Craft Your Own Board Games

Posted on | December 27, 2009 | 1 Comment

free board games

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m a practical crafter. Almost everything I make is useful… skirts from leftover fabric, frugal gifts, inexpensive toys, etc.

Most of my recent crafting has been based around creating homemade print-and-play board games.

A print-and-play game is a board game that allows you to print instructions, board, pieces and cards all for free. All you need to do is to supply card stock, a printer and ink.

Here are the games I found online. I haven’t yet tried all of them out. I put an * next to the games I have actually made and enjoyed.

Before using these links, here are a couple of tips:

Ink is expensive. You may not want to print out a game until you have read the instructions thoroughly to be sure you will enjoy it.

Even if the instructions look good, you may still want to hear what others say about the games. Board Game Geek has rating for almost every game listed here.

If you do decide to print a couple of games, consider printing the full color ones in black and white. You can fill them in with colored pencils one day when you or the kids are feeling crafty.

Always print game board, cards and pieces on cardstock. Cardstock in available at Staples, Office Depot or any other office supply store.

Glue the cards onto a second slice of cardstock before cutting out. They will last longer and feel more “real” that way.

Game pieces and maps are nicer to work with if two slices of cardstock are glued to their bottoms.

Make sure the links to all parts of the game are functional before you begin to print. You don’t want to find out a map is missing after having already printed 5 pages of instructions and 2 charts.

Decide how you will store your new games. Resealable plastic bags placed inside an empty board game box, accordion folder or large manila envelope all work well.

Don’t go overboard. It’s easy to go crazy when you hear the word free. If you are not much of a board game player, downloading two or three games is plenty.

Most of the games on this list are for older folks. To find free board games for younger kids, check out Printable Toys For Young Children and Printable Toys For Pre-Teens.

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