The mystery sundae ice cream game is a hilarious party game for kids, gross teen games, birthday party activities, or fun family activities for brave adults to play with kids. It’s also a great ice cream relay game idea because you’re racing against teams!
How To Play The Mystery Sundae Ice Cream Game
Looking for a fun and messy party game for kids, activity ideas for teen parties, or things to do at family gatherings?
Mystery Sundae Surprise is a hilarious blindfolded ice cream challenge where players create sundaes using a mix of sweet and weird toppings including sprinkles and chocolate, but also unexpected surprises like pickles or ketchup! (YUM!)
This game is perfect for ice cream parties, birthday parties, teen sleepovers, or summer fun list ideas.
This gross game keeps everyone laughing as players pick mystery toppings, and take the ultimate taste test where a player must take a bite of their sundae — no matter what’s in it — or risk losing the game for the entire team!
It’s a great game for team play, food challenges, and party competitions like food relay races or minute to win it challenges.
Mystery Sundae Surprise Game Rules
Goal of the Game
GAME GOAL: Teams build a gross sundae and then eat it before the other team finishes their ice cream sundae to win a prizes.
Teams compete head-to-head with blindfolded players building an ice cream sundae one mystery topping at a time.
The player must rely on their teammates’ verbal instructions to add the topping to the sundae without the blindfolded player knowing what they are adding.
The blindfolded players must then take a bite of the sundae.
If a player refuses, that team member is out (leaving the team down a member each time it happens) and another mystery topping is added to the toppings for that team.
GAME PLAY TIP: Assure players that they are only using food items. There are no crushed bugs or other weird things like that.
Winning the Sundae Game
The game ends when all mystery toppings have been used and the last blindfolded player eats the rest of the sundae to win for the team.
Ice Cream Sundae Game Supplies
To play Mystery Sundae Surprise, you’ll need:
- Blindfolds (one per team)
- Bowls or these (one per team)
- Spoons (enough spoons that each player can use a new spoon to take a bite on each turn)
- Large Scoop of Ice Cream for each bowl
- Brown paper bags
- Mystery ice cream sundae toppings + extra mystery toppings
- Prizes for winning team
GAME HEAD'S UP: This can be a very messy game, so play outside if you can or protect the table and floor. If you're playing with younger kids, you may want to provide these.
To Set Up The Mystery Sundae Game
Before the party guests arrive, place toppings in brown paper bags and tape or staple the opening so the toppings can’t be identified.
Toppings should be a mix of regular ice cream toppings and weird toppings. (SEE TOPPING SUGGESTIONS IN THE SECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)
FOR EXAMPLE:
Normal Ice Cream Toppings: Chocolate chips, sprinkles, caramel sauce, Hersheys chocolate sauce, whipped cream, cut up fruit, crushed cookies, maraschino cherries, etc.
Weird & Gross Toppings for Ice Cream: Dill pickle slices, pickle juice, mustard, ketchup, gummy worms, olives, crushed potato chips, soy sauce, ranch dressing, canned corn, etc.
GAME TIP: If you have something liquid (or messy), put them in smaller containers with lids before putting them in the brown paper bag.
You can make the teams have the same exact toppings or mix them up.
Just be sure each team has the same number of normal toppings and the same number of gross toppings. For example, Team A & Team B both have six bags with normal toppings and six bags with weird toppings.
GAME TIP: The amount of toppings to provide will depend on how many players you have. You want to have enough toppings for each player to at least go once - unless you have very large groups, then consider breaking your party into smaller teams.
Set up an area for each team to include:
- A sundae bowl with a large scoop of ice cream (flavor of choice, but vanilla is a safe choice, especially since you’re adding a bunch of weird toppings to it)
- Blindfold (you can get them in bulk cheap here)
- Box of plastic spoons (you need enough spoons for each player to have a new spoon each time they take a bite of the sundae)
- Trash can (to throw out spoons or for “accidents”)
- Paper towels and wet wipes
- The bags of mystery toppings
MORE FUN PARTY IDEAS TO GO WITH THIS PARTY GAME: How To Throw An Ice Cream Sundae Party
How To Play Mystery Sundae Surprise Step-By-Step
1. Divide Teams & Assign the First Blindfolded Player
Each team selects one player to start.
That player wears a blindfold and will be responsible for adding the first mystery topping to the scoop of ice cream in the bowl and then taking a bite of the sundae, including topping they added.
GAME TIP: Teams will go at the same time and work quickly. The goal is to get through all of their mystery toppings and eat all of the gross sundae before the other team. Each team at the same time in a race against each other will: blindfold a player, have the player pick and add a topping and take a bite, pass off the blindfold to the next player who repeats the process.
2. Adding the Toppings Blindfolded
First players from each team sits in front of the sundae bowl and places the blindfold on.
On GO! each blind folded player blindly chooses a mystery topping bag from their team toppings area and rips open the bag.
Team members then coach the blinded folded player how to add the topping to the sundae with clues like “twist off the lid and then pour onto sundae” or “it’s a shaker container so shake it on the sundae which is to your left!”
GAME TIP: Coaching players CANNOT tell the blind folded player what the topping is. If they do, they get another mystery topping added to their topping stash, which decreases their chances of winning.
Once the topping is added to the sundae, the coaching players shout TASTE! and the blindfolded player must then taste the sundae with a clean spoon.
NO SHARING SPOONS OR USING A DIRTY SPOON TO TAKE A BITE OF THE SUNDAE!
The player then removes the blindfold and hands it to the next player, who puts the blindfold on and repeats the process.
3. Continue Play Until All Toppings Are Used
The game continues until every mystery topping has been used in a sundae and the team sundae is eaten.
GAME RULE: If at any time a player refuses to take a bite of the sundae, they are out of the game and another mystery topping is added to that team's topping stash. This means they are down a player and have more ingredients to use, which decreases their chances of winning.
4. The Final Bite Test – WINNING THE GAME
Once all toppings have been used, the last blindfolded player must take a bite of the sundae they created and, as the last player, can either eat all of the sundae or hand it off for another player to finish.
First team to use all their toppings and finish the sundae, wins the game and prizes!
MORE PARTY FUN: SLEEPOVER PARTY PRANKS
Ice Cream Toppings Ideas
Gross Ice Cream Toppings
- Pickles
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Weird Jelly Belly Flavors or gross BeanBoozles
- Ranch dressing
- BBQ sauce
- Soy sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Relish
- Nacho cheese
- Sour cream
- Crushed potato chips
- Goldfish crackers
- Cheez-Its
- Pretzels
- Popcorn
- Crushed Doritos
- Crushed Saltine crackers
- Canned chopped black olives
- Canned sliced mushrooms
- Mashed avocado
- Mini Jell-O packs
- Pudding packs
- Canned beans (baked beans, black beans, or kidney beans)
- Hot sauce (be careful using hot items with younger kids)
- Buffalo wing sauce
- Pepperoni slices
- Jalapeño slices
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
GAME TIP: Because of potential allergies, you may want to stay away from any nut toppings.
Regular Ice Cream Toppings Ideas
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel sauce
- Strawberry sauce
- Canned (spray) Whipped cream
- Sprinkles
- Chocolate chips
- Gummy bears
- Crushed Oreos
- Mini marshmallows
- Mini M&M’s
- Caramel baking bits
- Reese’s Pieces
- Cherries
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Shredded coconut
- Banana slices
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Skittles
- Frosted Flakes
- Graham crackers
- Peanut butter drizzle
- Crushed candy bars (Snickers, Butterfinger, Kit-Kat, etc.)
- Cinnamon sugar in a shaker
- White chocolate chips
SEE ALL PARTY GAMES
Have fun with the mystery sundae ice cream game!
