Halloween matching game: find the spooky pairs

By SharpDaily team · Reviewed by Noam · Published

Find the pairs among 12 Halloween pictures: a jack-o'-lantern, a ghost, a bat, a witch's broom, an owl and more. It's the classic pairs card game with a spooky deck: every picture is on two cards, face down, and you turn over two at a time. Try a round on your phone first, then print the large cards for the party table.

Play a free round of Match the Pairs

Find the matching pairs among this page's pictures. No sign-up, and speed never counts.

A round here deals 6 of the 12 pictures, so 12 cards in rows of four, and picks a different six each time you play. Two cards that don't match stay up for a moment, then turn back over. There's no clock: only the number of turns counts.

The pictures

  • 🎃 Pumpkin
  • 👻 Ghost
  • 🦇 Bat
  • 🕷️ Spider
  • 🕸️ Web
  • 💀 Skull
  • 🧛 Vampire
  • 🧹 Broom
  • 🍬 Candy
  • 🍭 Lollipop
  • 🌕 Moon
  • 🦉 Owl

Every printed card has the picture's name under it in large bold type, so a match is easy to call out: "Two ghosts!"

Print the picture cards (PDF, 3 pages)

The top of page 1 of the Halloween picture cards to print and cut out: big cards with a picture and its name, starting with Pumpkin, Ghost and Bat
The top of page 1 of the PDF. Each picture is printed on two cards, and the last page says how to play.

Twenty-four cards over two sheets, then a sheet of rules. Thin paper lets a ghost show through from the back, which is fitting but gives the game away, so print the cards on card stock if you have it.

How to play with the paper cards

  1. Cut out all 24 cards and shuffle them.
  2. Lay them face down in 4 rows of 6.
  3. Take turns turning over two cards. If they match, keep the pair and go again. If not, turn them back over, and it's the next player's turn.
  4. When the last pair is picked up, whoever holds the most pairs wins.

For a Halloween get-together

  • A table game between the food and the costume parade. Two to four players is about right for one set. For a bigger party, print a set per table.
  • Play with half the deck. With younger grandkids, use only 6 of the pictures (12 cards) to start, and add the rest when they're ready.
  • Leave it out for passers-by. Lay the cards on a side table and let guests flip two whenever they pass. Whoever finds the last pair picks the first treat from the candy bowl.

There's also a Halloween word scramble with 16 words and clues to print. The everyday version of this game, with its own pictures and five levels, is Match the Pairs.