Pumpkin Jousting

 

Group size 12-50

Cost – $50-100

Type – invent and destroy

1 hour

2 referee

 

For our harvest party we like to do unusual things with a pumpkin.  This year was the first ever Pumpkin Jousting Contest.  I was a fun event full of imagination, laughter, and picture taking.  It may take a lot of effort to set this up but the novelty of it attracted lots of folks

 

Groups of 4-6 work best.  Guestimate how many groups you will have in order to figure out the supplies you will need.

 

Supplies for each group

  • Small Pumpkin (I used those pie pumpkins)
  • $1 roll of duct tape
  • Metal ring
  • Small action figure
  • Handful of 16d nails
  • 3’ Dowel ½ inch in diameter

 

Rules

  • Draw a line halfway up each pumpkin.  Each team may not stick tape above the line.
  • Nails and tape (armor) may be arranged in any way to protect the pumpkin or inflict damage to the opposing pumpkin.
  • The dowel should be used as the pumpkin’s jousting rod.  This is the primary offensive weapon.  Tell the teams to work at figuring out how they plan to aim their jousting dowel
  • The metal ring must be attached so that the referee can clip the pumpkin into the jousting harness.  Tell the teams to work hard to attach the ring securely.  This is probably the weakest part of their creation
  • The small action figure must be placed somewhere with the pumpkin
  • Set up a bracket, let each team name their pumpkin creation and then try to annihilate your opponent.
  •  First pumpkin to break loose of the jousting harness, lose their action figure or lose a golf ball size piece of pumpkin is the loser.
  • No penalty for losing armor (nails and tape)

 

Setting up the jousting harness

  • Stretch a 50’ piece of rope approximately 10’ high
  • Attach two clothes line pulleys to the rope.
  • Tie a rope to the pulley approximately 5’ long with a clip on the end.  The pumpkin clips into this rope
  • Tie another rope about 1’ above the clip leaving about 10’ of  rope going both directions.  These are the ropes that the teams control the pumpkin with.

 

Hints and tips

  • Take a before and after picture of each pumpkin
  • Have somebody readying the next round so that there is lots of action
  • Make a big deal of making it to the Final Four
  • Don’t allow modifications or repairs to the pumpkins once the build is finished
  • Colored Sharpies are fun to use to trick out your pumpkin
  • If you do this in a drive way remember you’ll have a lot of nails that fall of the pumpkins