Theme packs / Halloween
Halloween birthday party ideas for an October birthday
An October birthday competes with Halloween itself. Lean in rather than fighting it.
Check my party date$149.99 for the weekend · $200 deposit, refunded when the box comes back
Unlocking the premium themes is $9 for the party — Halloween and every other one, changeable until the day.
The plan
Two hours of halloween party
Food
- Mandarin oranges with a face drawn on in marker — the cheapest decoration there is.
- "Mummy" hot dogs wrapped in strips of pastry.
- A punch bowl with dry ice, if an adult is watching it the entire time.
Decorations
- Orange and purple lights instead of overhead lighting.
- Paper bats up the stairs, made from black card the night before.
- Skip the strobe effects. They are the one Halloween decoration that causes real problems.
One thing that isn’t a screen
A short torch-lit treasure hunt with the lights off, indoors, for eight minutes maximum.
What usually goes wrong
Costumes with masks and gloves make controllers hard to use. Have somewhere to put the masks down near the TV.
A running order that works
0:00–0:20
Arrival
Guests trickle in over twenty minutes. Have the on-arrival activity out and the TV showing the attract screen.
0:20–0:45
The activity
One thing off the screen, with a clear end. Twenty-five minutes is the ceiling.
0:45–1:45
The Party Session
Choose Start Party Session on the arcade menu. It turns on Random Mode: when a game ends, the console picks the next one itself. This is the hour you can walk away from — make the coffee, take the photos, talk to the other parents.
1:45–2:00
Cake
Sing, cut, hand it out. Do not do this at the start; sugar first is a mistake you make once.
2:00–2:40
Back to the arcade
Start another Party Session while the sugar is still working. Four kids at a time, the stations do the rest, and it ends on the winner card. This is the loudest and easiest forty minutes of the party.
2:40–3:00
Wind down
Free play on the console, party bags by the door, parents arriving. The screen keeps everyone in one room while you hand out bags.
The arcade
All 39 games, in Halloween colours
A theme pack is a full reskin — art and palette — over mechanics that already work. These four suit a halloween party particularly well.
The invitation
3 ways a halloween invitation can look
Free with every package, and it is the same page your guests actually open — a countdown, the address, a map and a two-tap RSVP. No ads, no account, nothing to install.
Book it
Can you get a box for that Saturday?
Saturdays go first, and the box ships 2 days early so you can test it. Your invitation site is free either way, in Halloween colours.
Bashcade Box
+ $200 refundable deposit
Four arcade stations, shipped to your door or collected from us. The standard home party.
- 4 wired arcade stations
- All 38 games
- Party highlights on the invitation
- 3-day window around the party
- Free shipping both ways, or collect it from us