create your own board game assignment

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

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Chloe Campbell Education

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How To Use Student Created Board Games in the Classroom

by Chloe Campbell Leave a Comment

If you aren’t using board games in your classroom , you’re missing out! Board games are an easy way to get students excited about learning. Most of the time, they’ll forget they’re actually practicing skills or learning new concepts when they’re playing board games. I’ve used board games in my class for several years for small group work, early finisher activities , review, and to help reinforce new skills. When I introduced student created board games though, it was a total game changer!

I’m sharing more on exactly what student created board games are, how to create a board game creation assignment, and how to use the board games in your classroom!

What are student created board games?

Student created board games are just that – a game that students create by designing a game board, coming up with questions and answers, and writing gameplay instructions. You may provide a game board template to your students or have them design one from scratch.

You can implement student board game creation as an individual assignment, partner project, or in small groups. Board games can be made for any subject area also:

Math problems
Reading comprehension
Vocabulary terms
Spelling lists
Science topics
Geography quizzes
History questions

There are dozens of types of board games that your students could create. While it’s fun to create more intricate games, it can easily become overwhelming for both the student creator and the students playing the game. I suggest focusing on more straight-forward board games in the classroom.

Assigning a board game creation project

One of the most important steps to assigning a board game creation assignment is to ensure your students are familiar with educational-based board games. Offer plenty of opportunities to play the games in class so students are comfortable with how they are designed, how to play, and the types of questions that work well for games.

If you’re looking for board games to play in the classroom, I have over 200 board games in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Once your students have experience playing different board games in the classroom, it’s time to expand and allow them to get creative.

Assigning a board game creation project can be a big undertaking as a teacher. Make the process easier on yourself by providing things like templates, art supplies, and even sample questions. If you’re allowing students to choose things like what type of pawns or game advancement tool (dice, spinner, etc) they will be using, be sure to have those on hand! Keep board games available for students so they can refer to them and use them for guidance when creating their games.

Although it can be fun to get super creative and give your students lots of freedom, you may want to set some basic guidelines. Consider using a rubric for the student created board game assignment. Even if you aren’t grading the board games, it can be used as a tool for guiding students.

You can assign the project as a small group, partner, or individual project. If this is the first time you’re doing a board game creation assignment in your class, I would suggest setting it up as a partner project. Working with a partner isn’t as intimidating as working alone for some students.

Steps to Creating a Board Game

First, you’ll want to decide which skills you want students to focus on when creating their board games. It’s best to stick to just one skill so the game isn’t overwhelming and can be easily used as a study tool or review activity for a specific skill.

Once students know which skill their game will be created around, have them create an outline of how their game will be played. It’s important for them to decide on aspects of the game before they get started.

Students should decide:

What the game board will look like
How players will advance on the board
What types of questions will be asked

Review their outline and provide feedback before permitting them to start on any game board creation or question writing. This will help them understand areas where they may need to be more specific or make adjustments to their game.

If you’re completing the games completely in class, set timeframes for them to complete each phase of the game creation.

Phases of board game creation

Game board design
Question writing
Instruction writing

Setting these guidelines will keep students productive and moving at an acceptable pace. If they start to struggle or fall behind, they can ask for assistance. Checking in frequently is important during the entire process so you don’t end up at the finish line with games that were stalled during one of the steps.

Once the games are completed, it’s time to start implementing them into the classroom. I suggest having students “test” their games with their peers in small groups. This helps iron out any kinks and allows the creator to receive feedback. Reinforce that this isn’t a “judging” of the games, but rather a test group in order to help the creator make any tweaks and improvements that are needed. You can create a form or checklist so students can write down 3 things they like about the game and 1 thing that could be improved upon to give to the creator. This will help students receive both positive and constructive feedback.

Once the game has been tested with a small group it’s ready for use in the classroom!

Using student created board games in class

There are so many ways you can use student created board games in class. Obviously, they are great for centers, small group activities, and for early finishers. You can also use them for reviews and extra skill practice if needed.

You may find that some of the games created work really well in class. If you come across a student made game that you may want to hang onto for other classes or future years, be sure to ask permission from that student to add their game to your “board game inventory”. Not only will this be a great achievement for the student, but you can also share with other students who use that game later that it was a student created board game. Show an example of a student created game to help other students build confidence when it’s their turn to create their own games.

Do you use board games in your class? Have you given your students the opportunity to create their own games? I’d love to hear about your board game creation process! Share in the comments below!

Student-Made Board Games Ideas for Elementary Teachers in 2024

If you haven’t implemented student-made board games in your elementary classroom yet, you must keep reading this blog post. They are a great tool to increase student engagement during times of the school year when their minds are wandering, like right before winter holidays and summer vacation. They successfully engage students in learning, create an opportunity to practice and review previously-taught skills, and offer students time and space to use their creativity and problem solving skills to create something of their own. That sounds like a big win!

This blog post will answer the following questions about student-made board games:

What are student-made games?
Why should I incorporate student-made activities in my elementary classroom?
How do I implement student-made games in my room?
What are some tips for using student-made games in my classroom?
Can you share some strategies for holding students accountable while they are playing board games?
What are some common obstacles with these activities and how do I overcome them?
Can you share some ideas for using student-made games?

What are Student-Made Board Games?

Student-made board games are a fun way to assess students’ learning for any subject. Students create the questions, the board game, its pieces, and the written directions for gameplay. Board games are a creative way to review or extend lesson objectives. Students must think through how to play the game and how to make it engaging for their classmates to play. Student-made games are very engaging and can be used all year long for other students to review and play in stations or centers. These games could also be used as portfolio pieces for an individual student.

Why Use Student-Made Board Games?

First of all, students LOVE making board games. Their engagement soars because they love getting the opportunity to be creative and make a game that is fun to play. These games are excellent for showing mastery of unit skills or objectives for any subject, making them easy to implement multiple times throughout the year if you wish. Student-made games showcase various skills like process writing and grammar skills for the directions, subject mastery for questions and answers created, and creativity for the board game and its pieces. You can’t go wrong with this activity!

How to Implement Student-Made Board Games

Here are 7 steps for how to implement student-made board games:

Decide which objectives for students to show mastery with.
List concrete expectations related to their board game. Use a rubric for this.
Show examples of previously created student-made board games.
Think about if they will work individually, in partners, or in groups.
Have students brainstorm and outline their game. Then, have them show their ideas to you for approval before moving on.
Students should create a board game that is easy to play and engaging for other students. They will need to include questions with correct answers, clear and concise directions, and an easy-to-follow game board. These things will need to be completed with neat handwriting or typing so that it is easy for their classmates to play their game correctly.
Once games are created, it’s time to play! Create peer review sheets that those who play their game can fill out. This way, the game-makers can get feedback to improve their game if needed.

5 Tips for Using Student-Made Board Games in Your Classroom

Student-made board games are my favorite ways to sum up a unit and differentiate for all students.
Partner students in a way that will let them all shine, either by ability or another way.
Give students a time limit and set a due date for this project. You can have a game playing day on the date it’s due for extra motivation. You could even have treats or prizes to make it extra special!
Have students brainstorm and outline the game first. Then have them show it to you to be sure they get off on the right foot.
You can utilize student-made board games as a whole class at the end of a unit, as a project for a small group of partners, or as an individual station or center assignment.

How to Hold Students Accountable for Student-Made Board Games

In any student-led assignment, some students may struggle to demonstrate their best work. Frequently review the expectations and rubric to make sure students are clear on the expectations. Remind them that their peers will be playing the games and to put in their best effort for game day.

Another way to hold students accountable if you are having student groups create games is to give each student a specific job. This way, everyone has a job and responsibility. Just make sure those jobs still show mastery of the skill. For example, you could have every student in the group in charge of 10-15 questions with answers, one student in charge of board game design, another student in charge of writing clear directions, and another in charge of revising and editing the directions.

Common Obstacles for Using Student Made Board Games

Since this is more of a creative, independently led project, some students may struggle to demonstrate their best work or stay on task during the creation of their student-made board game. Having a rubric and clear expectations helps teachers to ensure students are participating and doing their best. Also, students generally find this activity engaging because their friends will be playing their games after the game is complete!

If some students struggle with organization, this could be problematic to keep all the materials for their board games in one place and organized for the next time they work on it. Having a system for organization of all the materials is helpful for all students.

10 Ideas for Using Student Made Board Games

Try one of these make your own board game ideas the next time you have your students create their own board game!

Math word problem creation and practice
Vocabulary practice
Reading comprehension skills
Unit review for any subject
Test prep for any subject
Advanced student project for any subject
Spelling practice
Sight word practice
A novel study or review

Student-Made Board Game Project

Below is information about my student-made board game resource.

What is the Create Your Own Board Game Project?

The packet includes printables for students of all levels to create their own games and concept review activities and gives teachers editable printables so they may quickly make custom games, hands-on activities and centers for their students… so much more fun than worksheets! This product was designed to provide busy teachers with an easy tool for making learning fun.

This resource includes editable files so you can create your own games and centers so your students can enjoy hands-on activities instead of worksheets. I’ve included editable files so you can quickly type in your own questions, equations, spelling/vocabulary words, content trivia, and more.

What is Included in the Create a Board Game Project?

student task card / directions
scoring rubric
9 game boards
differentiated student direction writing activity stationary
blank foldable dice
traditional foldable dice
4 styles of spinners (just use a pencil & paperclip)
matching game cards
game question cards

How can this Design Your Own Board Game Resource be Used?

early finisher task
class project
enrichment activity

We hope you found this information about student made board games helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

How to Launch Guided Math Workshop in Your Elementary Classroom
Math Hands-On Learning Ideas for Elementary Students
Math Spiral Review Ideas for Elementary Teachers

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Chris Cormier of Geeky Goodies

How to Make a Board Game, from Ideation to Design to Distribution

Jacob vander ende.

So you want to make a board game.

For the sake of this post, let’s assume that’s all you know. You aren’t sure how to design around your idea, or how to turn a finished design into a real, physical game.

All you have is a blank slate of personal experiences and preferences and you need to shape those into something you can actually play.

Let’s fix that.

But who am I? Why listen to me?

I’m Jake and I run an independent studio called Spriteborne. I’ve been making games for a decade now, and I’ve been in the games industry even longer than that. My work has been nominated for awards, I’ve been featured on Geek & Sundry, I’ve spoken at numerous conventions, and I’ve even designed and manufactured board games on a moving train. Twice .

Even if you’re a seasoned video game designer you can still learn something here because of the differences between the media:

Without concrete code governing what can and cannot happen, board games are limited only by the rules that exist in the players’ minds.
The players have to perform all the calculations themselves.
Non-player characters cannot be autonomous; players still have to perform their actions for them.
Every component has a significant material cost compared to the requirements of a video game.
Board game components are far less flexible. A video game can effortlessly turn a D6 into a D7, for instance, but a board game would need a totally new piece to do that.

All of these differences add up!

For now, let’s start at the very beginning: your ideas.

By the way, if you have any questions as you read this post, feel free to ask in the Funsmith Club Discord where you can seek advice and network with game devs of all levels including me.

You can also get notified on exclusive game design tips, workshops, and guides (like this one) here 👇

Table of Contents

How to Generate and Organize Your Board Game Ideas

One of the most common questions that creative people in any discipline get asked is “Where do you get your ideas?” People usually ask this question with some sense of awe and magic, as though creative people have mysterious, unknowable powers.

I don’t think that’s true. I do think creativity is magic, but I think it’s a knowable magic that we can quantify, understand, and practice.

Let’s pull back the curtain, turning the mystique into practical concepts that you can use to start designing your own board game right now .

Finding a game concept with design catalysts

I like to start game projects with what I call design catalysts .

Everyone is familiar with the idea of inspiration—the reservoir of energy that propels you into creative work.

A catalyst, then, is how you tap into that reservoir. It’s not a destination, it’s more like the directions to get there or the vessel you’re traveling in.

The easiest way to understand catalysts is in the form of questions you can ask yourself when you’re getting started.

Any one of these design catalysts is enough to start making a game, but the more questions you ask yourself, the more vivid your inspiration, and the more likely you are to be successful.

If you don’t ask yourself these kinds of questions, you could find yourself in perilous territory:

You could design a game for no one.
You could design a great game that is impossible to manufacture.
You could design something that plays really well in an exhibition hall and terribly in a private home.
You could design something that checks a lot of superficial boxes but feels like hollow busywork.

There are lots of design catalysts and there isn’t space to cover every single one of them. Maybe you’ll think of more of your own as you read!

For the sake of organization, I’ll group each catalyst into one of four categories:

Fundamentals : The most basic questions you should always ask about every board game you make.
Business : Important questions that will help your game succeed financially.
Conceptual : Questions that are useful for growing your skills as a designer.
Meta: Questions that help you understand where your game fits into the broader picture of the industry and society.

Fundamentals

These questions are the essential core of designing a board game. Every board game designer should ask these questions, no matter what is going to happen with the project.

Any project that moves forward without good answers to these questions is almost guaranteed to run into trouble at some point in development.

Who is going to play your game?

Perhaps the most important question to answer when designing a new board game is “Who is going to play this?” Be specific!

Is this a game for:

yourself, to be played alone, that no one else is ever going to play?
a family member, friend, significant other, or someone else specific?
your regular board game crew?
the audience of “people who liked (other game)”?
a specific group of people, like independent farmers ?

Whether this is a game you want to design for commercial reasons or personal ones, asking yourself who is your audience, is going to be is a critical question when you’re first settling in on your design .

This question won’t necessarily tell you what to make, but it’s very good at reminding you what not to make. Don’t design a deck builder if you’re trying to design a game for a loved one who hates deck builders, for example.

Where will people play your game?

This one is deceptively complex, even though it looks simple. This is also one of the most important questions you need to ask, because skipping it will undermine everything else you do.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you’re playing your game right now. When you do, try to think about the environment where you’re playing your game.

Try to imagine everything surrounding the game:

Are you playing by yourself or with other people? How many people?
Do you usually play with these people or are they folks you don’t see very often?
Are you sitting at a table or are you playing in chairs or seats without a surface in front of you?
If there’s a table, how big is it? Is there anything else on it?
Are you sitting on a blanket on the sand at the beach?
Are you in a building or a vehicle?
Are you standing in line waiting for something, maybe outdoors?
How much time do you have?
Is it cold or wet where you’re playing?
Are you doing anything else or are you just playing this game?

These aren’t abstract questions, because any one of them could change the kind of game you’re trying to design.

A game that plays well in a boisterous, crowded convention may not work in a quiet house.

A game designed for a large table may not be playable at a bar.

A game that relies on knowing the people you’re playing with may not work with strangers.

Once, I made a prototype that was designed to stretch your short-term memory to its absolute limits. It was something I designed alone and, for a little while, only ever played in a silent dining room with one other person.

The very first time I tested with other designers, they hated it.

Suddenly, we were playing in a busy, loud room with lots of games running at the same time. My game wasn’t made for that environment, so the experience crumbled.

When I realized that most games are played with some noise, or at least player conversations running at the same time, I knew that this wasn’t a project that should move forward any further.

Where you think people will play is just as important as knowing who you think will be playing.

What’s the core ‘atomic nucleus’ of your game? What do you do each turn?

I’ve found success by identifying one specific effective behavior and then making an entire game that centers that action. Here’s an example:

In 2015, I traveled to SXSW with my own board game, Yomi’s Gate. It was my first game and my first convention, so I had no idea what I was doing and spent a lot of my time observing everything I could.

In Yomi’s Gate, the game board is different every time you play. There are three “pinwheel hex” boards that can be spun in six different ways, plus connector pieces that are kind of like hex tile Ls.

All of these are laser-cut and they have interlocking tabs that fit together with, well, laser precision.

I noticed that the single moment where peoples’ faces lit up the most was when they slid together these interlocking tabs for the first time, which made this really satisfying thunk .

Over and over again, click thunk, click thunk, smiles every time.

On the way home, I kept thinking about that repeated experience. I thought, “What if I made a game entirely around the satisfying clunk of sliding laser-cut tiles together?”

So I did. That game became Breaker Blocks .

I released the earliest version of Breaker Blocks during a game jam the following week, with many versions and updates coming afterward.

To this day it is about ten times as popular as Yomi’s Gate, all because I found that atomic nucleus early.

Finding an atomic nucleus that people really enjoy and making a whole game around it is a totally viable way to design board games.

Tabletop Game Business

These questions are designed for anyone who’s going to pursue any sort of commercial future for their board games. If you want to make money with your games, read on.

If you’re just making games for you, your friends, and your family, you can skip to the next section.

What components will your game use?

It’s possible to make games with a bottom-up philosophy, starting with your components instead of your gameplay.

If you have access to a high-quality art-grade printer or print shop, you could design a game that can be played with only cards and no chits, boards, dice, or tokens.

Alternatively, if you have an industrial laser but no printer, you might want to come up with games that don’t use dice or cards.

This does not have to just be a means-related question, either; you can design around components and manufacturing methodologies for cost-saving reasons, too.

Locking in your components early can save you lots of time, money, and frustration later on, as we’ll see in future sections on manufacturing.

What genre or game mechanic(s) will you build around?

It’s perfectly reasonable to start with genre and game mechanics when you’re coming up with board game design.

Maybe you really like deck builders, and want to come up with a unique take on the genre.

Maybe you’ve been itching to make an engine builder, or a worker placement game, or a marketplace game.

Or you liked a neat mechanic in a game you played, and could see it working totally differently in another context.

For example, I just recently played Spirit Island, where each Fear card had multiple outcomes determined by an evolving macro game state.

I can see that working well with a completely different game, so I’ll squirrel that mechanic away, write it down in a note-taking app like Obsidian, and revisit it when I’m designing games in the future.

According to Song Exploder , Rivers Cuomo of Weezer keeps a spreadsheet of lyrics organized by length and syllable emphasis and consults it during songwriting to fit the needs of the moment.

You could make a game mechanics spreadsheet that does the same thing. Need a mechanic that creates a pressure clock? Consult your database for mechanics that create a sense of time and pressure.

Are there any market trends you want to tap into?

If you’re designing games as a business and not just as a hobby, it’s a good idea to have some sense of business about what kinds of games you want to design.

For that reason, following market trends is both sensible and common.

Identifying market trends can be a deep rabbit hole to explore, but there are three totally free strategies I like that you can do right now:

Browse “The Hotness” rankings on BoardGameGeek, checking back frequently to monitor trends
Check the featured displays at your local board game shop, ask the owner what’s selling, or visit an open play night to see what’s popular
Follow how the public sales reports of board game companies change year to year

Be methodical about it, whichever you choose. Make a spreadsheet and add to it often. The more data you have, the better your market trend predictions will be.

If you really want to get into the trending side of things, there is an entire industry centered around trend forecasting, the difficult and inexact science of trying to predict trends to help plan your release.

Even without expensive, proprietary forecasting models, you can still predict trends with rough guesses based on what you know about the future.

For example, if you know when the next Mass Effect game is going to come out, you could try to launch a futuristic science fiction game around the same time.

You know people are going to be playing Mass Effect and craving more science fiction, so it’s possible they’ll find your brand-new game.

Forecasting isn’t a guarantee of success, but there is real financial value in asking yourself questions about what trends your game does or does not fit into, reducing some risk for your project.

For some, making their own board game is an exercise in improving their design skills. The questions in this section will make you a more flexible, skilled designer.

What experience could you convert into a board game design?

Have you ever experienced something and thought, “I wish there was a game about this?” That’s what design conversion is all about, porting one experience into a new format.

There are tons of good examples of this approach:

Tokaido is a game about visiting Japan.
Decorum is a game about furnishing a new house together.
Parks is a game about traveling to national parks.
Suburbia is a game about city planning.

When you design a game like this, you can be grounded and direct about it, making a game that is literally about that thing, or you can use this sort of ported reality as an abstraction.

There is also an entire industry based around converting games from one format to another. You might start with Horizon: Zero Dawn and end up with Horizon: The Board Game.

If you go this route, however, be sure to get the license first.

What reactions do you have to existing games?

This one is probably my favorite way to design games.

Imagine you’re sitting down playing something you really like, but there’s something about it you just can’t stand. A fateful phrase crosses your mind and after that, there’s no turning back.

“That’s not how I would do it.”

When I was a kid, I used to play this old Avalon Hill bookshelf game with my dad called Feudal. We loved it, but the game took an eon to set up.

“That’s not how I would do it,” I thought to myself, many times over.

Once I finally had the means to create a board game as an adult, that was the catalyst. How do I make a deterministic, fast-paced war game that sets up quickly?

One question led to another and pretty soon what started as one quibble evolved into my first commercial title, Yomi’s Gate.

Is this game just a prototype for something else?

The board games you design don’t have to be the end goal. You could design board games as rapid prototypes for video games , or even for other systems in general.

Board games are great practical simulators for things like macroeconomic engines and you can make them entirely with paper, pencils, and dice.

Being able to do this quickly and effectively can be a useful skill in any game design role.

Is this a cooperative or competitive game?

This seemingly basic question can completely alter the direction of a project.

A set of game systems that feels obtuse and frustrating in a competitive context might shine if you put the players on the same team.

Conversely, a cooperative experience might really start to glow if you add a traitor mechanic. Can you imagine Battlestar Galactica with no traitors?

The following questions are more advanced and intended only for designers who’ve mastered use of the previous design catalysts.

Can you synthesize something from two or more ideas?

There’s a theory of creativity that says creativity isn’t about the novel genesis of ideas, but rather about the novel connection between existing ideas. I think, broadly speaking, that’s true.

Every single person is unique. We each walked our own path to get where we are today, with a complex set of experiences that is ours and ours alone.

We all have inspirations to draw from.

We all have different tastes in what we like and dislike.

We have our own ideas of what’s good and bad, desirable and undesirable.

When you’re designing board games, you can mix and match anything. There’s a pretty good chance that if you’re pulling from two things that are unique to your life, you’re going to come up with something original that will resonate with others.

What emotion do you want players to feel?

The hottest take you’re going to read from me in this article is this: Games don’t have to be fun. You can design games to make people feel anything!

Shigeru Miyamoto designed the original Legend of Zelda because he wanted people to feel the way he felt getting lost in an unfamiliar forest.

Firewatch is exquisitely designed to make the player feel immense guilt.

You can absolutely design board games with emotion in mind, too.

I designed Long Road to Ruin, for example, around the feeling of driving on a long, cross-country road trip for the second or third time, where you kind of know what’s coming, but you can’t remember for sure if you’ve been to this exact place before.

How do you want your game to change your players?

You can take that emotional question and run with it, too. Board games can also be designed as agents of social change.

Famously, Monopoly was designed as a harsh critique of capitalist real estate, meant to make people feel frustrated with how housing markets and urban developers worked.

More recently, Spirit Island was designed to be anti-colonialist and to make its players feel that way, too.

How to Design Your Own Board Game

You’ve asked yourself a bunch of questions about your game. You know who’s going to play it. You know where it’s going to be played. You know what components you’re going to use.

Maybe you have a rough idea of what your game means to people, where it fits into macrotrends within the industry, how you’d like your players to feel, and so on.

It’s time to start the actual design.

Many lessons from video game design apply here too, but it’s worth spending some time on what makes board game design unique.

Prototypes and Rapid Iteration

First, you need pieces you can play with.

These are the supplies I almost always use:

A stockpile of blank poker-sized cards, for any cards a player is expected to have in their hand
A stockpile of blank, square cards (sometimes it’s useful to have two shapes of cards)
Blank paper and/or cardstock, for making a game board and player sheets
Pens, pencils, and colored markers
A collection of interchangeable face dice; I use dice made for Rattlebones, plus small circular stickers
Card sleeves to hide the backs of your cards (especially if you’re using cheap, see-through cards)
A Dymo 4XL thermal printer. You can cut 4” x 6” thermal stickers into quarters and use them to rapidly print new card faces. I made a whole card game on a train with this, blank cards, Adobe Illustrator, and scissors.
A bunch of meeples of different shapes and colors. I usually recycle ones from my older games.

With those supplies, you can make most types of games.

Game design is iterative . Everything will change many times, so don’t spend too much time or money on your first game pieces.

Only invest in more detailed prototyping components when you have to (for instance if players can’t read your handwritten components).

Playtesting

You won’t know much about your game until you test it.

For your first tests, I recommend playing by yourself.

Play every side, even when your game relies on players not knowing information about other players. This will at least give you data about what optimal play will look like.

Once you know the general flow of your game, try to play exclusively with other players. Be mindful about playing with the same people repeatedly, because they’re going to develop an expertise bias over time.

Try to take note of how you teach your game to others. You’ll naturally discover that there are good and bad ways you can teach your rules, and testing is where you’ll discover that.

If you’ve reached this stage and have more questions, this guide to playtesting might answer them.

Writing Game Rules

Strangely, this step comes last. Only after you have tested your game repeatedly should you worry about writing the rules down because testing is how you discover how to do that .

Generally, I find that players respond to knowing their victory conditions up front, then how a typical turn goes (in very broad strokes), then setup, and then detailed mechanics.

It’s a good idea to try to design your game to have as few exceptions to the rules as possible. If there’s a way you can make a rule universal, you should almost always try to do so.

For instance, in Breaker Blocks the Automate tile lets you play another tile instantly. To prevent these chaining together, instead of referencing Automate specifically, I wrote the universal rule “Action tiles cannot target themselves or copies of themselves.”

Universal rules are much easier to understand than a series of exceptions, especially in board games.

Once strangers are testing your game without you present, having a strong rulebook is even more important. At this stage, I would also recommend making your own tutorial videos.

To make a good tutorial video, set up a camera on a tripod facing the table, then explain the game the exact same way you would during a playtest.

Speak naturally, like you’re explaining the game to a friend, not like you’re explaining the game to an interviewer. Clear footage and simple language go a long way.

Common Pitfalls in Board Game Design

Maybe you’re stuck and you’re not sure why your design isn’t working.

Alternatively, you’ve designed your game and tested it extensively, and you want to make sure you’re ready to move on to manufacturing.

Either way, here are some useful questions to move your design forward and get your game one step closer to reality.

Players are often thinking about these elements, but it’s up to you as the designer to verbalize them.

Irrelevant Gameplay

Is there anything that happens in your game that isn’t part of the core experience you want to deliver? This can mean many different things.

For example, early in my design process for Yomi’s Gate, I decided that setup was actually irrelevant gameplay.

The real meat of the gameplay was during the player’s turn when they’re deciding which units to use.

Once I made that decision, I worked to make setup as short as possible.

Player Interaction

How interactive do you want your game to be? Is it the level of interaction you’re striving for? Board games aren’t like video games; they only do stuff when the player does stuff.

This isn’t a binary question, either. Too much interaction can feel crushing or ruthless, but too little can feel like we’re playing solitaire in parallel.

Think of interactivity like the pressure of a stage spotlight.

Just like there are natural rock stars and people with stage fright, there are people who enjoy both ends of this extreme. But most audiences are seeking something in the middle.

What kind of pacing do you want your game to have?

Is this the kind of game where every turn is high pressure and it can end at any time?

Are the early turns the best and the game slows down as it goes on?

Does your game accelerate, with the best turns at the very end?

The simplest way to think about this is in terms of cognitive load. What variables and decisions is your player expected to be responsible for at any time? The number or nature of these things can change over the course of the game.

This one can also tie into interactivity.

Games where players can’t interact when it’s not their turn will naturally feel slower. This can make them easier to understand at first, but risks making them boring in the longer term.

Conversely, games with immediate actions and reactions possible at all times can feel fast and exciting, but they also risk feeling exhausting and intense.

Variance and Replayability

How is one playthrough of your game different from the next? Similarly, how many times do you expect players to play your game and still have fun?

There are two traps here to avoid:

A game that’s great exactly once…

For some games, learning how to play them is the fun part.

These games can feel great when you’re introducing new people to them, but once you know how to play you don’t choose to return.

There is a business model for legacy games, but these are usually spinoff variants of highly replayable games (e.g. Pandemic Legacy). Even then, they’re not played just once , but their discoverable elements are each discovered only once.

This is a serious divergence from many video games.

I’m fine paying for a video game that’s 10-30 hours long that I’ll only ever play through once, but I would feel bad paying for a one-shot board game that’s gonna take up space on my shelf forever.

Infinite Replayability

Infinite replayability is a trap. Board games aren’t really infinitely replayable. Sure, you can trot out Chess or Go, or whatever, but most players aren’t reaching for those games on board game night.

The risk of chasing infinite replayability is infinite brown . The idea is that if you were to generate infinite sets of randomized colors, what you’re really going to get every time you mix them together is infinite shades of brown.

Think about how many times you’ve played your favorite board games. It’s a real number. It might be as low as once, but it could be a few hundred times, maybe a few thousand tops.

Shoot for that. Truthfully, I think you should shoot for somewhere between 10 and 50.

I know if I buy a board game and I get to have fun with it ten times, I feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Some players need more and some players need less.

Player Count Variation

How many players can play your game at once?

How many players can enjoy your game at once?

These are not the same question.

You may find that your game is wonderful with two players but terrible with six. You may find that it works great with four, but crumbles with just three.

You could even run into weird situations like a game that plays beautifully as a solo game, but has too little interaction for multiple players.

Test your game with every audience size you want to target. I mean every size, because weird stuff can surface that you won’t see coming.

If your game is “2-6 players,” then you need to run multiple play tests with 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 players before you should say that.

When your game isn’t fun with a particular number of people, try to figure out exactly why:

Do players start to gang up on the winner?
Is the game running too long to hold players’ interest?
Do finite resources divide in an uneven way that’s causing problems?
If your game is cooperative, is one player just running the game for everyone?

I recommend finding your niche and sticking with it if you can. Then you can apply your expertise to games of that size for every game you make instead of reinventing the wheel every time. Personally, I love making games for just two players.

Manufacturing: Every Way to Make Physical Board Games

Okay, so you’ve designed a board game.

You’ve prototyped it, you’ve playtested extensively, you’ve balanced everything appropriately .

This game is good and you want it to exist for real where people can get it.

What do you do next? How do you create a board game?

How do you turn your design into a physical game ?

There are a few questions you need to ask before you get started:

What is everything that needs to exist for your game to be a real game? Cards? Dice? A box? A board? An instruction manual? The answer is your component list .
How much of this process do you want to do yourself? What sorts of business partners are you willing to work with?
How many copies do you want to sell, if any? How big is your market ?
How much money do you want to spend upfront? What kind of investment do you want to make?

With those questions in mind, there are several options available to you:

You could artfully make every copy yourself.
You could outsource manufacturing but handle distribution yourself.
You could hand everything off to a publisher and do nothing but design.
You can find a hybrid combination of multiple approaches.

Here’s how to go about creating a board game, from the most involved to the least involved.

Make It All Yourself

Full creative control
High profit per copy
High-value clients will pay more for independent work
You have to do everything yourself
Reach and distribution are challenging
Expensive up-front investment

The first option you have is to make everything associated with your board game yourself.

This is definitely what you’ll be doing when you’re making prototypes for playtesting—you want the quickest and cheapest handmade components when you’re in that stage, as I covered earlier.

But it’s also possible to handle the final version of the game yourself, as well.

You could draw all of the final art , make all of the pieces, design and craft the box, print out the instruction manual, and so on and so on.

Beyond simply creating the physical manifestation of the game, you would also handle all of the back-end work, including buying ad space, managing inventory, boothing at conventions, distribution and warehousing, and a ton of other things, none of which are particularly glamorous.

This is how I do things at Spriteborne .

When I sell a copy of Breaker Blocks , I handle every part of that process. There’s a lot that entails!

I order acrylic from a supplier and manage my inventory
I engrave and cut those sheets of acrylic into game components on my industrial 60W CO2 laser (which was a more expensive purchase than any car I’ve ever owned)
I maintain and troubleshoot that machine myself
I designed the logo for both my company and the game
I created the stamp to ink the parts bag
I ink all of those bags myself and fill them with parts
I built the website
I fulfill client orders
I pack the boxes (different from packing the bags!)
I print the shipping labels
I bring finished copies to the post office

This is what the complete board game development process looks like. When you commit to doing everything yourself, this is what you’re committing to.

It’s time-consuming, but the profit margins are good and on-demand production means that I never have to have standing inventory taking up space and costing money.

I also enjoy the manufacturing process, since I like making things!

For most people, however, the challenges of this route are not worth the reward.

It takes the most time per copy, your initial startup fees for equipment are pretty high, and it can be hard to find new players since distribution is entirely up to you.

A La Carte Manufacturing

High creative control
Faster than solo manufacturing
Small upfront investment
Costs more than making things yourself
Dependency on external non-partner businesses
Limited options on craftable items

Let’s say you don’t want to make everything yourself, but you still want to be the one putting a bow on everything and you don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty.

A la carte manufacturing is a great choice when you’re midway through the design process and need to upgrade from your handmade prototypes, but aren’t yet ready for final product design.

You can also use this approach to make final products, if you’re willing to do a lot of work yourself but want some external help.

This means outsourcing individual component manufacturing, paying a small premium to have someone else handle some parts.

This can take many forms and might include one or more of the following:

Using a local print shop to get boxes printed and die-cut for you (folding and assembling them yourself)
Using a local printer to print out card sheets for you (cutting, laminating, and packing them yourself)
Having a local laser shop cut out custom meeples
Getting an independent die manufacturer to make custom dice for your game
Buying ready-made, generic components like counters and dice and bagging them up for individual copies yourself
Finding a supplier of blank versions of something (such as blank dice) and personalizing them yourself (such as with engraving or stickers)

The point is, in this tier, you pick and choose the things you can do best and you only outsource as needed when it’s difficult, time-consuming, expensive, or impossible to make something yourself.

Critically, this is different than using a publisher because:

You are doing all of the work to identify, contact, and utilize suppliers and other business partners.
You probably don’t have a contract with those businesses.

Exercise caution here before committing to a long-term plan. If the businesses you work with close down or change their prices or stock availability, this can significantly impact your pipeline.

Something as simple as a box becoming a quarter of an inch wider can cascade into your whole project, and that’s not something you can control.

I had to stop making copies of Kaiju Stadium for a while because my supplier for jumbo wooden dice stopped making them!

If you can get around these limitations, a la carte manufacturing can be great. I use it all the time to put the finishing touches on my projects. Using someone else’s expertise to do what they do best can really elevate your game.

If, however, you want someone else to do all of the manufacturing work, you might be interested in…

On-Demand Production

Easy, hands-off
Bundled distribution
Reliable production of a wide variety of components
Most expensive per-copy cost
Extremely difficult to market and achieve critical mass
Scales poorly

On-demand manufacturing is where another company manufactures your entire game with professional-quality components, one copy at a time.

There’s a common bias among players, and even among industry professionals: the quality of the components affects people’s perception of the quality of the game.

If you think you’re experiencing significant component quality bias in your testing and it’s negatively impacting your development, it might be time to try on-demand manufacturing to improve your component quality.

(On the other hand, if your pieces are handwritten junk and players still love your game, you’ve got market validation . There’s demand for your product, and you may want to set your sights bigger with bulk manufacturers or publishers.)

The other advantages to the on-demand approach are obvious: you upload all of the files necessary to make your game, post it on the manufacturer’s marketplace, and you’re basically done.

Every time someone orders a copy, it’s made to order and the manufacturer makes and ships it for you .

You can also bulk order small batches yourself to have copies on-hand for things like festivals and independent distribution, where it’s helpful to have physical copies to give to someone on the spot.

Currently, the only business I know of that does this reliably is The Game Crafter . They’re reputable, they’ve been around for a long time, and I can personally vouch for the quality of their output.

Genuinely, I think this is a process everyone wanting to make a board game should go through at least once.

Using a site like The Game Crafter or on-demand production is a great learning process on how to:

Identify every component that needs to get made, from the box to the instructions
Get manufacturing guidelines and template files from a third party
Create production-ready files to match those guidelines
Order prototypes to make sure everything meets the necessary specifications
Make production changes based on prototype evaluation
Enter “full” production only once prototypes are approved

If you’re considering either of the next two options (Bulk and Publishing), you should really do on-demand at least once first.

All that said, on-demand manufacturing is expensive on a per-copy basis . You’ll be paying twice as much or more as you would with bulk manufacturing, eating into the already razor-thin profit margins of board game development.

It’s also impossible to get any sort of media traction . Nobody will write about games available exclusively on The Game Crafter!

All of your advertising dollars will essentially just be free advertising for the manufacturer, instead of driving traffic to your own store, social channels, or newsletter.

You’ll be completely locked into limited distribution through The Game Crafter. You will only be able to make what they can make and there’s no guarantee that production files you design for their guidelines will be usable by anyone else.

This is all totally fine if you’re a hobbyist just looking to have your game exist!

It feels great to have professional quality components that you designed, and on-demand manufacturing is a great way to just get your game into the hands of your friends and family.

If you actually want to make a living doing this, however, you’re going to need to move up or down on the chain. This one isn’t sustainable long-term .

Bulk Manufacturing

Ultra-high per-copy profitability
No meaningful limit on copies produced
All but required for wide distribution
High lump cost for every project
Outsourced overseas (unless you’re in China)
Extremely slow

Have you already played your game a lot and you know it’s something you want to see to completion? You have now reached an important crossroads. You have to ask yourself the following question:

How many copies do you want to get out into the world?

The options above can be great for getting copies into your friends’ hands and/or personally overseeing quality control—but none of them are likely to lead to a breakout commercial success.

So let’s say you have a real hit.

You make a game and there’s a demand not in the dozens or hundreds, but in the thousands.

You don’t just want to make individual deals with your local game shops for distribution, you want to be in every board game shop. You want to be on the shelves at Target. You want to sell copies on Amazon.

The only option for you at this point is bulk manufacturing.

With bulk manufacturing, you work with a company like Panda , Delano , or Longpack and they make and pack every copy for you. Some of these manufacturers will also handle distribution.

The process for bulk manufacturing is very similar to the on-demand process (which is part of why I recommend on-demand first), but there are several important differences.

For one, it takes much longer , to the tune of 9-18 months. You have no choice but to plan around this. I’ve had colleagues spend six months on test runs alone, getting a sample, giving feedback, getting another sample, and so on until everything looks good.

For another, contracts are involved . Are you prepared to bring ink into this project? Do you even have a lawyer yet?

Lastly, these companies aren’t handling point-of-sale for you; you’re making a giant order (usually of 1,000 copies or more) and whatever you do with them after that point is up to you.

Let’s put things into perspective for a moment.

I make every copy of Breaker Blocks myself, taking about 45 minutes for each one. If I ran my laser 8 hours a day for 365 days a year, I could make almost 4,000 copies a year.

During that time, manufacturing would be my full-time job. I wouldn’t be designing new games, I wouldn’t be writing, I would just be making copies of my game.

With bulk manufacturing, I could just order those 3,000 copies. They might still take nine months to get here, but I’m free to do anything else during that time.

I might even be able to develop an entirely new game in that window of time, then order those copies, overlapping games in a waterfall of development, manufacturing, and distribution.

So there’s a clear advantage to bulk manufacturing, but you still need to consider cost and time .

If you’re ordering 3,000 copies, you might get your cost down to $4 per copy. That sounds like very little at first, but at 3,000 copies that becomes $12,000 that has to be paid all at once!

This is why people run crowdfunding campaigns (or snowball one success into the next game’s development).

Beyond that bulk cost, these things also take time. Lots and lots of time.

It takes weeks or months to make inroads with a manufacturing company.

It can take months to have a back-and-forth getting the prototypes to look correct.

It takes many more months for the copies to be made. In the worst cases, it can take over a year or more.

After everything is manufactured for you, those copies then have to be shipped to you. Unless you live in China, that probably means slow oversea freight shipping.

But wait, there’s something else very important that you might not have thought about!

Once all of your copies have arrived, now you have to warehouse several thousand copies of your game , which can take up an entire garage even if they’re small card games. If you don’t have that kind of space, now you have to rent a storage unit just to warehouse your game.

You might be able to get a manufacturer with distribution bundled in to alleviate that last one, but then you wouldn’t be selling any copies yourself. Most manufacturers don’t do distribution.

2024 note: Overseas manufacturing was hard enough pre-2020, but supply chain problems are notably bad with board games right now. This may clear up, but at the time of writing all overseas manufacturing is quite bogged down .

Bulk manufacturing solves some critical problems when you want to sell your game at scale, but it’s also a lot of work.

If you want complete control over your sales and distribution channels and you know you can sell a reasonable volume on your own, it is unquestionably the best route for you.

If, however, all of that sounds daunting, there’s one more option for you.

Almost totally hands-off
Often bundles ancillary services like marketing and PR
Instant visibility boost by being associated with a reputable publisher
Highest potential reach
Low autonomy; everything requires publisher approval
The least favorable per-copy profitability
Some publishers are predatory
Publishing takes longer than every other option
Your game might not get published at all

Maybe you read through everything and your first thought was, “Oh my god, I don’t want to do any of that, that sounds exhausting.” If that’s the case, publishing might be for you.

Getting a publisher is a daunting process that requires shopping an almost-complete game around to multiple businesses, all of which might say no.

If you’re successful, however, a publisher can theoretically handle everything for you .

They almost always have their own manufacturing and distribution connections, with some handling manufacturing and distribution internally.

They often have their own PR and marketing departments, or existing relationships with firms.

They sometimes come with their own warehousing options.

A few publishers even have in-house development teams, which can include art, playtesting, and more! Yes, there are publishers where all you have to do is design the game.

A publisher can truly be a one-stop shop to make your game a reality.

All of that said, going the publishing route can be a minefield of nightmares.

Here are some of the worst possible outcomes:

You shop your game around with publishers and nobody wants to publish your game , wasting months or years of your time.
You lose control over your IP and can’t make a sequel or other tie-ins because of it.
The publisher gives you a raw deal where you’re lucky to make 1% per copy sold , leaving you broke even if your game sells thousands of copies.
The publisher forces you to change creative decisions , altering the design direction of your game.
You lose control over PR and marketing and the publisher starts advertising your game in a way you don’t approve of.
You get locked into unfavorable contract terms that can put you into an assortment of legal difficulties.

All of those are real things that have happened, many of them to people I know. These aren’t abstract hypotheticals, they’re real possibilities.

If self-manufacturing is the highest business risk, then at the other end of the spectrum publishing is the highest creative risk.

One major tradeoff for getting another company to handle so many aspects of development for you is that things could go very differently than you expect them to.

Furthermore, publishing is extremely costly on a per-copy basis, to the tune of 1-5% royalties for the designer. I don’t mean that you’re losing 1-5% per copy, I mean that’s what you get paid .

Yes, it’s entirely possible to make $0.40 per copy sold of a $40 game.

You have to do some serious math to make sure publishing is right for you.

If you make $20/copy crafting everything yourself but you can only sell 500 copies, you’ve made $10,000 on your game. That’s not bad, but also not amazing.

If you earn $0.50/copy, you’d have to sell 20,000 copies to make that same $10,000. That’s quite a few units for an indie board game with no designer track record, but you’re more likely to sell that many with a publisher than you are on your own.

On the other hand, if you make the next Wingspan you might sell 1.4M copies in a single year. Suddenly $0.50/copy sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

At that scale you’d have to work with external partners, at least in manufacturing and distribution.

Bulk manufacturing becomes mandatory for working at scale. A publisher can be a powerful ally in achieving that scale, with its reputation, connections to bulk manufacturing and distribution, and marketing apparatus.

Still, a publisher can also steer you off course, take advantage of you, force you to make creative decisions you don’t like, and leave you in a position worse than if you hadn’t tried to work with one.

If those are risks you’re willing to take and you’re able to find one of the good publishers, however, publishing could be the best route for you.

How do you get a publisher?

Getting a publisher is a lot more straightforward than it may seem. There is no guarantee that your game will interest publishers, but you can follow a concrete set of steps to give it a fair chance.

Design a game that people like . If you’ve made something that playtesters consistently enjoy again and again, you’re on the right track.
Make a sell sheet . This is a one-page document that describes your game’s elevator pitch, your unique selling points, the number of players it can accommodate, how long it takes to play, all components involved, and your contact info.
Go meet publishers . Go to conventions, festivals, and events like Unpub, PAX, and GDC with the specific goal of meeting publishers. I have met plenty of publishers this way without actively seeking them out. It’s a good idea to identify good fits in advance, then email them prior to the event to book a meeting.
Get a lawyer . Do not skip this step. You need a lawyer who can look over all contracts and terms for you and it needs to be someone familiar with games and intellectual property (IP) law. They are expensive, but worth every penny in long-term trouble avoided.

Finding a publisher can be scary. Be kind, be patient, and don’t be pushy and you’ll be just fine.

Wait, what’s a sell sheet, exactly?

This could be a whole article unto itself, but in summary, a sell sheet is a one-page document that tells a potential publisher everything they need to know about your game:

What kind of game is it? Genre? Player count? Complexity? Length?
What sets your game apart from other games like it?
Who is the target market? Audience? Theming?
What are the financial needs in order to manufacture it? What’s its component list?
What does your game look like? Final art isn’t necessary, but a photo of your game in action is important.

Think of a sell sheet as a résumé for your game. Submitting it to a publisher is just like applying for a job.

Next Steps and Future Reading

You should now have everything you need to make your own board game, from concept to completion. Whether you’re going to make everything yourself or hunt for a publisher, you are ready.

If you’d like to be even more prepared, here is some additional suggested reading:

How to Apply the Iterative Process in Game Design
What is Game Depth and How to Evaluate It
Designing the Core Gameplay Loop: A Beginner’s Guide
What Does a Game Economy Designer Do? And How to Become One?
How to Use Simplicity to Improve Your Game Design Skills (5 Lessons)
When to Steal and When to Innovate in Game Design
How to Market a Game

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EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND:

[studio] blizzard entertainment: content, mechanics, and systems designer.

[GAME] World of Warcraft: MMORPG with 8.5 million average monthly players, won Gamer’s Choice Award – Fan Favorite MMORPG, VGX Award for Best PC Game, Best RPG, and Most Addictive Video Game.

Designed Cosmos UI
Designed part of Raid Team for Naxxramas
Designed the raid bosses Karazhan, Black Temple, Zul’Aman
Designed the Outlands content
Hungarfen, Ghaz’an, Swamplord Musel’ik, and The Black Stalker
Designed the Hellfire Ramparts final bosses Nazan & Vazruden
Designed the Return to Karazhan bosses: Attumen the Huntsman, Big Bad Wolf, Shades of Aran, Netherspite, Nightbane
Designed quest content, events and PvP areas of Wintergrasp
Designed Vehicle system
Designed the Death Knight talent trees
Designed the Lord Marrowgar raid
Designed quest content
Designed Deathwing Overworld encounters
Designed Morchok and Rhyolith raid fights
Overhauled the entire Warlock class – Best player rated version through all expansion packs
Designed pet battle combat engine and scripted client scene

[GAME] StarCraft 2: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Diablo 3: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Overwatch: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Hearthstone: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[STUDIO] Riot Games: Systems designer, in-studio game design instructor

[GAME] League of Legends: Team-based strategy MOBA with 152 million average active monthly players, won The Game Award for Best Esports Game and BAFTA Best Persistent Game Award.

Redesigned Xerath Champion by interfacing with community
Reworked the support income system for season 4
Redesigned the Ward system
Assisted in development of new trinket system
Heavily expanded internal tools and features for design team
Improved UI indicators to improve clarity of allied behaviour

[OTHER GAMES] Under NDA: Developed multiple unreleased projects in R&D

Game Design Instructor: Coached and mentored associate designers on gameplay and mechanics

[STUDIO] Moon Studios: Senior game designer

[GAME] Ori & The Will of The Wisps: 2m total players (423k people finished it) with average 92.8/100 ratings by 23 top game rating sites (including Steam and Nintendo Switch).

Designed the weapon and Shard systems
Worked on combat balance
Designed most of the User Interface

[GAME] Unreleased RPG project

Designed core combat
High-level design content planning
Game systems design
Game design documentation
Gameplay systems engineering
Tools design
Photon Quantum implementation of gameplay

[VC FUNDED STARTUP] SnackPass: Social food ordering platform with 500k active users $400m+ valuation

[PROJECT] Tochi: Creative director (hybrid of game design, production and leading the product team)

Lead artists, engineers, and animators on the release the gamification system to incentivize long-term customers with social bonds and a shared experience through the app

[CONSULTING] Atomech: Founder / Game Design Consultant

[STUDIOS] Studio Pixanoh + 13 other indie game studios (under NDA):

Helped build, train and establish the design teams
Established unique combat niche and overall design philosophy
Tracked quality, consistency and feedback methods
Established company meeting structure and culture

Game Design Keynotes:

Tencent Studio
USC (University of Southern California)
RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)
US AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association)
UFIEA (University of Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy)
West Gaming Foundation
Kyoto Computer Gakuin – Kyoto, Japan

Blank Board Game Template Printables | Make Your Own Board Game

Make your own board game using a blank board game template! On this page you’ll find 6 unique board game templates in black and white and color. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, students sometimes have to make their own board games as part of a Language Arts or Social Studies assignment. Drawing a game board by hand can be tricky, and for that reason I’ve created this set of blank game boards for kids, students and teachers to print.

Blank Board Game Templates

Download the game board you like best, and print it onto sturdy card stock paper. On the blank game tiles, write what happens to a player when he or she lands on it, or create cards and ask players to draw a card. Students are welcome to print these printable game boards for a school project such as a book report or history assignment. Click on a board game template to open its PDF version in your browser.

Board Game Templates

Black and white.

All content is FREE for subscribing Members of Tim’s Printables. Not yet a member? Join today! Already a member? Please sign in to access the downloads.

Basic Board Game Templates

Next we have a set of printable board game tiles. Cut out all the tiles and create a game board path of your design.

And here are a few simple ready-made paths.

Printable Dice Templates

Don’t have any dice for your game? No problem, you can make those yourself too! Click the image below to download your dice template, or visit my Dice Templates post.

44 thoughts on “Blank Board Game Template Printables | Make Your Own Board Game”

Thank you for the templates. Also the resolution is excellent. Good job!

Thank you so much

So many ways to use these templates with ELLs. Thank you for sharing them.

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Fostering Creativity & Learning: How to Implement a Board Game Project

Updated: Feb 15

Engage students by getting them to create board games!

In an era when digital screens seem to dominate, the tactile, interactive experience of playing a board game remains a delight. But what if students were given the opportunity not just to play, but to create their own board games? A 'Creating Board Games' unit can be a powerful way to engage students, stimulate creativity, and apply learning in any subject.

In my classroom...

In our probability unit, I introduced a project where students were tasked with creating their own board games, focusing on integrating probability concepts. This hands-on approach aimed to deepen their understanding of probability in a fun, engaging way. Students worked in groups, brainstorming game ideas that incorporated probability through dice rolls, card draws, or spinners.

They designed game rules, objectives, and mechanics that required players to make decisions based on probabilistic outcomes. As they tested and refined their games, I observed remarkable engagement and a deeper grasp of probability concepts. The culmination was a class showcase where each group presented their game, explaining the probability principles behind it. This project not only enhanced their learning but also fostered creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

Here's a guide on how you can run this dynamic and engaging activity in your classroom.

Research and Development

Before diving into the creation process, it's essential to build a solid foundation of understanding. Provide students with the space to research and analyze what makes a board game enjoyable and effective. Encourage them to tap into their experiences and expertise as board game players. Some key topics to consider:

Create a Board Game templates and resources. A learning resource from Sherbert Learning. Engage your students in their learning through board games!

The history and development of games.

What makes a board game enjoyable (compare and contrast different games).

Features of board games.

Thinking critically about board game rules and instructions.

An example of a student board game. Teacher used the Sherbert Learning: Create a Board Game to engage students in their learning

Once students have a solid understanding of what goes into a good board game, they can start the creation process. Encourage them to bring their ideas to life, designing all the elements needed for their game, including dice, spinners, question cards, and the game board. Allow them to be creative, and ensure they know that the sky is the limit!

Application and Review

After the creation process, the real fun begins: playing the games! Students should first play their own games to test out the mechanics and instructions, and to determine if they're fun. Then, they should play each other's games, offering constructive feedback for improvements. This phase allows for genuine reflection and presents an opportunity to make adjustments based on user experience.

Implementation Tips:

Clearly outline the project's objectives and expectations from the start.

Encourage students to reflect their learning and understanding from the unit in the game.

Allow sufficient time for the creation process - it's not a race.

Foster a positive, constructive environment for feedback and game review.

Celebrate all finished games – a game expo could be a fun way to wrap up the project!

Examples of Units of Work:

History : Students could create games based on historical events or periods they've studied.

Science : Games could revolve around concepts such as the life cycle, the solar system, or the process of photosynthesis.

Math : Games could help players practice or apply mathematical concepts, such as fractions or geometry.

Geography : Games could help players learn about different countries, landforms, or climate zones.

Literature : Students could create games based on abook they've read in class, allowing for deeper exploration of themes, characters, and plot.

In conclusion, a unit on creating board games provides a platform for students to apply their learning in a fun, engaging way. If you're looking for a comprehensive resource to support this endeavor, consider the "Create a Board Game: Project-Based Learning Unit." This resource includes everything you'll need to run a successful, engaging, and educational board game creation unit. Don't wait – bring the joy of learning to your classroom with this unique project today! Find it here !

Create a Board Game cover. A learning resource from Sherbert Learning. Engage your students in their learning through board games!

[2023] How to Make a Board Game: A Comprehensive Guide

September 24, 2023
Game Development

Watch the video on YouTube .

Are you ready to unleash your creativity and bring your own board game to life? Look no further! Our team at Stack Interface™ has put together a comprehensive guide on how to make a board game. Whether you’re a seasoned game designer or a beginner, this article will provide you with all the information you need to create a fun and engaging board game that will keep players entertained for hours.

Quick Answer

To make a board game, you’ll need the following materials:

Posterboard, cardboard, or cardstock for the game board
Game tokens
Blank note cards or construction paper for cards
Pencil, markers, crayons, or paint for artwork
Ruler for measuring

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make a board game:

Create an outline of your board game, including the title, instructions, rules, number of players, and storyline.
Sketch out the design of the board game on a sheet of paper.
Create the game board using the chosen material and design. Add artwork and color to make it visually appealing.
Make pull cards by cutting blank note cards in half and filling them with instructions or actions.
Gather game tokens and dice. You can use old tokens from other board games or items found around the house.
Gather family and friends to play your newly created board game and have fun!

For a more detailed guide on each step, keep reading!

Quick Tips and Facts

Creativity is key: Let your imagination run wild when designing your board game. Think about unique gameplay mechanics, interesting themes, and engaging artwork.
Playtest your game: Before finalizing your board game, playtest it with friends and family to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments.
Start small: If you’re new to game design, it’s best to start with a simple game concept. As you gain more experience, you can tackle more complex projects.
Research game design principles: Learn about game mechanics, player psychology, and game balance to create a well-designed and enjoyable board game.
Join game design communities: Connect with other game designers online or in local meetups to learn from their experiences and get valuable feedback on your game.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of making a board game, let’s take a moment to appreciate the rich history and evolution of this beloved form of entertainment.

Board games have been around for thousands of years, with some of the earliest known examples dating back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Over the centuries, board games have evolved and taken on various forms, from traditional strategy games like Chess and Go to modern classics like Monopoly and Scrabble.

Today, board games continue to captivate players of all ages, offering a unique blend of strategy, social interaction, and immersive storytelling. With the rise of tabletop gaming communities and crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, more and more people are embracing the joy of creating their own board games.

What You’ll Need to Make a Board Game

To bring your board game to life, you’ll need a few essential materials. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need:

What You’ll Do to Make a Board Game

Now that you have your materials ready, it’s time to dive into the process of making your board game. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you along the way:

1. Brainstorm and Conceptualize

Before you start creating your game board, take some time to brainstorm and conceptualize your game idea. Consider the following aspects:

Theme: Choose a theme that resonates with your target audience. It could be anything from fantasy and sci-fi to historical or educational.
Gameplay Mechanics: Think about the core mechanics of your game. Will it be a strategy game, a cooperative game, or a competitive game? How will players interact with each other and the game components?
Components: Decide on the components your game will have, such as cards, tokens, dice, and any other unique elements that will enhance the gameplay experience.
Objective: Define the objective of your game. What do players need to accomplish to win? Is it a race to the finish line, a battle for dominance, or a cooperative mission?

2. Create an Outline

Once you have a clear idea of your game concept, create an outline that includes the following elements:

Title: Come up with a catchy and descriptive title for your game.
Instructions: Write clear and concise instructions on how to play the game. Include setup instructions, gameplay rules, and any special conditions or exceptions.
Number of Players: Determine the ideal number of players for your game. Consider scalability and adjustability to accommodate different group sizes.
Storyline: If your game has a narrative element, develop a compelling storyline that adds depth and immersion to the gameplay.

3. Sketch Out the Design

Grab a sheet of paper and start sketching out the design of your game board. Consider the layout, spaces, paths, and any other visual elements that are relevant to your game. Don’t worry about perfection at this stage; the goal is to get a rough idea of how your game board will look.

4. Create the Game Board

Using the materials you’ve gathered, it’s time to bring your game board to life. Follow these steps:

Prepare the base: Cut the posterboard, cardboard, or cardstock to the desired size for your game board. Make sure it’s large enough to accommodate all the necessary components.
Add the layout: Use a pencil to sketch the layout of your game board based on the design you created earlier. Include spaces, paths, and any other visual elements that are relevant to your game.
Add artwork and color: Once you’re satisfied with the layout, use markers, crayons, paint, or any other art supplies to add artwork and color to your game board. Let your creativity shine and make it visually appealing.

5. Make Pull Cards

If your game includes cards with instructions or actions, it’s time to create them. Follow these steps:

Cut the cards: Take blank note cards or construction paper and cut them in half to create smaller cards.
Write instructions: On each card, write instructions or actions that players will encounter during the game. Be creative and make them engaging and fun.

6. Gather Game Tokens and Dice

To represent players or game pieces on the board and add an element of chance to your game, gather game tokens and dice. Here’s what you can do:

Game tokens: Use small figurines, coins, or pieces from other board games as game tokens. Get creative and choose tokens that fit the theme of your game.
Dice: Use standard six-sided dice or explore different types of dice to add variety to your game mechanics. Consider using dice with more sides or custom dice with symbols or numbers specific to your game.

7. Gather Family and Friends to Play

Now that your board game is complete, gather your family and friends to play and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Take note of their feedback and make any necessary adjustments to improve the gameplay experience.

Learn More About Game Design

If you’re interested in diving deeper into the world of game design, there are plenty of resources available to help you hone your skills and expand your knowledge. Consider the following options:

Game Design Merit Badge: If you’re a member of the Boy Scouts of America, you can earn the Game Design merit badge. This program provides a structured framework for learning about game design principles and creating your own games.
Online Courses and Tutorials: Explore online platforms that offer game design courses and tutorials. Websites like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning have a wide range of courses taught by industry professionals.
Books on Game Design: There are numerous books available that delve into the art and science of game design. Some popular titles include “The Art of Game Design” by Jesse Schell, “Rules of Play” by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, and “Game Design Workshop” by Tracy Fullerton.

how to make a board game Stack Interface

How hard is it to make a board game?

Making a board game can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Starting with a basic game concept and gradually adding complexity as you gain experience is a good approach. The difficulty level depends on factors such as the complexity of the gameplay mechanics, the number of components, and the level of polish you want to achieve. With dedication and a willingness to learn, anyone can make a board game.

Read more about “… How to Make a Game on Chromebook: A Comprehensive Guide”

How much does it cost to make a board game?

The cost of making a board game can vary greatly depending on the materials you choose, the number of components, and the level of production quality you’re aiming for. If you’re on a tight budget, you can use inexpensive materials like cardboard and create components by hand. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more professional finish, you may need to invest in higher-quality materials and consider outsourcing certain aspects of production. It’s important to plan your budget accordingly and make choices that align with your vision for the game.

Read more about “How Much Does It Cost to Build a Video Game? …”

Can anyone make a board game?

Absolutely! Board game design is a creative endeavor that anyone can pursue. You don’t need to be an artist or a game design expert to create a fun and engaging board game. All you need is an idea, some basic materials, and a willingness to learn and iterate. Don’t be afraid to experiment, playtest, and make adjustments along the way. With passion and perseverance, anyone can make a board game.

Read more about “… Create Your Own Game Online: The Ultimate Guide to Game Development”

How do you make a board game rule?

Creating clear and concise rules for your board game is crucial for a smooth gameplay experience. Here are some tips to help you create effective game rules:

Be clear and concise: Use simple language and avoid ambiguity. Clearly state the objectives, actions, and conditions of the game.
Provide examples: Use examples to illustrate complex rules or concepts. This can help players understand how the game works in practice.
Include visuals: Use diagrams, illustrations, or icons to supplement your written rules. Visual aids can make it easier for players to understand the game mechanics.
Organize the rules: Divide the rules into sections or categories to make them easier to navigate. Use headings, bullet points, or numbering to create a clear structure.
Playtest and iterate: Playtest your game with different groups of players and gather feedback on the rules. Make adjustments based on the feedback to improve clarity and address any potential issues.

Making a board game is a rewarding and creative endeavor that allows you to bring your imagination to life. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to creating a fun and engaging board game that will entertain players for years to come.

Remember to embrace your creativity, playtest your game, and continue learning and improving your game design skills. Whether you’re designing a game for personal enjoyment, as a gift, or with aspirations of publishing, the journey of creating a board game is an adventure in itself.

Now, it’s time to roll the dice, move your game pieces, and embark on a thrilling gaming experience of your own creation!

Reference Links

How to Make Your Own Board Game – Scout Life magazine: https://scoutlife.org/hobbies-projects/projects/172763/how-to-make-your-own-board-game/
[Link to relevant source]

Jacob is a software engineer with over 2 decades of experience in the field. His experience ranges from working in fortune 500 retailers, to software startups as diverse as the the medical or gaming industries. He has full stack experience and has even developed a number of successful mobile apps and games.

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Board Game Poster Templates

Customize a game poster today.

Create your own printable, poster-sized games to use in your classroom! Choose from pre-made board game templates or come up with your own from scratch.

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the poster to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

How to Use Game Board Template in the Classroom

It's easy to create printable board game templates for your classroom! Board games and game cards can be used for teaching critical thinking and communication skills, whether by helping students learn something new, or having them build and create their own. Have kids create custom dice, a card game, a new type of playing card, or something else of that nature.

Our poster-sized blank game board templates and other games give students more space to create something exciting. Once you create a board game online and print, these boards can be laminated and used during lessons or indoor recess; you can also make a game online! This project allows students to learn and present information (try trivia or flash cards), but also lets them explore the complexities that designers face when building a game - from the rules to method of gameplay. Creating a narrative from facts and information can prove infinitely more fun and beneficial to understanding.

Benefits of Board Games in the Classroom

Integrating board games into the classroom can be a fun and effective way to promote learning, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. Here are some benefits and ideas for incorporating board games into your classroom:

Educational Value: Many board games are designed to teach specific skills or content, such as math, language, geography, or critical thinking.
Social Skills: Board games encourage interaction, communication, and teamwork among students.
Critical Thinking: Games often require strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Engagement: Board games can make learning more enjoyable and engaging, fostering a positive attitude towards education.
Creativity: Some games involve creativity and imagination, promoting a different aspect of learning.

Educational Board Games Generator: Perfect Matches for Your Lessons

Board games are a useful tool to bring a new level of excitement to your lessons tailored to your specific curriculum. Whether you are teaching math with games like "Math Maze Challenge" inspired by classics such as checkers, or exploring archaeological history with puzzle-based adventures, these customized board games are designed to make learning a captivating adventure. "Math Maze Challenge" transforms equations into thrilling puzzles. "ArchaeoPuzzles: Unearth the Past" immerses students in the world of historical excavation, where they piece together archaeological discoveries through interactive puzzles.

Other ideas include:

Math Maze Challenge: Create board games where students solve math problems to advance through a maze to win.
Time Travelers: History Edition: Travel through different historical periods, answering questions about the era to progress.
Eco-Adventure: Teach environmental science by navigating a board where players must make eco-friendly decisions.

Popular Board Games for Kids

There are many popular games that can be educational when applied to the classroom. Here are just a few games that we have created similar templates for you to customize and use today!

Chess: A classic strategy game played on an 8x8 grid, each player starts with 16 pieces, including a king, queen, rooks, knights, bishops, and pawns. The objective is to checkmate the opponent's king.
Checkers: A two-player game played on an 8x8 checkerboard, players move their pieces diagonally, capturing opponents' pieces by jumping over them. The goal is to either capture all of the opponent's pieces or block them from making a move.
Dominoes: A tile-based game where players match tiles with identical numbers of pips. The most common domino set has 28 tiles, each displaying two numbers from 0 to 6. Players take turns matching and placing tiles, aiming to empty their hand or block opponents.
Bingo: A game of chance played with cards containing rows of numbers. A caller randomly selects numbers, and players mark off the corresponding numbers on their cards. The first player to complete a specified pattern shouts "Bingo!" and wins.
Monopoly: A classic economic board game where players buy, sell, and trade properties. The goal is to bankrupt opponents by collecting rent when they land on owned properties, and players use dice to move around the board, encountering various spaces and events.

Use Storyboard That to Create Your Video Game Design

Unlock your inner board games designer with Storyboard That! Our platform offers a wide array of customizable blank board game templates that cater to every age range, from family-friendly games to challenging strategy titles. Whether you're an experienced creator looking to refine an existing design or a newcomer eager to make your own, our online resources, templates, and graphics are your ultimate source of inspiration.

With just a few clicks, you can create printable board games that feature your unique art, ideas, and the game's rules. Break away from the ordinary and draw players in with engaging gameplay using our user-friendly online boardgame maker. Need an example to help you make a game board online? Our platform offers a library of existing designs and playing cards to point you in the right direction.

Don't miss the opportunity to share your creations with with friends and family. Whether you're crafting classic board games with squares and tiles or inventing new shapes and challenges, Storyboard That is your key to create a game board online!

How to Make Your Own Board Game

Choose One of the Premade Game Poster Templates

We have lots of amazing templates to choose from. Take a look at our game poster example for inspiration!

Click on "Copy Template"

Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.

Give Your Poster a Name!

This is where you will include details, text, images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Edit Your Poster

Click "save and exit".

When you are finished with your game poster, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Happy Creating!

Related Resources

Games Worksheet Templates
Make Your Own Posters
Create a Travel Poster
Movie Posters Templates

Frequently Asked Questions about Board Game Posters

What is a game board template maker.

It is one of our simple tools to create unique and engaging posters for your classroom. Storyboard That’s poster layout options and incredible art make for a one of a kind online board game maker for teachers.

How do I create my own game board?

How to create your own board game is easy with Storyboard That! You can either use one of our premade templates, or make one from scratch with our board game generator in the storyboard creator!

What are good themes for board games?

Good themes include fantasy adventures, science fiction, historical settings, mystery and detective, horror and survival, exploration, economic and business, adventure and quest, word and language, food and cooking, environmental and conservation, mythology, pirates and nautical, Wild West, superheroes, and more. The choice of theme should align with the target audience and desired gameplay experience.

In an academic classroom setting, good themes can include historical events, scientific exploration, geography, language and vocabulary, problem-solving, mathematics, and critical thinking. These themes can help reinforce educational concepts while making learning engaging and fun.

Is it easy to make your own board game?

Creating your own in a classroom setting can be relatively easy with careful planning and creativity. It provides a hands-on way to reinforce educational concepts and engage students in learning.

How do you make a board game rule?

Creating rules in an academic classroom setting involves several key steps. First, clearly define the objective to align with the academic concept you want to reinforce. Next, outline the basic rules and gameplay mechanics, ensuring they are simple and easy to understand. It's important to balance fun and educational value. Use clear and concise language when writing the rules, avoiding jargon or complexity. Include examples or demonstrations to clarify any ambiguities. Encourage student participation and engagement by allowing them to suggest improvements or modifications to the rules. Playtesting and refining the rules based on feedback is essential to ensure the concept effectively serves its educational purpose.

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assignment:

Create a design for a dice board game.
Include directions sheet
Make game prototype including all pieces
Design and produce packaging
Marketing campaign

Think of a theme (subject matter) for the game ( medieval, pirates, butterflies, ocean, underground, etc )

Think of images that will support the theme.

Do all necessary research on the topic.

Use worksheet to write down words associated with the theme.

Ex: castle. unicorn, knight, horse, rock bridge, dragons, etc.

Create the rules based on the theme. Consider the following questions:

1. What is the objective of the game? Get somewhere, rescue somebody, escape from somewhere, find something, collect bonus points, be the first one to get to a point, etc

2. Who are the players? How many players can play? Do players follow the same path?

3. What are the start and end points? Where are the players at the beginning of the game and what is their goal and the purpose of the journey?

4. What obstacles are there for the players to set them back, quit, stop, or change the rout?

5. What advantages can the players get to move forward? Are there any shortcuts? Are there any perks or "lucky" steps?

What layout will work better for your game?

What is the shape of the field itself? It does not need to be a rectangle.

Start sketching concept thumbnails.

Mark Start and Finish spots.

How many players can play?

Do players follow the same path?

How many Start and Finish spots do you need?

May be all players come to the same finish spot?

Is the play field going to be a side view or a top view?

What is the general shape of the path?

What is the direction of the move (up, down, return to start, etc.) ?

Are there any hidden paths?

Design the board. Use full size drawing paper.

Start with the background / setting. Include possible "obstacles" and "advantage" spots.

Add start and end spots.

Add obstacles that would slow down the players.

Add advantage spots.

Draw the path that will go through action spots.

Draw step spaces along the path.

Mark return spaces.

Use arrows or signs (ex.: return 3 spaces).

Mark advance spaces with arrows or signs.

Mark other actions (skip turn or skip 2 turns, etc).

Create the board & play pieces

Write down and design the game rules

Design marketing campaign

Design and create packaging / ad

Test the game based on your rules.

Any adjustments needed?

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The Many Little Joys

How to make a board game: fun learning activity for kids

July 17, 2020 by Meg 5 Comments

Do your kids love playing games? Try letting them design one! This creative activity will help kids analyze the games they know and help them learn how to make a board game of their own.

How to make a board game brainstorming worksheets

Note: This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if purchases are made through those links. Please see my full disclosure to learn more.

Are you a game loving family? We have a whole closet full of board games, and my oldest son (8) is always trying to hunt down someone–ANYONE–to play a game with him.

Recently, we took our love of gaming to the next level—we created our OWN games. It was so fun!

Today I’m sharing everything you need to know to guide your kids (or students) through the creative process of designing and making their own board games.

Use the printables included below to make it a thought-provoking and fun hands-on learning activity for older kids, or simplify the process for younger kids by using a free board game template.

My 8-year-old loved analyzing and designing his game, but my 5-year-old needed a simpler approach. So use what works for you! I’ve included notes on how to adapt this activity for different ages/attention spans below.

Tip: You may want to split this project up into several sessions done over several days so it’s not overwhelming.

Now, let’s make a board game!

First things first…

How to make your own board game

Materials needed:.

A handful of board games to use for inspiration
“What makes a game?” printables
paper or poster board
pencils, markers, etc.
assorted craft supplies (stickers, clay, pipe cleaners, etc…use whatever you have on hand)

Step One: What makes a game fun?

Gather together a stack of your family’s favorite board games (leave card games and dice games out for this activity). Simple games work best. We used the following games in our analysis:

Outfoxed: A cooperative whodunit game
The Game of Life
Busytown: Eye found it!
Enchanted Forest
Monopoly Junior
Chutes & Ladders

Related: Our Family’s Favorite Board Games

Discuss together that there are MANY different kinds of games, but many of them have certain things in common. Look at the games you’ve gathered, and answer the five questions on the “What makes a game?” graphic organizer sheet.

town (Busytown, Life)
forest/fairy tales (Enchanted Forest)
house/mansion (Clue)
Trains (Ticket to Ride)
get the most points (Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride)
solve the mystery (Clue)
reach the end first (Candyland, Chutes & Ladders)
earn the most money (Monopoly)
My oldest son’s answer to this was interesting. He said, “LUCK, because then the adults don’t have the advantage over the kids.” Hmm, maybe I should let him win a little more often?

Step Two: Plan your own board game

Once you have explored the features of various games and discussed what makes a game fun to play, encourage your child to plan out their own game!

Use the “Design your own game” printable planning sheet to help your child think through all the things they need to decide for their game:

My oldest son decided to make his game a magic castle-themed game where players had to collect ingredients from around the castle to make magic potions (and earn points). The first person to earn 20 points by completing potions, wins!

My 6-year-old made a more traditional pathway-style board game with the theme of explorers in the jungle trying to find an ancient Incan temple. It even has sword-wielding skeletons who send you back to the start if you land on them!

Step 3: Sketch your board game design

I highly recommend having kids sketch out their plan for their game before you give them their final materials to make the game. This will give them a chance to finalize their ideas and it gives you a chance to ask questions and help them fill in any gaps in the plan.

Step 4: Make your game

Now all the planning is done, so it’s time to get out all the craft supplies and get building!

Because my oldest son’s idea was a little more complicated, he needed some help thinking through the details of the game and bringing it to life. But, really, it was such a fun project to do together and he was so proud of how it turned out!

Step 5: Play your new game!

This is the best part! If your kids are anything like mine, they will be thrilled to tell everyone about the game they made up ALL on their own (nevermind all the help and support you offered). Have a family game night, and take the opportunity to really celebrate their hard work and creativity!

Adapting this activity for younger kids:

For younger kids, you can skip the analysis in step one and just have a simple discussion of what things ALL board games have (players, a goal, spaces, etc.).

Then, you can give them a board game template so they don’t have to make their game from scratch. You can print a free blank board game template here .

Encourage them to decorate the board using a theme of their choice and color the spaces to make it bright and fun. Consider giving them stickers to help with the decoration.

If you use a blank template, you can make the game more interesting by helping your child create “action” spaces (move forward or back, lose a turn, etc) or shortcuts.

The sky is the limit! Just have fun!

Note: This was a “Make It Monday” activity for our “ Summer Plan for Fun ” (my quest to give summer a little structure and keep my kids involved in lots of hands-on, play-based learning).

Follow me on Instagram for new simple ideas each week to make summer fabulous!

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How to Make Your Own Board Game (Instructions)

In this board board game worksheet, students follow the instructions to create their own board game. Students use the examples in the sheet for help in creating their game.

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Make Your Own Board Games for Kids

Activities Learning Math & 123s Grade School Kindergartners Preschoolers Cardboard Box Game Upcycle 12 Comments

Have you noticed how much kid learn from just playing board games ? Alisha shares two simple ways to create your own board games for kids!

I have found that board games for kids can teach them so much; taking turns, being a graceful winner or loser, academic skills, problem-solving, and teamwork.

But have you noticed how expensive and complicated they can get? So as a hands-on mom I thought, I’ll just make a few myself.

These two super simple DIY board games will keep your kids having fun, while learning, and spending time building relationships and making memories.

Here is a list of some other great homemade games .

You’ll only need a few materials to make your board game(s), but depending on how many game boards you make and the theme of your game boards, your materials may differ slightly.

What we used to make our board games:

Cardboard (from an old box) or a small poster board
Die or dice
Figurines (whatever you have at home)
Glue (optional)

When making your own DIY board game, I recommend starting simple and then as you’ve played the game a few times, you can always add something, omit a piece, or increase the complexity.

The beautiful thing about DIY, is you can change it up as you please.

I’ll share two simple approaches and you can choose to use just one or choose to make both; it’s totally up to you.

Making a “Point A to Point B” DIY Board Game for Kids

The purpose of the game is to get from Point A to Point B by rolling the die and counting each space on the game board path.

A person wins by moving their figurine from Point A and reaching Point B first.

The first step is to get a nice size of cardboard (I used the sides and bottom of a box).

Then, brainstorm with the kids for a theme. It’s really up to your preferences and which figurines you already have on hand (the goal is to not have to buy anything).

Theme ideas: space, automobiles, animals, sea creatures, insects, Lego people, even pom poms.

Draw your game board by making a path from Point A to Point B. I recommend a simple curvy path with squares for each space.

Then draw or find a picture to print and glue on for Point A and Point B (I just drew our pictures).

Depending on the theme of your board game, Point A could be the Earth and Point B the Moon, or Point A could be a barn and Point B could be the pasture. You can decide based on the figurines you have to use and your kids’ interests.

We decided to use an automobile theme; so Point A was a set of tires and Point B was the garage.

Once your board is complete (with your path and pictures), it’s time to add in the game pieces (figurines) and a die.

We each chose a favorite toy car for our game pieces, so a total of three cars for three players.

Realistically, you can have as many game pieces as needed to accommodate as many players as you have.

Rules to get playing

Line all the game pieces at Point A and choose who will go first (we had youngest go first).
The first person rolls the die and moves that many spaces on the game board.
Then the second person rolls and on it goes until someone is the first to land on Point B (have to roll exact amount to land on it).

Mix it up with some variations:

Once you have played on the super simple game board a few times; I recommend adding a few “additions” to your game board path.

Actions on the Board: You could make one square say “lose a turn”, or another to say “move two spaces ahead or two spaces back”, another idea could be “roll again.”
Colored Squares: you could add some color to your game board to work on color recognition and patterns.

This variation will bring more challenge and excitement to your DIY board game!

Making an “Object Collection” DIY Board Game for Kids

In this second board game style, the purpose is to move around the game board path and collect the object from the middle of the path.

A person wins by moving their figurine around the board and collecting the most objects.

The first step is to get a piece of cardboard and decide upon your theme.

Draw your game board by making a big circle on the outside and a smaller circle on the inside, then connect both circles with lines to form the spaces.

Then simply write Start on one of the spaces and draw or add a picture in the middle of the circle to match your theme.

Don’t forget to label your game squares!

For this board game approach, you will need to write in a phrase on a few of the path spaces in order to collect the objects.

Pick a few spaces (about 4) to write “collect a [insert object you are using].”
Since we used a dinosaur theme with a volcano, we collected lava rocks, so our board said “collect a lava rock.”

Then, you’ll need to collect your objects to fill up the center of the circle.

Depending on the theme of your board game; you could use gems, animal pieces, Legos, rocks, beads, or pom poms.

Once your board is complete and your items are in the center, it’s time to add in the game pieces (figurines) and a die.

Side Note: You may decide to use a pair of dice if your kids are able to count higher than six and/or if you want to work on addition or subtraction.

Here are a ton of other hands-on math activities!

We each chose a favorite toy dinosaur for our game pieces.

You can have as many game pieces as needed to accommodate as many players as you have.

You line all the game pieces at the starting point.
If they land on a “collect a [object]” space then they get one object, if not, then they just wait until their next turn.
Then the second person rolls and on it goes until all of the objects in the middle are gone.

Once all the objects have been removed from the center, each player counts their objects and the person with the most is the winner!

Both of these DIY board game approaches are a simple hands-on activity to practice math and social skills … all while having fun together!

What theme will you choose for your DIY board games?

About alisha warth.

I have raised my children doing activities with them. As a homeschool mom, I am always looking for ways to make our learning fun. I'm honored to be able to contribute my ideas to the awesome site that is Hands On As We Grow.

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Reader Interactions

12 comments.

Arun Kumar A says

November 17, 2020 at 7:06 am

please tell me how to learn

www.bukauser.com/ says

July 25, 2019 at 5:54 am

Greate pieces. Keep writing such kind of info on your site. Im really impressed by it.

Hi there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll certainly digg it and individually recommend to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this website.

Shweta Kale says

July 31, 2018 at 12:03 am

Great! Thanks for sharing this. You can check some math board games also. They are interesting.

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End of Year Project: Create-Your-Own Review Game (with FREE Workbook)

As part of your end-of-the year traditions and projects, consider this Create-Your-Own Review Game project! (We’ve also included a project workbook with FREE RUBRIC + game templates)

I don’t know if you could tell, but over here at Fun in 5th Grade, we love games. We love competition games and collaboration games.

We love games that teach and games that review, and we even like games that are just fun for the sake of being fun!

So, if there is one way that we suggest finishing off the school year in your upper elementary classroom this year, it is with a Create-Your-Own Review Game project!

Yep, we aren’t giving you a game this time, instead, we are encouraging you and your students to make your own games covering skills, topics, and standards that align with your class goals.

Clear and Easy Steps

End of Year Activity: Create-Your-Own Review Game Project

Now, we want to make this as easy as possible, so we are going to lay out clear steps for setting up this Create-Your-Own Review Game activity with students, AND we are giving you a project workbook to help you and your students get started. This project workbook includes teacher info, game ideas, workbook pages for students, a rubric, and several templates students can use as they create their games!

Are you excited? We definitely are, and we can’t wait to see what your students come up with.

Step #1: Picking Topics, Skills, or Standards

Begin by brainstorming a list of topics, skills, or standards you want to cover at the end of the year.

At this point in the school year, we aren’t introducing any new information, and we want students to have enough background and knowledge in the topic, skill, or standard to be able to create a game based that can act as a review of that standard or topic.

If you really want to get students involved, do this brainstorming as a class, and let students vote or pick which topics, skills, or standards they are most interested in creating games for.

Step #2: Assign the Topics, Skills, or Standards

Once the topics, skills, or standards are chosen, assign them to students. You can decide if you want several students working on the same topics or if you want to try to have a game created for every idea on the list. This can be an individual project, or students can work in groups or pairs.

When assigning topics, you may consider using one of these methods…

A random draw
Assigning based on student strengths or areas students need improvement
A lottery-style drawing
Make ‘em play for it. Use some of the task cards from your many decks of task cards and play a game to determine who gets to pick their topic first.

Step #3: Creating Questions

As students begin to create their games, they will start by creating a list of questions that could be used within their game.

As your students brainstorm, consider giving them this list of types of questions for inspiration.

Fact-based
Definitions
Theme-based
Short Questions
Long Questions
Nonexamples

Step #4: Planning the Game

Once students have brainstormed questions, they will start developing a game. The game can be a completely new invention, or they can model it off of something they already know. Don’t forget that the project workbook comes with templates students can use to create things such as cards, gameboards, spinners, etc.

Special Note: Now that many students are more familiar with digital products allow students to create digital games if they want, or they can create good ol’ paper, pencil, and poster games.

Step #5: Creating the Game and Instructions

Spend a couple of days creating the games in class. As part of the game, students will need game pieces, questions or cards, a board or way to play, and (most importantly) instructions!

Reminder: In addition to creating questions, students also need to be sure to include answer keys!

Step #6: Testing Games and Providing Feedback

One step students frequently forget when creating a game is creating good instructions. For this reason, taking the time to test games before students are done creating is important. Have one day dedicated to exchanging games with other groups, playing each other’s games, and providing feedback.

Make sure to find some time for students to implement the feedback before playing the games during the last few weeks of school.

Step #7: Playing the Games

Once the games are completed, spend the last few weeks playing the games created by students. You don’t have to play every day but set aside a few days for students to rotate through and try out the games created by their classmates.

Remember, within the project workbook, we have included a FREE RUBRIC for you to use with this Create-Your-Own Review Game project!

Bonuses and Benefits

This activity serves a number of purposes and positives.

Students review information they learned throughout the year.
Students are engaged in the last few weeks of the school year ( even though the weather is nice and the excitement of summer break is looming )
Students are creating!
Students are demonstrating knowledge.
Students are helping others learn and review.
Students are collaborating.

Bonus Benefit: If any of the games are particularly good, ask students if you can use them in class the following year s, or if their idea or examples are good, but their gameboard is just so-so, ask if you can use their ideas to create additional classroom resources in the future.

End of Year Project: Create Your own review game

Students are awesome creators, and when given the chance, they can really surprise us with their creativity and innovative tendencies. This Create-Your-Own Game Activity is perfect because it graduates students from being consumers and players of games to being creators of games.

Want to add even more options for your students? You could try some of my editable templates for Game Show game s and U-Know games . You could have students making you games that you could use for years to come!

We would love to hear about your students’ games, so if you have any pictures of students’ games you want to share or any really cool ideas from students, please send them our way or post them in the comments below. Find out more about using games in the classroom in this post .

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Introducing the ultimate Copilot+ PCs – The all-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop

Pete Kyriacou – CVP, Microsoft Devices

Today, Microsoft and Surface introduced the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever: Copilot+ PCs. The all-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are the ultimate Copilot+ PCs, delivering incredible performance, all-day battery life and brand-new AI experiences. They showcase the beauty and innovation that happens at the intersection of software and hardware.

Surface was created to lead the PC industry with innovation and technology that showcases the best of Microsoft and empowers our customers to achieve more. We’ve been at the forefront of new PC categories, with thoughtful designs and new features that inspire our customers. And as we dive into the new wave of AI, Surface continues to put our customers first.

Copilot+ PCs

Copilot+ PCs provide a quantum leap in computing, with power, performance and breakthrough AI experiences. Debuting with Snapdragon ® X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, Copilot+ PCs are tuned to deliver optimal processing and response times – and are faster than the latest Macbook Air. i

Performance like this means the apps customers love work great. Microsoft has partnered closely with developers across the globe to optimize their applications for this processor. In addition, the powerful new Prism emulation engine delivers a 2x performance boost compared to Surface Pro 9 with 5G. On the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, experiences like Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365 and Chrome will feel snappy, quick and responsive.

In addition, Copilot+ PCs have the most powerful Neural Processing Units (NPUs) in the PC category today. With over 45 trillion of operations per second (TOPS), these NPUs power new AI experiences – here are three that we love:

In addition to Microsoft experiences, the power of the NPU extends in our work with developers who are leveraging the NPU for their own AI workloads. Some examples of these new AI experiences include:

Davinci Resolve: Effortlessly apply visual effects to objects and people using NPU-accelerated Magic Mask in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Cephable: Stay in your flow with faster, more responsive adaptive input controls, like head movement or facial expressions via the new NPU-powered camera pipeline in Cephable .
CapCut: Remove the background from any video clip in a snap using Auto Cutout running on the NPU in CapCut.

We are seeing many developers around the world and across various industries working on exciting new ways to accelerate their applications using the power of the NPU, including: WhatsApp, Luminar Neo, LiquidText, Camo, djay Pro and more.

All-new Surface Pro

Over 10 years ago, Surface pioneered the 2-in-1 category. Since then, the tablet that can replace your laptop has advanced the expectations of a productivity device, delivering more power, more battery life and innovation people love. The all-new Surface Pro unlocks a new way to think about a laptop: Combining accelerated performance, all-day battery life and industry-leading AI capabilities in an ultra-flexible design that can replace your tablet, your laptop and can even power your multi-monitor set-up.

The all-new Surface Pro , powered by Snapdragon® X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors, delivers incredibly fast speeds, 90% faster than Surface Pro 9. It’s built for the ultimate multitasker, supporting up to three external 4K displays, with two USB 4 ports, and a stunning 13” display with new optional OLED with HDR technology, delivering new levels of peak brightness and immersive colors. Wi-Fi 7 offers the fastest wireless connection iv available and optional 5G v keeps you connected to the fastest cellular network, while you’re on the move.

The ultra-wide, quad-HD front-facing camera is our best Surface camera ever. AI-powered Windows Studio Effects like Automatic Framing, keep you in focus, even as you move around your space. The 10MP Ultra HD rear-facing autofocus camera supports 4K video so you can capture and edit all on one device.

Surface Pro is made with more recycled materials than Surface Pro 9, including 72% recycled content in the enclosure. vi Surface Pro is serviceable by design with more replaceable components than ever, including the motherboard, battery, cameras and more.

The all-new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard unlocks new levels of flexibility. It’s ready to be used attached to your Pro for the ultimate laptop set-up or detached for more flexibility and to support your creative workflows.

It is built with enhanced extra carbon fiber layers for stability and has a larger, customizable haptic touchpad. With integrated pen storage, your Slim Pen is secure, charged and ready to go.

Surface Slim Pen gets even better with the new Surface Pro, with all new AI experiences. The ink now flows naturally with Zero Force inking, ultra-precise shading, 4,096 points of pressure sensitivity and a built-in haptic engine for a more natural writing experience.

The all-new Surface Pro is the most flexible laptop, reimagined.

All-new Surface Laptop

When we first launched Surface Laptop, it redefined the classic PC category, pushing boundaries and elevating the user experience to new heights. We introduced premium materials, a vibrant array of colors, ultra-productive 3:2 aspect ratio touchscreens, and a fit and finish like nothing else. We delivered power and performance, and the best typing experience on the market to this day, in a light, sleek design. Beyond elegant design, the Surface Laptop showcased an incredible balance of premium features that delivered the best of Microsoft on a Surface device. This holistic approach revolutionized the industry, setting new standards for excellence and heralding a new era of innovation in laptop design.

The all-new Surface Laptop maintains these principles – purpose built to unlock a new AI era with Copilot experiences that transform the PC experience.

Redesigned from the inside out, this new Laptop has modern lines and a stunning PixelSense touchscreen display with razor-thin bezels. With 120Hz refresh rate, HDR technology, Dolby Vision IQ™ vii and Adaptive color technology, this display delivers crisper whites, darker blacks and an extended color spectrum. There are two screen sizes, as our new 13.8” display provides larger viewing area than a traditional 14” laptop, in a more compact design and a 15” with an even larger working canvas. This ultra-light and stylish Laptop comes in four stunning colors viii : Platinum, Black, Dune and Sapphire.

Surface Laptop unleashes lightning-fast speed and AI accelerated power for the ultimate multitasking. It is 86% faster than Laptop 5, delivering incredible performance. It can power up to three external 4K monitors. The 45 TOPS NPU unlocks new AI experiences and delivers industry-leading performance for seamless productivity with the longest battery life on any Surface – up to 22 hours on the Surface Laptop 15” ix and up to 20 on the Surface Laptop 13.8” x . With a large variety of ports and lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7, you will always be connected.

The new Surface Laptop has a Full HD Surface Studio Camera that supports AI-powered Windows Studio Effects like Automatic Framing, Portrait Blur, Creative Filters and Voice Focus – so you come across clearly and confidently. AI-enhanced sound with premium Omnisonic® Speakers and Dolby® Atmos® xi , and Studio Mics amplify your voice and presence.

Surface Laptop is known for its comfortable and quiet typing experience and now, every keystroke is perfected. With optimal key travel for accurate and swift typing and a large precision haptic touchpad that is smooth, responsive and customizable for your personal preference.

This is the fastest, most intelligent Surface Laptop ever.

Surface product principles

Accessibility, security and sustainability are core components in every product in the Surface lineup. The all-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop make major strides across all three categories.

Surface products are built to empower everyone on the planet to achieve more. When we develop inclusive products, we create a more comfortable and empowering product experience for everyone, without excluding people in the process. Our journey involves continuous learning from the disability community, placing them at the heart of our design process to develop solutions that unlock their full potential.

Our accessible offerings are comprehensive, ranging from an ecosystem of adaptive accessories to adaptive features built into the fabric of our hardware and software. With the new Copilot+ PCs from Surface, we continued to prioritize adaptability, resulting in products that are inclusive by design.

That’s why we designed the new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard with a bold keyset option, xii to reduce eye strain and assist people with low vision. We added a customizable, haptic touchpad, the most inclusive touchpad on the market today, to both our Surface Pro keyboard and our Surface Laptop, empowering customers with a wide range of hand movement and dexterity capabilities to easily adjust the touchpad to their preferences, resulting in a more delightful experience for all.

These hardware capabilities, alongside new experiences that utilize the power of the NPU, increase your productivity and creativity, allowing you to work, learn and play in the way that is most natural to you.

Security and privacy are always top of mind for us, implementing chip-to-cloud security that begins with inherently secure Surface devices. These new Surface PCs are meticulously built to protect your data from day one. Starting with tracing the origin of even the smallest components on the motherboard through building the lines of code ensuring a secure boot. Every Copilot+ PC will be a Secured-Core PC with Microsoft Pluton Security enabled by default and Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in enabled by default. We take our responsibility to keep your data safe seriously.

In 2020, Microsoft set a goal to become carbon negative by 2030 – and at Surface, we know we have a responsibility to the planet. With the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop we are introducing our most significant sustainability advancements yet. We have reduced our carbon emissions by an average of 78% per enclosure through several sustainability interventions, including using 100% recycled aluminum alloy, 100% recycled rare-earth metal magnets and 100% carbon free electricity at manufacturing facilities. xiii

We are also committed to reducing plastic waste – with all-new paper-based packaging with more recyclable components – and extending the lifetime of your device with innovative repairability features.

This is just the beginning. We will continue delivering sustainability advancements across the device lifecycle as we work towards Microsoft’s 2030 commitments.

Pre-order today

The brand-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop deliver incredible speeds, all-day battery life and all-new AI experiences, all starting at $999. You can pre-order today and learn more about our new products at Microsoft.com. They’ll be available at key retailers worldwide starting June 18. To learn more about Surface for your organization, visit the Surface for Business blog.

i Based on Cinebench 2024 Multi-threaded conducted by Microsoft in April 2024 comparing pre-release build of Surface Laptop with Snapdragon X Elite running pre-release Windows 11 26100 and Apple MacBook Air 13″ with M3 running macOS 14 Sonoma.

ii Recall is optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese and Spanish.) Content-based and storage limitations apply. See https://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs .

iii Currently supports translation for video and audio subtitles into English from 40+ languages. See https://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs .

iv 6GHz band not available in all regions.

v 5G availability options with 5G coming later in 2024. 5G not available in all areas; compatibility and performance depends on carrier network, plan and other factors. See carrier for details and pricing.

vi Enclosure includes Bucket and Kickstand. 100% recycled aluminum alloy in Bucket and Kickstand. 100% recycled rare earth metals in magnets. Based on validation performed by Underwriter Laboratories, Inc. using Environmental Claim Validation Procedure, UL 2809-2, Second Edition, November 7, 2023. 

vii Requires Dolby Vision® encoded content and video.

viii Colors available on selected models only. Available colors, sizes, finishes and processors may vary by store, market and configuration.

ix Local video playback: Testing conducted by Microsoft in April 2024 using preproduction software and preproduction Surface Laptop Snapdragon® X Elite C12 512GB, 16GB RAM devices. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback of a .mov file through the Windows Media Player application in 1080p at 24 FPS. All settings were default except screen brightness set to 150 nits with Auto-brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Tested with Windows 11. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.

x Local video playback: Testing conducted by Microsoft in April 2024 using preproduction software and preproduction Surface Laptop Snapdragon® X Plus C10 256GB, 16GB RAM devices. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback of a .mov file through the Windows Media Player application in 1080p at 24 FPS. All settings were default except screen brightness set to 150 nits with Auto-brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Tested with Windows 11. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.

xi Requires Dolby® Atmos® encoded content/audio.

xii Surface Pro Flex Keyboard with bold keyset available only in U.S. English.

xiii As compared to a baseline no-interventions scenario modeling the same products without any sustainability interventions in the production phase of the devices.

IMAGES

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COMMENTS

PDF Creating a Board Game
Creating a Board Game Assignment: You are a board game manufacturer, and you have been assigned the task of creating a board game that will help students review everything they read in a fun and interesting way! Requirements: Using a file folder, colored paper, colored pencils, and markers, create a game board. Put the name of your game on the ...
More than a "Design your Own Board Game" Project
The beauty of this project is that it also allows your students to practice several of the ISTE standards for students. For example: 4a -Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems. 4c- Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part ...
How To Use Student Created Board Games in the Classroom
Student created board games are just that - a game that students create by designing a game board, coming up with questions and answers, and writing gameplay instructions. You may provide a game board template to your students or have them design one from scratch. You can implement student board game creation as an individual assignment ...
Student-Made Board Games Ideas for Elementary Teachers in 2024
How to Hold Students Accountable for Student-Made Board Games. In any student-led assignment, some students may struggle to demonstrate their best work. ... 10 Ideas for Using Student Made Board Games. Try one of these make your own board game ideas the next time you have your students create their own board game! Math facts;
How to Create a Board Game, The Smart Way
You can simply draw it, print it, or use software to develop it. Of course, this depends if your game depends on an actual physical board. For the Mountains of Madness, the game board is drawn out as a large, Arctic mountain, complete with spooky, forlorn visuals.
How to Make a Board Game for a School Project
Planning, plotting and making their own board games is intended to be a fun way to help students actively learn and use their creativity. Consider the assignment and what the game should demonstrate or teach when played. ... When you build your own or create board game assignment ideas, you are approaching a lesson from different angles. For ...
How to Create Your First Board Game
Just take some blank cards, index cards, card stock, or even paper and put together the minimal board, cards, and anything else you need to try the idea. Playtesting Photo by Joe Slack. Used with permission. Instead of creating 300 cards, make 10 or 20 cards just to see the idea even works first.
How to Make a Board Game, from Ideation to Design to Distribution
Jacob Vander Ende. Jacob is a game designer who runs his independent studio called Spriteborne. He has self-published numerous commercial board games and has been nominated for various awards, including Game of the Year. Over his 15+ year career, his work has been exhibited at SXSW, PAX, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and more.
Blank Board Game Template Printables
Download the game board you like best, and print it onto sturdy card stock paper. On the blank game tiles, write what happens to a player when he or she lands on it, or create cards and ask players to draw a card. Students are welcome to print these printable game boards for a school project such as a book report or history assignment.
Fostering Creativity & Learning: How to Implement a Board Game Project
Turn your classroom into a hub of creativity with our comprehensive guide to 'Creating Board Games'. Inspire students to apply their learning in a fun, interactive way by researching, developing, and testing their own board games. This hands-on, project-based learning unit can be adapted to any subject, from History and Science to Math and Literature.
[2023] How to Make a Board Game: A Comprehensive Guide
Don't worry about perfection at this stage; the goal is to get a rough idea of how your game board will look. 4. Create the Game Board. Using the materials you've gathered, it's time to bring your game board to life. Follow these steps: Prepare the base: Cut the posterboard, cardboard, or cardstock to the desired size for your game board ...
PDF Design a Board Game
of the board. Aim of the game: To be the first to get your counter past the finishing line. How to start. Place the 3 counters on their starting squares, labelled 0, 1, and 2. Each player chooses a different counter. How to play. Toss the coins. If you toss 0 heads, then move counter number 0 one square forward.
Game Board Project
Click "Start Assignment" Using the template provided add directions as well as questions, numbers or symbols to the spaces. You may change the design, colors, or add other images to enhance your game board. If needed, in a separate cell or separate storyboard, make cards of questions or prompts. Make game tokens or use what you have in the ...
Making a Board Game
doc, 23 KB. PowerPoint presentation 'Board Game: Structure and Graphics&', with accompanying teachers&'; notes and worksheets. Tes classic free licence. See more. Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch. Not quite what you were looking for?
Create Your Own Board Game: A Fun End of the Year Activity
Create Your Own Board Game. Unleash your students' creativity by introducing: create your own board game. They will write instructions, create game pieces, write content questions, and try out each other's games to make sure they work. This is a project students will ask to do again! Buy on Website Shop.
Free Board Game Templates
Create your own printable, poster-sized games to use in your classroom! Choose from pre-made board game templates or come up with your own from scratch. If you're assigning this to your students, copy the poster to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!
Board game design. Lesson plan. Visual Literacy.
Design the board. Use full size drawing paper. Start with the background / setting. Include possible "obstacles" and "advantage" spots. Add start and end spots. Add obstacles that would slow down the players. Add advantage spots. Draw the path that will go through action spots. Draw step spaces along the path.
How to Create an Educational Board Game
Step 1. Study the subject material concerning the board game you plan to design. Create a list before you start your design. If possible, brainstorm with a group of people interested in your subject. Write down everything said for future consideration. Once you've finished, take a day off. Review the materials later.
How to make a board game: fun learning activity for kids
Step 3: Sketch your board game design. I highly recommend having kids sketch out their plan for their game before you give them their final materials to make the game. This will give them a chance to finalize their ideas and it gives you a chance to ask questions and help them fill in any gaps in the plan.
How to Make Your Own Board Game (Instructions)
View 41,951 other resources for 3rd - 4th Grade English Language Arts. This How to Make Your Own Board Game (Instructions) Worksheet is suitable for 3rd - 4th Grade. In this board board game learning exercise, students follow the instructions to create their own board game. Students use the examples in the sheet for help in creating their game.
Make Your Own Board Games for Kids
The purpose of the game is to get from Point A to Point B by rolling the die and counting each space on the game board path. A person wins by moving their figurine from Point A and reaching Point B first. The first step is to get a nice size of cardboard (I used the sides and bottom of a box). Then, brainstorm with the kids for a theme.
Game Template
This resource allows your little ones to use their own imagination while creating a fun game to play with others. Let their imagination create whatever they fancy and help them to create some rules with this great game template.This activity could be done either independently, in pairs or in small groups. This hands-on activity is great for collaboration and creativity - it is a blank template ...
End of Year Project: Create-Your-Own Review Game (with FREE Workbook
Step #2: Assign the Topics, Skills, or Standards. Once the topics, skills, or standards are chosen, assign them to students. You can decide if you want several students working on the same topics or if you want to try to have a game created for every idea on the list.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Final Design

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How To Use Student Created Board Games in the Classroom

What are student created board games?

Assigning a board game creation project

Steps to Creating a Board Game

Students should decide:

Phases of board game creation

Using student created board games in class

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Student-Made Board Games Ideas for Elementary Teachers in 2024

What are Student-Made Board Games?

Why Use Student-Made Board Games?

How to Implement Student-Made Board Games

5 Tips for Using Student-Made Board Games in Your Classroom

How to Hold Students Accountable for Student-Made Board Games

Common Obstacles for Using Student Made Board Games

10 Ideas for Using Student Made Board Games

Student-Made Board Game Project

What is the Create Your Own Board Game Project?

What is Included in the Create a Board Game Project?

How can this Design Your Own Board Game Resource be Used?

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How to Create Your First Board Game

Contributors

How to Make a Board Game, from Ideation to Design to Distribution

How to Generate and Organize Your Board Game Ideas

Finding a game concept with design catalysts

Fundamentals

Tabletop Game Business

How to Design Your Own Board Game

Prototypes and Rapid Iteration

Playtesting

Writing Game Rules

Common Pitfalls in Board Game Design

Irrelevant Gameplay

Player Interaction

Variance and Replayability

Player Count Variation

Manufacturing: Every Way to Make Physical Board Games

How do you turn your design into a physical game ?

Make It All Yourself

A La Carte Manufacturing

On-Demand Production

Bulk Manufacturing

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Blank Board Game Template Printables | Make Your Own Board Game

Blank Board Game Templates

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Fostering Creativity & Learning: How to Implement a Board Game Project

In my classroom...

Research and Development

Application and Review

Implementation Tips:

Examples of Units of Work:

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[2023] How to Make a Board Game: A Comprehensive Guide

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Quick Tips and Facts

What You’ll Need to Make a Board Game

What You’ll Do to Make a Board Game

1. Brainstorm and Conceptualize

2. Create an Outline