Ghostbusters is a spooky, Halloween-themed chasing and fleeing game that was designed to help students explore tactics, resolve conflicts, and practice emotional self-regulation.
The teacher divides the playing area into three sections: a haunted house at either end with the street running between them. Hoops are laid out three to six feet apart inside each haunted house, enough for every student. An Ecto Containment Unit is marked off to the side of the street with cones, with a green, a yellow, and a red spot lined up inside it.
Ghosts and ghouls cross the street to the opposite haunted house as often as they can without being tagged, earning a Halloween Point each time they make it. Ghostbusters work to tag them and send them to the Ecto Containment Unit.
Students should always control their speed and keep their eyes up as they run.
Ghostbusters should gently tag below shoulder level to avoid accidentally hurting the fleeing players.
Polyspots and hoops used in the game should be non-slip to avoid accidental falls.
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The teacher begins by setting up the playing area, dividing it into three sections: a haunted house at either end with the middle section serving as the street.
In each haunted house, the teacher lays out hoops three to six feet apart from each other. There should be enough hoops for each student in both of the haunted houses.
The class is divided into two groups: the ghosts and the ghouls. The ghosts stand in the hoops of one haunted house while the ghouls stand in the hoops of the other.
Ghosts and ghouls move from house to house as quickly as possible on the teacher's cue. When the teacher calls "GHOSTS", the ghosts run across the street and stand in an open hoop in the opposite house. When the teacher calls "GHOULS", the ghouls do the same. If the teacher calls "GHOSTS AND GHOULS", both groups switch at once.
This continues for a few switches until everyone is warmed up and the teacher is confident that students can move safely throughout the playing area.
Do not rush past this build. It establishes the traffic patterns that keep the game safe once the Ghostbusters and their Proton Packs are added.
The teacher sets up an Ecto Containment Unit on the side of the street by creating a rectangle with cones and lining up a green, a yellow, and a red spot inside it. A few students are then selected to be Ghostbusters, each receiving a Proton Pack, which is a full-sized pool noodle.
The Ghostbusters' role is to tag ghosts and ghouls with their Proton Packs and send them to the Ecto Containment Unit. They may only tag on the street, since a fleeing player in a haunted house is on base.
When the music starts, the ghosts and ghouls freely run across the street to the opposing haunted house. Each crossing made without being tagged earns that player one Halloween Point, which they keep track of themselves.
If a ghost or ghoul is tagged, they show a moose antler, which is an open hand with the thumb on the temple, make their way to the Ecto Containment Unit, and reset their Halloween Points to zero.
The Ecto Containment Unit uses a traffic light system. The first player in stands on red and waits. When a second player arrives, they ask the first to move to yellow and take their place on red. When a third arrives, the second moves to yellow and the first moves to green. A player on green may return to the game.
Play continues until the teacher calls the end of the round, at which point fleeing players celebrate their Halloween Points through movement: 0 to 5 points is jumping jacks, 6 to 10 is crunches, 11 to 15 is squats, and 16 or more is pushups. Points then reset to zero and the teacher selects new Ghostbusters.
Students track their own points, which means the honesty of the count is part of the lesson. Name that out loud before the first round rather than after a dispute.
The teacher randomly places spots on the street to serve as Ghost Traps. Ghostbusters can make use of the traps by guiding ghosts and ghouls toward them as they chase.
The game is played the same way, except that fleeing players need to avoid stepping on the traps as they cross the street. Stepping on a trap counts the same as being tagged.
This round tends to lead to conflict as the Ghostbusters and the fleeing players argue over whether a trap was stepped on. Use these situations as teachable moments to remind players of the conflict resolution and emotional regulation strategies they have learned in class.
To go deeper, see The Resolving Conflicts Poster and The Emotions Toolbox Teacher Pack.
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