How to Prank Your Friends

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Pranking, or playing a practical joke on someone, is a time honored tradition among friends, enemies, and professionals alike.^{[1]
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Research source} And king among prank-worthy days: April Fools' Day.^{[2]
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Research source} This is the perfect time for put your pranking skills to the test, though depending on your personality, you might enjoy pranking any ol' day of the week. No worry if you don't have a favorite prank to play on your friends, all you need is a straight face, some effort, and a dash of creativity, and you'll soon be watching your target stumble unwittingly into your prank.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Pranking with Technology

1
Know the goal of your prank. This prank uses a set of processes on your computer to signal the prankee's computer to shut down. You can even send a message to be displayed to the prankee to indicate how long he has until his computer remotely shuts down. You and the prankee will need to have computers that are somewhat recent and running Windows XP or newer.
- Windows version 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 should work with this prank.^{[3]
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2
Verify the computer's are on the same network. For this prank to work, you'll need your computer and the prankee's computer to be on the same network. Depending on your version of Windows, there may be small variations in how to check the networks for each computer, but generally, you should be able to do this by:
- Navigating to your control panel, which can be found in the lower left hand corner start menu of older versions of Windows. You can also open your file explorer by clicking its icon on the lower status bar of most recent versions of Windows, and in the following window, select "Network" from the directory pane on the left.
- In the resulting window, you should see a list of computers. At minimum, you should see your own computer and its network status. You'll need both your own computer and the prankee's computer to be listed in this window with a connected status.^{[4]
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3
Open the command prompt on your computer. The easiest way to access the command prompt interface is by starting it from the program launcher. Open the launcher by holding the ⊞ Win key and pressing R. This should open an small window with a text input box to the right of the word "Open."
- In the "Run" window's text input box, type the letters "CMD". This should open a window with a black background and white letters.
4
Open the remote shutdown interface. In the command prompt window (the black background window with white letters), type "shutdown /i" and press ↵ Enter to prompt the remote shutdown window to open. You should now see a list of computers on your network.^{[5]
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5
Set the parameters of your remote shutdown. In the remote shutdown dialog box, choose the prankee's computer from the computers listed. Then, from the dropdown menu below the listed computers, choose whether you'd like to restart or shutdown the computer. In the remote shutdown dialog box, you can also:
- Choose to warn the prankee of the impending shutdown/restart.
- Adjust the frequency the shutdown/restart warnings appear.
- Leave a message explaining the reason for the shutdown/restart. A strange message might have an interesting effect on the prankee - be creative!^{[6]
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Enact the shutdown/restart and enjoy. Once you have set the remote shutdown/restart parameters, all you have to do is hit OK, and the wheels of your prank will be set in motion. You may want to perform this prank several times while recording the reaction of the prankee to capture the reaction. Priceless!

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Performing a Simple Physical Prank

1
Know the goal of your prank. Your mission, if you choose to accept it for this simple physical prank, is to get the prankee to hit himself in the face. This will have many effects. It will make the prankee feel silly, be humorous to onlookers, and may even leave him thinking, "'How did I fall for that?'"
2
Ask the prankee what his favorite fruit is. The answer to this question isn't especially important; this is part of your prank! You're trying to distract attention from the possibility you are up to something with this question.
- Keep a straight face when you're asking or else you might tip the prankee of your shenanigans!
- If you have difficulty keeping a straight face, you might want to practice some emotional control exercises.
3
Set the trap of your prank. You'll probably want to make up an excuse to explain what you are doing because you'll need to ask to see the prankee's hand. Hold his hand palm up, and with your finger draw the rough image of his favorite fruit. Some excuses you might use to explain what you are doing:
- "I learned a real cool trick in my psychology class. You can actually trick the brain into imagining certain smells, like fruit. Here, let me show you."
- "The other day I was hanging out with my friend and he showed me this real cool magic trick. Can I show you?"
- "I read about this silly trick online that's supposed to fool your nose into smelling something that isn't there. It didn't work on me. You want to give it a try? It's real easy."
4
Tell the prankee to smell the image you've drawn. To do this, the prankee will have to bring the palm of his hand up to his face and up to his nose. You are now in striking distance of completing your prank.
5
Smack the prankee's hand lightly into his face. While the prankee is smelling his hand, hit it lightly so that he lightly smacks himself on the nose. You might want to follow this up with some good-natured heckling, saying things like:
- "I can't believe you fell for that!"
- "It's OK, I fell for that one, too. That's why I had to pull it on you!"
- "I gotcha pretty good, didn't I?"

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Pranking with an Air Horn Prank

1
Know the goal of your prank. This prank will use a loud noise to startle the prankee. To accomplish this, you'll be using tape to fasten an air horn in an unlikely location in such a way that the airhorn is triggered and a loud noise made without the prankee realizing beforehand. For this prank, you'll need:^{[7]
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- Airhorn
- Tape
- NOTE: depending on the surface you are taping your airhorn to, you may need gentler tape so as not to do damage to paint or wallpaper.
2
Choose your moment to set up wisely. You should set up this prank when the prankee is away from the place you are planning to perform it. This way he won't overhear the airhorn when you test it out. He may figure out what you're doing if he hears you setting up!
3
Determine the ideal location. When selecting your location, your ingenuity and imagination are the only limit. You might tape the airhorn to the wall in such a way that when a door is opened it causes the airhorn to go off, startling the prankee. You could put it beneath his chair so that when he sits the airhorn triggers.
- Use camouflage to disguise your airhorn when you are able. An airhorn taped to the bottom of a chair will be quite suspicious. Disguise this prank by putting a jacket or hoodie sweatshirt on the back of the chair to block the horn from view.^{[8]
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4
Tape your prank into position. Take your tape and use it to attach your airhorn to the location you have chosen. You'll want to do a trail run after you've secured the airhorn in place so that you're certain the prank will work. Once you've set the prank, you'll have to wait for it to be sprung. Don't worry - you'll know it when you hear it.
- If the prankee is away for a period of time, you may want to check on your prank several times throughout the day. Depending on heat, humidity, tape quality, and the surface you've taped the airhorn to, your tape may loosen over time, ruining your prank.
5
Set up a domino effect. People rarely expect to be pranked multiple times in a row. You can use this to your advantage to prank your target especially well. Do this by setting up several airhorn traps for the prankee in locations he's likely to trigger.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Pranking a Car Break In

1
Know the goal of your prank. A car is a big investment for most people, and by making your prankee believe that his car window has been destroyed, you can get a hilarious response out of him. You'll have some cleanup after you set up the prank, but to perform it you'll only need:
- Car window (similar to the prankee's car window)
- Gloves (recommended; optional)
- NOTE: cheap car windows can likely be purchased from your local junkyard or salvage shop. You might even be able to get staff to help you choose the right kind of window by bringing them in on the prank!
2
Borrow the prankee's keys. You don't want to be accused of theft at any point during this prank, so you should only do this with close friends. While the prankee is otherwise occupied, like right before he wakes up in the morning, snag his keys and unlock his car. Then:
- Remove anything of value from the car. You don't want anything to be stolen because of your prank!
- Roll down one of the windows of his car so that it is completely inside the door and cannot be seen.
- Shatter your window carefully and quietly. Then use your gloves to spread the glass around the door of the rolled down window and a little bit inside the car to make it look realistic.
3
Prepare yourself to be shocked. To get the best response out of the prankee, you might want to agitate him by getting upset with him over his car being broken into. You might point out that at least he didn't have anything valuable in the car - an excellent tactic if you've removed something valuable from the car the night before when setting up your prank.
4
Time your prank to prevent actual theft. With the window rolled down, the prankee's car will be vulnerable to actual theft. You'll either need to keep an eye on it so it isn't stolen, or time your prank so that the car is only left unattended for a few moments before your friend comes out and sees it.
- You might arrange for your friend to drive you somewhere the morning of your prank so you know exactly when the both of you will be headed to the car.
- Don't perform this prank before the prankee leaves for work. Shattered glass can be dangerous, even if his car window isn't actually broken.
5
Enjoy the reaction and clean up the mess. Since you were the one pranking and had fun at the prankee's expense, you should be the one to clean up the mess of your prank. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck up little bits of glass that are scattered on the inside of the car and sweep up any shards outside the car as well.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I prank someone multiple times in multiple areas?

Community Answer

You should wait a while between each prank because the people that you pranked know you pranked them, so they would be keeping an eye on you. Do pranks at unsuspected times.
Question

What is the best prank?

Community Answer

1. Wrap a rectangular piece of cardboard in a gum wrapper and offer it to your friends. 2. When setting the dinner table unscrew the lid of the salt shaker and just place the lid on the shaker (but do not screw it back on) and then when one of your family members grabs the salt, all of the salt will end up on their food.
Question

What can you do if they call the police and are mad at you?

Community Answer

It sounds like your prank went too far. Apologize and explain, and think before you make another mistake like that.

Warnings

Performing a Simple Physical Prank

This prank may result in punishment or retaliation. You probably don't want to do it while at school; if you are reported you could get detention.

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Pranking a Car Break In

Do not leave the car unattended over night. This could result in the car actually being broken into or police investigation.

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Be cautious while setting up this prank. If someone sees you, they might think you're doing something illegal and call the police.

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