The time of year is upon us where ghouls, spirits, werewolves, zombies and vampires arise and gather to frighten, capture, scare, possess, and most of all get down and have a good time at the Halloween party.

Here are some ideas to make that party more fun.

Costumes Everyone at the party has to dress appropriatley, and this means wearing a costume of the undead. Pets are excluded as they already have costume parts built in – Dogs have fangs, cats have claws, birds have scary wings, and small creatures such as hamsters have glowing red eyes. Everyone who walks on two legs however, needs to be one of the following.

• Vampire – A blood drinking daemon that lives off the blood of other creatures. Vampires are made by other vampires and often have extravagant names like Count Dracula. If you decide to be a vampire, make sure you create an extravagant name for yourself.
• Ghost – The spirit of a dead person returned from the undead to haunt a person or a place. Normally ghosts haunt something or someone for a reason, if you go as a ghost, what happened to you to make your spirit come back from the dead?
• Zombie – Monsters that come back from the undead and walk slowly with their hands out in front of them. They exist to create more zombies and that is really horrible. If you go as a Zombie, don’t worry, you wont have to walk slowly for too long, especially when the games start.
• Werewolf – When the moon is full and darkness descends people who are werewolves transform into huge hounds and hunt others until it is daylight. Once the moon phase shifts and it is no longer a full moon, then people do not become werewolves at night until another full moon…A werewolf is created when a person is bitten by another werewolf. Werewolves do not like silver as it can hurt them. If you go as a werewolf, do not worry, you will not have to eat dog food, so ice cream is still on the menu for you.
• Witch -Cackle cackle boil and bubble, and other witch spells can be used to make the food taste nicer at a Halloween party and should be used whenever possible. Witches are girls that cast spells and make potions. They normally have pointed hats and ride about on broomsticks. At Halloween parties however, they tend to eat ice cream and play games. Thankfully.

This is not all the costumes that can be worn at a Halloween party, and why not try and get creative by combining costumes! Why not be a pirate-vampire instead of a vampire, or instead of a zombie, a Knight-zombie? Maybe  instead of a werewolf, a werehamster?

Halloween Decorations

Ideally, the place where you have the party should be made to look as spooky as possible. Maybe scary pictures on the wall, scary objects such as spiders could be hanging from the ceiling.  The scarier the better!

Halloween Music

Probably best left to Mum or Dad, Halloween music needs to be scary yet at the same time it needs to facilitate dancing. A catchy beat about monsters, vampires, ghosts and possibly goblins always goes down well.

The Playgameshavefun Witch can often be seen dancing to these tunes:

Werewolves of London by Zevon

Monster by The Automatic

Monster Mash by Bob

by ‘Boris’ Picket and the Cryptkickers

If you can’t find any suitable music, you will be surprised to learn that your parents have tried to learn to play the guitar long ago when they were young! So if all else fails they can sing and play for your entertainment.

Halloween Games and Activities

All parties need games and activities, and possibly the best ones are on Halloween

Jack O’Lantern. Carve out the pumpkins to make them look as scary as possible.  It takes a little time to do but they look great once they have a candle burning away inside them.  Once they are carved out, maybe a competition for the scariest one. A good way to

decide is that everybody gets to vote for one, and they are not allowed to vote for their own even if they like it the best.

Put the Wart on the Jack O’lantern – Using a suitable object, ideally one that will push into the pumpkin or will stick to it, the first spooky character is blindfolded and span around three times. They then have to try and put the wart on the nose of the Jack O’lantern. The closest wins.

Bobbing for Apples - Put apples and water into a large bucket or bowel, and then using mouths only, see if you can pull one out. The winner is the one with the most apples. To make this more scary, why not put in tomato sauce to turn the water…Blood red…

Halloween Hunt - Like an Easter egg hunt the Halloween hunt has prizes hidden around the house and garden, with clues pointing to where they are. If you want to be spooky, you may find a ghoul or too dressed up as your mum or dad ready to scare you.

Remember, you are a scary too so don’t be too afraid.

Scary Stuck in the Mud – A player is chosen to be the ‘Spooky Catcher’, and everyone runs away. Once the ‘Spooky Catcher’, catches someone they have to stand still with their legs apart. They are stuck in the scary mud until someone crawls through their legs. Once this happens they are free to run around. If they are caught three times by the ‘Spooky Catcher’, they become a ‘Fiendish Spooky Catcher Helper’, and have to catch the other players too. mu ha ha!

Scary Statues of Dracula’s Castle! - Music is played and everyone dances. When the music is switched off everyone has to stop.  The last person to stop dancing or moves when the music is off is out of the game. The last person left wins.

Pass the Frightening Parcel - A prize is wrapped in many layers of scary wrapping paper with scary decorations over it. All the players sit in a circle and pass the parcel while the music is playing. When it is switched off the person with the parcel unwraps the first layer of wrapping paper. The music starts again and the parcel is passed around again until the music stops and more layers of wrapping paper are removed.  The winner is the player that unwraps the last layer of paper to be left with the Frightening Prize. muhaha muhaha

Haunting Blind Man’s Buff of Bluff! – This game should be played in a room that has no dangerous objects in it, or a wide open space. A person is chosen to be ‘it’, and they are blindfolded and spun around three times. The rest of the players scatter. ‘It’, moves around the room until they find a person in which case after feeling their face they try and guess who it is. If they do that person becomes ‘it’. If they guess incorrectly the game begins again with the same person as ‘it’.

Ghost Stories

Ghost stories were designed to be told at Halloween. You can have a competition among your friends or simply sit around and listen to mum or dad read aloud to you. Will you be afraid?

Fun

Halloween Parties should be fun and that means nobody gets upset. Remember this when playing the games.

Happy Halloween from everyone at Playgameshavefun!

Halloween costumes, decorations and music an be bought here. For USA and Canada, please click here

photo credit: Vibrant Spirit

photo credit: sociotard
photo credit: greenfaerietree

Image: Wikipedia

photo credit: rrikk

photo credit: gfoster67

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Hangman is a word game based on trying to work out a hidden word before the player guessing the word is hung from the gallows!  It is a game for two players.

To play the game you will need

A Pen/Pencil
Paper

The Rules

One player thinks of a word, and writes down dashes to indicate what the word is.  So the word “Computer”, would be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.  Note the number of dashes corresponds to the number of letters in the word.

The second player now tries to guess a letter of the word.  So should they guess “O”, the other player than inserts where that letter would go.  _ O _ _ _ _ _ _.  If the player had guessed incorrectly, say “Y”, then the other player would draw the first part of the gallows, and write down the letter “Y”, so the other player knows that is not part of the word.  This continues until either the word is guessed or the other player is hung!

In our example, the word is “Animal”.

Guess 1 “B”

Incorrect, fist line is drawn

Letters guessed B

Guess 2 “F”

Incorrect, second line of the gallows is drawn!

Letters guessed B,F

Guess 3 “A”

Correct, the letters “A” are inserted into the word.

Letters guessed B,F

Guess 4 “E”

Incorrect, the roof on the gallows is drawn.

Letters guessed B,F,E

Guess 5 “M”

Correct, a good guess

Letters guessed B,F,E,

Guess 6 “C”,

Incorrect

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,

Guess 7 “D”

Incorrect

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D

Guess 8 “I”

Correct

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D

Guess 9 “G” Guess 10 “Z”

Incorrect

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z

Guess 10 “P”

Incorrect

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z,P,

Guess 11 “K”

Incorrect

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z,P,K

Guess 12 “L”

Correct, maybe they wont be executed!  Just one letter to get.

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z,P,K

Guess 13 “Q”

Incorrect, oh no, one more wrong guess and it is curtains!

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z,P,K,Q

Guess 14 “Y”

Incorrect, oh no they have been hung!

Letters guessed B,F,E,C,D,G,Z,P,K,Q,Y

As the guessing player did not discover the hidden word, he or she has been hung and subsequently lost the game, had the player discovered the word before the last line was drawn they would have won.

Tactics

The most commonly used letters that comprise words in the English language are, e-t-a-o-i-n-s-h-r-d-l-u.  If you are the guessing player try guessing these letters first.  If you are thinking of the word, then try and use words that do not use them too much, or try a very short word that uses unusual letters, such as “Jazz”.

Hangman, the other meaning!

A Hangman was an executioner appointed by The State, (The leader of a country) to carry out executions on its behalf.  Mostly, the executions were performed as a  punishment for a crime, but it has also been used in other ways too  None of which were very nice.  Execution is still performed in some countries.

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Battleships is a game for two players, and can easily be played with a pencil and paper.  The most important piece of equipment you will need however, is your mind!
A knowledge of navel tactics is not necessary, but may prove useful.

You will need:

Pen/Pencil

Paper

How to play.

Each player draws a 10 x 10 grid and labels the vertical A-H, and the horizontal 1-10.  Each player draws this grid twice, one is to record the position of their own ships, and one to record the squares they have targeted throughout the game.

You should have a grid like the one shown below, to save time, you can print it by clicking here. Print it using your browsers print option.  It will open in a new window.

Each player has a fleet at his or her command, and this fleet is comprised of the following.

Aircraft Carrier – 5 squares

Battleship – 4 Squares

Cruiser – 3 Squares

Submarine – 3 Squares

Destroyer – 2 Squares.

It is vitally important to the success of the game and indeed one of the fleets, that an object such as a book obscures the enemy fleet position from the opposing player.

Each player positions their ships on their own grid.    This is done by drawing around the number of boxes to represent each vessel in the fleet. For an Aircraft Carrier for example, the player would draw around 5 squares on the grid either horizontally or vertically.  This is done for each ship in the fleet.  When finished, the players will have something that looks like this.  (See Example)

Once this is done, each player takes turns to fire on the enemy fleet. To do this, they call out a grid reference, say B4. If the opposing player has positioned one of their ships on B4 they say “hit”, and put an ‘X’ or mark the square B4. If they have not put one of their ships on B4, then they say “miss”. The player that fired, should mark the square on their own enemy grid to show a hit or a miss. In our example, B4 would have hit the enemy aircraft carrier.

The game continues until all the ships in one of the fleets is sunk. The winner is the player that has at least one ship afloat once the enemy fleet has been sunk.

Another version of the game, is when a player can fire on the enemy as many times as he or her has ships in his fleet. So at the start of the game, a player calls 5 grid references. Once he or she loses a ship, they can only call out 4. Some versions of Battleships, gives the aircraft carrier the ability to fire twice. As long as the carrier isn’t sunk, it gives the player an additional grid reference to aim at.

Sea Battles

Sea battles, have become famous and pivotal moments in history.

The Battle of Trafalgar (21st October 1805) saw The British Royal Navy defeat the combined forces of The French and Spanish.  Admiral Pierre Villeneuve who commanded 33 French and Spanish ships, saw 22 of his ships sunk without a British ship being lost, despite the British Navy only having 23 ships.  Admiral Nelson, who commanded the British fleet used new tactics that had never been seen prior to the battle.  During the battle, Admiral Nelson was mortally wounded and died.  The battle confirmed that Britain could not being invaded by Napoleon, as they controlled the seas, and was a turning point in the Napoleonic wars.

The Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916) was the largest sea battle of World War One.  During this time, The British Royal Navy’s Grand Seas Fleet was the largest in the world and was enforcing a blockade of German shipping.  This means that ships which brought supplies into Germany, could not do so without being sunk.  In an effort to break out of the blockade, The Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet, under command of Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, formulated a plan to try and lure and destroy a large portion of the British Fleet and so end the blockade.  The Royal Navy however, had learned of the plan through intercepting signals.  Due to both sides making mistakes, more ships were involved in the battle than either side had planned and subsequently the largest naval battle of World War One ensued.  Both sides claimed victory at the end.  Germany because it had sunk more ships,  and Britain because it still had control of the sea.  24 ships were lost during the battle, comprising of 11 German and 13 British.

The Battle of Midway (4-7th June 1942).  Six months after Japan’s successful attack on Pearl Harbor during The Second World War, The Imperial Japanese Navy planned to destroy America’s aircraft carriers at Midway Attol, by luring the vessels into a trap.  Unbeknown to the Japanese, America had learned of Japan’s attack by breaking her codes, and thus planned a trap of her own.  During the battle, The Japanese Navy lost 4 aircraft carriers and one heavy cruiser.  America lost one aircraft carrier.  The battle was one the turning point of The Second World War, as Japan was never able to replace the ships or crew that she had lost during the battle, and control of that part of the ocean was now controlled by America, who enforced a blockade of Japan herself.  This battle confirmed that the most powerful ship at sea was no longer the battleship, but the aircraft carrier.

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photo credit: Sougent Harrop

Wikipedia

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The game of tic-tac-toe is a game for two people, and is a game you play with your mind!

What you will need.

Pen/Pencil
Paper

A 3 x 3 grid is drawn as shown . As you can see the grid forms nine boxes. Providing there are nine boxes you will be able to play, so don’t worry if it the lines are not perfectly straight.

Each player decides whether they are a O or an X.

Taking turns each player puts an O or an X in each box. When one player has three in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagionally, then they are the winner.

Winning lines.

It doesn’t matter if your vertical winning line is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd column.  It all counts as a win.  Vertically speaking, top,

middle, or bottom, three in a row counts a win.

Tactics

Many players start from the middle. Try starting from a corner and put your next two turns in a corner as well, and see what happens.

If you feel defeat is imminent, maybe use distraction to try and avoid losing the game. The following suggestions may prove useful.

Earthquake. Shake the table(not too hard as you don’t want to get in trouble with parents or carers). And say, “Quick! Earthquake! Under the table”. Wait for a few minutes and then say, “My mistake”, and suggest an alternative game. If you are lucky, your opponent will forget about the game.

Hungry. Just before the last turn that confirms your defeat, say “I feel hungry, would you like something to eat?”. Go and bring some food and suggest you eat it away from where you are playing. If you are lucky, they will forget about the game.

Be on the look out. You may find yourself on the verge of winning when an earthquake occurs or you are suddenly given some food…

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The game of noughts and crosses is a game for two people, and is a game you play with your mind!

What you will need.

Pen/Pencil
Paper

A 3 x 3 grid is drawn as shown . As you can see the grid forms nine boxes. Providing there are nine boxes you will be able to play, so don’t worry if it the lines are not perfectly straight.

Each player decides whether they are a nought (O) or a cross (X).

Taking turns each player puts a nought or cross in each box. When one player has three in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagionally, then they are the winner.

Winning lines.

It doesn’t matter if your vertical winning line is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd column.  It all counts as a win.  Vertically speaking, top,

middle, or bottom, three in a row counts a win.

Tactics

Many players start from the middle. Try starting from a corner and put your next two turns in a corner as well, and see what happens.

If you feel defeat is imminent, maybe use distraction to try and avoid losing the game. The following suggestions may prove useful.

Earthquake. Shake the table(not too hard as you don’t want to get in trouble with parents or carers). And say, “Quick! Earthquake! Under the table”. Wait for a few minutes and then say, “My mistake”, and suggest an alternative game. If you are lucky, your opponent will forget about the game.

Hungry. Just before the last turn that confirms your defeat, say “I feel hungry, would you like something to eat?”. Go and bring some food and suggest you eat it away from where you are playing. If you are lucky, they will forget about the game.

Be on the look out. You may find yourself on the verge of winning when an earthquake occurs or you are suddenly given some food…

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Water fights are brilliant! The only downside is that they can get out of hand and lead to arguments, and they can become a bit boring after a while when the novelty wares off.

Wet people too, make a mess when they come back into the house. This can be negotiated by a good use of towels and a possible outside drying off-changing area, such as a garage.

To keep a water fight alive, here are a few ideas / rules to make a water fight more fun.

The Duel

This is ideal for two players with similar high powered water pistols. Two people stand back to back and walk twelve paces, away from each other. Once they have taken their paces, one of them counts to three. On the count of three, both players spin round and unleash their weapon’s payload at the other. The winner is the one that is covered with the least amount of water. If their are three people one can act as a judge and count to three at the beginning of the duel.   In fact a duel can be played by three players, by either playing a winner stays on scenario, or all players walk away in a triangle shape, and then everybody shoots at each other.  This can become messy.

Should twelve paces prove difficult for your weapons, then try six or even three.

Water Tag!

Just like normal Tag, where someone is “it” until they tag someone else, the game is the same just people are tagged by being squirted rather than tagged.  The last person to be squirted, is “it”!

Total Anarchy!

The traditional water fight where everyone goes a little crazy and makes everyone as wet as possible. Great stuff!

Try including areas which are safe where people can’t be squirted.  To make it really interesting, why not incorporate a time limit as to how long a person can stay in this area.
Try playing in teams.

Choose your weapon!

The best water pistols are ones that shoot a powerful blast of water, and can hold a lot of water so reloading is kept to a minimum.  Some water pistols have tanks which strap over your back, so you can hold more water.

Remember the following:

Animals should not be targeted.   This may scare the animal and that is not a nice thing to do.

Never have a water fight inside the house.

Washing is not to get wet.

Never use delicate objects in a water fight, such as anything made from glass.

Only ever squirt water

Never hurt anyone during the water fight

Try and avoid roads when having a water fight,  and never shoot a water pistol at a moving car

If you are playing at a friends house, it maybe a good idea to take a change of clothes and a towel with you

The world’s biggest water fight!

The world’s biggest water fight is in Thailand, which is used to celebrate new year.  It is not unknown for elephants

to get involved.  Could you win a water fight with an elephant?

photo credit: me and the sysop

photo credit: Creative Tools

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Children have been playing Ring a Ring o’roses for hundreds of years.  Many historians, which are people that study events and occurrences from the past, believe the rhyme came about because of the bubonic plague, or the Great plague of London in 1655.

A plague is an illness, or disease.

To play the game which is sometimes called Rings around the Rosie, you need two or more people.  If none of your friends are around to play the game, ask your mum or dad.

Everyone who is playing the game joins hands, and forms a circle.

Everyone walks around in a circle.  It is important you travel in the same direction.

As everyone walks they sing this song:

Ring a Ring o’roses

Pocket full of poises

atishoo, atishoo,

We all fall down!

When the word down is sung, everyone falls to the ground!

Then this song is sung:

When our mother calls us

We all jump up!

And everyone jumps up in the air!

In America, this song is sung instead:

Ring around the Rosey

Pocket full of poises

ashes, ashes,

We all fall down!

In Canada, the song is sung this way:

Ring around a Rosey

Pocket full of posey

husha, husha,

We all fall down!

And if you were an Indian child, you would sing it like this:

Ring a Ring o’roses

Pocket full of poses

husha, busha

We all fall down!

As you can see there are lots of different versions to sing!  Which one do you sing, and which one do you like the best?

During the time of the first outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1347, one of the symptoms was a red ‘rosey’ rash, and sneezing.  Which I’m sure you have noticed is like the song, and the falling down bit is what happened to people that had caught the disease.  Poises, were herbs which people carried in their pockets which they believed protected them against the deadly plague.

photo credit: Evelyn Saenz

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