What is the very best part of Halloween?
Is it finding the coolest costume of the season? Fancifying the front of your home to stop unsuspecting dog-walkers in their tracks? Or perhaps charging a “parental tax” on the trick-or-treat haul of children?
We’d like to cast a vote for planning an epic Halloween party, complete with (you guessed it) board games!
The OffDutyNinja team desperately wants to throw a party complete with pumpkin carving, embarrassing party games, and (you guessed it) board games … but as a remote office at a busy time of year, bringing everyone across borders for a night of creepy costumes and savory snacks isn’t the most practical plan.
So what’s the next best thing? Planning a hypothetical party, and putting our crew of zombies, pirates and princesses in charge of all the various elements to make for a Devastator of deliciousness!
First up? Keara, our Director of Communications, is directing some sweet treats to our hypothetical hullabaloo!
“The leaves aren’t the only thing falling from trees this autumn! Caramel apple monsters are ripe and ready to go! Granny smith apple slices, candy eyes, a mouthful of caramel, and chocolate chip teeth will be the perfect addition to our Halloween office game party, so long as you keep those fingers clean for when it’s your turn.”
Not sure what’s more terrifying - the idea of Caramel Apple Monsters … or those sticky fingers finding their way onto our precious games!
Did you know that we have TWO Kearas (...Kiras) on our team? Hmm, that line works WAY better in conversation. If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you already know Kira Peavley, the Founder and Original Ninja that kicked the ODN door down, and found a way to build a better, kick-resistant one!
While we were chatting about candied apples, Kira was setting up our party decorations. We didn’t even see her arrive!
“Listen, Halloween is MY FAVORITE so I went all out. We’ve got lots of skulls and spiders and shit. Hope you don’t mind. I’ve crafted hilarious thematic signs for all the food & drink areas. LOOK! And yes, I know I went heavy on Hocus Pocus, but you do KNOW ME, right? Also, I know Keara was in charge of snacks but a spooky candy charcuterie board is technically decor, if you ask me."
Now, it couldn’t be a Halloween game party without (you guessed it) board games, and that’s right when JP Decosse, our Editorial Manager (and former game cafe sommelier) walks in the door.
What terrifying treats are going to be taking over our table?
“We’ve absolutely got to start with a game of Dice Throne. Vampire Lord? Cursed Pirate? Gunslinger? And let’s not forget about all those Superheroes! Dice Throne is basically a costume party turned barroom brawl, so we’ll have to start there, before moving to Psychic Pizza Deliverers Go to the Ghost Town for some mystery and giggles before Keara’s Apple Monsters make a mess of everything. And if we have time for something a little more chunky, I’ll also have Merchants of the Dark Road handy!”
As much as JP wants to start with Dice Throne, we played a pre-party game of bobbing for apples (no, not Keara’s caramel candy apples) and our Strategic Marketing Manager, Maureen Mayberry won the right to choose the first game of the night!
“If we’re doing a Halloween themed game night, my go-to to get things started is One Night Ultimate Werewolf! Even non-gamers can usually get the hang of it pretty fast, and it plays super quick to allow plenty of time for your meatier games, or just a bunch more rounds of Werewolf!”
While Maureen and JP debate game choices, everyone else can’t help but notice that it’s awfully quiet around here! Fortunately, before it gets any more awkward, ODN’s Chief Operating Officer Jondi Soper has arrived with an epic playlist of tunes to keep the beat in between the games and goodies!
“You asked the right person! So...I could go on and on. I have quite a Halloween playlist built in Spotify and I am always adding to it. But for a short list, here are some must-have songs for the party…
- I Put a Spell on You (Any version, but my preference is ones done "in the style" of Bette Midler - as the one FROM Hocus Pocus isn't on Spotify because...Disney. lol)
- Time Warp from Rocky Horror
- This is Halloween from the Nightmare Before Christmas
- Tribute by Tenacious D
- Nightmare on My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Ok, it's silly, but I love it. It has ALWAYS cracked me up.)
- Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton
- Monster Mash (I like a lot of versions, but let's go with the Misfits version!)
- Riboflavin-Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Polyunsaturated Blood by Don Hinson & the Rigamorticians
- Nature Trail to Hell by Weird Al Yankovic
- Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.”
So we’ve got our snacks, our decorations, our music, and our (you guessed it) board games. Now all we need is to actually bring the team together for make this hypothetical party a reality!
Do we have all the ingredients for an epic evening? If you’re planning to crash the ODN Halloween party, what music are you adding to Jondi’s playlist? Any snacks you want to see added to the bar? How about some more game options?