Great V.B.S. Carnival Games

Make the most of V.B.S. week with fun carnival games that encourage teamwork and participation! Here are some winning carnival game ideas that will score points with kids.

3-Legged Race

This classic game is great for encouraging teamwork, leadership and trust. Pair up with a family member, stand side by side, use a piece of nylon or rope and tie your ankles together. Now you have three legs. Start the race and the first team to the finish line wins a prize.

Ball Game

Find empty oatmeal canisters, cut them in half and wrap them in different colors of construction paper. Mark them with points on the outside and inside of the container. For example, 5, 10, 15, 20. Arrange them in a triangle, positioning the can with the lowest points in front, then have the kids toss in any small type of ball to win points. Highest number of points wins a prize.

Tic-Tac-Toe

Take a giant piece of poster board and use black electrical tape to draw out a playing space. Have kids toss bean bags into marked areas to see who can get three in a row.

Lucky Duckie

Gather a huge assortment of rubber duckies and with a black permanent marker, write the names of prizes on the bottom of each duck. Then, fill a kiddie pool with water and stock it with all of the rubber duckies. Have kids redeem tickets for an opportunity to pick out a duck prize. Everyone wins at this game!

Golf Zone

Set up a fun putt putt obstacle course and offer prizes for the best score. Use a regular putt putt set and add in your own obstacles that kids can putt around, like a brick, bowl, blocks or any other objects to make it fun!

Dart Throw

Use a large piece of wood or poster board and attach balloons with tape or thumbtacks. Use smaller balloons to make the game more challenging and bigger balloons if you want to make it easier. Give each child three darts to throw at the balloons. Make sure you have enough extra balloons ready to continue adding to the board when kids pop them.

Jump Rope Water Game

Give each child a plastic or paper cup filled with water. While two players twirl a large jump rope, one by one each of the other players are to attempt three consecutive jumps. They should do this while holding onto their cup of water and trying not to let any water spill. The child that has the most water left in the cup is the winner. Or, you can keep playing until only one child has water left in their cup.

Treasure Chest Penny Hunt

Fill a small square or rectangle container with birdseed or dark rice and place 10-15 pennies within the seeds. Allow the participants 1 minute (60 seconds) to find as many pennies as they can within the time frame. Award players with small prizes based on the total amount of pennies they have found. You may also reduce the amount of time for older players.

If you’ve just started planning your V.B.S. carnival, check out our article, V.B.S. Carnival Kickoff Event to start your V.B.S. week off with a bang!