How to Play Trick or Treat, a Candy Race Down a Haunted Street

Trick or Treat is a race down a haunted street of 30 squares. Players take turns rolling one die and moving that many squares. The first player to reach the front door on square 30 wins. It needs no reading and no strategy, so it suits children from about five and the grown-ups playing with them.

What's on the street

• Treat squares (with a wrapped candy): you collect one piece of candy.
• Bonus squares (marked +1): you roll again straight away.
• Trick squares (with a ghost): you go back three squares.
• The door (square 30): land on it to win. If your roll would take you past it, you bounce back by the extra squares, and nothing happens on the bounce.

Does candy matter?

Candy doesn't win the game, but it's tallied next to everyone's name. The final standings go by who got home first, then by who got furthest, and candy settles ties for the same square. So the kid who's behind on the street can still be proud of their candy haul.

A few things worth knowing

• There are no decisions to make, so it's fast, about five to twelve minutes.
• Two to six people can play, and the host can add computer players to fill empty seats.
• The squares are colour coded with pictures, so younger kids can follow along without reading.

Create a room to play. If your family likes it, Snakes & Ladders is the year-round cousin.