Make Your Own Board Game

Have you ever wanted to find something to entertain the whole family, but couldn’t think of anything to suit? Perhaps you’re bored with the board games you already have. It’s really quite simple to make your own board game.

Board games can do more than just provide entertainment or education. Some families use board games as a way to bring families closer together, as they benefit from spending time in a social environment together at the same time as having some fun.

The basics of most board games are simple. Players take turns to move around the board completing tasks or avoiding pitfalls and traps or perhaps even finding specific items. The player who completes the object of the game first usually wins.

Here are some ways you can make a homemade board game.

Step One: Theme

Before you begin, you should think of a theme for your board game. You’ll need to consider what graphics and decorations you’ll add to your completed game to give players the impression they’re really a part of the overall theme.

You can base your game on an existing game and amend the objectives or you can add more complicated objectives to a simple game if you want something more challenging.

Step Two: Objectives

Think about what each player will need to achieve throughout the course of the game. Will they need to buy things to get ahead, like Monopoly? Will they need to answer questions to complete the game, like Trivial Pursuit? Will players need to assemble letters together on a board, like Scrabble?

Some games are simply for fun, so you might decide to put some fun objectives into your game, while other games are designed to make learning fun.

Step Three: Design

Will your board game include a path or a track for players to work their way around? What props and pieces will your game need to work properly?

When it’s time to make your own board game design, consider any pieces or cards that you’ll need to incorporate into the game. The board is just the playing field, but you’ll need to factor in some ways to make the game more exciting, more challenging, or more unpredictable.

You might decide to write instructions on your path or track that players follow around the board. However, when players can see what instructions are coming up, it can sometimes take away some of the unexpected delight of turning over a surprise card and following unexpected instructions.

Step Four: Make Your Own Board Game

Once you’ve thought through the design and objective of your board game, you’ll need to put together a playable prototype.

A piece of cardboard or card stock should be an ideal base for your board game. Create a path for your players to work their way around and set a starting and finishing point. Your path should have different landing spaces or squares for players to count how far they’ve moved. Remember to create your first draft lightly in pencil so you can amend the path to suit your needs, or add extra options or landing spots or bonus sections.

When you think you have a good outline, trace over it with a marker and a ruler to make sure your squares are neat and even. When you’ve completed your path, you might think about decorations for around the playing section and around the rest of the board. Graphics, illustrations, or cartoons usually work very well to make the board look interesting and fun.

You’ll also need to think about pieces for your players to use as markers as they move around. If you don’t want to create your own pieces and markers, you can buy playing pieces and dice from a game or comic book store to suit your game’s theme.

Depending on how complex you want your game to be, you might also consider creating surprise task-cards or penalty card or even reward cards that players can receive if they land on specific parts of your board-path.

When you’ve finished making your game, invite some friends or family members over, and take it for a test-run. Play the game a couple of times and ask for feedback on what everyone else thinks. Ask them for honest feedback on how you can make it more fun, interesting, or challenging.

Most importantly, when you’re making your own board game, the vital ingredient you need to remember is to make it fun!