Carnival Games for Kids
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These Carnival Games for kids are perfect for birthdays and other celebrations. Tailor it to your theme or party occasion by changing the colors, decorations or prizes. These are also great games for School Carnivals and Fairs.
Quick Link to Each of Our Carnival Games
Duck Pond
Tic Tac Toe
Ball Toss
Plinko
Penny Drop
Bean Bag Toss
Race Car Game
Parachute Man Game
Ring Toss
Velcro Target
Putt Putt Golf
Ball and Cup Game
Penny Toss
Duck Pond
This carnival game is perfect for young toddlers but enjoyed by any age. All children are winners! Just pick a duck and win a prize.
Materials
Kiddy Pool or large container or storage tub
Water
Sharpie
Numbered Buckets for prizes
Small Prizes (stickers, candy, pencils, small toys)
Instructions
Fill tub or pool with water.
Mark the ducks underneath with a numbers 1-4 or however many prize buckets you want to have.
Mark each prize bucket with a number corresponding to one on a duck. Example if you number ducks 1-4, then you need four prize buckets.
Each child has a turn picking a duck and then selecting a prize from the corresponding prize bucket
Return duck for next child's turn.
Tic Tac Toe
Get a pre made game or make your own and decorate according to your party theme. This carnival game can be played indoors or outdoors.
Materials
Tic Tac Toe Game Board
Bean Bags
Cones or Tape or Sidewalk Chalk to mark where to stand
Instructions
Buy or make a tic tac toe board.
Give each child 4 or 5 bean bags
Three in a row wins!
Tips
Adjust distance to age group.
You can make your own bean bags if you have a sewing machine with scrap material and fill with rice.
Ball Toss
Find five baskets and decorate with colors of your party by coloring, painting or print and attach some pictures on the front of each basket.
Materials
5 Apple Baskets
Bean Bags or White Poly Baseballs (One Dozen)
Cones or Tape or Sidewalk Chalk to mark where to stand
Instructions
Arrange your baskets and set how far you want the children to stand
Give each child 5 balls or bean bags.
Determine how many must make it into the baskets to win. Adjust according to age group and ability.
Tips
Adjust distance to age group.
You can make your own bean bags if you have a sewing machine with scrap material and fill with rice.
Plinko
Here is a home made game board to play a Plinko style carnival game for those of you who are handy! It was a big hit with kids of all ages.
Materials
Game Board
Round Discs
Numbered Buckets with prizes
Instructions
Plinko Board (lean board back so chips slide rather than bounce out)
Give each child a disc
Drop the disc from the top and the number slot it lands in, is the bucket the child selects the prize from.
Tips
You can purchase a plinko board but they are expensive so making one is a great alternative
You can make it smaller for young children and use coasters as game pieces.
Penny Drop
Easy to set up game using a fish tank, jar, water and pennies! Great for an ocean theme party or an outdoor party with carnival style games.
Materials
Aquarium
Heavy clear glass vase or jar
Water
Pennies
Instructions
Fill tank with water.
Place jar in tank.
Drop pennies and if it goes into the jar, it's a winner.
Tips
Weigh down jar with pennies or aquarium gravel or pebbles if needed.
It's tricky so consolation prizes are a good idea and maybe two jars to drop pennies into.
Adjust water level to make it easier or harder.
Putt Putt Golf
Easy to set up and all ages can play.
Materials
Putting green
3-5 golf balls
Putter
Instructions
Give each child 3-5 balls and putter.
Putt each golf ball.
Tips
Show how to hit, and explain you don't need to hit it hard or you'll be chasing balls.
For younger children use practice plastic golf balls instead of real balls.
Have prizes for everyone who tries.
Tiki Nut Hunt
This is the classic ball and cup game where you shuffle the cups with a ball under one and the child guesses which cup is hiding the ball.
Materials
Cups
Ball or small object
Decorations to match theme
Instructions
Show the ball and place under one cup.
Shuffle the cups and have the child guess which cup the ball is under.
Tips
Can adjust number of shuffles according to age.
Have prizes for everyone who tries.
Good for all themes. Find plastic cups at the Dollar Tree and other $1 sections in Target or WalMart to match your theme.
Bean Bag Toss
Make a bean bag toss board and decorate with your party colors or you can find some premade.
Materials
Game Board
Bean Bags
Cones or Tape or Sidewalk Chalk to mark where to stand
Instructions
Buy or make a bean bag toss board
Give each child 4 or 5 bean bags
Decide how many you need to get in the hole to win.
Tips
Adjust distance to age group.
You can make your own bean bags if you have a sewing machine with scrap material and fill with rice.
Test to see how difficult it is to get the bean bag in...this is more challenging than the tic tac toe bean toss.
Racing Cars
This is a simple game with one die, die cast cars and a game board.
Materials
Game board made out of wood, cardboard or you could laminate card stock or similar.
1 Die (large is easiest) You can find some at education stores where they sell game pieces.
Decorate board to match theme
Instructions
Players select car and put at the starting line.
Player rolls die on turn and moves car the number of spaces on the die thrown.
Winner is the first car crossing the finish line
Tips
Racing Flags make cute prizes or decorations.
Parachute Game
Drop a parachute onto a quadrant and depending where it lands, determines which prize.
Materials
Tarp or Landing Area of your choice.
1 Parachute Man
Add numbers to each quadrants
Numbered Prize buckets for each quadrant
Instructions
Players drop parachute man onto game mat.
Depending where he lands, determines which prize is selected.
Tips
Number the quadrants so children can try to aim at a certain one.
For a larger mat, use a parachute with colors as different quadrants to land your pieces on.
Ring Toss
Materials
Ring Toss Board
Rings
Tape to have a line to throw from
Instructions
Set up on a flat surface
Decide where the children need to stand....masking tape, cones or even jump ropes make a good boundary.
Gather the rings and have have a score keeper and ring fetcher to make the game run smooth
Velcro Darts
Materials
Stand and dart board
Velcro balls
Instructions
Let each child have 4-5 velcro balls
Determine where they can stand to throw.
For more competitive scoring you could add numbers
Penny Toss
Materials
Various Cups, glasses, dishes in all colors, shapes and sizes
Table to put dishes on
Tarp or mat to put under table
Small buckets to collect the pennies in and hand out.
Pennies real or you could use plastic counting pennies.
Barrier to stand behind when tossing pennies
Instructions
Lay out the tarp, put the table on it.
Arrange the dishes on the table, stack a few for an interesting array of dishes.
Fill cups with pennies to hand out.
Set up a barrier for kids to stand behind when tossing
Pennies that land in a dish win a prize. I believe carnivals used to give the dishes themselves, but you can decide on what prizes you'd like such as stickers, candies, small toys.
Donuts on a String
Materials
Donuts
String
Time
Garage door, tree branch, clothesline, or somewhere you can attach the donuts on a string
Instructions
You need to be able to hang the donuts from a string. So you need to be able to tie or tape it securely to a surface. Tying would work the best.
This is an old timey game when people had clotheslines so you might have to be creative and find a branch, open garage door or playground set.
Tie the donuts with regular ball string leaving it about head height. Donuts will swing so you need enough space between children.
Set a timer and let kids try to eat the donut without hands