing begins.

The idea of the game is to get your team more points than the other team. You get a point by guessing the correct word before the time is up. You can set the time limit to whatever you want, we usually use 1 minute.

The team with the most points at the end wins! Another way to play is to use a longer period of time and let each team guess as many words as they can in that time frame, and the team with the most correctly guessed words wins.

If you don’t have enough people to make 2 teams, that’s ok! You can still play, it just has to be tweaked a little. There are many ways to play Halloween Pictionary. If you don’t want to do teams, each person can take turns drawing to the entire room and the person with the most correct guesses at the end is the winner. The person drawing has to pay close attention to who guessed correctly first, if you do it this way.

What Do You Need to Play?

The good thing about Halloween Pictionary is that the things you need are all things you probably have around your house already. You will need slips of paper with the Halloween words written on them, a pad of paper or a whiteboard for the drawing, and a timer.

If you don’t have a stopwatch or hourglass timer, most cell phones have timers in them now. It’s ok if you don’t have a large pad of paper or whiteboard, too. You can use a regular tablet or computer paper, just make sure everyone can see what is being drawn.

You will want a piece of paper to keep score with as well. If you want to be extra festive you can skip the bucket and put the slips of paper in a plastic pumpkin pail to draw out of!

Halloween Pictionary Words

halloween pictionary card

You can use any relevant words for your Halloween Pictionary list, just look around! I like to use some obvious words and others that are a fun Halloween play on words. You should try to pick words that aren’t going to be too hard to draw, especially if you have younger players.

If you want more of a spooky vibe you can use words that are a little scarier, or you can use fun goofy Halloween words to keep it lighter. Of course, you will want to keep in mind the ages of the players that will be participating. If it is going to be just adults playing you will want to try words that are a little more difficult.

Halloween Pictionary Word List

Here is a simple Halloween word list to get you started. Feel free to use all of these and add some of your own! These words are sure to give you spooky vibes on Halloween this year. Another idea is to give everyone a few slips of paper and let them add some words of their own to the bucket.

The more to choose from, the better! Be sure to download the pdf file of the words below, so you can easily cut them out and add them to your bucket.

Jack O Lantern Skeleton Ghost Haunted House
Witch Black Cat Candy Trick or treat
Candy Corn Mummy Coffin Pumpkin
Werewolf Vampire Caramel Apple Bat
Cemetery Zombie Spiderweb Full moon
Witch’s Broom Frankenstein Skull Cauldron
Scarecrow Shadow Wig Costume
Goosebumps Dusk Demon Spell

 

Social distancing on a holiday can get people down, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Gather your “bubble” and have a fun competitive game of Halloween Pictionary to celebrate this year.

Lots of laughs will be had while you try to guess what your teammates are drawing. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Pictionary Word List