Hello! My name is Missy. I’m an artist and a guest blogger for PBS KIDS Utah. My family has always loved to play board games. I remember playing Husker Du with grandma, Candy Land with mom, Risk with my cousins and Chutes and Ladders with my sister. To this day when I visit my parents back in Bountiful, we always play Phase 10 or Dominoes after dinner. This week I thought it would be fun to create our very own board game!
Supplies:
- Square piece of cardboard, at least 12”x12”
- Pencil
- Craft paint
- Paint brush
- Cup of water
- Recycled lid (or something to be used as a paint palette)
- Black marker
- 4 small rocks
- Dice
- Stickers* (optional)
Instructions:
- Use your pencil to draw a circle on one corner of the cardboard square. This will be the starting point for the game.
- Use your pencil to draw a star at the opposite corner of the cardboard square. This will be the winning/ending star for the game.
- Connect the circle and star with a path that curls and snakes around the board.
- Within that path, draw lines to create spaces on your game board.
- Use your craft paint and paint brush to paint each of your rocks a different color. Set them aside to dry.
- Paint your cardboard square, this will be your game board. Stay in the lines and paint each space, the star and the circle alternating colors. Let the board dry.
- Write directions in some of the spaces, things like: “move ahead 2 spaces," “roll again," “move back 1 space,” or “skip a turn."
- Decorate your game board further with stickers (optional).
Game Play:
- Each player chooses a rock and places it on the start circle. The youngest player goes first.
- Player 1 rolls the die and moves ahead that many spaces. If they land on a space with instructions on it, follow the instructions. If the space is blank, it is Player 2’s turn.
- Player 2, the person to the left of Player 1, rolls the die and moves ahead that many spaces. If they land on a space with instructions on it, follow the instructions. If the space is blank, it is Player 3’s (or back to player 1) turn.
- Keep going like this until one of the players reaches the star. This player is the winner!
Wrap-up:
A board game can be made in many different ways, and everyone's game will look different! You can add more rules and more complexity if you wish, just make sure everyone knows the rules before you begin. Write down your rules on a piece of paper so you remember how to play for next time. Be creative and have fun!
