How to Make Free Children's Board Games

Creating the Concept

• 1

  Decide what type of game you want to make. What type of questions are you asking? Will the players role dice or will the youngest player start the game? Research how other games are played to model your game after some of those.

• 2

  Research and create a list of trivia questions to be asked during the game. Think about the ages of the children and tailor the questions to their level. Remember to make an answer key.

• 3

  Create a list of non-educational questions that are purely for fun. Include inside jokes or questions from your child's favorite cartoons and movies. It does not have to be all about learning.

• 4

  Create a list of activities that will instruct players to do outrageous activities such as performing a silly dance or impersonating animals and people. This will create an exciting element to the game that entices the children to play. Give these cards a different category and a few of spaces on the board. When players land on this space. they pull the card and follow the card's instructions.

• 5

  Name your game based on the concept you created.

• 6

  Write down the rules of the games. Clearly indicate the object of the game, how to play and how to win. Make it easy for your children to play without you there to explain everything.

Creating the Game Board

• 7

  Cut a side of the large box measuring approximately 22 by 14 inches. Try to get a flat side with no folds or a side that will fold evenly. Paint or cover the board to cover up any old writing.

• 8

  Use the ruler to measure 3 inches from the edge of the board. Mark the spot. Now line up your ruler with the mark and trace a line along the ruler. Stop the line 3 inches from the other end of the board.

• 9

  Continue the line around the board creating a rectangle that is 3 inches from the edge of the board. This is the border for your spaces.

• 10

  Draw a straight line every 2 1/2 inches from the edge of the board to the border you created. This will create boxes around the board.

• 11

  Write the title of your game in the middle of the board. Use stickers and pictures to decorate the middle of the board.

• 12

  Trace an outline of the index cards somewhere in the middle area of the board. This is where the question cards will be placed. If you have more than one set of cards, trace a box for each set.

• 13

  Designate what each space on the board will be and label each space. Include commands such as "lose a turn," "go back two spaces" and other instructions to enhance the difficulty of the game. Leave some spaces blank.

• 14

  Write the name of the question cards on one side of the index cards and the questions on the other side. Decorate the cards with stickers, glitter or stamps.