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For a fun activity one afternoon, I decided to make a large board game for the kids in the driveway. Why not? It was Friday, it was gorgeous out, and we try to do a Friday Fun activity. So I got to work.

Time to Make the Pieces

DICE: I decided, in order to play the game, we would need dice. My son wanted really big dice. The typical square tissue box kind I make wasn’t going to do. So we went on a search for the right size. My daughter found an old waffle box. You know the ones you get when you shop at places like Sam’s Club and BJs. Now we could begin making the dice.

First, I got out some rigid white paper. It was glossy on one side and dull on the other. I cut out squares to cover all six sides of the dice. I didn’t want to wait for glue to dry so I taped them along the sides with packing tape.

Next, I cut out small squares in which I could write numbers on to put in the center of each side. I wrote on the dull side of the paper so I could put tape on the glossy side so the tape wouldn’t rip the paper when I took it off the number. 

I put a piece of packing tape in the middle of each side of the dice. The tape was where I could stick the numbers on and remove without the dice getting ripped. If I had a laminator big enough, I would have laminated everything first. So I improvised with packing tape. 

I wanted my numbers to be removable so I could change them depending on what we needed. The dice could be used later on with other games, and I could adapt it accordingly. I’ve done this on a smaller scale in the past. I’ve changed the dice to be math symbols, higher or lower numbers, and such. 

GAME PAWNS: The fun part of this game is the kids were the pawns for the game. You could use rocks, leaves, or make your own pieces instead. My kids loved moving around the board, though.

The Game Board

I decided to make a simple board using sidewalk chalk. I made a basic path going back and forth. Then I added in shortcuts from one square to another like in Candyland. I also put things like “move up 1” and “back 3.” I’m not sure how many squares we had in the end, but there were quite a lot.

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The Rules

The game was simple. You roll the dice, move the number that is rolled, and take whatever action, if any, the square has on it. In order to win, you have to roll the exact number.

Let the Game Begin

As typical, my son went first. He rolled the dice and went. Then his sister went next. My son was pretty happy because he got one of the shortcuts early on and that put him in the lead where he stayed. His sister couldn’t catch up. He eventually won. 

Lessons Learned

1. The numbers on the dice were too low. I put ones and twos with only one. My board was big enough so having higher numbers would work. Luckily, I made the numbers removable. I changed them to 1, 2, 3, two 4s, and 5. It worked out well this way.
2. When rolling the dice, you need to roll it in the direction of the next player so they don’t have to keep getting off their space to get the dice.  Another option is, if mom and dad aren’t playing, they can get the dice for the kids. 
3. As we played, the kids decided to add “roll again” and “lose a turn”. I added in another shortcut and “move up 1”. They had fun finding new ways to make it more interesting.

Variations

I can see many ways this game can be changed. I designed ours with a similar layout to Candyland, but you could try different designs. My son would love one that goes willy-nilly around the driveway.

The squares could have a variety of commands on them. You could even make it educational by placing math fact cards on squares, have them call out numbers, letters, or colors they land on to practice recognition with younger kids. I could even torture my kids with symbols from the periodic table to name. Just kidding, I think. There is a lot you can do.

We rolled dice for our game, but I thought about using a number spinner from another game to make it easier. I may make another dice so one has the numbers and the other has commands like “move ahead,” “move back,” “switch places with another player,” or “move to the nearest shortcut.”  They do the command and the number they roll.

We had so much fun doing this game and creating it together.  The kids are already coming up with new game board designs. 

What fun activities do you enjoy doing with your kids? Comment below.