As a maker, do you ever wander into a store, see something cool on the shelf, and think “I bet I could make that!”
I often think the same thing about board games.
I’ve been a game designer for over a decade, working on everything from indie videogames to mass market board games to large-scale Arduino-powered installation games. A big part of my prototyping process has been about figuring out what I can do with what’s available to me, then building from there as inspiration strikes. It’s amazing the kinds of things you can come up with by just looking inside a drawer, grabbing a couple of odds and ends, and making a game out of it!
Buy less, play more
It can be such a fun and enriching experience to play with the junk you have lying around the house. Many of the popular board games you can buy off the shelf were first made and tested with household materials — some cut-up cardboard here, some coins there, maybe toss in a pencil and some scrap paper to scribble out some simple graphics. No matter the pieces used for the original prototype, with a little testing and iteration, those haphazardly-assembled early versions proved fun enough that they were then published as the polished retail games that you know now. Still, at their core, most of those games are just a simple prototype made with household scraps.
I want to help more people tap into this vast world of DIY games, so earlier this year, I put together a collection of totally free party games that you can play with stuff you already own. Building your own games like this lets you save money, explore more ways to play, and flex your creative muscles. Plus, making games at home makes them more accessible to more people, while keeping them smaller and more sustainable for our planet overall.
Accessible to all
Classic party games, also called parlor games, have entertained groups of people for centuries, so this particular collection draws inspiration from several beloved games of the past. It’s all about keeping a low barrier for entry so that even your non-maker friends and family will be able to put these games together. To help you play (and create) more games with less stuff, I’ve also assembled a collection of some various digital tools like dice simulators, random word generators, and timers so you can play loads of other games without a bunch of extra pieces you may not have handy.
I really hope exploring DIY board games like these gives you a chance to build something new, connect with your friends and family, save some money, and give our planet a little break from excessive consumption.
To give you a taste of the kinds of games you can make at home, here’s how to build and play a cooperative version of a classic game called Exquisite Corpse. It’s one of my favorites, designed by a surrealist artist who played it at parties with his fellow creatives. The gameplay has evolved a lot over the years, but no matter how you play, you only need scrap paper and a pencil to get started.
