Non-Food Activities
Whilst food dominates most visitors’ night market experiences, other activities constitute important parts of the night market ecosystem and Taiwanese childhood memories.
Games
Night market games cluster near entrances or occupy their own zones within larger markets. They range from traditional carnival-style challenges: throwing darts at balloons, shooting BB guns at targets, fishing for toys in paddling pools, to distinctively Taiwanese variations you won’t find elsewhere.
One uniquely Taiwanese game involves using a small net to catch goldfish or small toys floating in water. The challenge lies in the net’s fragility: made of tissue paper stretched over a wire frame, it dissolves with prolonged water contact, requiring speed and precision. Another popular game challenges players to use a small crane or hook to knock over bottles or cans, with prizes awarded for successful attempts.
The economics of night market games deserve understanding. They’re designed to be difficult: the crane machines have adjustable claw strength, the basketball hoops are slightly oval, the balloons require more pressure than expected to pop. Vendors make money precisely because most players don’t win. However, the cost per attempt is usually modest (20 to 50 New Taiwan Dollars), making the games affordable entertainment even without winning.
For visitors, night market games offer several appeals. They’re highly photogenic, adding colour and energy to your visual documentation of Taiwan. They provide insight into Taiwanese childhood and adolescent culture: watch teenagers pooling money for attempts, young couples where one partner tries to win prizes for the other, or families with children learning to manage winning and losing. And they’re genuinely fun if you approach them as entertainment rather than expecting to win valuable prizes.
A practical note: be clear about the cost before playing. Some games charge per attempt, others offer bulk purchases (five attempts for a discount). Understand what constitutes winning: sometimes you must achieve a specific goal rather than simply hitting any target. And recognise that the large stuffed animals and expensive electronics displayed as prizes are nearly impossible to win; the actual prizes most people receive are small toys or snacks.
Shopping
Night market shopping occupies a spectrum from practical to frivolous. At one end, you’ll find vendors selling fresh produce, household goods, and clothing items that local residents genuinely need. At the other end are stalls dedicated to phone accessories, novelty items, and tourist souvenirs.
Clothing stalls offer inexpensive casual wear: t-shirts, sandals, underwear, basic accessories. Quality varies considerably, but prices are generally low enough that buying a replacement item if you’ve forgotten something makes economic sense. Some markets have vendors specialising in particular niches: vintage or second-hand clothing, athletic wear, accessories for young women.
Phone accessory vendors seem to occupy every third stall in some markets, reflecting Taiwan’s high smartphone penetration and culture of phone customisation. Cases, screen protectors, chargers, and decorative elements are available in bewildering variety. If you need a charging cable or your screen protector cracks, night markets offer convenient, inexpensive solutions.
Souvenir shopping at night markets requires discrimination. Some items, like locally made snacks, tea, certain handicrafts, make genuine gifts. Others like mass-produced trinkets with “Taiwan” printed on them, differ little from tourist detritus anywhere. The principle of “teaching you to choose” applies here: look for items that reflect something specific about Taiwan rather than generic tourism, consider whether the item has practical use or genuine aesthetic appeal, and remember that experiences usually create better memories than objects.
Negotiation culture at night markets has diminished as Taiwan has developed economically, but it hasn’t disappeared entirely. For food, prices are fixed. For clothing and accessories, mild negotiation is sometimes possible, particularly if purchasing multiple items, but aggressive bargaining is inappropriate. A reasonable approach: ask the price, express interest but note it’s slightly more than you planned to spend, and see if the vendor offers a small discount. If they don’t, accept this gracefully: the margins on inexpensive goods are often thin.