Carnival Game IdeasTake a look at some great game ideas to make for your Carnival! Archery / William Tell
Make a target out of plywood or foamcore (available at art supply stores) for arrows. You can use a Nerf Bow n' Arrow set or a suction tipped child's archery set. Paint the board with a fun design and cut out holes large enough for the arrows to go through. Each player gets to shoot three arrows at the target. At the racesMake a "racetrack" with six lanes. You can make a sturdy track out of wood and paint the lanes on, or just use a long sheet of the wide paper used to cover bulletin boards and draw the lanes on with a marking pen. Divide each lane into about 8-12 spaces, as shown below. You can have up to six players at one time with this game. The player places their horse (or vehicle, animal, etc.) on a lane. The operator throws a die (the jumbo foam ones work well for this) and the player whose lane number comes up gets to move forward one space. You can also use a pair of dice, one to determine the lane that moves and the other how many spaces to move. The first player to the finish line gets a prize Variations: Space Race: Use spaceships as the vehicles and paint stars on the track. Start Your Engines: Use mini cars, such as Hot Wheels, and paint the finish area like a checkered flag. Elephant Walk: Use plastic circus or zoo elephants and paint the course like a circus ring. Bug Racing: Use die cast Volkswagon Beetles as the vehicles. Steeplechase: Use horses, but put "jumps" between the spaces. Ideas for building jumps include Legos, building blocks, Kinex, painted dowels, tree twigs, etc.
Bank-a-shot, Flukie BallThis is a common game at midways. Players try to bounce a ball off of a target on a easel-type stand and get the ball to land in a basket. You could use an art easel as the target and a plastic laundry basket set at the easel's base as your basket. Baseball TossMake a target out of plywood or foamcore (available at art supply stores) for baseballs. Paint the board with a fun sports design and cut out holes large enough for the baseballs to go through. Each player gets to throw three balls at the target. BasketballWe have used both the standard size basketball goal and kid-sized goals. Players get three tries to make a basket. Always a long line for this! Beanbag throwMake a target out of plywood or foamcore (available at art supply stores) for beanbags. Paint the board with a fun design and cut out holes large enough for the beanbags to go through. Each player gets to throw three beanbags at the target. It's helpful to have at least two sets of beanbags on hand so one helper can chase bags while the other helper works with the next person in line. Variations: Asteroid Blast: Use an outer space-related picture as the target. Ideas are stars, planets, or a funny looking alien. You could make the beanbags to look like asteroids by stuffing them with a few marbles among the beans. Lion Tamer: Set up a hula hoop so it stands up securely. Player tries to throw a small stuffed (or beanbag) lion or tiger through the hoop. Decorate the hoop with colored paper to look like flames. Circus Beanbags: Use a circus-related picture as the target. Ideas are a clown or jester, circus elephant, or tiger. You could make the beanbags to look like juggling balls for an added effect. Feed the Cows (or Pigs): Use a picture of a pig or a cow as the target. You could make the beanbags out of felt to look like corncobs, or use dried or plastic corncobs.
 Bowling
You can use real bowling pins, a kid's bowling set, or empty 2 liter pop bottles weighed with a little sand or water. Bucket tossNail 3 to 6 small buckets to a board about 6" apart. The player tries to toss a ball into the buckets in order, from the closest to the farthest away. Variations: 3-2-1 Blastoff: Paint the board to look like a rocket and use red, white, and blue buckets.
Bushel basket tossNail 1-3 large bushel baskets onto a board. Angle the board to tilt the baskets about 45 degrees. Players try to toss a softball into the basket so it does not bounce out. Harder than it sounds! Can knockdownStack six cans in a pyramid. Each player gets to throw one to three balls at the cans. You can use tennis balls, rubber baseballs, or other types of balls for this game. You can decide if they must knock down all or just a few cans to win a prize. The cans can be decorated to go with your theme Candle shootoutFirmly anchor candles in dishes, players try to shoot out the candle flame with water (squirt) guns. A barbecue lighter is handy for relighting the candles. Have plenty of water guns on hand so some can be refilled while others are in play. Don't use the ultra powerful water guns, they'll knock over your whole set up! Variations: Ping Pong Shootout: Instead of using candles, set ping pong balls on top of weighted 2 liter pop bottles. The player must shoot the ball off the bottle using a water gun.
Dart throwMake a backboard out of plywood and attach inflated balloons with push pins. Many suppliers have 4" to 5" balloons specifically made for this game, along with wooden or plastic darts. Each player gets to throw three darts at the balloons. You can award prizes based on the number of balloons popped, or attach a tag to each balloon that states the prize won. This game requires alert operators, don't let kids run this game! Variations: Shooting Stars: Use balloons printed with stars. Poster Darts: Use small inexpensive posters as the targets. Player wins a poster like the one they hit. Card Shark Darts: Use oversized playing cards as the targets. You can decide what the winning throws are; examples would be two of the same suit, two matching numbers or face cards, or make it into blackjack and try to beat the next player's "hand" by getting closest to 21 without going over. Go Fish Darts: Use a deck of "Go Fish" playing cards as the targets. Player wins by hitting matching cards with their darts.
Duck pondThe player selects a duck from the wading pool "pond," the number on the bottom of the duck determines the prize. The player can just pick the duck up or you can use a net to scoop it up. Variations: Fish Pond: Instead of ducks, use plastic fish with a small metal washer attached. The player uses a fishing pole with a magnet on the end to "catch" their numbered fish. You could mix a few plastic sharks and/or octopuses in with the fish for fun.
Feed the animalPaint a board with a picture of an animal. Leave a hole for the "food" to be thrown into. Player gets three tries to throw the "food" into the hole. To make the game harder, have the player use a slingshot to toss the food. Variations: Hungry Elephant: Paint an elephant on your backboard and have the players throw peanuts into the elephant's trunk. For more fun, make a trunk out of a curved tube like a section of dryer vent or PVC pipe and have that extend out from your backboard. Monkey Business: Paint a monkey on your backboard and have the players throw plastic bananas into the monkey's mouth or hand. Shark Bait: Paint a shark on your backboard and have the players throw plastic fish into the shark's mouth. If you can make or borrow one, it would be fun to have the player stand on a surfboard.
Football TossMake a target out of plywood or foamcore (available at art supply stores) for small footballs. Paint the board with a fun sports design and cut out holes large enough for the footballs to go through. Each player gets to throw three footballs at the target. FRISBEE ThrowMake a target out of plywood or foamcore (available at art supply stores) for Frisbees. Paint the board with a fun design and cut out holes large enough for the Frisbees to go through. Each player gets to throw three Frisbees at the target. It's helpful to have at least two sets of Frisbees on hand so one helper can chase Frisbees while the other helper works with the next person in line. Variations: UFO Throw: Paint a solar system scene on plywood as the target. Make UFO shape cutouts big enough to let the Frisbee pass through. To slow down the Frisbee, you can put a sheet behind the cutouts. Earth Invasion: Cover a hula hoop with blue paper and then cut out and glue on (or paint on) green "continent" shapes. Player tries to land their Frisbee on the "earth." You can decorate the Frisbees to look like UFOs: Glue an inverted disposable clear plastic cup to the top, with or without an alien inside.
HockeyUse a kids hockey set. Mark out numbers with tape (or use chalk outside) that correspond to prizes. The player hits the puck with the stick and gets a prize corresponding to the number the puck lands on. Variations: Goal!: Have the players aim for a hole cut in a piece of foamcore or plywood. They get three chances to get the puck through the hole. Paint the target to look like a goalie guarding the net.
 Horseshoes
Player must make at least one "ringer" to get a prize. Indoor versions are available, ask around your group to see if anyone has a set you can borrow. Lollipop TreeYou set up a wood or cardboard "tree" with lots of lollipops on it. The lollipops are marked on the stick end with a color that corresponds to a prize or number of tickets the player will win. The player chooses a lollipop and wins that prize, plus gets to keep the lollipop. Lucky LeiThe player chooses a lei that might glow as a "winner" when held next to a black light. The winning leis have been sprayed with an invisible paint that is only visible under black light. The player takes their lei to an area where you have set up a black light to see if it is a winner. We have the Lucky Lei game available in our Catalog with or without prizes. Milk bottle knockdownStack six wood or aluminum milk bottles in a pyramid. Each player gets to throw one to three rubber baseballs at the bottles. You can decide if they must knock down all or just a few bottles to win a prize. Milk can tossPlayer tries to throw a baseball into a large metal milk can. Harder than it sounds! Paratrooper landingPlayer throws a figure with attached parachute at prizes scattered on the floor. Player gets the prize they land nearest to. This is a very simple game to set up and works well for class and birthday parties. Variations: Alien Landing: Use the small 3" Frisbees instead of a paratrooper. These are available from most party suppliers. We have also used full-size Frisbees with a clear plastic cup inverted on the top. The kids made their own pom-pom "aliens" to ride in this "spaceship."
Penny PitchPlayer throws a penny at targets on a floor or table. You can award tickets or prizes for landing on a target or on a specific spot on a target. One year we used funny photos of the teachers as targets. Ping pong ball tossUse goldfish bowls as the targets. Each player gets to throw three ping pong balls. You can color-code the bowls to prizes or use 1-3 balls in to determine the prize. It's helpful to have at least two sets of balls on hand so one helper can chase balls while the other helper works with the next person in line. Variations: Floating Bowls: Use bowls on floating rings as the targets. These are available from carnival suppliers. A little petroleum jelly in the bowl makes the ball stay in easier. Cupcake Pans: Use cupcake pans as the targets. Color the bottom of each pan to determine the prize.
Put up the picklesPlayer tries to toss plastic pickles into glass jars. You could color-code the jars to determine the prize, or just give different prizes for getting one, two, or three pickles in. Quarter dropSet up an aquarium with a small container on the bottom (a little treasure chest would be fun). Fill the aquarium with water and add decorations if desired. The player drops a quarter or other small object (marbles would also work). Ring TossPlayer tries to toss wood, plastic, or rope rings over a target. Variations: On the Farm Ring Toss: Use farm animals as the targets. The bendy animals on a ring toss frame would work great here. Floating Ring Toss: Use a floating target to add a bit of splash to the game. Flamingo Ring Toss: Use plastic lawn ornament flamingos as the targets. Player tries to toss the ring around the flamingo's neck. Pop Bottle Ring Toss: This is always a very popular game at our carnival. We use 2-liter bottles of pop (donated) as the targets. Rings made from rope work much better than wood or plastic rings for this game as they don't bounce off as much. I have also seen this game done with cans of pop (set up on shoe boxes) and wooden rings.
Sheriff's rewardTo play this game, the player has to find the designated "sheriff" who is carrying a bag full of small plastic sheriff's badges. The sheriff can wander through the carnival. The player gives the sheriff a ticket to receive a badge with a number written on it. The player returns the badge to the prize table to receive a prize corresponding to the number on their badge. We did the game at a free event (no tickets) and just stamped the player's hand so we knew who had already played. It was important to collect the used badges and set them aside as we had a set amount of prizes corresponding to each number. Soccer KickMake a target out of plywood for soccer balls (or use a portable goal). Paint the board with a fun sports design and cut out holes large enough for the soccer ball to go through. Each player gets to kick three balls at the target. Sponge tossA volunteer stands behind a backboard with only their face showing through a hole. The player gets three tries to hit them in the face with a wet sponge. Put a plastic tarp in front of the backboard to keep the sponges clean. Provide goggles and maybe a poncho to your brave volunteer. You can even have two lines, one to throw sponges and one to be the target! With the current popularity of SpongeBob Squarepants, this could be a big hit. Target knock downThe basic idea is to have the player throw beanbags at targets that are hinged to fold down when they are hit. We found that a little Velcro keeps the target from bouncing back up too quickly Variations: Shoo the Crows: Use crows sitting on a fence as the target. Make beanbags in the shape of boots. Yowling cats would work well on a fence (or garbage can) too. Snowball Toss: Use snowmen or penguins on a snow bank as the target. Make beanbags in the shape of snowballs.
TIC TAC ToeThis can be played with bean bags or plastic balls. For the bean bag version, just mark out the lines on the floor or a mat. For the ball version, make or buy a box with nine holes for the balls to be tossed into. Three in a row wins!
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