Halloween Obstacle Course Game Printable: Station Cards + Timer Scorecard
Eight Stations, One Timer, Zero Bored Kids
A Halloween obstacle course is the rare party game that wears kids out in a good way. Instead of one activity that half the group watches, you get eight short stations that everyone runs through, one after another, against the clock. It works in a backyard or a pushed-back living room, and every station can be made easier or harder without changing the course.
The secret is keeping each station short. Nobody should spend more than thirty seconds at any one stop, because the fun is momentum: you finish one silly task, sprint to the next, and by the end you are out of breath and laughing. Set the course up once, tape one printed station card at each station, and the course practically runs itself while you supervise with a stopwatch and a scorecard.
What You Need
Yarn or string for the spider-web crawl, plus chairs or furniture to string it between
A broomstick, real or toy, for the broomstick ride station
Small plastic pumpkins, beanbags, or rolled-up socks for the pumpkin slalom
White balloons and a marker for ghost faces, for the ghost balloon bop
Toilet paper or crepe paper strips for the mummy shuffle
Black paper or felt for bat wings, or just black construction paper cut into wing shapes
Cardboard tombstones, or paper tombstone shapes taped to boxes, for the graveyard crawl
A stopwatch, printed station cards and scorecards, and a few cones or markers to show the route
Setup: Lay Out the Course
Walk your space first and pick a route that loops without crossing itself, because a course that doubles back turns into a traffic jam. Mark the path with cones, tape arrows, or chalk marks. Place the eight stations in the order listed below, with breathing room between each one so a slow player does not block the next.
Tape one station card at each station, at kid eye height, so players can read what to do without asking. Put the start and finish lines in the same area, with the scorekeeper standing there with the stopwatch and scorecard. Run one practice walk-through with the whole group before timing anyone, because half the questions disappear once people have seen the course. Then time runs one player at a time, with the next player ready at the start line.
How to Play: Timed Runs and Penalty Seconds
Each player runs the full course alone while the scorekeeper times them. The clock starts at the start line and stops at the finish line. Skipping a station is not allowed, but struggling through one is fine; slow beats skipped. Add five-second penalties for knocking over a slalom pumpkin without resetting it, skipping a station task, or popping a balloon early at the ghost station, which sounds small until it happens three times.
Every player gets two timed runs, and their best time counts. Run the whole group through once, then again, because second runs are almost always faster and the improvement is the part kids brag about. The scorekeeper records both run times and penalties, then adds penalties to the raw time for the final time. Lowest final time wins. Ties get a head-to-head runoff, the most exciting thirty seconds of the party.
Printable: Station Cards
Print this section, cut the cards apart, and tape one at each station.
Station 1: Zombie Walk. Walk ten steps with both arms stretched straight out, groaning like a zombie. Both feet stay on the ground, no running, no hopping. Drop your arms and you take two zombie steps back.
Station 2: Broomstick Ride. Hold the broomstick between your legs and gallop around the marker cone and back. Stay on the broom the whole way. If it drops, pick it up and keep going; the clock does not stop.
Station 3: Spider-Web Crawl. Crawl under the yarn web between the chairs without touching any strand. A touched strand costs five seconds, so go low and slow. Taller players may duck-walk instead of crawling.
Station 4: Pumpkin Slalom. Weave in and out of five pumpkins in a zigzag line without knocking any over. Each pumpkin knocked over and not reset costs five seconds. Fast feet beat long strides.
Station 5: Ghost Balloon Bop. Keep a ghost balloon in the air with three taps, hands only, before moving on. If it touches the ground, start the three taps over. No kicking, no headbutts, even though someone will try.
Station 6: Mummy Shuffle. Wrap one strip of toilet paper around your waist, then shuffle sideways for ten steps like a mummy. If the paper tears, grab a new strip and keep shuffling.
Station 7: Bat Flap. Hold the paper bat wings out to your sides and flap them ten times while standing on one foot. Put the other foot down and you start the ten flaps over. This station looks ridiculous, which is the point.
Station 8: Graveyard Crawl. Crawl past the cardboard tombstones on your belly, staying low, until you reach the finish line. You must pass every tombstone, no cutting across the graveyard.
Timer Scorecard
Copy these rows onto a sheet, one row per player: player name, run one raw time, penalties, and final time, then the same for run two, plus a best-final-time column. The scorekeeper fills in penalties as they happen, so the end math is simple addition. For a leaderboard, list players by best final time on a wall sheet, updated after each run.
Variations for Different Groups
For toddlers and preschoolers, drop the timer and the penalties. Let them walk the course with a grown-up, skip any station they do not like, and cheer at the finish line. For teens, add a team relay: teams of four split the stations, two each, passing a baton, which should obviously be a broomstick, at each handoff. For adults at an office party, offer a small prize for the fastest time and a joke prize for the slowest, because the slowest run is usually the funniest.
For a small indoor space, shrink the course: five zombie steps, three pumpkins, and a graveyard crawl under a sheet-draped table. The stations still work in miniature, and the timer still makes it exciting. Rain plan: the whole course fits in a living room if you move the coffee table.
Tips and Safety Notes
Clear the course of anything sharp, slippery, or breakable, and check for wet spots outside. String the yarn web loosely enough that a player tripping into it does not pull chairs over, and make crawl spaces wide enough for the biggest player. Balloons are a choking hazard for toddlers, so keep uninflated balloons out of reach and supervise the ghost balloon station closely. Keep a first-aid kit nearby for scraped knees.
Free Printable + Premium Bundles
Everything above is free to print and use at your party: the eight station cards, the rules, the penalty system, and the timer scorecard rows. Print this page, tape the cards up, and your course is ready to run. If you want a ready-to-go decorated version with matching party printables, full premium printable bundles are waiting at fukroo.etsy.com.
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