" Homemade card and board games for fun times with the whole family "

There is no doubt that it is always great when the family spends time together. As your child gets older, you can look forward to more varied play days. If you want to get creative with card games and board games, you can make and craft games yourself. This is easier than many people think at first. Today, we'll give you a few great ideas on how you can make great games together with your children.

Well-known board games and card games serve as inspiration

You don't have to invent completely new games. Take inspiration from classics that you enjoyed playing as children and simply recreate them according to your own wishes. The following will help you craft materialsand all kinds of little treasures from nature. As usual, you will also need scissors, paper, cardboard, pens, paints, strings, cloths and also a few craft beads in different colors and shapes.

Now let's take a look at the games for children that you can create together:

Memory games in different variations

Memory is one of the best-known games for children and is predestined to be redesigned. You are welcome to deviate from the familiar format of the card game. To start with, we'll create the classic game with our own motifs and in different variations:

Memory can be designed in many different ways to suit children

1. Take a large piece of cardboard and cut out 14 to 20 pieces of the same size. (10 cm x 10 cm is ideal)
2. We now need the same number of pieces of paper. Draw different symbols on each piece in duplicate:

• crosses
• circles
• rectangles
• squares
• cones
• Pyramid

Think about the age of the child when designing. The younger the children are, the simpler the symbols should look. The advantage of making games yourself is that you decide which motifs to use. Be creative!

3. In addition to shapes, the whole thing can also be designed using different colors. To do this, draw a circle on each card. The pairs are then each painted with the same color.
4. As a final variation, you can use pictures or photos. This turns a memory game for the whole family into a memory game with the whole family!

Nature memory

You will need a larger number of paper cups or plastic cups for this variation. You can also use our natural materials. Place an element under each cup, for example a chestnut, an acorn or a stone. However, make sure that all materials are available in duplicate.

Natural materials are great for making games for children

Now set up all the cups and you're ready to go.

Bead memory

Another variation for this form of memory would be beads. Instead of the natural materials, different beads are placed under the cups. Different colors as well as different shapes of beads can be used. This is certainly a great way to make a beautiful bracelet from the beads afterwards.

Make your own classic board games

Breathe new life into well-known board games by making the following games yourself. Not only memory games are perfect for this, but also board games and card games.

Board games can also be created with a little imagination

Don't get angry!

You can make this classic game according to your own ideas and imagination. Your children will certainly be happy to help. You can use either cardboard or a plywood board as the game board. Depending on how big you want the board to be. In the next step, draw the playing fields and create a nice background. Instead of playing dolls, you can use colorful beads in mini format and stones in XXL format. Feel free to let your imagination run wild! Checkers, mill - so much more is possible!

Tic Tac Toe

Normally you need a pad and pencils. Today you need a small sheet of plywood, string and cardboard. First cut the plywood sheet into a square. Then take the string and weave four strings of equal length. The more colorful, the prettier. Now attach the cords to the board to create the familiar playing field pattern. Cut five circles and five crosses out of cardboard to make the game pieces. Just embellish them a little with color and you have another classic with a new design.

Card games - trading card game ideas

Making your own card games is a little more time-consuming and more suitable for older children when it comes to them helping to make the games.

However, a typical trading card game is quite easy to make. First choose a theme: animals on the farm, plants in the forest or cars. Then look for suitable pictures. Use magazines, notebooks, photographs and anything else you can find.

Stick these pictures on cards so that at least four pictures match each theme.

Farm quartet example

You need

• 4 different pictures of chickens
• 4 different pictures of dogs
• 4 pictures of cows etc.

Luisa's wonderland - a self-created activity game for children

Games for children thrive on imagination. Let's use this imagination and develop a completely new game: "The Wonderland of Jan, Philipp, Emma, Mia, Ella" Use your child's name, of course. The aim is to have as much fun and enjoyment as possible with this game. We need a large sheet of plywood that is colorful and creative. In addition to paints, pencils and chalk, you can also use cloths to stretch over the board and use as a background.

Your own game - your own rules

Now create a path across the playing field. Small circles are best so that you can place the playing piece more easily later.

Simply rolling the dice and then getting to the magic gate would be too simple. The children have to be active on the way there. The following stations must be integrated and marked on the playing field:

The storytelling house

At this station, the child has to tell a short story. The younger the child, the shorter the story. The important thing here is that it is an experience that the child can talk about. A visit to the zoo, the first day at nursery or the last walk in the forest.

The singing tree

Now it gets musical. A song is sung.

The lying Punch and Judy

A highlight, because here they can invent a nonsense story. The little ones always have incredible fun.

Homemade games can have a special learning effect for children

Example: "Yesterday I saw an elephant balancing on the roof. He sneezed and fell into the neighbor's pool."

The dancing car

Loosen up your arms and legs, because now it's time to dance. It's handy if you can spontaneously turn on some music. It creates the right atmosphere.

The magic gate

Just a few more throws and the first player stands in front of the magic goal and thus victory.

As you can see, there are almost endless variations and possibilities for making your own games. While adults have fun, the little ones consolidate important skills: Memory training, language development and acting together.