Superheroes vs. Robbers: A High-Energy Role-Play Party Game (Indoor or Outdoor)

When I was planning my 5-year-old’s Spider-Man birthday party, I wanted a big game that would get everyone involved — something more exciting than the usual backyard activities. That’s how Superheroes vs. Robbers was born: a mash-up of classic playground games like Cops and Robbers and Capture the Flag, with a twist of escape room strategy layered in.

The result? A fast-paced, interactive adventure where kids and adults played side by side. At our party, guests as young as four and grown-ups alike were running, laughing, and strategizing together. It was such a hit that the kids didn’t want to leave — they begged to play “just one more round” long after the party was over. In fact, one little guest even went home and recreated the entire game for her own family because she couldn’t stop talking about it.

Robber costume character behind a jail door party prop during a Spider-Man themed game. — One of our “robbers” caught and locked up during the Superheroes vs. Robbers game — the star attraction of Noah’s Spider-Man birthday party.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit: as the host, this game has a lot of moving parts to set up. There are costumes, bases, cash bags, safe zones, a jail, and even a little escape-room-style puzzle for captured robbers. But don’t let that intimidate you. While the overall system looks complex, each player’s role is broken down into just a few simple rules. Once you explain the basics, kids quickly understand their objectives and jump right into the action.

What You’ll Need to Play

To set up this immersive party game, gather the following supplies. Most items can be swapped out for simpler versions (labels, props, or accessories), so you don’t need exact costumes or replicas to make it work. If you’d like the exact links to the supplies we actually used for our Spider-Man party, scroll to the end of this post where I’ve included a full list.

Costumes or identifiers
- Robber costumes for each robber (or simple masks/labels)
- Superhero costumes for each superhero (or capes/labels)
- Police costume for the police officer (or badge/hat/label)
Game props
- 5 cloth or canvas bags filled with fake cash and/or coins
- 3 zip-up pouches with simple combination locks
- Printed “parole certificates” and a pen inside each locked pouch
- List of 6 lock combinations (3 real, 3 fake) printed in large font
- Printed letter with escape instructions to hang in the jail
- Small rolls or sheets of stickers for the good guys to tag the bad guys with
Jail setup
- A room, large closet, or similar space to serve as the jail
- Jail doorway prop (optional, but so worth it)
- 1 chair for the police officer outside the jail
- Several chairs for robbers to sit inside the jail
Mugshot station
- Mugshot backdrop (DIY or store-bought)
- Mugshot sign (DIY – I used a scrap piece of cardboard as a base)
- Camera (instant print, smartphone, or pretend prop)
Bases and zones
- 2 storage bins or boxes labeled “Spider Headquarters” and “Villain’s Lair” (or similar)
- 3 Safe Zone signs to hang where robbers can hide
- Optional: tape on the floor to mark the boundaries of safe zones

Overhead view of all the supplies for the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, including robber costumes, police uniform, cash bags, fake money, locked pouches, combination list, and Spider-Man letter. — Some of the supplies you’ll need to set up Superheroes vs. Robbers, from costumes and props to locked pouches and cash bags.

Close-up of Spider-Man’s jail instructions, a mugshot sign, and a printed parole certificate for the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game. — Details for the jail setup — Spider-Man’s instructions, mugshot prop, and parole certificates that make the game feel like a real superhero mission.

Below is an example of the parole certificates we used for our Spider-Man–themed party. Each sheet prints four quarter-page certificates that players can “unlock” during the jail escape portion of the game. If you’re hosting a different theme, you can design your own certificates with a similar format to fit your party style.

Printable Spider-Man–themed parole certificates for the jail escape challenge in the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game. The sheet includes four quarter-page certificates to be cut out.

👉 Note: This game is highly adaptable — you can change the theme, rename the bases, or simplify the jail setup depending on your space, supplies, and guest ages.

How to Set Up Superheroes vs. Robbers

Here’s how to prepare the playing field so the game runs smoothly:

Place the Cash Bags
Hide 5 cash bags around the “city” (your playing area). Keep them easily visible so the game moves fast and stays fun.

Set Up the Bases
Place 2 team bases in the city using storage bins or boxes. Label them with your chosen theme:
        Spider Headquarters and Villain’s Lair (Spider-Man theme)
        Cops and Robbers
        Heroes and Villains
Players will use these bases like treasure drop zones throughout the game.

As an example, these are the signs I made to mark the hero and villain bases at our Spider-Man party:

Example printable sign for the superhero base, “Spider Headquarters,” featuring Spider-Man and instructions for players to return stolen cash here.

Example printable sign for the robber base, “Villain’s Lair,” featuring a cartoon robber carrying money and instructions for players to deliver stolen cash here.

Mark the Safe Zones
Designate 3 safe zones in the playing field and hang “Safe Zone” signs. Optionally, use tape on the floor to define the boundaries (we used streamers in the doorways).

Robbers in striped costumes walking out from a safe zone area during the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game. — One of our designated safe zones during the Superheroes vs. Robbers game. Robbers could only rest here briefly—once they stepped out, the superheroes were ready to chase them down!

Example “Safe Zone” party game sign with rules written around a yellow road-style diamond sign. Text explains that only one robber can hide in the zone at a time, players must be holding cash to use it, superheroes cannot tag robbers inside, and the police officer may enter only if the zone is unoccupied. — Above is an example of the Safe Zone sign we used at our party. These signs explained the special rules for the safe zones—like only one robber at a time, no tagging allowed, and that you must be holding cash to enter. You can create your own signs to match your party’s theme.

Set Up the Jail
Choose a room, large closet, or corner space to serve as the jail. Inside, set up chairs for prisoners and place the 3 locked pouches containing parole certificates.

Optional: hang jail bars in the doorway for extra effect (see Amazon link below.)
Outside the jail, set a chair for the police officer. Tape the combination list for the locked pouches on the seat of this chair. (The police officer will “guard” the codes by sitting on them.)

Robber standing behind a novelty jail door cover prop, posing as if locked up. — A jail door cover prop hung over the closet entrance made for the perfect photo op when robbers got “locked up.”

Inside view of the jail setup, with folding chairs lined against the wall, red curtain doorway, and themed villain posters on the wall. — We transformed the closet under our stairs into the jail, complete with chairs for the “prisoners” and fun villain-themed posters for extra atmosphere.

Spider-Man note and three locked pouches hanging on hooks inside the jail, part of the escape room twist for the robbers. — Inside the jail, robbers discover Spider-Man’s note and locked pouches containing parole certificates — but they’ll need to figure out the combinations to escape.

Example of a combination list used in the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, showing six four-digit codes with three real and three decoy numbers. — Example of the combination list we created for our party. Three of these codes unlocked the bags with parole certificates, while the other three were decoys. These exact numbers won’t work for your locks, so you’ll need to create your own custom list using the real combinations for the locks you purchase.

Create the Mugshot Station
Mugshots add a hilarious twist and keep the action moving.

Hang a backdrop on the wall (see Amazon link below).
Create a mugshot sign from cardboard for the “criminals” to hold.
Set up a camera nearby — a cheap black-and-white instant camera works great, but a phone or even a prop camera does the trick. The mugshot step forces the police officer to leave their chair, which gives robbers a chance to peek at the codes and potentially break free.

Child dressed as a robber holding a mugshot sign in front of a height chart backdrop during the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game. — The mugshot station added a hilarious twist — every time a robber was caught, they had to pose for their “official” booking photo before heading to jail.

👉 Once everything is set, gather the players and explain the rules. You’re ready to play!

Objective

Robbers win if they deliver all 5 cash bags to their base.
Heroes win if they deliver all 5 cash bags to their base, or if all 3 robbers are in jail at the same time.

How to Play

Superheroes (4 younger players – around ages 6-10)

Carry your sticker roll.
If you see a robber holding cash, tag them by sticking a sticker on their clothing.
A tagged robber must stop, hand you the cash, and follow you to the Police Officer.
Drop off the recovered cash at your Headquarters, then get back out there.
Work together—guard cash piles, protect your base, and shadow safe zones.

Robbers (3 older players – tweens, teens, or adults)

You’re only in danger while holding a cash bag. Without cash, you can’t be tagged.
Once you pick up a cash bag, you must keep carrying it until you: a) Reach the Villain’s Lair, or b) Get tagged by a superhero and give it up.
You may steal from anywhere—even from cash already delivered to Spider Headquarters!
To catch your breath while carrying cash, step inside a Safe Zone. (One robber per zone; don’t camp too long.)

Police Officer (1 older player, on the heroes’ team)

Sit in the chair outside the jail and watch the action. You can coach heroes.
When a superhero brings you a robber:
1. Take a mugshot (hand them a sign, snap a photo),
2. Put the robber in the jail.
Only you may enter the Villain’s Lair to retrieve stolen cash. You can carry one cash bag at a time and must return to your chair between runs.
Only you (on the heroes’ team) may step into Safe Zones—and only if a robber isn’t already in there.

Superhero sees a robber about to steal cash during a Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, while the police officer guards the jail in the background. — A superhero catches a robber trying to steal cash from the headquarters, while the police officer stays at her post guarding the jail codes — the action in this game is nonstop!

Universal Rules (for everyone)

No throwing, sliding, or passing cash bags. (Exception: Police Officer may hand a bag to a superhero.)
One cash bag per person at a time.
Safe Zones are for robbers only (except the Police Officer as noted). One robber per zone.
Gentle tags with stickers—no grabs or shoves.

Game Twist: The Jail Escape Puzzle (secret to players)

Inside the jail is a surprise letter: robbers can earn parole if they find a Parole Certificate locked in one of the 3 bags.
The lock combos are secretly taped to the Police Officer’s chair seat.
When the Officer stands up (to take a mugshot or retrieve loot), clever robbers may peek at the combos and try to unlock a bag.
If a robber unlocks a bag and presents a signed Parole Certificate, the Police Officer releases them back into the game.

A robber sits inside the party jail prop, trying to unlock a parole certificate bag with a combination lock during the Superheroes vs. Robbers game. — Once caught and booked, robbers were sent to jail. To escape, they had to crack the code on a locked pouch to earn a parole certificate.

Variations & Scaling

Bigger group? Add more heroes, an extra robber, and 7–9 cash bags.
Younger kids? Skip the jail puzzle
Smaller space? Use 2 Safe Zones and cluster the cash locations.
Outdoor version: Chalk bases/safe zones; hang cash bags from fences/trees.
Thematic swaps: Change signage/props to fit Batman, PJ Masks, generic “Superhero Academy,” or even a cops-and-robbers vibe.

Instant print mugshot photo of a robber taken during the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, showing a player in striped costume holding a sign in front of the mugshot backdrop. — One of the instant-print mugshots taken during our party. At the end, we had a whole stack of “criminal records” that the players loved flipping through and laughing about!

How To End It

Call final minute, count down from 10, and then tally:

If all 5 cash bags are at one team’s base → that team wins.
If heroes have all 3 robbers in jail → heroes win.
Tie-breaker: Which base currently holds more cash bags?

Here’s a quick summary of the game rules broken down by role. You can display these on a screen (like we did) before starting the game, or print them out as cards to hand to each player. They’re an easy way to make sure everyone knows what to do before the action begins.

Printable card with instructions for superheroes in the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, explaining how to tag robbers, take them to jail, and win by collecting stolen cash.

Printable card with instructions for robbers in the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, explaining how to steal cash, avoid capture, and use clues in jail to break out.

Printable card with instructions for the police officer role in the Superheroes vs. Robbers party game, covering how to guard the jail, take mugshots, retrieve cash, and help superheroes.

Printable card with the general game rules for Superheroes vs. Robbers, explaining safe zone use, carrying cash, tagging rules, and limits on movement.

In our play-testing, one tip made the biggest difference: teach the robbers how to open a combination lock before the game starts. Keep a spare practice lock (not used in the game) at the briefing table and let them try it a couple of times—no spoilers about why they’ll need the skill. It pays off later in the jail, saving time and frustration. And if your robbers get stuck mid-game, offer a gentle nudge: the combination sheet includes decoys—only three codes are real—so they’ll need to systematically test every code on every pouch until one opens. With those two tweaks, the endgame runs smoothly and the excitement stays high right through the final “case closed!”

This game ended up being the highlight of our Spider-Man party—so much so that kids (and adults!) begged to play again and again. It’s a little more work to set up than your average party game, but the payoff is enormous: a high-energy, laughter-filled experience that your guests will be talking about for days. If you’re looking for a show-stopping activity that blends imagination, teamwork, and just the right amount of chaos, Superheroes vs. Robbers delivers every time.

Here are the exact supplies we used for this game at our Spider-Man party:

6x4 foot doorway jail cell backdrop with cut out bars

5x4 foot cloth mugshot backdrop banner

Super realistic prop money

Bank robber cash bags, face masks, hats, and gloves

Bank robber striped t-shirts

Girl's police officer costume (this was SOOO cute!!!)

Zipper pouches (to hold the parole certificates)

Small Combination Locks (can be set with custom combinations)

Superhero Stickers (I cut off a strip for each superhero)

Instant Print Camera (for mugshot photo keepsakes)



Planning a full Spider-Man party? Don’t miss the rest of my ideas!
👉 Check out my post on 6 Spider-Man Party Activities for even more superhero fun.
👉 See how I transformed my den into a Spider-Man Party Room with DIY décor, favors, and cake ideas.
👉 And if you’re hungry, take a bite out of my NYC-Inspired Party Menu with kid-friendly food and simple decorations.

Kids and adults dressed as robbers with masks and striped shirts playing a superhero role play party game.