Board Games

I posted this at the old community blog and wanted to share here :))

This can be adjusted sooooooo much, and I would LOVE to hear everyone's different variations of it. After I share the simple gist, I will brainstorm topics/themes.

Get a board game (just the board, maybe the dice and/or player pieces -- but those can be improvised on) and cover each square with your own things, like things to do or say or whatever. You can get ideas from almost any game in the world.

You could have each one alternate, like "share a memory", "do an impersonation of someone you love", "hum your favorite song", "act out your favorite movie", "tell your 3 favorite ...", "ask the person sitting to your left something funny", etc. Oh, the list could go on and on.

Another version could be getting a board game piece that spins, like on Life or Twister, and having a different category for each section and then doing something like Truth or Dare, or Pictionary, or charades (sp??), or something like that.

We have this game, "Apples to Apples (kids version)", and we use the cards to play charades. It is pretty funny seeing someone trying to act out the adjectives lololol

the best part about making your own games is that they can be tailored to be all-ages. I am imagining my son loving this, because he is so young that most of our games are beyond him, and he WANTS to play so badly <3

**Oh, and I wanted to share how this can be used in other contexts, too. Someone recommended making one for a friend who was moving away as a goodbye present (well, making 2 -- 1 for each family) full of ideas to keep memories alive. The original poster shared that she and her kids had made one in memory of her sister who had passed on to keep her memories alive. I was just thinking of making one to help a family come up with creative solutions or ideas for something -- have to think more on that before I can give more detailed examples of how :))

**Oooh!! And I just thought of something else! You can totally personalize it! Maybe everyone can make their own piece that they play with? Maybe get Candyland gingerbread men and glue a picture of your face onto it? Or paint clay pieces? Or make shapes out of cardboard? Or whatever. And then for the actual board, you can also personalize -- use pictures of people and their names (helps little ones especially), cover with really pretty cardstock and pressed flowers...

You could even revamp old boards from thrift stores and sell them at craft fairs or give them as gifts. You could use boards from other games to create your very own made up games. The possibilities are endless :))))

I am going to make them for birthday gifts for the future. And I was thinking we could totally make one for different "conscious listening skills" type practices!!! Wouldn't that be the funnest way to practice any kind of these skills with kids and a family -- there has to be a way to make it into some kind of board game!

p.s. - was thinking of you, Starcat, when I posted this :)))))