Does your family like to play games together? I’m thinking board games, like Chutes and Ladders, or card games, like Uno. We have played a lot of games in our family over the years and we always have a great time. 🙂 Here’s an activity that your kids might enjoy, especially if they like playing games. And that activity is making your own game! Grab a couple sheets of construction paper (or whatever kind of paper you have handy), some markers and some tape. You’ll need some game markers of some kind and 1 dice when it’s time to play the game you make. Let’s do this!
You can use one or more sheets of paper, depending on the size the paper is and on what size you want your game board to be. I taped 2 pieces of construction paper together to make my board a little larger.
Turn your paper over so you don’t see the tape and let’s begin drawing! Pick where you want the “Start” to be.
Draw a path with 2 lines on your paper from Start to Finish.
Now divide your path into sections.
Add some fun (and not so fun) things along your path that each player must do when/if they land on that particular space.
Here are a few examples that I used for my game.
Yikes! Go to Jail??!
I hope I get to climb the ladder!
Ooo, a shortcut!
Coming down the home stretch! Don’t go to Jail now!
You can use whatever you have handy around the house for your markers for the game. You could use a penny and a dime for 2 players, for example. I found some Lego figures that will work great for playing this game. All you need is 1 dice and you’re ready to play!
The rules for my game would be: Each player rolls the dice and the player that gets the highest number, goes first. Play will continue clockwise. When it is your turn, roll the dice one time and move your marker forward on the path that number of spaces. Do whatever the space says to do. If the space doesn’t have any instructions, your turn is finished. Continue playing in this manner with each player rolling the dice once, moving their marker ahead that number of spaces and doing what the space says to do. The first player to reach or go beyond the Finish space is the winner!
Let the kids make up the rules and the things to write in the spaces. Your game may get a little crazy and you may spend the entire game in Jail, but it’s fun to let the kids have the freedom to control the game. It’s also great to make a game yourself that has a set of rules to follow to help kids learn about following directions. But sometimes, crazy fun is the best fun! 😉 And the things kids can dream up that you have to do can be pretty hilarious!
I hope you will give this a try and you’ll have a ton of fun! Now I need to go find someone to play my new game with me! Maybe I can draft my husband… 😉 LOL
The Kids Niche 