Halloween drinking games for a party that isn't just costumes

Quick picks

Game	Players	You need	Best for
Horror movie drinking game	2+	A scary film	A chill Halloween night in
Costume rules	4+	Costumes	Parties where everyone dressed up
Wink Murder	6+	Slips of paper	Bigger groups, a bit of drama
Spooky Never Have I Ever	3+	Nothing	Getting everyone talking
Halloween Most Likely To	4+	Nothing	Friend groups
Mummy wrap race	6+	Toilet paper	High energy, great photos
Halloween Categories	3+	Nothing	Quick rounds between everything else
Wrecked (app)	2-16	One phone	Keeping the night going

1. Horror movie drinking game

Pick a slasher or a haunted house film, and agree on four or five rules before it starts. Drink a sip whenever one happens on screen:

• Someone says “Let’s split up.”
• A character goes to check on a strange noise, alone.
• A phone has no signal at the worst possible moment.
• A jump scare turns out to be a cat, a friend or a falling object.
• The killer was not actually dead.
• Someone trips while running away.
• A character asks “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Choose rules that happen a few times per film, not every minute. With seven rules and a long movie, you are no longer watching a film; four or five is plenty.

2. Costume rules

Everyone came dressed as someone, so make them stay that way. For the whole party (or one hour of it), everyone has to stay in character: the vampire avoids garlic, the ghost only speaks in moans, the pirate says “arr” at the end of every sentence. Anyone caught breaking character drinks.

Add one more rule each hour, in the spirit of a King’s Rule: no saying the word “costume”, only drink with your left hand, or the person dressed as a cat gets to hiss at anyone and make them drink. In Wrecked, King’s Rules work exactly like this, up to four active at once, and the app keeps track of them so nobody has to remember.

3. Wink Murder

The classic party murder game, with drinks.

1. Hand out folded slips of paper. One says “killer”; the rest are blank. Nobody shows theirs.
2. Everyone mingles or sits in a circle. The killer “murders” people by catching their eye and winking.
3. A player who gets winked at waits a few seconds, then dies as dramatically as their costume allows, and drinks.
4. Anyone can accuse someone of being the killer. A wrong accusation means the accuser drinks; a correct one means the killer drinks and a new round starts.

It is best with six or more players, and much better in costume.

4. Spooky Never Have I Ever

The usual rules: someone says a statement, and anyone who has done it drinks. Some Halloween ones to start with:

1. Never have I ever slept with the lights on after a horror movie.
2. Never have I ever worn last year’s costume again.
3. Never have I ever eaten the candy meant for trick-or-treaters.
4. Never have I ever turned the lights off to pretend nobody was home on Halloween.
5. Never have I ever screamed at a jump scare in a cinema.
6. Never have I ever bought a costume and never worn it.
7. Never have I ever been chased by an actor in a haunted house.
8. Never have I ever worn a costume that nobody understood.
9. Never have I ever looked up a costume idea on October 31st.
10. Never have I ever been sure a house was haunted.

Run out? The never have I ever generator deals real Wrecked cards, one tap at a time.

5. Halloween Most Likely To

Read “Who is most likely to…”, count to three, and everyone points at once. The most-voted player drinks.

1. Who is most likely to be the first one killed in a horror movie?
2. Who is most likely to still be wearing their costume tomorrow morning?
3. Who is most likely to have started planning their costume in August?
4. Who is most likely to go into the basement alone?
5. Who is most likely to scream first in a haunted house?
6. Who is most likely to secretly be the killer?
7. Who is most likely to have bought their costume today?
8. Who is most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse?

For more, the most likely to generator deals real cards from the app.

6. Mummy wrap race

Split into teams of three or more and give each team a roll of toilet paper. One person on each team is the mummy. On “go”, the team has 60 seconds to wrap their mummy as completely as possible. The rest of the room judges; the worst mummy’s team drinks. It takes a minute, gives you the best photos of the night, and wakes up a party that has gone quiet.

7. Halloween Categories

Sit in a circle. Someone names a category, and everyone takes turns naming something in it. The first person to hesitate or repeat an answer drinks. Halloween categories that work: horror movie villains, candy bars, things you find in a graveyard, famous monsters, costumes you can make in five minutes, words that rhyme with “boo”.

8. Let an app run the game between the themed ones

Themed games are fun for a round or two. For the rest of the night, Wrecked keeps one game going on one phone: one person reads each card out loud, the app decides who drinks, King’s Rules stack up, and every five cards a mid-game event hits the whole table, from Russian Roulette to the Confession Booth. At the end, every player gets a personal verdict. It has no Halloween mode, but it works for 2 to 16 players, which makes it the easy default for a party.

Keep it a good night

• Masks and drinks do not mix well. Keep straws around, and take the mask off when you are drinking.
• Sips, not full drinks. Every game above works with small sips, and the rounds go faster.
• Water between rounds, and food that is not just candy.
• Plan the way home before anyone needs one. Costumes make people harder to spot at night.
• Anyone can sit a round out or swap in a soft drink, no explanation needed. More on our responsible drinking page.

Want a game for the whole party? Print Halloween drinking bingo cards: costume squares, jump scares and a free centre. Hosting a big group? See drinking games for large groups. Going out after? Pregame games are built for a short warm-up.