Backyard games are a summertime staple. Whether your hosting a casual barbeque or throwing a birthday party, planning a little competition to keep the guests busy is easy with this DIY project. We’ll show you how to create 3 carnival inspired games for a bit of outdoor fun. Step right up and test your skill!
Thinking about throwing a Carnival Themed Birthday Party? Everyone will love taking turns playing your ring toss, balloon darts and basket toss pegboard games, trying to earn tickets for the prize booth. You won’t be short on entertainment with these fun games that admit more than one! Follow our tutorials to create all 3 pegboard games that are fun for any age.
This tutorial was created, shot and written about by Tara from Spot of Tea Designs. She’s got a whole lot of winning ideas for parties and every day on her blog.
Supplies
- (3) 2ft square pieces of pegboard
- Spray Paint – Red, yellow and blue
- Acrylic Paint – white
- Scrap wood
- Wood Dowels
- Balloons
- Darts
- Glow stick Bracelets
- Zip Ties
- 9 total buckets – Red, Yellow, White, and Blue
- Drill
- Bean bags
- Basket Toss printable
- Hot Glue
- Scissors
- Prize tickets
- Screws
- Foam block (only used as a painting hack!)
- Sharpie
- Wire Cutter
To create the basic shape of your games, you must first attach the legs to the pegboards so they can stand for play. The balloon darts and ring toss games will have long legs so they can stand upright more than the basket toss, which need the lower angle to play.
Use spray paint to cover the fronts of all three boards. We stuck to the traditional carnival colors of red, yellow and blue.
DIY Bean Bag Basket Toss
To create the basket toss game, line your buckets on the ground face down and place the pegboard on top, also face down. Use a Sharpie marker to mark two holes on the bottom of each bucket then drill over each of these marks.
Use zip ties to secure these baskets in place on the pegboard.
Clip the ends of the extra ziptie length with a wire cutter.
Cut out the basket toss printable shapes and adhere inside the basket using hot glue.
To play, designate a starting place and have the player toss a ball to try and land in a bucket.
Tally up their score and provide them with the prize or prize tickets when they’ve thrown them all.
DIY Balloon Darts
To create the balloon darts game, stuff balloons with small toys, games or prize tickets.
Blow them up and twist the end, but don’t tie it.
Stuff the knot through the hole and tie it on the other end to secure.
Continue filling up your pegboard until it’s covered with colorful balloons.
To play, have guests take turns throwing a dart to hit a balloon.
Whichever balloon they pop, they get the prize!
Tip: store the darts in a taller jar filled with foam to keep their pointed ends protected when not in play. Adult supervision is required for this game play!
DIY Ring Toss
To create the ring toss game, cut (14) 6” wood dowels. Insert them in a foam block and paint them with white paint.
Once dry, twist and insert the dowels into select holes on your pegboard.
To play, snap a glow stick and attach using the end segment to create a bracelet. Have guests take turns tossing the bracelet at the pegs. See who can get the most on the pegs!
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