16 D&D Carnival Games

Here are some carnival games you can put into your campaign between adventures or when the characters find a town that happens to be having a festival of some kind. The prizes should be mechanically worthless souvenirs that the party will enjoy roleplaying with but won't really gain any advantage with. This set of rules comes with a bonus rule on getting drunk!

Carnival Games

Pie-eating Contest

One Constitution check for each pie. DC starts at 8, then increases by 2 for each pie. If you fail a check by 10 or more, you throw up and are disqualified. If you roll a 20 or higher, you pull ahead by 1 pie and 1 failure is removed. Otherwise, a loss indicates that you falter. The DC still goes up afterward, and once you reach 2 failures, you just can’t go on and you tap out. Ties are ruled by who got the higher check (and therefore ate just a bit more).

Drinking Contest

One Constitution check for each drink. A character can chug a number of drinks equal to their Constitution modifier before they must make a Constitution saving throw against poison with a DC of 10 + the total number of drinks consumed. On a failure, they gain one level of drunkenness (see below).

Drunkenness Level	Effect
1	Poisoned. Advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
2	Disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws (except Constitution). Immune to being frightened.
3	You can only move half your speed at a time, or you fall prone. You cannot Dash. Standing up costs all your movement.
4	You vomit, then fall unconscious for 1d4 hours.

Shell Game

An NPC makes Sleight of Hand checks with a +7 bonus. A successful contested Perception check allows you to spot the object and win.

Arm-wrestling Contest

Opposed Strength checks. If you succeed on two in a row, you slam the other person’s hand down. Natural 1s and 20s grant disadvantage or advantage on your next roll.

Archery or Darts Tournament

Make ranged attack rolls with a shortbow. The higher the roll, the closer to the bullseye you hit. A roll of 25 or higher is a perfect bullseye. The first round is at 50 feet away, the next is at 100 feet. Three arrows per round.

Crown-and-Anchor

Put any amount of gold on a grid numbered 1 through 6. Roll 3d6. The number of d6s that match the number guessed is the multiplier of the bet. (1x, 2x, 3x, or 0)

Dragon Chess

Opposed Intelligence checks. You can make a contested Deception/Insight to grant disadvantage against them, but only once per game. The first person to 3 successes checkmates the other.

Pit Fighting

A no-armor, no-magic item fistfight. The first person to knock the other unconscious wins. Half the number of normal hit points for a knockout (for speed’s sake).

Fencing

Each player gets a rapier and studded leather armor, then fight. First person to “touch” (score a hit) the other person three times wins.

Racing

Opposed Animal Handling, Dexterity, or Athletics checks. The first person to add up to a total of 30 with their rolls wins the race.

Music Competition

Opposed Performance checks. You can only play an instrument you're proficient with. Three rounds, best two out of three gets the crowd’s favor, but high rolls might still win you some gold anyway from fans.

Dice

Roll 2d6. If yours is higher, you win. There are more intricate gambling rules for other games:

• Pan’s Gambit. 50g buy-in. Each player rolls 1d8, then raises the bet, calls the bet, or folds. When everyone calls the bet, roll 1d6. Do it again. Then roll 1d4 and add the dice together. Highest result takes the pot, or 80% of the pot if in a casino. (Sleight of Hand can let you reroll, Deception can force a fold)
• Moondancer’s Favor. 25g buy-in. Roll 2d6. If they add up to a 7 or a 12, you win. You can double the bet to add 1d6 to the total.

Horse Racing Betting

Five horses are let loose on a track. Roll 1d4 for each horse three times. The horse with the highest total wins. Second place winners get half their bet back, winners get twice their bet as winnings.

Knucklebones

With a handful of knucklebones (4d4), you play a game of chance. There are a few ways to play:

• Classic Knucklebones. You roll the bones and count the number. Different amounts have different names. (A score of 4 is called “Dog’s Ear” and a score of 16 is called “Fortuna.”) You can reroll 2 (and only 2) of the bones if you double your bet.
• Odds or Evens. Your opponent says odds or evens and you toss the bones. If the resulting sum is not the one they guessed, you win.

Gladiatorial Arena

Pay to play (100 gp buy-in) Teams fight beasts in the arena until only one team remains, declared the winner. The CR of the beasts for the PCs starts at their current level, then goes up by 1 each round. For the opposing teams (generally 2 other teams), they simply make 3 checks with a bonus of the PCs’ proficiency bonus. If at least two meet the DC, they go on. First match is DC 10, then goes up by +5 each match.

Jousting Tournament

Pay to play (100 gp buy-in), need to be of the Noble background, a member of a local guild, sponsored, or otherwise with some renown of some kind. First opposed Animal Handling checks, then an attack roll (with advantage if you won the Animal Handling check). After the hit, a Strength saving throw to avoid being knocked off if you were hit (DC 10 or half the amount of damage taken, whichever is higher). The round ends after the best two out of three hits, or one of the knights falls unconscious, falls off the horse, or gives up.