The arena is a large, enclosed, outdoor area where the Hunger Games are held each year. The arena is designed by the Gamemakers and a new one is built every year. One year, it could be a dense forest, the next a freezing wasteland. The Gamemakers plant traps and cunning ideas into the arena, to entertain the people of Panem. All arenas have a Cornucopia, where the tributes launch into the arena to begin the Games. Also all the arenas have force fields around the arenas that bounces back any thing that hits it and over the years a few tributes have used it as a weapon. The arenas were considered important historical landmarks, and were preserved after the conclusion of the Games. The arenas were also a popular tourist destination for many Capitol citizens, who would spend months vacation visiting the arena from their favorite games, where they would be able to rewatch the Games, visit the sites of the deaths and even take part in reenactments. After the end of the war, all the arenas were destroyed, and memorials to the hundreds of teenagers killed within their confines were constructed in their place.

50th Hunger Games

The 50th annual Hunger Games' arena was spectacular. It also held a big, beautiful meadow, with flowers, streams, pools, birds and a picturesque mountain and sharp, jagged rocks. But everything was lethal. The tributes of this Games had to face harmless-looking squirrels which were in fact carnivorous; the picturesque mountain that was actually a volcano; flowers that squirted poison into their faces; pink birds with skewer-like beaks that killed Maysilee Donner and dehydration, due to the fact that the only sources of water that weren't toxic were from the bounty at the Cornucopia or rainfall. Haymitch Abernathy used the force field around the arena to stay alive and win the second Quarter Quell. When only he and the female tribute from district 1 were left she threw an axe at him but hit the forcefield instead, causing it to bounce back and hit her in the head. This made Haymitch Abernathy the victor.

69th Hunger Games

The 69th Hunger Games' victor is unknown, but in the film Atala states that the arena was a burning desert. This Arena may have been the most challenging one, ever.

70th Hunger Games

The 70th Hunger Games' arena included a dam that was broken during the games by an earthquake to wipe out many of the tributes. The arena was flooded because the Gamemakers believed that the Games were getting too "boring". Most of the tributes died because they drowned, but Annie Cresta , the strongest swimmer, survived and won the Hunger Games.

73rd Hunger Games

As Katniss sees on her private television, the 73rd arena's terrian was Rubble, the ruins of a city. The victor is unknown and this Arena was not mentioned in the books only shown in the movie, in a short clip when the victor smashes a brick over the head of a fellow male tribute and Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith are seen remarking on it.

74th Hunger Games

Main article: 74th Hunger Games arena

The 74th Hunger Games' arena was a large expanse of various terrains. In the center, around the Cornucopia where the Tributes launch was a plain of hard packed dirt. In one direction there was a wheat field, which was not visible from the Cornucopia, there was a steep downward slope and this area was a lot lower down than the rest of the arena; Thresh was hiding out in this part of the arena; the only time he left it was to go to the feast. In another direction there is a large lake, the Careers set up camp next to this and it was their main source of water.

In the other two directions there is a wood which makes up most of the arena, this is where Katniss Everdeen and most of the other tributes set up camp. This wood contained a stream that lead to the lake, several ponds, a variety of different trees, a rocky area with numerous caves that was next to the stream and several muttations such as tracker jackers and mockingjays in addition to natural animals such as rabbits, squirrels, deer and groosling, a water bird. According to Atala, 10% of deaths are caused by infection and 20% caused by dehydration. The stream was evaporated by the high daytime temperatures, as Katniss later describes the stream as what used to be the stream. The wood was also rigged with Gamemaker traps such as devices that create fireballs. The Gamemakers changed the temperatures in the arena so that it was hot during the day and freezing during the night, this was another annoyence the gamemakers created to anoy the tributes.

75th Hunger Games

Main article: 75th Hunger Games arena

The 75th Hunger Games' arena is set up like a clock. The 12 to 1 wedge consisted of the tall tree that was periodically struck by lightning during the 12th hour, which proved to be a very important factor later on in the novel. The other sections of the "clock" each had a tall tree identical to the 12 to 1 tree to throw tributes off, and were made up of different "horrors" that were unleashed by the hour. The aforementioned horrors consisted of an acid fog, blood rain, an unknown beast, a tidal wave, carnivorous monkeys, jabberjays that repeat sounds of loved ones screaming in terror, unknown species of insects that emit loud clicking noises, and more which are not mentioned.

This arena is very small, and circular in shape, which tips Wiress off to the set-up of the clock mechanism. A powerful force-field surrounds it, and the Cornucopia lies in the middle of the arena, its tail pointing in the direction of the 12th hour, and it was surrounded by water and spokes that hold the tributes as they are first raised into the arena. The trees contained in the arena are full of the only water that can be consumed safely, which has to be extracted by a spile, or by hacking at the bark.

Hour 1-2: Blood Rain

Hour 2-3: Poisionous Fog

Hour 3-4: Monkey Muttations

Hour 4-5: Jabberjays (who immitate screams of tributes' loved ones but it was digital or mechanical warps )

Hour 5-6: Unknown Horror

Hour 6-7: The Beast

Hour 7-8: Unknown Horror

Hour 8-9: Unknown Horror

Hour 9-10: Unknown Horror

Hour 10-11: Saltwater Tsunami

Hour 11-12: Carnivourous Insects

Hour 12-1: Electric Storm (A lightning bolt strikes a tree during this hour)

Other arenas

Some other arenas are mentioned but it is unknown in which Hunger Games they appeared:

• Frozen tundra - Katniss said that these Games were a little boring because most tributes froze to death and described in the film books 17 people died on day 1.
• Rubble - These Games were shown in The Hunger Games film as the 73rd Hunger Games in the ruins of a city.
• The year that Titus, the District 6 male tribute, went savage and resorted to cannibalism. An avalanche then killed him, which may have been started by the Gamemakers.
• Scrub terrain - Katniss mentioned this year had many boulders and scruffy bushes. She said that most tributes died from bites from venomous snakes or they went insane from thirst.