As promised in my previous post, TRICKS & TREATS for a Happy Homeschool Halloween, here’s our list of *Slightly Spooky* games for some soft-pedaled Halloween Game Day fun. There are a lot of Halloween-esque games out there featuring witches, zombies, fortune-telling, blood and gore, etc . . . and we’ve kept those ones off this list. Instead, we’ve gone for:

• mystery, intrigue, and who-done-it titles
• fairly friendly goblins, ghosts, and monsters
• spooky houses versus haunted ones
• fun, festive, and colorful costume-suggesting images
• daring knights and daunting dragons
• *fairly* tame villains

The only witches we have included are the Disney versions that appear in the villain games in the 8+ age category. We have also included the classic game Clue as well as Mysterium which both include more sinister content such as murder, violence & weaponry, as well as some mystical flair.

We hope you and your family enjoy this list! Please subscribe below for more Homeschool Holiday fun!

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Our List of *Slightly Spooky* Games for Halloween

Pictured above: an out-of-print “Create a Spooky Story” Card Game that was mine when I was a kid. Stay tuned for my own printable version that I am working on! In the meantime, I have included a modern-day option below. The other image above is of the daring deeds and magical spells game “Sleeping Queens,” which is a real family favorite.

Please note: I have only included a brief teaser sort of synopsis for each game below. However, I have linked each image directly to the Amazon page that includes a full synopsis as well as reviews for each game.

For Little BOOs (ages 3-5)

~CARD GAMES~

Super fun, slightly mysterious, and very educational, story cards are a big hit with little budding storytellers who aren’t quite ready to write.

A tame and therapeutic take on monsters, in a stack that packs a lot of fun.

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~BOARD GAMES~

A great first “Who Done It” game for little Sherlocks and Watsons.

Ok . . . so it’s not very spooky, I’ll grant you . . . but it’s all about candy and very Trick-Or-Treat like as well as entirely festive. Plus, it’s such a sweet classic board game that all children love, so I’m including it.

The board game cover is actually the scariest part of this game. Silly monsters abound in this barely-scary board game for Little Boo’s.

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For Gaming GOBLINS (ages 5-8)

~CARD GAME PICK~

An all-time family favorite! It’s not very spooky, but it does include knights, dragons, magic wands, and a sleeping potion, so it is very magical and feels Halloween-like. The game says 8 and up, but our son started playing this with us much earlier. A child really only needs to be able to add numbers 1 through 10 in order to play this game. And for a child who is learning to add, playing on a team with a parent or big sibling could be a great math activity for the day.

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~BOARD GAMES~

Kraul’s Deluxe Shadows in the Woods

A beautiful, slightly spooky and sensory-stimulating game that leaves much to the imagination. Plus, there’s fire involved.

You gotta love these “cooperative” games from Peaceable Kingdom . . . especially if you have a child who is as competitive as mine is! Sometimes it’s good to have a game that isn’t so focused on the win. Plus, this one is about gnomes!

Anyone else grow up with these I Spy books? This game is not only slightly spooky and will set the mood for Halloween, but it is also very educational and vocabulary-building, so it is perfect for a Homeschool Game Day.

In our house, snakes count as sinister and spooky. This game is a classic, and is more complex than the modern-day “Chutes and Ladders” and therefore is in the middle age category.

This game is a spookified board game version of a pinball machine. A hands-on, dexterity-building, and energizing game for the whole family.

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For Juvenile JACKS & JILLS (ages 8 and up)

~CARD GAME PICK~

This game is the next level for Sleeping Queens lovers.

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~BOARD GAMES~

An oldie but a goodie! I cannot tell you the hours my sisters and I spent playing this game growing up. I think it’s pretty tame for a murder mystery game, but so much fun and just spooky enough for a soft-pedaled Halloween. Also, I absolutely LOVE this classic version from my childhood.

No Game Day would be complete without Monopoly! This is a fun villain version that pairs perfectly with Halloween.

Can you tell I love Retro? I included this Who-Done-It game for my husband mostly, who was a real Scooby-Doo fan as a kid.

This is about as dark as I dare to get when it comes to Halloween games for kids. I would say it’s the next level up from Clue, so you may want to proceed with caution depending on your family values. Also, it is a “cooperative” game, meaning that all the players win or lose together . . . which may or may not jive with your family’s style!

Fairly harmless, but just sinister enough for a big-kid Halloween Game Day, and extra fun for Disney fans.

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Thanks for reading!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN GAME DAY!

Love, ~Our Holistic Homeschool~