When the moon is high and the night is dark, there’s nothing like gathering your friends for a heart-pounding session of scary games. Whether you’re looking for ghostly adventures or nerve-wracking challenges, these 61 spine-chilling scary games to play with friends will keep you on the edge of your seat and your friends screaming for more.

Here some spine chilling Scary Games to Play With Friends are mentioned below:

1. Bloody Mary

• Description: A paranormal game where participants summon the spirit of Bloody Mary by chanting her name in front of a mirror.
• How to Play: Turn off the lights, stand in front of a mirror, and chant “Bloody Mary” a certain number of times.
• Requirements: A dark room, a mirror
• Players: 1 or more

2. Ouija Board

• Description: Participants ask questions to spirits using a planchette on a board with letters and numbers.
• How to Play: Lightly place fingers on the planchette and ask questions; the planchette moves to answer.
• Requirements: Ouija board
• Players: 2 or more

3. Hide and Shriek

• Description: A hide-and-seek game played in the dark, adding a spooky twist with surprise scares.
• How to Play: Players hide in the dark; seeker finds others while trying to avoid getting scared.
• Requirements: Dark space, hiding spots
• Players: 3 or more

4. The Midnight Game

• Description: A paranormal game where players summon the Midnight Man and try to avoid being caught by him.
• How to Play: Write your name on a piece of paper, perform a ritual, and try to evade the Midnight Man.
• Requirements: Candle, paper, matches
• Players: 1 or more

5. Ghost in the Graveyard

• Description: A hide-and-seek variant played outdoors in the dark, with one player as the ghost.
• How to Play: Players hide; the ghost seeks them. When found, players join the ghost.
• Requirements: Outdoor space, darkness
• Players: 4 or more

6. Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board

• Description: Participants try to lift a person using only their fingers while reciting a chant.
• How to Play: Recite the chant and attempt to lift a person lying on the floor using fingertips.
• Requirements: A willing participant, belief in supernatural
• Players: 3 or more

7. The Three Kings

• Description: Participants explore a psychological game that aims to tap into altered states of mind.
• How to Play: Set up specific items in a dark room and follow instructions to induce altered consciousness.
• Requirements: Dark room, specific items
• Players: 1 or more

8. One-Man Hide and Seek (The Japanese Ritual)

• Description: A ritualistic game where a doll is possessed by a spirit for a game of hide-and-seek.
• How to Play: Prepare a doll, perform a ritual, and seek the possessed doll.
• Requirements: Doll, rice, thread, sharp object
• Players: 1

9. The Elevator Game

• Description: Players ride an elevator in a specific sequence to another dimension or encounter spirits.
• How to Play: Press elevator buttons in a certain sequence, potentially reaching another dimension.
• Requirements: A building with an elevator
• Players: 1 or more

10. Dark Room Challenge

• Description: Players navigate through a dark room filled with obstacles without making a sound.
• How to Play: Blindfold participants and have them navigate through obstacles in complete darkness.
• Requirements: Darkroom, obstacles
• Players: 2 or more

11. Sardines

• Description: A reverse hide-and-seek game where players hide together, and the seeker tries to find them one by one.
• How to Play: One player hides, and others seek. As seekers find the hider, they hide with them until everyone is crammed together.
• Requirements: Space for hiding, darkness for added thrill
• Players: 4 or more

12. Cat Scratch

• Description: A spooky game involving superstitions where participants recall an urban legend about a possessed cat.
• How to Play: Players sit in a circle; one shares a creepy story. As the story ends, another participant pretends to scratch their back, creating an illusion of being scratched by a ghost cat.
• Requirements: A spooky story, imagination
• Players: 3 or more

13. Manhunt

• Description: A large-scale hide-and-seek game played outdoors, often in an expansive area like a park or forest.
• How to Play: Players hide, and one or more seek. The game ends when everyone is found or a specific time elapses.
• Requirements: Outdoor space, boundaries
• Players: 6 or more

14. The Sandman Game

• Description: A psychological game that explores the idea of encountering the Sandman in your dreams.
• How to Play: Players perform a ritual before sleeping, attempting to communicate with the Sandman in dreams.
• Requirements: Darkness, belief in supernatural
• Players: 1 or more

15. Baby Blue

• Description: A paranormal game involving summoning a spirit named Baby Blue and asking questions.
• How to Play: Participants chant and ask questions, attempting to communicate with the spirit.
• Requirements: Candle, paper, chant instructions
• Players: 2 or more

16. Psychopath’s Game

• Description: A psychological game where players act as psychologists and patients, delving into dark and unsettling scenarios.
• How to Play: Participants role-play as psychologists and patients, exploring psychological themes.
• Requirements: Imagination, willingness to engage in dark scenarios
• Players: 4 or more

17. The Sandman’s Sleep

• Description: A ritualistic game where participants aim to communicate with the Sandman to influence dreams.
• How to Play: Perform a ritual before sleeping to connect with the Sandman and influence dreams.
• Requirements: A quiet place, belief in supernatural
• Players: 1 or more

18. The Picture Game

• Description: A spooky game involving capturing paranormal images using a camera and a mirror.
• How to Play: Take a photo of a mirror in a dark room, potentially capturing paranormal images or entities.
• Requirements: Camera, mirror, darkness
• Players: 1 or more

19. The Candles Game

• Description: A game where participants attempt to summon spirits by blowing out candles in a specific order.
• How to Play: Light candles and try to blow them out in a specific order, potentially summoning spirits.
• Requirements: Candles, specific ritual instructions
• Players: 2 or more

20. The Hosting Game

• Description: A ritualistic game where players attempt to invite spirits into their homes.
• How to Play: Perform a ritual inviting spirits into the home, potentially allowing for supernatural encounters.
• Requirements: Instructions for ritual, belief in supernatural
• Players: 1 or more

Some other Scary Games to Play With Friends are also mentioned-

21. Don’t Look Behind You

Participants sit in a triangular arrangement with a candle in a dimly lit basement, inviting demons without looking at them. The game’s rule is to avoid eye contact with the summoned entity.

22. Dry Bones

Players summon a deadly spirit into their home and attempt to survive until 3 AM to have a wish granted. Surviving until the specified hour determines the wish fulfillment.

23. Dark Reflection Ritual

Participants gather negative energy by gazing into a mirror and exhaling onto it. Breaking the mirror releases the energy, and surviving until dawn rewards them with positive energy.

24. Tsuji-ura

This is an japanese scary games to play with friends, here players go to a crossroads at night with a comb, cover their faces with it, and ask a stranger passing by for their fortune. The stranger’s response serves as the fortune.

25. The Binoculars Game

Players set up flashlights, rope, and a friend in a darkened house. They listen for signals and use binoculars to spot a distant figure, praying it disappears to end the game.

26. The Candyman

Chanting “The Candyman” in front of a mirror summons a figure. Players must avoid being caught in the darkness and quickly illuminate the room to stay safe.

27. Red Book

Participants sit in a circle with a red book, asking it questions. They interpret answers based on randomly chosen sentences. Permission is asked to enter and leave the game.

28. The Dice Game

Players set up a board game with two dice, making a wish. The outcome determines if their wish will come true or if they’ll face consequences based on the dice’s arrangement.

29. Sara Sarita

Participants use coins to communicate with an entity named Sara Sarita, asking yes or no questions and receiving answers based on how the coins land. Permission is asked to enter and leave the game.

30. The Telephone Ritual

In a dark, abandoned house, participants sprinkle salt, enter a bathroom, and dial the house’s landline number. They await a response, simulating a spooky encounter.

31. See and Kill

A variation of hide-and-seek where one person becomes a ruthless killer, and others hide. The game involves chilling screams when someone gets caught, heightening the suspense.

32. Daruma-san (The Bath Game)

A Japanese game where one player sits in a bathtub, chanting while washing their hair, summoning an image of a Japanese woman. The player asks her a question and exits the bathroom. Throughout the following day, the player must evade the pursued spirit who tries to get closer. The game ends with a specific ritual before midnight.

33. Monsters in the Dark

In this suspenseful game, one person sits alone in a dark room while others attempt to startle them with various tactics, like sneaking up, making eerie noises, or touching them with objects. The goal is to provoke a fear response from the person in the dark.

34. Devil Face

Played in Spain, participants light 12 black candles in a bathroom at midnight and stare into a mirror to witness the Devil’s face. Various consequences or interactions with the Devil might occur.

35. Purple Hearts

Participants gather in a circle as one person lies down with eyes shut. The others initiate the game with a chant and create a scary ambiance. The inquirer then rubs the sleeper’s temples and asks about their dream’s surroundings.

36. Lady Spades

A game similar to Bloody Mary. Participants invite a spirit, Lady Spades, by lighting a candle and summoning her through a mirror. They ask for a wish, and the outcome varies based on certain signs seen in the mirror.

37. The 11-Mile Game

A solitary journey where the player drives through an eerie road, encountering specific mile markers with peculiar events. Upon reaching the end, the player can make a wish, but there may be consequences.

38. Ma Lon

A game where lighting a cigarette summons a spirit that pursues the player, who must run straight to avoid being caught. The game ends when the incense burns out.

39. The Spirit of the Pen

Rooted in Chinese culture, this ritual involves holding a pen and asking questions to a spirit. Movement of the pen on a board indicates answers. Participants must ask respectful questions and end the ritual before midnight.

40. Mother Midnight

Participants seek information from a supernatural entity called Mother Midnight by placing a childhood object outside a darkened door. A series of actions are followed, including questions and specific responses from the figure related to the object.

41. Triple Mirror Game

Players arrange three mirrors in a dark room, light a candle, and gaze into the third mirror. Ending the game involves averting one’s gaze, covering the mirrors, and leaving them untouched for three days.

42. The Dumb Supper Ritual

This involves a solemn dinner where guests, possibly spirits, are invited. Steps include setting up a silent dinner, seating arrangements, serving a meal at midnight, and watching for signs, either for future romance or to honor the deceased.

43. The Shoebox Telephone

Write a letter to someone you want to communicate with, place it in a shoebox with an object of theirs, and connect a paper cup with string. Read the letter aloud into the cup, then put the box in a closet. Later, check for signs indicating a response in a dream; if negative signs appear, stop immediately.

44. Deadman’s Tag

Played outdoors in minimal moonlight. Participants hide and try to return to home base without being caught by the “It” player. Once safe, the game ends.

45. Red Door, Yellow Door

A sleepover game involving a trance-like state where players guide someone through doors in their mind. The doors’ colors signify different answers to questions asked.

46. The Answer Man

Requires ten participants with ten mobile phones. Participants call the person next to them simultaneously; if one call goes through while the rest encounter busy signals or voicemail, they can ask the “Answer Man” a question.

47. Ghost

A game similar to a Ouija board, using playing cards and candles to answer questions. Participants ask questions and draw cards for responses.

48. Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

This also a japanese scary games to play with friends. This is a storytelling game where participants light 100 candles, share eerie tales, and blow out a candle after each story until 100 stories are told. Supposedly, something unusual happens after the 100th story.

49. The Thumb Game

In a dark room, participants hold each other’s thumbs and visualize a cottage, with one person seeking their thumb. Success means improved luck; failure brings no change.

50. The Pendulum

Using a pendulum (an object hanging from a string), participants ask yes-or-no questions, interpreting the pendulum’s movements for answers.

51. The Ghost Paper Challenge

Played at 3 am in a dark room with a door. Participants write questions on paper, slide it under the door, and ask the spirit to respond. If the paper moves, the spirit answers; otherwise, retry later.

52. This Little Piggy

• Players gather in a dark room with an open door between midnight and 3 AM.
• They sit under a large blanket, reciting the nursery rhyme “This Little Piggy” and offering candies to summon a supernatural presence.
• Once the presence appears, they ask it questions without lifting the blanket and conclude by reciting the rhyme again, hoping to send the entity away.

53. Gnome, gnome, come

• Players prepare a dark room, remove religious items, and position chairs and twine.
• Each participant ties a candy to the twine while silently making a wish.
• The candies must be equidistant and tied securely; then, participants chant “Gnome Gnome Priyti” to invoke the gnome’s granting of wishes.

54. Salt rituals

• Friends gather and write their wishes on paper, covered with salt and burned on a fireproof plate.
• Once the paper burns completely, they dispose of the ashes outside the home for wish fulfillment.

55. Charlotte’s Web

• Participants set up a room without windows, facing mirrors and toys, and use flashlights.
• By speaking specific phrases and engaging with the mirror, they communicate with the ghost of a 7-year-old girl from the 15th century.

56. Welcoming Them Home

• Participants write “Welcome Home” on paper and enter a dark room with an open door, silently repeating the words for a minute.
• They may sense a presence behind them, communicating for an hour before ending the session.

57. The Closet Game

• Played in a dark closet at midnight, players wait quietly for two minutes, then say a specific phrase.
• If they hear a whisper, they light a match, and upon hearing nothing, leave the closet without looking back.

58. The Compass Game

Players use a compass and paper to create a makeshift Ouija board, seeking permission and asking questions while interpreting the compass’s movements.

59. Howling Helen

Played after midnight in complete darkness, participants draw a figure on a mirror and chant to summon the spirit of Helen, who may appear or scream in response.

60. The Gallery of Henri Beauchamp

This ritual involves complex steps in a specific Parisian bar and promises artistic inspiration but also potential danger.

61. The Hooded Man

Players perform a cleansing ritual, call a cab at night, and enter it, eventually entering an otherworldly realm with the hooded man as the driver.

How to Ensure Safety While Performing Scary Games to Play with Friends?

Playing scary games can be thrilling, but it’s crucial to prioritize safety. Here are some safety tips:

• Setting Boundaries: Establish boundaries and rules beforehand.
• Supervision: Ensure adult supervision, especially for younger participants.
• Respect Comfort Levels: Respect everyone’s comfort levels; stop if anyone feels distressed.
• Emergency Plans: Have emergency plans in place and know how to exit or stop the game if needed.

Creating the Perfect Atmosphere

1. Ambient Lighting: Set the mood with dim lighting, candles, or string lights for a spooky atmosphere.
2. Sound Effects: Incorporate eerie sounds or music to heighten tension and add to the game’s thrill.
3. Scary Decor: Enhance the environment with creepy decorations like fake spider webs, skeletons, or eerie artwork.
4. Props and Costumes: Encourage participants to dress in spooky attire or provide props to add to the immersive experience.

Hosting a Scary Games Night

1. Invitation: Send out themed invitations to create anticipation and set the tone for the event.
2. Refreshments: Prepare themed snacks and drinks that match the eerie atmosphere, like “witch’s brew” or “monster fingers” (pretzel sticks).
3. Game Stations: Set up different game stations for a variety of scary experiences and keep the activities flowing.
4. Awards or Prizes: Create fun awards or prizes for the bravest player, best costume, or most creative scare.

Alternatives to Intense Scary Games

Not everyone enjoys intense scares, so here are some lighter alternatives for a spooky-themed gathering:

• Horror Movie Marathon: Watch classic or comedic horror movies for a chilling yet enjoyable experience.
• Escape Room Games: Choose escape room board games or apps that provide thrilling challenges without intense scares.
• Scary Storytelling: Gather around and share spooky stories, taking turns to weave tales of mystery and suspense.
• Puzzle Games: Explore mystery or detective-themed puzzle games that engage without being too frightening.

Safety and Comfort First

• Consent and Boundaries: Always respect individual comfort levels and ensure everyone consents to participate.
• Support System: Have a support system in place if someone feels distressed or scared during the games.
• Post-Game Check-In: After the games, check in with participants to ensure everyone feels comfortable and safe.

The Psychological Aspect

• Adrenaline Rush: Scary games can trigger an adrenaline rush, leading to increased heart rate and heightened emotions.
• Mind Tricks: Our minds can play tricks on us in scary situations, leading to heightened fear responses.
• Group Dynamics: Playing scary games in a group can create a sense of camaraderie and shared experiences.

FAQs About Scary Games to Play With Friends:

Q 1. Are these scary games to play with friends are safe to play?

Ans 1: While these games are for entertainment, some may involve paranormal or psychological elements. Play at your own risk and comfort level.

Q 2. Can scary games have psychological effects?

Ans 2: Some games involve psychological elements that may affect individuals differently. Be mindful of mental health and stop if anyone feels uncomfortable.

Q 3. Are these games suitable for all age groups?

Ans 3: These games may not be suitable for young children. Consider the age and maturity level of participants before playing.

Q 4. How can I ensure a scary game is manageable for my friends?

Ans 4: Set boundaries, communicate openly, and choose games that align with everyone’s comfort levels.

Q 5. Can playing scary games be harmful?

Ans 5: While these games are meant for entertainment, they may evoke fear or anxiety in some individuals. Stop if anyone feels distressed.

Q 6. Are there alternatives to intense scary games for more light-hearted fun?

Ans 6: Yes, consider less intense scary games or switch to other types of games if the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable.

Q 7. Can these games be played in daylight?

Ans 7: Yes, some games can be adapted to daylight settings, making them less intense.

Q 8. Are there any cultural or religious considerations while playing these games?

Ans 8: Some games might involve elements conflicting with cultural or religious beliefs. Consider these factors before playing.

Q 9. How should I prepare before playing a scary game?

Ans 9: Set up a safe environment, inform participants of the game’s rules, and ensure everyone’s consent to participate.

Q 10. Where can I find more information about scary games?

Ans 10: Explore websites, forums, and books discussing paranormal games and experiences for more insights.

Conclusion

Scary games can create memorable and thrilling experiences with friends, but it’s essential to prioritize safety and comfort levels. These games offer a mix of paranormal, psychological, and adventurous elements, providing a night filled with screams, laughs, and unforgettable moments.

For more engaging activities and thrilling adventures, explore Parentology, a treasure trove of fun and entertaining ideas for you and your friends.

Prepare to delve into the eerie world of scary games and create memories that will haunt you (in a good way) for years to come!