15 Halloween Dollar Store Minute to Win It Games (Cheap & Fun)
Look, we’ve all been there: you want to throw a party that’s both epic and Instagram-worthy, but your wallet is giving you the side-eye.
Well, I’m here to walk you through 15 slap-happy, hilariously competitive Halloween Minute to Win It games straight from the aisles of your local dollar store – for some awesome, budget-friendly fun.
You’ll see games that involve pennies into pumpkins to stacking bones like you’re assembling a budget-friendly Frankenstein. These bad boys will keep the laughter and good times rolling.
Plus, they won’t demand a payday loan to use at your get-together.
Shall we?
1. Penny Pumpkin 🎃
- Objective: Toss as many pennies as possible into a pumpkin in one minute.
- Materials: Plastic pumpkin, pennies.
- Setup: Place the pumpkin on a table and give each player a handful of pennies.
- How to Play: Players take turns tossing pennies into the pumpkin from a designated distance. The player with the most pennies in the pumpkin after one minute wins!
Use a smaller pumpkin or increase the distance from the pumpkin for an added challenge.
2. Cotton Ball Scoop 🥄
- Objective: Transfer as many cotton balls as possible from one bowl to another using only a spoon in your mouth.
- Materials: 2 bowls, cotton balls, spoon.
- Setup: Fill one bowl with cotton balls and place the empty bowl a few feet away.
- How to Play: Players have one minute to transfer cotton balls from one bowl to the other using only a spoon held in their mouth. No hands allowed! 🙅♀️
Use a plastic spoon to avoid any unwanted trips to the dentist. Safety first, my friends.
3. Candy Corn Stack 🍬
- Objective: Stack as many candy corns as possible in one minute.
- Materials: Candy corns.
- Setup: Give each player a handful of candy corns.
- How to Play: Players must stack the candy corns vertically to create the tallest tower possible in one minute. If the tower falls, they can start again.
Make players use their non-dominant hand for stacking, if you really want to up the challenge.
4. Pumpkin Ping Pong 🏓
- Objective: Bounce ping pong balls into jack-o’-lantern buckets to score points.
- Materials: Ping pong balls, plastic jack-o’-lantern buckets.
- Setup: Place the buckets at varying distances and assign point values to each bucket.
- How to Play: Players have one minute to bounce ping pong balls into the buckets. The player with the most points at the end of the minute wins.
Use glow-in-the-dark ping pong balls for a spooky twist! 👻
5. Mummy Wrap Relay 🧻
- Objective: Wrap a teammate in toilet paper like a mummy as quickly as possible.
- Materials: Toilet paper rolls.
- Setup: Divide players into teams and give each team a toilet paper roll.
- How to Play: One player from each team must wrap their teammate in toilet paper from head to toe. The first team to completely wrap their mummy wins!
| What’s Up | Cool Stuff | Not So Cool Stuff | Just a Heads Up | Who’s Gonna Love It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penny Pumpkin 🎃 | Super simple: just chuck pennies into a pumpkin. Who knew it could be fun? | It’s all fun and games until the pennies scatter. | Watch for flying pennies! Someone might get a lucky penny to the forehead. | Anyone who’s good with aim and loves a quick challenge. |
| Cotton Ball Scoop 🥄 | Hilariously hard. Try scooping with a spoon in your mouth—no hands! | Ever tried counting how many cotton balls are on the floor? | Make sure to use a plastic spoon—don’t wanna visit the dentist after this game. | Kids and adults who are up for a goofy, tricky task. |
| Candy Corn Stack 🍬 | Stack ’em high! Who can make the tallest candy corn tower? | It’s all fun until your tower topples. | Challenge them to use their non-dominant hand if you want to see some real fun! | Perfect for patient players who love a delicate touch. |
| Pumpkin Ping Pong 🏓 | Ping pong balls + pumpkin buckets = endless fun. Score points by aiming right. | Balls everywhere but in the pumpkin. | Glow-in-the-dark balls make it a spooky twist but harder to retrieve! | Great for those who like a bit of sporty action. |
| Mummy Wrap Relay 🧻 | Race against time to wrap someone up like a mummy. Pure laughs! | You’ll need lots of toilet paper. Like, lots. | Speed is key, but don’t rip the paper! | Teams looking for a quick, hilarious bonding activity. |
6. Spider Web Walk 🕷️
- Objective: Carry as many spider rings as possible from one bowl to another using a pair of chopsticks or tweezers WITH YOUR NON DOMINANT HAND.
- Materials: 2 bowls, plastic spider rings, chopsticks or tweezers
- Setup: Fill one bowl with spider rings and place the empty bowl a few feet away.
- How to Play: Players have one minute to transfer spider rings from one bowl to the other using only chopsticks. Person with the most spider rings in the other bowl wins.
7. Ghost Bowling 👻
- Objective: Knock down as many ghost-faced toilet paper rolls as possible using a small pumpkin.
- Materials: Toilet paper rolls, white paper, markers, small pumpkins.
- Setup: Draw ghost faces on the toilet paper rolls and set them up like bowling pins.
- How to Play: Players take turns rolling a small pumpkin to knock down the ghost pins. The player who knocks down the most ghosts in one minute wins!
Use a heavier pumpkin for more striking power. But, be careful. Too much force and you’re talking a huge mess.
8. Witches Broom Sweep 🧹
- Objective: Sweep as many candy pumpkins as possible into a goal using a mini broom (a.k.a. a plastic fork). Oh, and you can only use your non-dominant hand
- Materials: A plastic fork, candy pumpkins, a goal (e.g., a box or a taped-off area).
- Setup: Scatter candy pumpkins on the floor and place the goal a few feet away.
- How to Play: Players have one minute to sweep as many candy pumpkins as possible into the goal using only a fork a.k.a broom. The player with the most pumpkins in the goal wins.
If you want to make it harder, have the activity on a carpeted floor. It’s A LOT harder to get the candy pumpkins moving that way. 😉
9. Eyeball Ping Pong 👀
- Objective: Bounce ping pong ball “eyeballs” into plastic cup or cauldron “graves” to score points.
- Materials: Ping pong balls, plastic cups, markers.
- Setup: Draw eyeballs on the ping pong balls and decorate the cups to look like graves. Arrange the cups in a triangle formation.
- How to Play: Players take turns bouncing the eyeball ping pong balls into the grave cups. Each cup has a different point value based on its position. The player with the most points after one minute wins!
Use a sturdy table to prevent the cups from tipping over and use some sort of small rocks to weigh down the cups, so they don’t flip while the game is being played.
10. Skeleton Bone Stack 💀
- Objective: Stack as many plastic skeleton bones as possible in one minute.
- Materials: Plastic skeleton bones (found in dollar store Halloween decorations).
- Setup: Give each player a set of plastic skeleton bones.
- How to Play: Players must stack the skeleton bones up to create the tallest tower possible in one minute. If the tower falls, they can start again!
Use the larger bones for the base of the tower!
| What’s Up | Cool Stuff | Not So Cool Stuff | Just a Heads Up | Who’s Gonna Love It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spider Web Walk 🕷️ | See who’s the smoothest at sucking up those spider rings with a straw. Who thought of this? | Straw + spider rings = potential frustration fest. | Don’t inhale too hard! You might end up with a straw-blocked spider ring situation. | Great for anyone who enjoys a quirky, precise challenge. |
| Ghost Bowling 👻 | Ghosts, pumpkins, bowling—put them together and what’s not to love? | Chasing runaway pumpkins can be a pain. | Use a heavier pumpkin for that satisfying strike power! | Perfect for families or groups who like a bit of competition. |
| Witches Broom Sweep 🧹 | Sweep candy pumpkins into a goal with a fork—ahem, I mean mini broom. | Forks and candy on a floor can be chaos. | Try it on carpet for a real challenge—those candy pumpkins don’t glide easy! | Anyone who’s up for a fun twist on a sweeping challenge. |
| Eyeball Pong 👀 | It’s ping pong but with eyeballs, bouncing into grave cups. Creepy cool! | Cups may tip, and eyeballs may roll away. | Keep those cups from flipping—weigh them down if you need to. | Great for a lively, laughter-filled game night. |
| Skeleton Bone Stack 💀 | Stack those bones! Build the tallest skeleton bone tower in one minute. | Bones might not always stack up as you’d hope. | Be ready to rebuild fast if your tower tumbles. | Perfect for those who enjoy a bit of a construction challenge. |
11. Pumpkin Toss 🎃
- Objective: Toss as many mini pumpkins as possible into a large cauldron pot from a distance.
- Materials: Mini pumpkins, large cauldron pot (or any large container).
- Setup: Place the cauldron pot a few feet away from the throwing line.
- How to Play: Players take turns tossing mini pumpkins into the cauldron pot from behind the throwing line. The player who successfully tosses the most pumpkins into the pot in one minute wins!
12. Candy Corn Catch 🍬
- Objective: Catch as many candy corns in your mouth as possible when your partner tosses them to you.
- Materials: Candy corns.
- Setup: Divide players into pairs and give each pair a handful of candy corns.
- How to Play: One player tosses the candy corns to their partner, who must catch them in their mouth. The pair that successfully catches the most candy corns in one minute wins!
Helpful Tip: Practice your aim before the game starts! 🎯
13. Spooky Spelling 🔤
- Objective: Spell as many Halloween-themed words as possible using letter beads in one minute.
- Materials: Letter beads, string.
- Setup: Give each player a set of letter beads and a string.
- How to Play: Players must spell out as many Halloween words as possible using the letter beads and string. The player with the most correctly spelled words at the end of one minute wins!
Use common Halloween words like “ghost,” “witch,” and “boo!”
14. Witch Hat Ring Toss 🧙♀️
- Objective: Toss as many glow stick bracelets as possible onto witch hat cones.
- Materials: Glow stick bracelets, witch hat cones (or regular cones with witch hat decorations).
- Setup: Place the witch hat cones at varying distances from the throwing line.
- How to Play: Players take turns tossing glow stick bracelets onto the witch hat cones. The player with the most bracelets on the cones after one minute wins!
15. Ghost Knockdown 👻
- Objective: Shoot down as many hanging ghost cutouts as possible using Nerf guns.
- Materials: Ghost cutouts (made from white paper), Nerf guns, darts, string.
- Setup: Hang the ghost cutouts from the ceiling or a doorframe using string.
- How to Play: Players take turns shooting at the ghost cutouts with Nerf guns. The player who shoots down the most ghosts in one minute wins!
Use larger ghost cutouts for an easier target! 🎯
| What’s Up | Cool Stuff | Not So Cool Stuff | Just a Heads Up | Who’s Gonna Love It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin Toss 🎃 | Get those mini pumpkins flying! Aim to land them in a big cauldron. It’s like medieval basketball. | Missing the cauldron is part of the fun, right? | Watch out for wild pumpkin throws—they might not all land where expected! | Anyone who likes a good throw and a bit of a challenge. |
| Candy Corn Catch 🍬 | Catch flying candy corns with your mouth. Talk about a sweet challenge! | You might end up with more on the floor than in your mouth. | Practice that candy-flinging arm before the game to up your chances! | Pairs who love teamwork and a bit of silly competition. |
| Spooky Spelling 🔤 | Spell out as many spooky words as you can with letter beads. It’s educational and fun! | Spelling under pressure? It’s harder than it sounds! | Keep a list of Halloween words handy to inspire quick spelling. | Word nerds and anyone who loves a good brain teaser. |
| Witch Hat Ring Toss 🧙♀️ | Toss glow stick bracelets onto witch hat cones. It’s festive and fabulous! | Those rings can bounce in unexpected directions. | Mix up the glow stick colors for each player to keep track of the scores easily. | Kids and families looking for a glowing good time. |
| Ghost Knockdown 👻 | Shoot Nerf darts at hanging ghost cutouts. It’s a blast—literally! | Keeping those ghosts hanging might be a challenge. | Make sure there’s plenty of room to avoid friendly fire! | Sharpshooters and action-lovers ready for a ghostly showdown. |
And there you have it, folks! 15 insanely fun and easy Dollar Store Minute to Win It games that’ll have your guests talking about it for weeks and week.
These games are so cheap and hilarious, you’ll wonder why you ever spent money on anything else! 💸
Want More?
If you need more ideas for fun Halloween activities, check out:
- 27 Epic Alternatives to Bobbing for Apples That Are Just as Fun
- 23 Must-Try Halloween Minute to Win It Games for Epic Fall Fun