Carnival Game Prize Ideas

Its always hard to figure out how many prizes you need for most events and we have a simple solution to help you figure out exactly what you should buy in order to make your event a success! Plus a few tips to make it even more fun! It's often difficult to figure out how many prizes you may need for your event. Below you'll find a simple formula to help you determine how many you need to make your event a success...We strongly suggest purchasing prizes directly in order to avoid added charges we incur for handling, etc. Prizes may be purchased from www.smalltoys.com or locally at www.mkbrody.com.

Prizes Formula

Step 1, Count the total number of games you are using.

Step 2, Multiply this number by 2.

Step 3, Multiply that number by the amount of minutes your event will last. 1 hour is 60, 2 hours is 120, etc..

This gives you the amount of consolation prizes you will need, plus extra's.

Here's an easy example. You rent 5 games, times 2 and that equals 10. You have a 2 hour event (120 minutes) so 10 X 120 = 1,200 consolation prizes.

Now that you have the consolation prizes figured out, you need the number of winning prizes. Since that is 1 out of 5, that means 20 percent.

Tips for Prizes

Consolation prizes should be small and should cost no more than 5 or 6 cents apiece. this way if you only game. So if you only charge a quarter, the winning prize should not cost.

Use large, bulk containers of candies as consolation prizes. Suckers, gum, individually wrapped licorice sticks, tootsie rolls, etc...

Buy inflatable prizes for winners, they appear larger and people like getting more prize for their money.

Consider offering small "loot" bags for people to keep their consolation prizes in.

If you are running low on prizes, move them to another popular game and close that game down. This helps keep people crowded around the games that have prizes left.

Some people choose to offer tokens which may be redeemed at a prize table. In this case, make sure tokens have a value of about 1/5th of what the games cost to play so you keep your profits up.

Have your volunteers work as barkers! Yes, you know, the good old fashioned carnival game callers who taunt and tease the players. "Hey there fella, bet ya can't get knock these bottles down". "Lets see if you can throw a winner". It all adds to the fun of the event.