Make your own classic board game

We are truly living in a different time. In a matter of months, our lives, for good or bad, have been turned upside down. A new virus has inflicted the world and affected our day to day activities. With no school nor extra activities, kids are to stay at home mostly. Electronic gadgets have become a means to escape the boredom. With the rise of Internet shopping, a new kind of threat has emerged, email, and shopping scams. Why not escape for some time from all the stress from internet shopping scams, information overload, and video games to the world of board games. Classic board games like Candy Lane, Chess, Chutes and Ladders, Ludo, or Sorry are readily available in the internet search to download and make a print. Lego's which gets piled up over time, can be used as pieces for the game board. A spinning needle on a small board with numbers used as a replacement for a dice. Cut a cardboard box to make a square and glue the game on paper. The cardboard will make the game more sturdy. Below are the steps with images to recreate and make your own classic board game. This activity is suitable for kids, especially when they have a lot of time. The reward for this activity is that you get to play the game whenever they want something different to do apart from watching TV, playing games, or activity books.

1. Search the classic board game that you like to play on the internet, download, and print. If you do not have a printer, you can draw and color it in a big piece of white paper (if the game is simple or you see a complex game make your simple version of it).

2. Take a cardboard box, ones that you get from internet shopping at Amazon, eBay, post office, or from any other store, cut a square piece. Make sure the dimensions of the square-cut part of the cardboard box matches the game paper.

3. Glue the game paper on the square cut cardboard. The glue will make sure that the game is sturdy, and you can enjoy playing for days or months.

4. For the game pieces, search your Lego's and find the parts. If the game requires that you get the remnants of the same type and color, then Lego's with endless matching pieces and colors are the best choice.

5. Store the game board and the pieces in a big Ziploc bag for future play.

Studies have proven that board games in young kids help aid their development. Kids learn basic concepts like coloring, drawing, counting, and making things through games and fun activities. The create your board game activity during the pandemic time and/or school breaks is another way to keep kids engaged and help while away the boredom apart from indulging in video games and/or binge watch TV shows. It is also a good break for parents to relive the nostalgia, revisit and play these games with kids. Happy playing :-)