Ideas for Indoor Carnival Games

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Whether your school is looking for an exciting fundraiser or perhaps the weather is putting a damper on outdoor fun, an indoor carnival can be a great alternative to a traditional carnival. Create a variety of booths or sections with games and contests that give participants a chance to win tickets to earn prizes. Get the community or faculty involved in the carnival to help raise money or simply to offer kids a fun time when it’s raining outside.

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Guessing Game

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This can be a fun game to start while entering the indoor carnival. Fill a jar or clear container with pennies or candy, such as jellybeans or gumballs. Contestants need to guess how many pennies or candies are in the container to win a prize or win the container full of candies or money. Make sure you write down the total somewhere discreet.

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Lucky Key

Get two or three keys made that will open the same padlock or lock to a treasure chest or box. The contestant gets to choose one key from the pile of keys per ticket or tickets. The right key will unlock the box, and winners will get the prize inside. You can use sealed envelopes to put inside with the type of prize won, or you can put the actual prize inside if it will fit.

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Tossing Games

You can create more than a few tossing games to win prizes. Use bean bags, ping pong balls or even rings to create fun toss games for your indoor carnival. Set up mini pails and color-code them or label them with numbers—get three of the same color or number and win a prize from that category (color or number). Line up stuffed animals or other durable toys and have contestants toss a ring around their favorite toy to win the prize.

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Knockdown

As with the tossing games, you can also knock objects down by rolling a ball or tossing a ball to knock down bowling pins or cans. Stack cans or cups in a pyramid and use a rubber or plastic ball to knock them down.

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Fishing for Prizes

Get a small kiddie pool (plastic or inflatable) filled with water and place a bunch of rubber ducks, plastic fish or toy snakes in the pool. Write prizes on the bottom of the ducks or on the toys and attach paper clips or stick magnets on the toys. Get a small fishing pole or make your own, and attach another magnet to the end of the fishing line to catch a prize. You can add other obstacles in the pool to make the fishing game more challenging, such as toy alligators or sharks as a "bad catch." Put magnets on them as well, and if contestants get a bad catch, they lose.

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Spin the Wheel

You can rent a wheel or create your own with cardboard or wood. Make sure you have a separate piece for the arm that will spin continuously to stop on its own. You can also have a wheel that stands up or one that lies flat on a table. Tape symbols or write the prizes on each slot. Contestants get one spin of the wheel per ticket to try to win a prize.

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