NO DARTS NEEDED - BOO-LOON POP GAME - SETUP & DIRECTIONS
Shows a young boy tossing a bean bag at a ghost painted game board to pop attached white balloons.
Supplies for DIY BOO-Loon Pop:
Large Piece of 1/2 inch thick Plywood
White and Black Acrylic Paint 12 or more Bean Bags 50 Medium Sized Clothespins
50 - 1 inch, thin nails for attaching the Clothespins
25 - 50 Tacks (roughed up with sand paper)
Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks (for adults to use)
250 or more White Balloons
50 or more Black Balloons
2 or more Large Garbage Sacks (for holding inflated balloons)
Stand Behind Lines or Traffic Cones
Bungee Cords for Securing Board - necessary if used outside!
Ticket Box and Game Sign
Consolation Prizes - Halloween Prizes are Great FUN and Top Prizes for the winners
If your game is at dusk or at night, white lights in a string for Ghost outline can be really fun - optional
Instructions for this DIY Halloween Game:
Many days (or weeks) before your carnival draw out a shape of a ghost on your plywood and paint your plywood with black and white paint.
After the paint drys, have an adult attach the medium sized clothespins to the board.
Note: each clothespin needs to be attached using the thin nail and to attach on its side (see image below) about 8 inches apart.
Note: Our first try was using hooks for the balloons but the wind blew them off the board. Next, we tried hot glue and clothespins - but sometimes when a players tossed bean bags, they hit a clothespin and a balloon flew off! By attaching the clothespins on their side using a nail it eliminates the problem!
For the balloons to pop when kids throw a bean bag, you will need to have a tack hot glued to the board. The best placement we found was to put the tacks about 4 - 5 inches below the bottom of each clothespin using hot glue. We found if the tack is "dead center" under the balloon, the balloons may be too easy to pop! You can also make some of the tacs "off center" by about 2 - 3 inches, to make this game a little bit more difficult!
Game Setup:
A few days before you event, have some volunteers blow up balloons and store in oversized garbage sacks.

Before your carnival, decide where you will set up your game and secure it using bungee cords if placed outside leaning on a tree (see photo above)
Set up your different "stand behind" lines for different age children.
How to Play the BOO-Loon Pop Carnival Game:
Players are given 3 Bean Bags for a chance to throw a beanbag and pop a balloon (or more) to win a top prize.
0 balloons popped = a consolation prize 1 balloon popped = a medium prize 2 or more balloons popped = a top prize Please test this game a few dozen throws to make sure it is not too easy or too hard! Generally you want for 1 in 10 kids to win a top prize. So... when giving 3 chances for each player that is 30 bean bag tosses to pop a ballon! If the game is too easy, require that they pop 2 balloon instead of just 1 to win a top prize! Kids line up in droves to play this fun, alternative dart balloon game!
Additional Hints & Tips:
Note: For younger children, you may wish to give them 4 bean bags or let them stand 2 - 3 feet closer to the board so they have a chance to win at this game too!
Lets Keep All Children Safe! Follow the guideline of the Consumer Product Safety Commission with regards to balloons and young children. Click here to download this child balloon safety pdf.
Allergy Information: People who have severe latex allergies can have a reaction to bursting balloons. For schools or churches it may be wise to talk with administrators to verify all child allergies first. Also, consider changing this game to the "Ghost Bean Bag Toss." Cut holes out for the eyes and mouth for the tossing bean bags instead of popping balloons!
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