72 Halloween This or That Pairs for a Party or a Classroom

These 72 Halloween this or that questions are sorted into six escalating rounds, balanced so the room actually splits and nobody sits out. Every round comes with printable card sheets you can cut apart in two minutes. The angle stays spooky rather than frightening, so the same deck works for a third-grade classroom and a grown-up costume party without a single swap.

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How to Play

Read each pair aloud, or hold up the card, and give everyone three seconds to pick a side: stand left for the first option, stand right for the second, or use two colored cards if the room is seated. Work through all twelve pairs in a round, then tally which option won the most votes before moving to the next round. No wrong answers, no elimination: the fun is in hearing why the room split the way it did.

Round One: Costumes

Costume choices reveal everything about a person, and these twelve pairs make sure everyone in the room has an opinion worth defending.

1. Classic witch hat and robes OR full-face monster makeup
2. Group costume that matches your friends OR solo costume nobody else thought of
3. Store-bought costume OR handmade from things already in your closet
4. Scary costume that makes kids run OR funny costume that makes everyone laugh
5. Celebrity costume everyone recognises instantly OR obscure character only three people get
6. Full-length gown or cape OR quick costume you can wear over regular clothes
7. Animal ears and tail OR full animal onesie
8. Ghost (classic white sheet) OR skeleton (head-to-toe bones)
9. Vampire with cape and fangs OR werewolf with fur and claws
10. Superhero costume OR villain costume
11. Costume you can eat and drink in easily OR costume that looks incredible but is a nightmare to sit down in
12. Repeat a costume you loved last year OR never wear the same costume twice

Round Two: Sweets

Trick-or-treat hauls and candy bowls are where the real disagreements live, so expect the room to get loud during this round.

1. Chocolate bar OR fruity gummy candy
2. Hard candy you suck slowly OR soft candy you chew in one go
3. Caramel apple OR candy corn
4. Full-size bar from that one generous house OR a handful of fun-size from everywhere
5. Peanut butter cups OR chocolate-covered raisins
6. Sour candy that makes your eyes water OR sweet candy with zero tartness
7. Candy pumpkins OR candy skulls
8. Chocolate orange OR pumpkin spice anything
9. Lollipop OR chewy taffy
10. Homemade rice crispy treat wrapped in cling film OR individually sealed shop candy only
11. Sort your haul by type before eating OR eat it in the order you grabbed it
12. Keep your candy and ration it over weeks OR trade the whole bag with friends on the spot

Round Three: Spooky Settings

Where you would and would not go on Halloween night says more about your nerves than any costume ever could.

1. Haunted house walk-through attraction OR haunted hayride in the dark
2. Old cemetery at midnight OR abandoned farmhouse at dusk
3. Foggy forest trail OR creepy carnival with flickering lights
4. Spend the night in a reportedly haunted hotel OR spend the night in a lighthouse during a storm
5. Dark corn maze with no phone OR hedge maze with dim lanterns only
6. Explore a creepy basement OR explore a dusty attic
7. Crumbling old castle OR sunken ghost ship
8. Haunted carnival funhouse OR haunted dollhouse museum
9. Trick-or-treat in a quiet suburban street with fog machines OR trick-or-treat in a busy city block with costumed performers
10. Watch the whole night from a graveyard bench OR watch from the roof of a spooky old mansion
11. Pumpkin patch in daylight OR pumpkin patch by flashlight only
12. Halloween bonfire in the woods OR Halloween bonfire on the beach

Round Four: Monsters

Pick your monster allegiances carefully, because the room will remember your answers when the next round begins.

1. Friendly ghost OR mischievous poltergeist
2. Classic Dracula vampire OR modern sparkle-free vampire
3. Slow shuffling zombie OR fast sprinting zombie
4. Big hairy werewolf OR sleek black panther shapeshifter
5. Witch who flies on a broomstick OR witch who brews potions underground
6. Giant sea monster OR enormous land creature the size of a building
7. Mummy wrapped in bandages OR swamp creature covered in river weeds
8. Invisible ghost you can only hear OR visible ghost that glows faintly
9. Tiny mischievous gremlin OR enormous lumbering troll
10. Headless Horseman OR Sleepy Hollow crow witch
11. Banshee that wails in the dark OR shadow creature that follows silently
12. Friendly monster who just wants snacks OR terrifying monster who is actually misunderstood

Round Five: Films and Stories

Halloween this or that questions hit differently when the options are beloved stories, and this round works even if half the room has only seen the trailers.

1. Classic black-and-white horror film OR modern horror film with a twist ending
2. Animated Halloween special you watch every single year OR live-action Halloween movie you saw once and still think about
3. Witch story OR ghost story
4. Monster that was once human OR monster that was never human at all
5. Halloween story set in a small creepy town OR Halloween story set in a big city at night
6. Read the scary book first OR watch the film adaptation first
7. Story where the heroes win completely OR story where the ending is deliberately left open
8. Horror comedy that makes you laugh more than scream OR straight horror that is genuinely unsettling
9. Halloween film with a child as the main character OR Halloween film with an adult protagonist
10. Supernatural villain with real magical powers OR human villain who is terrifying because they are entirely believable
11. Story told from the monster’s point of view OR story told from the survivor’s point of view
12. Sequel that lives up to the original OR bold standalone with no follow-up

Round Six: The Final Pair

The last round brings the biggest, most divisive questions of the night, the ones people are still arguing about on the drive home.

1. Halloween is the best holiday of the year OR at least one other holiday beats it
2. Trick-or-treating on foot around the neighbourhood OR trunk-or-treat in a lit car park
3. Carve a pumpkin with a scary face OR paint a pumpkin with an intricate design
4. Dress your pet in a matching costume OR let your pet sit this one out with dignity
5. Decorate the outside of your house so elaborately the neighbours slow down their cars OR keep it tasteful with two pumpkins and a wreath
6. Hand out candy at the door all night OR take kids trick-or-treating yourself
7. Halloween playlist of spooky classics OR silence so you can hear every creak
8. End the night with a scary movie OR end the night counting and trading candy
9. Spend more money on the costume OR more money on the decorations
10. Halloween party the weekend before OR an actual October 31 event only
11. Keep all the jack-o-lanterns glowing outside OR bring them in for the table centrepiece
12. Start decorating for Halloween on October 1 OR wait until the last two weeks of October

How to Keep It Moving and When to Stop

Set a timer for ninety seconds per pair if the group is large, sixty seconds if you are in a classroom. The discussion after a split vote is where the energy lives, so give it room without letting one pair swallow the whole round.

If the group is clearly engaged, run all six rounds in order. If energy dips after round four, skip to The Final Pair: it lands better when the room is still warm rather than restless. Six rounds at twelve pairs each takes roughly forty to fifty minutes with discussion; three rounds takes about twenty, which is the sweet spot for a school party with other activities on the schedule.

Keep a tally on a whiteboard or flip-chart of which option won each pair: by the end of Round Six you have a portrait of the room that is more interesting than any icebreaker game. For a classroom, assign the tally job to a student and rotate it every round so everyone has something to do beyond just choosing. For a party, post the final results somewhere visible and leave them up: guests will keep glancing at them all night.

Need more Halloween games once this one wraps? 20 Cozy Halloween Family Party Games has a full programme that fits right after this deck, and 18 Teacher-Approved School Halloween Party Games has classroom-ready options that need zero extra equipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play Halloween this or that?

Read a pair of options aloud and give everyone three seconds to pick a side. Players can stand, raise a hand, hold up a coloured card, or call out their answer. No elimination, no points: the game runs on discussion after each split.

How many players do you need?

It works with as few as four people and scales to a full classroom or party room of sixty or more. The bigger the group, the more dramatic the splits.

Is this suitable for children?

Every pair in all six rounds is PG-13 at most and the angle stays spooky rather than frightening. It runs without changes in a primary school classroom right through to an adult costume party.

How long does the full game take?

All six rounds with discussion takes roughly forty to fifty minutes. If time is short, run three rounds in about twenty minutes. The Final Pair round works well as a standalone icebreaker at ten minutes.

How do I print and prep the card sheets?

Print on cardstock at full page, cut along the grey lines and you have six cards per sheet. Laminate for repeated use, or punch a hole in the corner and clip each round together on a binder ring so the sets stay separate.

Do I need to play all six rounds in order?

The rounds are designed to escalate from light (Costumes, Sweets) to more opinionated (Films, The Final Pair), so playing in order gives the best arc. That said, any single round works as a standalone warm-up or filler activity.