Halloween Costume Relay Race Printable: Rules & Scorecard

Some party games get giggles. This one gets full-on chaos — the good kind. The Halloween Costume Relay Race is one of those games where the dressing room is the racecourse: two teams, one shared costume trunk, and a sprint between cone markers where every runner has to get dressed and undressed before tagging the next teammate. It’s fast, it’s ridiculous to watch, and kids (and honestly, adults too) beg for another round the second it’s over.

The best part? You don’t need to buy anything fancy. Grab the stuff already in your Halloween bins and thrift-store bags, toss it in one trunk or big basket, and you’re set. Below: the trunk list, course setup, full rules, printable team cards, and a relay scorecard.

What You’ll Need: The Costume Trunk Contents

One shared trunk (or big box/basket) that both teams dress from. Here’s what to stuff in it — use what you have; more is better, but even half this list works:

Superhero capes — 2 or 3, any color
Witch hats — 2, the floppy cheap kind are perfect
Masks — vampire, werewolf, skeleton, zombie; any 3–4
Oversized glasses or funny goggles — 2 pairs
Fake mustaches or stick-on beards — 2–3 sets
A feather boa — 1 (players always fight over this one)
Pirate hat or bandana — 1 each
Animal ears headbands — 2
Fake fangs — 1 pair
An oversized flannel shirt or lab coat — 1
Glow bracelets — a handful, if the race runs after dark

Course Setup

What you’ll need

2 cones (or pumpkins, or chairs — anything marks the turnaround)
A start/finish line (tape, chalk, or a line of candy corn)
The costume trunk, placed right at the start line
Space for a straight run of about 20–30 feet to the turnaround cone

How to set it up

Place the trunk at the start line. About 20–30 feet away, set the two turnaround cones side by side, one lane per team. Split players into two equal teams (or as close as you can get), and line each up behind the start line. That’s the whole course — five minutes, tops.

Full Rules

Here’s the part you’ll want printed and pinned near the start line:

Split into two teams. Let them name themselves — teams that pick their own names (“The Wicked Witches” vs “Team Vampire”) play harder.
Runner #1 from each team starts at the trunk. On your signal (“3… 2… 1… SCARY!”), both runners dive into the trunk.
Dress up: Each runner must put on at least 3 items from the trunk before running. (You pick the number — 3 works for kids, 4–5 for adults who want a real challenge.)
Run! Once dressed, the runner races to the turnaround cone, circles it, and runs back to the start line.
Undress: Back at the start, the runner takes everything off and tosses it all back into the trunk. Items must go back in the trunk — not on the ground — or the team loses 5 seconds.
Tag the next runner. The next teammate high-fives or hand-tags the runner, then starts their own dress-up sprint.
Fastest team wins. The first team whose last runner completes the full dress-run-undress-tag cycle wins the relay.

House rules worth adding for your crowd:

No stealing items off a teammate mid-race — everything comes from the trunk.
Items must actually be worn (hat on head, cape on shoulders), not just carried.
Dropped items during the run? Runner picks them up and keeps going — no restarts.

Printable Team Cards

Print these, cut them apart, and hand one to each team captain:

TEAM NAME: ___________________________

Team Captain: ___________________________

Runner 1: ___________________________

Runner 2: ___________________________

Runner 3: ___________________________

Runner 4: ___________________________

Runner 5: ___________________________

Runner 6: ___________________________

Your trunk rule: every runner wears at least ____ items before running!

Printable Relay Scorecard

Use this to track each round (or run multiple heats):

HALLOWEEN COSTUME RELAY RACE — SCORECARD

Date: ___________________ Host: ___________________

Round	Team 1 Name	Team 1 Time	Team 2 Name	Team 2 Time	Winner
1
2
3

Champion team: ___________________________

Funniest outfit: ___________________________

Fastest undress (no, really): ___________________________

Variations

Kids (ages 5–10)

Require only 2 items per runner, and skip the undress-timing pressure — let them take a breath.
Shorten the run to 15–20 feet so nobody gets winded.
Let adults hold the trunk open for small hands. Pre-open the trickiest clasps.
Winner gets first pick of the treat bowl. Everyone else picks after. Nobody feels last.

Teens and Adults

Bump the requirement to 4–5 items and add a theme draw: before their run, each runner draws a slip from a hat — “Vampire,” “Witch,” “Zombie,” “Superhero” — and must build a costume on that theme from the trunk. This is where the real comedy happens.
Add a photo booth station at the turnaround cone. Every runner poses before heading back — you’ll end up with the best party photos of the year.
Teams of 4–6 work best for this crowd; smaller teams mean nobody’s standing around.

Indoor vs Backyard

Backyard: ideal — you get the full 30-foot run, plus natural obstacles (a hay bale to round, string lights for atmosphere). Just make sure the ground is clear of trip hazards.
Indoor: totally doable — use a hallway or clear living room, shorten the run to 10–15 feet, and swap the cone for a sturdy chair to circle. Put the trunk on a towel to protect floors from flailing feather boas.
After dark: string lights or glow sticks in the trunk make it feel like a different game entirely. Toss a few glow bracelets in so runners “dress” with something that glows.

Hosting Tips

Do a demo run yourself first. Put on the cape and the witch hat, sprint to the cone, and show everyone how it works. One demo answers every question the rules list can’t.
Assign a judge. You need one person who isn’t running to check the item count and time each team. A parent, an older kid, or a friend sitting the race out.
Keep a spare everything. Feather boas shed, cheap plastic fangs snap, elastic on headbands gives up. Have backups in a second bag.
End with the awards. The scorecard’s funniest-outfit and fastest-undress awards are the moments people remember. Keep prizes simple — a candy bundle, a fake trophy, a “relay champion” sash made from crepe paper.
Play two rounds minimum. The first round everyone is figuring it out; the second round is where the real times — and the real laughs — happen.

This game works for a kindergarten classroom, a teen hangout, and a rowdy adult Halloween party without changing a thing except the item count. I’ve seen grown adults get competitive about a feather boa. You’ll see it too.

Want the Designed Bundle?

Love this game? Our Fukroo premium bundle gives you the relay cards and scorecard as a polished, ready-to-print designer set — clean layouts, matching Halloween graphics, and extra team theme cards for themed rounds. Print once, play all season.

Browse the full Halloween printable bundle collection at fukroo.etsy.com — party games, scorecards, gift tags, and more, all in the Fukroo style.

Halloween Costume Relay Race Printable: Free Rules, Team Cards & Scorecard

What You’ll Need: The Costume Trunk Contents