Yard GamesNo. 4481 · The 2026 edition
How to Play Pumpkin Bowling
Roll into Halloween fun with pumpkin bowling—a spooky twist on a classic game!
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Turn a baking pumpkin into a bowling ball and create ghost-faced pins from soda bottles or paper rolls. Set up a lane, bowl from 20 feet away, and award candy for strikes and spares. Perfect for parties, this game is easy to set up and sure to be a hit.
Directions
- Choose a baking pie pumpkin to use as your bowling ball. Have a few extra pumpkins on hand in case someone cracks the first one by throwing it too hard. Cut off the stem so it's level with the pumpkin's surface. Use an apple corer to cut three finger holes in a triangle pattern on the front of each pumpkin, making it easier to grip and throw.
- Create ten bowling pins from empty 2-liter soda bottles, paper towel rolls, or toilet tissue rolls. If using bottles, rinse them out and let them dry, then add about 2 inches of sand or gravel inside and screw the cap back on. Paint the bottles with white acrylic paint and let dry. Add black eyes and a mouth to make a ghost face. For paper towel or toilet tissue rolls, cut out oval and circle shapes from black construction paper and glue them onto the rolls to form ghost faces. Allow everything to dry completely.
- Arrange the pins in a diamond formation with the ghost faces facing the players. Have players roll the pumpkins from a distance of 20 feet. Players take turns throwing, and you can award candy as prizes: two pieces for a strike and one piece for a spare. Let each player continue until they get a strike or spare. For smaller groups, have everyone bowl ten frames and keep score like a real bowling game; the highest score wins a spooky prize.
