Everyone loves a carnival and the fabulous Witchlight Carnival is the most wondrous of them all!
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight adventure for D&D 5e takes players on an exciting and memorable trip to the dreamy realm of the Feywild.
But before players go to the land of the Fey, they get to experience all that the Witchlight Carnival has to offer!
The carnival games in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight are fun and exciting tests of skill for players. If you win the game, you get a prize to celebrate your victory!
Today we’re looking at the carnival games that players can enjoy in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. We’ll also look at what prizes can be won and I’ve included some homebrew carnival game ideas for you to incorporate into your own game!
So finish your funnel cake and let’s get ready to test your skills with these Witchlight carnival games!
Witchlight Carnival Games
Guests to the Witchlight Carnival have no shortage of entertaining things to see and do!
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight adventure includes 6 carnival games for players to test their skills. Each game has a key ability that it relates to. A strong character will excel at one game while a fast character will excel at another.
| Game | Ability |
| Almiraj Ring Toss | Dexterity |
| Catch the Dragon by the Tail | Wisdom (Perception) |
| Gnome Poetry Contest | Charisma (Performance) |
| Goblin Wrestling | Strength (Athletics) |
| Guess the Number of Feathers | Intelligence |
| Outstare the Cyclops | Constitution |
Each ticket that the players buy has eight punches. The carnival games cost one ticket punch each.
If the players would like to do more inside the Witchlight Carnival, they can purchase another ticket for 8sp or barter with the goblin that works the ticket booth.
Almiraj Ring Toss
An almiraj is a small bunny creature with a horn like that of a unicorn.
For this game, there’s a statue of an almiraj and the player has to toss rings at the statue. If they can get two rings on the statue, they roll on the Carnival Prizes table and win that prize. If they get all three of their rings on the statue, they get to roll on the table twice!
To land a ring on the almiraj horn, the character has to make a successful DC 17 Dexterity check.
Catch the Dragon by the Tail
For this game, the character is blindfolded as a faerie dragon flies around them and giggles.
To catch the faerie dragon, a character has to succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check. They get three chances to catch it.
If the character catches the faerie dragon, they roll on the prize table. If they are able to catch the faerie dragon on their first attempt, they get to roll on the prize table twice!
Gnome Poetry Contest
This game sees the player going against a gnome in a contest of poetry. The winner is the best three of five.
To beat the gnome’s poem, the character has to beat a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check. If they fail a check, the gnome wins that round. If they succeed, they win the round!
Besting the gnome lets the player roll on the Carnival prize table. If they win the game without failing a single check, the player gets to roll on the table twice!
More than the other games, this one requires some preparation on the DM’s part. It’s not a bad idea to jot down some rhymes ahead of time!
Personally, I envision poems that are playfully insulting as a battle of wits between the player and the gnome.
For example:
“There once was a wizard from far beyond the shore
Who was ever-so-famously impossible to bore
He’d spend all day reading of drying paint and dirt
Then give lectures so dull they’d make your ears hurt
But hearing your rhymes is such a great chore
That I fully believe they’d make even him snore!”
Goblin Wrestling
If you’ve got the strength, how about some goblin wrestling?
In this game, the player has to wrestle one or more goblins. If the character is a small creature (like a gnome or halfling), they wrestle a single goblin. If the character is a medium creature (human, elf, etc), they wrestle two goblins.
The player wins by successfully pinning the goblin (or one of the two if they’re a medium-size creature.)
To pin the goblin, the character has to beat the goblin with a contested Strength (Athletics) check. If you are taking on two goblins, the goblin making the roll does so with advantage.
If you roll higher than the goblin, you win! Otherwise, the goblin manages to pin you and you lose!
Winning gets you a roll on the Carnival Prize table.
Guess the Feathers on the Cockatrice
One ticket punch gets you three guesses for how many total feathers are on the group of caged cockatrices.
To guess correctly, you need to make a DC 18 Intelligence check.
If you guess correctly, you win a roll on the prize table. Guess correctly on your first try and you get to roll on the prize table twice!
Outstare the Cyclops
It can be a terrifying thing when a cyclops fixes its gaze on you. So what do you do?
Stare right back of course!
The first one to blink loses in this test. To win, you need only to beat a DC 14 Constitution check!
As with the other games, you roll on the prize table for winning. While this game is a bit easier than the others, it doesn’t have a condition that allows you to roll twice.
Also, it might be worth mentioning that this cyclops is an illusion. If you encounter a cyclops in the wild, challenging it to a staring contest probably isn’t the best idea!
Psst! Don’t forget to check out my full review of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight!
Witchlight Carnival Game Prizes
So what kind of prizes can players win by playing the games at the Witchlight Carnival?
You can use the table to roll and randomly determine what prize a character wins. Of course, you’re also able to add other items of a similar whimsical nature to the list of potential prizes!
| d8 | Prize |
| 1 | Feywild Trinket |
| 2 | A wand with 8 charges. Use an action and 1 charge to cast the Prestidigitation cantrip. This does not recharge. |
| 3 | A small pack of pixie dust good for one use. Sprinkle on a creature to give them a flying speed of 30 feet for one minute. |
| 4 | A bottle of Witchlight Wine. While uncorked, it plays calliope music until there is no more wine in the bottle. |
| 5 | Replica unicorn horn filled with candy. |
| 6 | Magic face paint. Good for one use and gives the wearer the benefit of the Disguise Self spell for 1 hour or until they choose to end it. |
| 7 | Toy spider. Use an action to gain the benefit of the Spider Climb spell for 1 hour. When you use this ability, it turns into a real spider and crawls away. |
| 8 | A wizard hand puppet. Use an action to move the puppet’s arms and cast the minor illusion cantrip. After three uses, the puppet turns into a puff of smoke and disappears. |
The prizes are fun ways to celebrate your win.
Of course, some of these can also be incredibly useful for your adventure beyond the Witchlight Carnival if you’re clever!
Homebrew Carnival Game Options
The carnival games presented in the Wild Beyond the Witchlight add a lot to the fun of the Witchlight Carnival.
But more than that, they give a blueprint for how DMs can incorporate some homebrew carnival games to delight their players!
I think a lot of the fun of the carnival itself for players is letting yourself get swept up in the whimsy and frivolity. That means it’s perfect for adding in additional games!
So I’ve been brainstorming some additional carnival games that you might enjoy or get inspired by.
Enjoy!
Giant Goat Jousting
Two characters participate in this game though it only costs one ticket punch from either. If only one player wants to joust, there’s a willing NPC who’s happy to compete.
Both characters climb on top of giant goats and are given harmless lances. When the NPC running the game signals, both goats charge forward towards each other on opposite sides of a divider.
Each participant makes an attack with their lance at the other. The DC is that character’s unarmored AC (10 + their Dexterity modifier).
If a character is hit, they have to make a DC 17 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to avoid getting thrown off of their goat.
A character that is knocked off of their goat loses the round. If both or neither of the characters are knocked off of their goat, they reset and do it again.
This is a best three out of five game to determine the winner.
The winner rolls on the prize table to determine what they win. If a character wins without falling off of their goat even once, they roll on the prize table twice.
Most of my players love any chance they can get for their characters to have a friendly competition, so I figured this would be right up their alley! If you’ve got players who are the same way, this could be fun!
Foccini the All-Knowing Genie
Remember those animatronic Zoltar fortune-telling machines?
I always LOVED those as a kid and just had to have one in my Witchlight Carnival!
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll throw a video below so you can see one in action. These things were so cool to me as a child. (Who am I kidding? They still are!)
Maybe an artificer constructed this mechanical genie to give fortunes. On the other hand, you could have Foccini be one of the carnival’s many performers!
There aren’t any prizes given out by Foccini, but he does give fortunes. I’d recommend making the cost something cheap like a single copper piece or something if you use this in your game. Because there are no prizes, a ticket punch would be way too high of a cost.
The old Zoltar machines would always give a little fortune card that described where you are in life and where you are going. The fortunes would tell you about challenges ahead and how you can face them as well as list out your “lucky numbers.”
These always made for fun curios and souvenirs and the same charm can work in your D&D game.
Of course, as a DM you might also keep a note of what fortunes the characters receive from Foccini and tie that into the adventure ahead! (Your players will love this!)
Walk the Plank! (Dunking Booth)
The Dunking Booth follows the same rules as the Almiraj Ring Toss game except it’s a bit more interactive!
As the player is trying to throw the balls at the bullseye to drop the Salty Pirate into the water below, the pirate is insulting them.
Beyond that, use the same DC and prize conditions as the Almiraj Ring Toss game!
Test Your Might! (Ring the Bell)
It’s a carnival classic!
The player is given a heavy mallet to smack a lever at the base of this game. The harder they hit, the higher the weight on the other end of the lever goes.
At the top of the game is a bell. When the weight hits the bell, the player wins a prize!
It’s a DC 17 Strength check to ring the bell. A natural 20 knocks the bell off and the worker will have to replace it.
For one ticket punch, the player gets three swings. If they ring the bell, they win a prize. If they ring the bell on the first try or get a natural 20, they win two prizes!
Custard Eating Contest
It’s not a carnival without an eating contest! If you’ve got the stomach for it, join the custard eating contest!
It’s a DC 16 Constitution saving throw to win the contest. If you win, you get a roll on the prize table plus a free custard for all of your friends! If you fail, you spill your guts!
Who’s hungry?
The Rope Ladder
A taught rope ladder at a 30-degree angle might seem like an easy challenge, but you’d be mistaken!
Can you keep your balance as you climb the ladder and ring the bell at the end?
Make a DC 17 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to find out!
You get three tries for one ticket punch. If you ring the bell, you roll on the prize table. If you ring the bell on your first try, you roll on the prize table twice!
Cup and Balls
The Great Gazpacho claims to have the fastest hands in the Feywild. He’ll banter and tease as he rotates three cups around on his table.
He says that that bright red ball is under one of the cups. Watch carefully and correctly guess the ball’s location to win a prize! You get two guesses!
The player can choose between making a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) or DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check to correctly guess the ball’s location. (It’s actually either under his hat or in one of his vest pockets!)
Conclusion
A dull opening to a campaign can make it difficult to ever truly capture the feeling of the adventure. Fortunately, the carnival games in the Wild Beyond the Witchlight make for an incredibly fun way to kick off this romp through the Feywild!
You can get your copy (or read my review!) using the links below!
Got any ideas for additional carnival games you can add to the Witchlight Carnival? Let’s talk in the comments!
This rocks! Running a festival this weekend and this will be great. Thank you!
Hi Kevin!
Thank you so much! Glad you like it!
If you get some time, I’d love to hear how it goes over! 🙂
We played yesterday and it was a riot. I wrote insulting poems for each of them and it was hilarious. I also really enjoyed making them puke from eating too much custard haha. It really gave the festival a great vibe and was a great RP opportunity. I’m sending your page to my friend who runs his own campaign!
You’ve just made my day! I’m so happy to hear that you and your group enjoyed the festival! 🙂
Also, thanks for sharing the page!
Having some kind of Spring Festival (normal human-centric city) next session and needed some inspiration! Thank you so much for this, i just adapted some stuff to be less wondrous or magical. I think my players will have a lot of fun! 🙂
Hi Fatewing!
Glad you found this helpful! You’ll have to let me know how the Spring Festival goes! 🙂
Needed inspiration for a fair before a festival week, this is exactly what I was searching for! Hope my players enjoy your ideas as much as I found them interesting!
Hi Boggy!
It makes me happy to know you found this helpful! I’d love to know how the festival goes and how your players like the games! 🙂
I am a teacher getting ready to start a dnd after school program in a rural area, and these games helped so much! I mostly have brand new players, so it gives a terrific spread of challenges to get them used to before throwing them into a campaign! Thanks so much!
Hi Ben!
I’m glad you enjoyed this article! It was definitely a fun one to write!
I hadn’t thought of it before, but you make an EXCELLENT point about how these games are also useful for helping new players learn how their abilities and skill challenges work before braving the dangerous monsters, traps, and hazards on their quest!