20 Best Fall Festival Games for All Ages

Fall festival games are the carnival classics with the harvest painted on. Ring toss becomes Ring A Corn, the milk bottle knockdown becomes a row of crows on a fence rail, and bobbing for apples becomes two people in bungee harnesses racing to fill a bucket. The formats have lasted a century because every age understands them on sight, and the fall theme is what makes a school field or a church lawn feel like a country fair for one afternoon.

This is the list of the 20 best fall festival games for all ages, organized by type: toss and aim games, knock down games, skill games, and the races and big games that carry a midway. Each entry explains how the game plays, who it suits and the ideal age range, and every game is rentable from the Halloween and fall rentals collection at Perfect Parties USA, which delivers across Massachusetts and New England.

Toss and Aim Fall Games

The fastest games on the midway: a few throws, a prize, and the next player steps up.

Fall Carnival Stall- Apple Toss: A striped fall booth with apple themed targets, three throws per turn. It is the booth that opens most harvest midways and the one the youngest players win first. Ideal ages: 3 and up. Rent the Apple Toss booth.

Fall Carnival Stall- Ring A Corn: A ring toss over ears of corn, the harvest version of ring-a-bottle, gentle enough for preschoolers and quick enough that nobody waits. Ideal ages: 4 and up. Rent the Ring A Corn booth.

Pumpkin Toss: Toss bean bags into the pumpkin targets for points, with the small openings scoring high and rounds under a minute. Ideal ages: 3 and up. Rent the Pumpkin Toss.

Halloween Carnival Stall- Candy Corn Ring Toss: Toss rings over oversized candy corn cones from behind the line, with the back row worth the bigger prizes. The rings bounce more than players expect, which is what makes the third throw matter. Ideal ages: 4 and up. Rent the Candy Corn Ring Toss booth.

Baggo: The classic bean bag toss in a compact two-board set, three bags and three holes, and the cheapest game to add to a midway. Ideal ages: 4 and up. Rent the Baggo bean bag toss.

Corn Hole: Full-size boards for the older kids and the parents who followed them over. Run it as a bracket and the tournament becomes an event inside the event. Ideal ages: 8 and up. Rent the Corn Hole set.

Knock Down Fall Games

Nothing satisfies like a stack falling over. These are the booths with the loudest cheers.

Fall Carnival Stall- Crow Knock Down: Knock the crows off the rail with bean bags before the scarecrow does. It is the harvest knockdown that keeps working through Halloween week. Ideal ages: 5 and up. Rent the Crow Knock Down booth.

Fall Carnival Stall- Scarecrow Tooth Knock Down: Knock the teeth out of a grinning scarecrow one throw at a time. Kids find it funnier than any other target on the midway. Ideal ages: 6 and up. Rent the Scarecrow Tooth Knock Down booth.

Halloween Carnival Stall- Knock Down: The milk bottle knockdown in seasonal colors, three balls to clear the stack. Set an easy stack for little kids and a tight pyramid for the teenagers. Ideal ages: 5 and up. Rent the Knock Down booth.

Deluxe Spill The Milk Carnival Booth: The classic three-bottle throw in a deluxe striped booth, where the bottom bottles are heavier than they look. It is the game the dads cannot walk past. Ideal ages: 8 and up. Rent the Deluxe Spill The Milk Carnival Booth.

Halloween Pumpkin Bowling: Roll a real or foam pumpkin down a full lane and topple the seasonal pins. It plays like real bowling, so adults compete as hard as the kids, and a lane attendant resets it in seconds. Ideal ages: 3 and up. Rent Halloween Pumpkin Bowling.

Skill Fall Games

Slower games with a bigger payoff, good for the middle of the midway where you want people to linger.

Fall Carnival Stall- Pumpkin Darts: Throw darts at the pumpkin target board for points. It needs a lane with a little more room and an attendant, and it is the booth teenagers and parents gravitate to. Ideal ages: 8 and up. Rent the Pumpkin Darts booth.

Deluxe Wacky Wire Carnival Booth: Guide a metal loop along a bent wire without touching it, a steady-hand game that draws a crowd of people certain they can do better. Ideal ages: 8 and up. Rent the Deluxe Wacky Wire Carnival Booth.

Witch’s Brew Frame Game: A tabletop toss into a bubbling cauldron frame that takes up almost no space and needs no attendant. Ideal ages: 4 and up. Rent the Witch’s Brew Frame Game.

High Striker: Swing the mallet, ring the bell, and settle every argument about who is the strongest person at the festival. Ideal ages: 8 and up, with a lighter mallet for younger players. Rent the High Striker.

Giant Plinko: Drop a puck from the top and the slot it lands in decides the prize. Load the big prizes into the outside slots and the crowd stays to watch every drop. Ideal ages: 3 and up. Rent the Giant Plinko.

Races and Big Fall Games

Games with a crowd built in, for the spot on the midway where you want the noise.

Bobbing for Apples: Two contestants in bungee harnesses sprint against the tension to fill their buckets with foam apples from the center, and the cord pulls them back just as they reach the next one. It handles about 60 players an hour and needs a 40 by 10 foot lane. Ideal ages: 6 and up. Rent Bobbing for Apples.

Human Pig Racer: Guests in inflatable pig suits race a short course while the crowd cheers, the fall festival’s answer to a sack race. Ideal ages: 6 and up, with adult heats after dark. Rent the Human Pig Racer.

Cob-stacle Course: A corn themed inflatable obstacle course: crawl, climb and slide with a harvest theme, timed by grade for the kids who need to burn energy. Ideal ages: 5 and up. Rent the Cob-stacle Course.

Deluxe Roll-a-Ball Horse Racer Carnival Booth: Roll balls into the holes to advance your horse down the track; first across the line wins, and a full row of players makes it the loudest booth on the midway. Ideal ages: 5 and up. Rent the Deluxe Roll-a-Ball Horse Racer Carnival Booth.

How to Choose Fall Festival Games for Your Event

Start with your crowd. A school or PTA festival wants the quick, easy-win booths first: Apple Toss, Ring A Corn, Pumpkin Toss and the pumpkin bowling lane, paired with small prizes and a ticket setup, and the carnival game ideas for school fairs guide covers the ticket and volunteer plan. A church harvest festival needs games that run without attendants, so Baggo, Corn Hole, the Witch’s Brew Frame Game and the booth games win. A town festival or a corporate fall outing wants the competitive pieces: Spill The Milk, Wacky Wire, the High Striker and Bobbing for Apples, and the carnival games for adults list adds the rest of the lineup.

As a rule of thumb, plan for one game booth per 25 to 50 guests, and take the Fall Carnival Stalls (5) package when you need five booths at once. For the non-seasonal booths, work from the classic carnival games list, and for the rides and inflatables that go around the games, the fall festival ideas guide has the full layout. Events in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island book their October weekends early; if you are on the North Shore, the carnival game rentals in Peabody, MA page shows what is nearby.

Rent Fall Festival Games From Perfect Parties USA

Perfect Parties USA is based in Peabody, Massachusetts and owns hundreds of attractions, including every rentable item on this list, so the games you book are the games that arrive, maintained and ready to play. Every rental includes delivery, professional setup, trained attendants and prizes for staffed games, and complete teardown. We are fully insured, with a certificate of insurance available for venues and schools, and we have produced events of every size across New England and the Northeast for decades, from Massachusetts, Boston, Connecticut and Rhode Island to New Hampshire and New York.

Ready to get this party started? Contact Perfect Parties USA to talk to one of our Party Pros. Request a Quote.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most popular fall festival games?

The most popular fall festival games are pumpkin bowling, Apple Toss, Ring A Corn, the Crow Knock Down booth and the supersized Bobbing for Apples race, because every age understands them on sight and rounds take under a minute. Perfect Parties USA rents all five, along with the five-booth Fall Carnival Stalls package for a full midway.

What are the best fall festival games for young kids?

For young kids, the best fall festival games are Apple Toss, Ring A Corn, Pumpkin Toss, Baggo and Halloween Pumpkin Bowling played from a short distance. Each one is easy to win, which keeps prizes flowing and tears to a minimum, and none of them needs a scare or a strong arm.

How many fall festival games do you need for an event?

Plan for one game booth per 25 to 50 guests. A school festival of 200 people runs well on the five fall carnival stalls, a pumpkin bowling lane and one race game, while a town festival of 500 needs ten to twelve games plus the big draws. Perfect Parties USA sizes game lineups for schools and towns across New England.

Can you rent fall festival games for a school or church event?

Yes, every game on this list is available to rent, including the five-booth Fall Carnival Stalls package, the deluxe carnival booths, Bobbing for Apples and the Cob-stacle Course. Rentals from Perfect Parties USA include delivery, professional setup, trained attendants and prizes for staffed games, and complete teardown.

Does Perfect Parties USA deliver fall festival games in Massachusetts?

Yes, Perfect Parties USA delivers fall festival games throughout Massachusetts, including Boston and the North Shore, and across Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. The company is based in Peabody, Massachusetts and owns every game it rents, so the booths you book are the booths that arrive.

Are fall festival games appropriate for a corporate event?

Fall festival games work well at corporate outings because they give coworkers something to compete over. Bobbing for Apples, the High Striker, Spill The Milk, Wacky Wire and a Corn Hole bracket draw the biggest crowds of adults, and a Prize Wheel or ticket setup turns the games into a friendly tournament.

How far in advance should you book fall festival games?

Book fall festival games six to eight weeks before your event date, and earlier for the last two weekends of October, which fill first. The Fall Carnival Stalls package and Bobbing for Apples are the first pieces to sell out, so reserve those with Perfect Parties USA before you finalize the rest.