Halloween Team Outing Ideas People Actually Want to Go To

The office Halloween party has a familiar shape: a bowl of candy, a costume contest three people enter, and a conference room nobody wanted to be in. An outing fixes that, because people get to do something rather than stand near something.

Below: seven Halloween formats for teams of 6 to 150 at Bond's in Fairfax and Arlington, how to run a multi-room race, what to offer people who hate horror, and the logistics.

Why October is the easiest month to get a team out

• The theme sells itself. Nobody needs convincing that a spooky outing fits October.
• It beats the December crush. Year-end calendars fill with holiday parties, client events and travel.
• Halloween is a Saturday this year. The workday celebration moves to the week before, which makes Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October the natural dates.
• Scares can be opt-in. With horror and non-horror games running in the same hour, nobody gets dragged into a haunted bedroom.

Seven Halloween outing formats

1. The horror-room race

Split into teams, start everyone at once in different horror rooms, and compare escape times afterwards. In Fairfax that means Molly's Horror Room (3–6 players), The Frightful Feast (3–8) and Survive the Joker's Trap (3–8). In Arlington, Sleepover Slaughterhouse (3–10) and Dr. Panic's Asylum (2–6).

2. The October-only rooms

Bond's has re-dressed two rooms for the season, running through Sunday 1 November. Elven Forest: The Crawling Dark in Arlington takes one team of 3 to 8, giant spiders included. Bowl Voyage: Blood Bowl in Fairfax takes 2 to 4, so it's an add-on for a small team rather than the main event. Both are covered in our guide to this year's Halloween escape rooms.

3. The live Game Show

Two teams of up to eight, a live host, trivia rounds, physical challenges and games of chance, with a scoreboard that settles the argument. No puzzles and no scares, so it's the safest single choice for a mixed group. It's $37 a person for 60 minutes, Fairfax only. Standard slots seat 16 and can be shared with another group, so ask for a private show.

Watch the video

4. A VR zombie shift

The VR Arena is free-roam: wireless headsets, no joystick, and you physically walk, duck and aim. For Halloween, start with Dead Ahead, a co-op zombie survival game where the team has to hold the line together. Games run 10 to 15 minutes, so switch afterwards to Quantum Arena (laser tag) or Cook'd Up (kitchen chaos). Two arenas take up to 12 players at once. A session is about an hour including gear-up, $37 a person, Fairfax only.

5. The Double

Everyone plays two games: an escape room and the Game Show, or VR and a room. Teams swap halfway, compare results and get a second shot at the leaderboard. Bond's sells this as its "Double" package and recommends it for half-days.

6. After work in Clarendon

For a DC-based team, Bond's Arlington is five minutes' walk from Clarendon Metro on the Orange and Silver lines, and fully accessible by elevator. It's escape rooms only, six of them, so split a group of 20 between Sleepover Slaughterhouse, The Crawling Dark and Death by Chocolate, then eat in the same complex, Clarendon Center. See Bond's Arlington.

7. The whole-venue Halloween party

For the full company, Fairfax offers a venue buyout for up to 150 guests: escape rooms, VR and the Game Show running for your group alone, pizza and drinks or a catering order, and the on-site VIP conference space for awards. Alcohol needs 24 hours' notice and Bond's approval. If costumes are part of the plan, say so on the quote form; masks that block your vision are a bad fit for searching a dark room.

The multi-room escape race for 12–60 people

It runs like this:

1. Split into teams of 4 to 8. Below 4 a team runs out of hands; above 8 people end up watching.
2. Start every room at the same time, so every team gets the same 60 minutes and finishes together.
3. Score on escape time. A game master watches the clock in every room.
4. Debrief over food. Order pizza and drinks, and book the VIP conference space in Fairfax for the results.

At their listed maximums, Fairfax's nine rooms seat 60 players at once and Arlington's six seat 48; plan a little under for comfort. Bigger groups run in waves, or send some teams into VR (12 players) and the Game Show (16) while the rest play rooms.

Run two tracks so nobody is forced into horror. In Fairfax it looks like this:

Difficulty varies, so put your most experienced players in the two Advanced rooms, or score the race on whether a team escaped at all.

For people who hate horror

Every team has them, and they shouldn't be the reason the outing doesn't happen.

• The Game Show has no scares and no puzzles, just a host, two teams and a scoreboard.
• VR party games such as Cook'd Up, Plush Rush and Monkey Madness are silly rather than spooky.
• Non-horror rooms: Save the White House III takes up to 10, and 1960: History of the Future is a retro time-travel puzzle. In Arlington, Enchanted Castle is a medieval quest.
• Scares can be dialled down. Tell the game master before the start, and flashing lights and effects can be turned down or off.
• Nobody is locked in. The door is never locked, and anyone can step out at any time.

Let people pick their track when they RSVP. Never assign anyone to the scariest room. For a side-by-side of the three formats, read Escape Rooms vs. VR vs. Game Shows.

Logistics: dates, food and 6–150 people

• Size and price. Groups of 6 to 150, from $325 a team, quoted on headcount, games per person and catering. Asking costs nothing. Bond's standing discounts don't apply to team packages.
• Time. Anything from one hour to a full day, at any start time. An escape room or the Game Show runs 60 minutes; VR is about an hour with gear-up.
• Food and drink. Pizza and drinks, or a full catering order. Outside food is fine with advance notice. Alcohol needs 24 hours' notice and approval.
• Meeting space. Fairfax has an on-site VIP conference space for a briefing or a debrief.
• Access. The Fairfax building is older, with no elevator: some rooms are up a two-floor staircase and the VIP rooms up one flight. Arlington is fully accessible. If anyone needs step-free access, choose Arlington or call Fairfax first.
• Getting there. Fairfax has 60+ free parking spaces on site, minutes from I-66, Route 50 and George Mason University. Arlington is five minutes from Clarendon Metro, with a paid garage next door.
• Dates. Halloween week runs Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Thursday 29 and Friday 30 are the obvious picks, so request those first.

Planning for more than 50? How to plan a team event for 50+ people covers waves, timing and food.

Watch the video

Book Fairfax or Arlington

Send the quote form on the escape room team building page with your headcount and date, and the events team will come back with rooms, timings and a written quote.

Bond's Fairfax

• 3949 University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030, in Old Town
• 9 escape rooms, 2 VR arenas, the Game Show and the VIP conference space
• Free parking, 60+ spaces on site
• (703) 270-0377 · Fairfax details

Bond's Arlington

• 2800 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 910, Arlington, VA 22201
• 6 escape rooms, fully accessible
• Five minutes' walk from Clarendon Metro
• (703) 884-1524 · Arlington details

Questions people ask

How much does a Halloween team outing at Bond's cost?

Team packages start at $325 a team, quoted on group size, games per person and catering. Individual games are $34 a person for an escape room and $37 for VR or the Game Show.

How many people can Bond's host for a team event?

From 6 to 150. Large groups split across rooms and play in waves, or take the whole Fairfax venue in a buyout of up to 150 guests.

Can we eat and drink at a Bond's team event?

Yes. Bond's can provide pizza and drinks or arrange catering, and outside food is fine with advance notice. Alcohol needs 24 hours' notice and Bond's approval.

What if some of the team don't like horror?

Give them a non-horror track: the live Game Show, VR party games or rooms such as Save the White House III and Enchanted Castle. In the horror rooms, scares can be dialled down and the door is never locked.

Which Bond's location is better for a company outing?

Fairfax for variety and size: 9 escape rooms, VR, the Game Show, a conference space and free parking. Arlington for Metro access and step-free entry, with 6 escape rooms five minutes from Clarendon station.