Thorndyke’s Portal to Making Your Own Board Game

Hey Kids,

Some of my bear friends are visiting soon, and I am trying to decide what we should do while they’re here. If it is nice outside, we will go explore the park. But if it rains or gets too hot, what then?

We all like games, so maybe we will play a board game. Maybe I will make a game just for us. Did you know you can make your own board game?

There are lots of different kinds of board games. Some are strategy games, some have cards, some have resources you collect or spend, some have teams, some have lots of rules and some are super simple. What kind should I make for my visitors?

A helpful librarian pointed out that most fun board games have:

• A clear objective (that just means there is a goal to the game, so it is obvious when you are done)
• Simple rules
• An element of surprise
• Fun artwork

How about a game where you must steal some honey from bees? There could be cards with different ideas for tricking the bees, and you could roll dice to see how many bees are tricked until all the bees are gone. This idea has a clear objective, and I am good at drawing trees, so I can make really cool art for it.

I will need:

• A big piece of cardboard so the game is sturdy
• A pencil (to make sure the picture is just how I want it)
• Paint
• Some newspaper, or something to put underneath, so I don’t get paint on the floor
• A paintbrush
• A cup of water (to rinse out the paint brush)
• Rocks to paint like bees
• Some paper to cut up into cards and write different, tricky ideas on

Do you want to create a board game too? What kind of game will you make?

If you need ideas, think about who you are going to play with. What kinds of things are you both interested in that might be good themes? You can also think about board games you like, and what makes them fun. Or games you don’t like, and what you would change to make them more fun!

Whatever you decide to do, you should tell me about it the next time you are in. Maybe we can play sometime?

Bear hugs,

Thorndyke