Fall is the delightful season of ocherous leaves, chilled nights, and, of course, fall games. The reality is that a good time is just around the corner no matter what time of the year we’re in, and fall-friendly games are kind of a thing (kind of). So, how can you make the most out of this upcoming fall season? With social distancing still in effect, we’re considering some of the most fun games to play during the fall.
With the fall season comes pumpkins, so you can be sure that there will be at least one fall-friendly game that features a pumpkin. Fall is also a season of the turkey, so games centered around the big bird are bound to make an appearance. And as we highlight some of these fall-friendly games, our main goal is to inspire everyone this fall to step outside their mittens and scarves and give some of these games a try!
Candy Corn Relay ● Capture the Turkey ● Penny Toss ● Pumpkin Bowling game
CANDY CORN RELAY
There’s more fun to be had with candy corn than just eating it (we know that’s a bold statement to make, but trust us with this one!). The Inspired Tree House is here to teach us about this sweet kid- and fall-friendly game that uses candy corn as the main attraction.
What You’ll Need Candy corn (who’d have thunk), a spoon and bowl, yellow, white, and orange construction paper or plastic cones (or other objects that could be used as “obstacles”), and tape and scissors.
How To Play First, set up your relay course. Make “candy corn” cones out of construction paper by cutting strips of orange, white, and yellow construction paper and taping them together to form a cone. You could also use regular plastic cones or other objects that can create an obstacle. Next, you want to set a bowl of candy corn on one end of your course and an empty bowl on the other end. The first child in line scoops a few pieces of candy corn out of the bowl and maneuvers through the course to dump it into the empty bowl. He then runs his spoon back and gives it to the next person in line. The next person repeats the action, taking another scoop of candy corn and maneuvering through the course to dump it into the bowl. The aim of this game is to continue this process until all of the candy corn has been scooped from one container to the other!
Variations If you only have one child playing, turn the game into a race against the clock where the child must scoop all of the candy corn from one container to the other before the timer rings.
Tips & Tricks Try mixing up the types of movements the kids use to get through the course (ex: only tip-toe through the obstacle course, walk on knees, or crawl using only one hand).
CAPTURE THE TURKEY
While the fall season grants us the opportunity to stuff our faces with all things turkey, it also gives us a reason to replicate the heavy-bodied, ground-feeding birds — an excuse to look and act wild without anyone pointing a finger. In this classroom-friendly article, the fall-friendly game is used to teach us the importance of teamwork and how to strategize while implementing simple yet helpful physical exercise.
What You’ll Need 18 “eggs” which are just small or medium-sized objects that are easy to grab (ex: bean bags, oranges, tennis balls), pinnies/jerseys that are three different colors for teams, an exercise mat, 3 hula hoops, and 8 cones.
Set Up Place the three hoops equal distance apart on the ground. Place six “eggs” inside each hoop (these are the “turkey nests”). Place the 8 cones and the exercise mat at the opposite end of the ground/playing space. The cones and the mat will be used for physical activity when the students are tagged by the Mama or Papa turkey.
How To Play Split the participants into three teams, each wearing a different color pinny. One member from each team will be chosen to be the “Mama” or “Papa” turkey while the rest of the team are gobblers. The Mama or Papa turkeys stand inside their nests and are responsible for protecting the nest and tagging gobblers who try to capture their eggs. The gobbler’s job is to take eggs from the opposing team’s nests and place them in their turkey’s nest. The gobblers can take only one egg from a nest at a time. If they are tagged by the Mama or Papa turkey, the egg stays where it is and the gobbler must go to the physical activity arrangement and perform the designated physical activity (ex: 10 jumping jacks, 5 push-ups, jump rope). The goal is for a team to collect all 10 eggs.
Variations This specific game is fall-friendly but could be switched to other holidays by changing the name of the taggers.
Tips & Tricks To ensure that others have a chance to be the Mama or Papa turkey, the game can be played with a time limit of 2-3 minutes per round, rather than ending the round when a certain amount of captured eggs.
PENNY TOSS
This fall-friendly game, also known as Pitching Pennies or Penny Pitch, is simple enough for children but could be challenging enough for adults. Though this article explains everything you need to know about the game to cater to children, it could be tweaked to suit adults.
What You’ll Need A dishpan (or baby bathtub or kiddie pool), water, open plastic container, and, of course, pennies!
How To Play Fill a dishpan, baby bathtub, or kiddie pool halfway with water and place an open plastic container carefully on top of the water so that it floats. Have each player stand 3 feet from the dishpan, tub, or pool. Give each player the same number of pennies and have them take turns tossing pennies at the floating container. For each penny that lands in the container, one point is awarded. The player with the most points after all the pennies have been tossed is the winner.
Variations If you have one child playing, they can keep track of how many pennies land in the container in a row. For adults, increase the challenge by using a normal-sized pool and various coins. The points could be based on the coin that was tossed, and the winner could keep all the coins.
PUMPKIN BOWLING GAME
Bowling in itself is a gnarly game. Fall is a gnarly season. Put the two together and you get a gnarly fall-friendly bowling game! With this pumpkin bowling game, it’s exactly what it sounds like — it’s just plain bowling with a fun seasonal twist!
What You’ll Need 10 plastic 2-liter bottles, sand (or other solid objects like marbles or beans to fill the bottles with), and pumpkins.
How To Play Use empty 2-liter plastic bottles filled with a little sand or other weighty, fillable objects to make the bottles harder to knock over. Set up the pins about 30 feet away from the rolling line. Give each player 3 pumpkins to throw at the pins and keep score. The goal is to knock down all the pins.
Variations For adults, you could also make this game more enjoyable and challenging by blindfolding the tosser or having them balance a cup of pumpkin seeds on their heads while trying to toss the pumpkin.
Games, Fall, and More Games For Fun
If you feel like these are games you would like to play during the fall, give them a try. Remember that these are all kid-friendly but could be adjusted to suit an older audience. All it takes is creativity, a willing crowd, and sweater weather to set the theme! If you’re interested in more games that could be played during the fall, be sure to reach out to us at Games For Fun. Our assortment of indoor-friendly games — from machines to tabletop games — will also give you one more reason to stay inside during the chilled nights.
