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How to Create Your Own Game Board

To design your own game board, you need to first think up and design the game itself. This will depend entirely on your own imagination and creativity to make a board game you and your friends can have fun playing. Once you have the game itself thought out and designed, you can then move on to building the actual board on which you'll play your game.

Things You'll Need

Cardboard or plywood
Paper
Pencils, markers and other drawing tools
Ruler
Scissors or saw
White or wood glue

Instructions

- 1
  Choose the material out of which you'll make your game board. Cardboard is durable and lightweight, and you can fold it. If you want something even more durable, try plywood.
- 2
  Write a rough draft of your game board's playing surface. If the game is your own creation, what you draw is entirely up to you. Most board games revolve around a path the players must follow, be it one that has an end or has a circuitous route.
- 3
  Draw the actual playing board. Use whatever colored markers, pencils and other writing/drawing tools you need. Use a ruler to help make sure all the lines you draw are even. The size paper you need will depend on the size you want the board to be; 18- to 20-square inches is about average.
- 4
  Cut the board's main material into the game board itself. Cardboard should only require scissors to cut, while plywood will need a saw. The main board should be about a quarter inch larger than the playing surface.
- 5
  Fold the board carefully in half (if you made it from a foldable material like cardboard) to create a crease that you can fold the game board along.
- 6
  Glue the playing surface onto the board, applying a bead of glue along the board a half-inch away from the edge. You can add more glue to the inside of the board if you want. Press the playing surface onto the board. If the glue spreads outside the playing surface's borders smooth it along the uncovered edges of the board.

Board Games