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Homemade Fun Family Board Games

It's not always easy to get the family together for quality time. Between work schedules, school schedules, and after-school activities, family time gets drastically diminished. Board games are a fun way to spend time together, but many board games are on the pricey side. It does not take a lot of time or material to make a board game that can be fun for the entire family.

Pieces
- Playing pieces are used in most family board games; just use something from around the house that is easily distinguishable from one another. A good place to look is in a toy box. If the toy box does not produce anything usable, head to the craft store and look in the wood section for items that can be used for playing pieces. Involve the whole family and paint the pieces different colors. Craft stores offer a variety of items that can be used such as different-colored glass beads. They come in a bag and are not expensive. Use individually wrapped candy or coins or even poker chips. Make use of anything that can easily move around the game board.
Boards
- Game boards can be detailed or plain. If there is a woodworker in the house, get them to make a board out of wood. In an impromptu moment, get a piece of paper and draw the game board. Purchase some poster board and work together in creating the game. Do not make the game board too large or too bulky, as there will be problems in storing the game. Game boards made out of thin paper products can be folded and put away, but they do not wear well. Eventually, it will have to be made again. Laminate a game board made of paper, but think ahead on how best to store a laminated game. Do not roll it up, as it will not lay flat the next time the family wants to play the game. The best board game material may be corrugated cardboard. Find an empty box lying around the house and cut it up.
Planning
- Plan out the game on some scratch paper. Take into consideration the size of the playing pieces when mapping out the board. Use a pencil and a ruler to rough in the design then go over it with a permanent marker. In solving the problem of moving the playing pieces around the game board, purchase dice. They are easy to find and do not cost very much.
  
  Don't clutter the board with a lot of stuff. A plain game board is easier to understand. If the game turns out to be a family favorite, then consider investing the time and the money in creating a nicer game board.

Board Games