Play a few board games to make a dreary day go by quickly when your children are stuck indoors. If you and your children are bored with your current board game selection, you can think outside the game box and build your own. To make your own board games, you need a few simple ideas and some basic supplies.
Types of Games
Think about the sort of games your children enjoy playing already. Base your homemade board game off those. You can combine several games, such as Scrabble, Candy Land or chess, into one board game or make up your own type of game using a classic game as a springboard. Don’t be afraid to brainstorm altogether new game ideas with your children. Thinking of new games is a great way to boost a child’s creativity.
Think Big
When you create a fun board game, you are not limited to the space of your table. If you want to come up with an original, fun, yet easy-to-make game, consider making a life-sized board game. Arrange several cardboard squares or pieces of construction paper into a pattern on the floor with a beginning and end point. Make a large die out of an empty cardboard box. The best part of a life-sized board game is that your children can be the game pieces.
Important Game Features
Even the simplest of board games should be a bit challenging. If your children yawn or act bored while playing the game, think of ways to make it more difficult. The game should also remain fun, even if your children play it for hours or days on end. Think of ways to vary the game play so that it is fun and new each time. It is also important that the game not be too difficult to win or take too long to finish.
Personalize It
Use your children’s life experiences as the basis of the homemade board game. For instance, you can make a version of Monopoly that uses rooms in your house or places you and your children visit often as the properties. You can also make a homemade version of concentration using photographs of people your child knows, such as his grandparents, friends and teachers.
Pick Out Supplies
You probably won’t have to run to the craft store to gather supplies for a homemade board games. You can reuse flattened out empty cereal boxes for the board. If you need a lot of games pieces, consider using small toys that you already have on hand, such as building blocks or tiny cars. Make letter titles by printing out a grid of letters on your printer and then cutting each individual letter out. You may want to use heavier stock paper to make the letters more durable.
