Pumpkin Roll Relay Race Printable: Free Halloween Game Guide

If your Halloween party needs something that burns off candy-fueled energy and gets everyone laughing, I’ve got the game. The pumpkin roll relay race needs almost no setup, works for all ages, and turns a pile of cheap pumpkins into the main event. Real pumpkins, rolled with a broom or stick around a cone-marked course — gloriously chaotic in the best way.

This isn’t the roll-a-pumpkin dice game floating around the internet (where you roll a die to decorate a paper pumpkin). That’s a nice table game. This is the physical version: outside, teams, real pumpkins wobbling down a course while everyone screams directions. Everything below is your free printable guide — pumpkin picks, course setup, rules card, and scorecard. Print it, hand it to your team captains, and you’re racing in ten minutes.

What Is the Pumpkin Roll Relay Race?

Simple concept, endlessly entertaining. Each team gets a real pumpkin and a broom or stick. The first player rolls their pumpkin from the start line to a turnaround cone, around it, and back — using only the broom or stick, never hands or feet — then tags the next teammate. First team to get every player through wins.

Here’s what makes it so good: pumpkins are not balls. They’re lumpy, uneven, and have minds of their own. A round one glides beautifully; a wonky one veers into the bushes while its owner chases it. That unpredictability is the whole point, and it’s why this works for giggling kids and competitive adults alike.

Picking the Right Pumpkins

Round, smooth pie pumpkins or small carving pumpkins roll the straightest. Tall, oblong pumpkins look dramatic but fishtail across the yard — funny once, frustrating twice. Test-roll each one on flat ground first; if it curves sharply, retire it to decoration duty.

Grab one pumpkin per team plus a spare. Medium pumpkins in the 5 to 8 pound range are ideal — heavier ones are hard for little kids to control, lighter ones bounce off course. A short, flat-ish bottom helps a pumpkin sit still at the start line so you’re not chasing it before the whistle blows.

Course Setup: What You Need

Supplies

For two to four teams, you’ll need: one pumpkin per team (plus a spare), one broom or stick per team, orange cones or yard stakes for turnaround points, a whistle for starts, and this printed rules card plus scorecard. A flat stretch of lawn works best; a driveway works too but adds a satisfying challenge because pumpkins pick up speed on pavement.

Laying Out the Course

Mark a start line and place one cone per lane about 30 to 50 feet away — closer for kids under 8, farther for teens and adults. Give each lane at least 8 feet of width so neighboring pumpkins don’t collide (although honestly, collisions are half the entertainment).

Walk the course before anyone arrives. Fill in divots, move rocks, and check the turnaround area for anything a pumpkin shouldn’t smash into.

The Official Rules (Print This for Your Judges)

Copy this onto your printed sheet — it’s designed to be cut out and handed to each team captain.

PUMPKIN ROLL RELAY RACE — RULES CARD
1. Players may push or guide the pumpkin using only their broom or stick. No hands, feet, or body contact with the pumpkin — touch it and you return to the last checkpoint.
2. The pumpkin must travel around the outside of your team’s turnaround cone. Cut the cone and the lap doesn’t count.
3. If your pumpkin leaves your lane, stop, retrieve it, and resume from where it crossed the line — no throwing it back in.
4. Teammates hand off at the start line: the returning player tags the next player, who may not touch the pumpkin before being tagged.
5. If the broom handle breaks or the pumpkin splits, play stops for that team while you swap in a spare. The other teams keep racing.
6. First team to finish every team member’s lap wins the round. Tie? One sudden-death relay lap, longest course you have.

Pumpkin Roll Relay Scorecard (Printable)

Run three rounds for a proper tournament. Score each round: 3 points for first place, 2 for second, 1 for third, plus a bonus point for the cleanest run. Most points after three rounds takes the trophy — or the biggest candy bar.

PUMPKIN ROLL RELAY — SCORECARD
Team names: __________________ | __________________ | __________________ | __________________
Round 1: Place (3/2/1 pts): ___ ___ ___ ___ Clean-run bonus (+1): ___
Round 2: Place (3/2/1 pts): ___ ___ ___ ___ Clean-run bonus (+1): ___
Round 3: Place (3/2/1 pts): ___ ___ ___ ___ Clean-run bonus (+1): ___
TOTALS: ___ ___ ___ ___
CHAMPION: __________________
Judge’s signature: __________________

Game Variations to Try

Broom vs. Stick vs. Hands-Free

The classic is a standard household broom — easy to find and forgiving. For a harder mode, switch to a dowel rod; the smaller contact point makes steering genuinely tricky. And for pure comedy, try guiding the pumpkin with a pool noodle, which bends at exactly the wrong moments.

Team Relay vs. Solo Sprint

Teams of three to five are the sweet spot — everyone gets a turn and nobody waits too long. For a smaller crowd, run it as a solo time trial: each player races the course alone, best time wins, and everyone gets two attempts so one bad pumpkin bounce doesn’t end their day.

Kids vs. Adults

For kids under 8, shorten the course to about 20 feet and let them use their hands if the broom proves too frustrating — the goal is fun, not regulation play. For adults, go the other direction: extend the course, add a second turnaround cone for a figure-eight, and try a “wrong broom” round where players use the handle end instead of the bristles. My personal opinion: the adult figure-eight version is the funniest thing you can do at a fall party, and nobody’s dignity survives it.

Hosting Tips That Save Your Party

Start the game before the sugar fully kicks in — active games work best in the first hour, not after the candy haul. Assign one adult as starter/judge and one as lane monitor; kids will swear their pumpkin was “pushed by the wind,” and you’ll want a ruling. Keep spare brooms handy because someone always snaps one mid-race, usually while laughing too hard to care.

If rain threatens, this game survives on wet grass — just move the turnaround cones closer since pumpkins get fast and slippery. For nighttime parties, drop a glow stick inside each turnaround cone and give each team a headlamp; a dusk pumpkin relay with string lights looks incredible and photographs even better.

Want the Designed Bundle?

The rules card and scorecard above are yours to print free — that’s the whole point of this site. But if you’d rather skip the printer routine, I’ve put together a polished pumpkin roll relay race bundle over at fukroo.etsy.com: a designed rules card, a full tournament scorecard, team name banners, and matching champion certificates, all print-ready in one download. Same game, zero formatting fuss.

Halloween Pumpkin Roll Relay Race Printable: Rules, Course Setup & Scorecard

What Is the Pumpkin Roll Relay Race?

Picking the Right Pumpkins