Last week I introduced a game for Halloween called Trick or Treat.

It was a PowerPoint game where students need both luck and knowledge to be the winner. I also made a low-tech card version that could be played in smaller groups.

What struck me most about my last post is that more people click on or downloaded the image of the game’s menu rather than the game itself.

I wasn’t sure why the static image was proving to be more popular than the game, but looking at the image I realized that it could make a good Halloween themed board game. Was this the reason why people were clicking on the image?

I don’t know, but the idea stayed with me and I thought a Halloween themed board game would make a good low-prep activity for the classroom.

This week I have decided to take the ‘trick or treat?’ game and turn it into a board game version and I hope it will help some other busy teachers out there.

Trick or Treat Board Game v2 — Treat or Treat? – The Printable Boardgame

Download the PDF of the board by clicking on the Trick or Treat – Board Game.

The board game would suit 3-5 players.
The board game contains 35 spaces.
The board includes a start space, a finish space, ghosts that represent tricks, sweets that represents treats and pumpkins that represent actions.
Print out one copy and photocopy it enough times so that each group has a board.
Give each of your groups a board and a dice. Let your students design their own counters or use a small object for a counter.

How to Play?

Although it can be a good creative exercise to get students to design and produce their own boards, this can take time away from language production. However, I have tried to keep the board as versatile as possible, so that the activity can still be student-centered.

Introduce the board game.

Introduce the board game and tell the students what each of the icons mean.

Treat – If a student lands on the treat icon, the quiz master asks them a question. If they answer correctly, the student can earn a point or win candy.

One Ghost – If a student lands on a single ghost, they lose half their points.

Three Ghosts – If a student lands on a three ghosts, they lose all their points.

Pumpkins – If a student lands on a pumpkin, they should follow the action that is written on it. These actions include:

Roll Again, Go back to start, Go back 2 spaces, Go forward 2 spaces.

Ask your students to write 20 questions.

The students can work in pairs to write 10 questions on a piece of paper. When they have finished, ask the students to work in small groups of 4-5 students to peer check their questions. Each group should now have 20 questions.

Alternatively, the teacher can provide the questions for the students.

Rotate the questions.

If the students produce their own questions, ask the groups to pass their questions to the group next to them, so that each group has a new set of questions.

Nominate a quiz master.

Ask the students to choose one person to be the quiz master. The quiz master’s role is read the questions and give an appropriate time limit to the students who are the contestants.