It’s Fall – the weather is getting colder, it’s getting dark outside earlier and earlier – this is a good time of year to pull out the family’s favorite board games or…
why not try making some new games of your own?
(These instructions are from a book Grandmother Wren had as a child – some of the materials will have to be adapted to those more readily available now – some forty years later!)
Four Good Toss Games To Make
Number Ring
This game can easily be made on a cardboard box top about 12 inches square. Cut 10 holes about 1/2 inch in width through box top at places shown in drawing. Write the numbers 1 through 10 in the places shown. Insert a wooden clothespin into each hole. Now get a few rubber jar rings, and you’re ready to play the game.
You should kneel about 5 feet from the game and try to toss a ring over the clothespin with the highest number. Play with several friends and keep score, seeing who gets the highest total after 10 throws each.
Baseball Button
You can use a box top for this game, too. It should be about 10 x 14 inches. Mark out your baseball diamond in pencil on box top, following the one in the drawing. Each base should be about 2 inches in diameter. Cut out holes for bases with a knife or scissors. Cut base lines from colored paper and paste in place, as shown. Label each base as in the picture; also label the left, center, and right fields.
To play the game, use large buttons and toss them from a distance of 5 or 6 feet into the various holes. Play with several friends and take turns being “up at bat.” When your button lands in the hole marked “out” three times in one inning, it’s time for your friend to be “up.” Keep score exactly as you would in real baseball. If you have a man on first or second base, try to score by getting more men on base or a home run.
Egg Box Marble
Using an ordinary egg box (holding a dozen eggs), carefully open the cover so that it forms a gentle slope from table top to inside of box, as shown. Hold cover in place by attaching it to table with a piece of cellophane tape or masking tape. Mark each square of box with a different number. Play with several friends, taking turns rolling marbles up the sloping cover into box. You should roll from a distance of about 5 feet.
Another way to play would be to cut out pictures of wild animals and paste them in the spaces instead of numbers. As you play, see who can bag the most animals. Let the elephant and lion count highest and the smaller animals be worth fewer points.
Spelling
This is played on a piece of plywood or very heavy cardboard about 18 x 24 inches. With a ruler, mark off a 1-inch margin all around the board. Then divide the board into
three equal sections across and six equal sections up and down within the margin. Draw lines where you have made the marks. Where each line crosses another, screw in a cup
hook.
Paint a letter of the alphabet underneath each hook. Since there are 28 hooks, there will be no letters for two of them. Leave these blank, and they can be penalty hooks that everyone should avoid.
Make the rings out of sections of clothesline about 8 inches long. Form a ring and
fasten ends together with twisted wire or masking tape.
The object of the game is to see who is the first one to spell out all the letters of a
short word which you have chosen ahead of time.
Would you like ideas for more games that you can make and play with your family and friends? Check out this link from Cornell
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