Inexpensive Carnival Games

Guessing Games

• Place several items you already have from home or in your garage, such as a telephone book, a piece of fruit, a brick and a ball, on a table. Guests must guess the weight of each item without touching the items, guests can only look at the items. Have guests write their answers on small slips of paper. After each player guesses, place the items on a small scale and award prizes to the players who guessed closest to the correct weight of each item. For another guessing game, fill a clear glass jar with candy. Count the number of candies in the jar and have guests try to guess how many pieces are in the jar. The player who comes closest takes the jar of candy home as a prize.

Luck Games

• Take several white ping pong balls and place them in a large paper sack or cloth bag. Add a handful of orange (or any color except white) ping pong balls in the bag. Guests will stick their hand in the bag and pull out a ball. If they get a colored ball, they win a prize. Give each guest three tries. Another luck game is lucky lollipops. Take a bag of lollipops and place a dot on the end of some of the lollipop sticks. Press the lollipops into a piece of polystyrene foam. If guests select a lollipop with a dot, they win a prize.

Toss Games

• Cut a hole in a piece of plywood large enough for a baseball. Paint the front of the board to look like a baseball catcher, where the hole is in the catcher's mitt. Lean the board up against a tree or fence and mark a standing line about 10 feet away. Players must try to toss baseballs into the catcher's mitt to win a prize. For a variation, cut the hole large enough for a football and paint a football player on the front of the board. Guests can try to toss footballs through the board.

Can Games

• Stack empty vegetable cans or soda cans in a pyramid shape on a stool. Guests can toss rubber balls or tennis balls at the cans to try to knock them down. Mark a standing line 10 feet away from the cans. Players must knock down all the cans within three throws to win a prize. Another idea is to use a super soaker water gun to knock down the cans. Fill up the gun for each player. If he can knock down each can using the water gun, he wins a prize.