7 Games You Can Make While Staying at Home

If you’ve cycled through all the games in your house and binged all the interesting shows on Netflix, you can still entertain yourself during the coronavirus quarantine. Fend off the boredom by making your own sets of some classic games! The effort of creating them will be half the fun, and you'll have some new hand-crafted treasures when you're done.

Mancala

Known as an ancient board game that focuses on counters in empty cavities, Mancala is surprisingly easy to make yourself. To do so, grab an empty egg carton and whatever small counters you can get your hands on. These can be beans, coins, beads, or anything else of the sort. The object of this simple game is to get the most of the counters in your “pot” on your end of the egg carton. Once they’re all diminished in the pots of each player, the game is over and whoever has the most wins.

Kerplunk

Do you remember the old fun game of Kerplunk? This is where you stick planks into a cylinder with holes and try to hold up as many marbles on top of them as possible, slowly pulling out the planks during each turn.

To make your own version of this game, use an Ikea silverware holder, which already has holes, or take a big tin can and drill holes all around it. The holes should be large enough for thin straws to be slipped into. Then, use pom poms instead of marbles since the straws will be better able to hold their weight. It’s as simple as that!

If you live somewhere where you can go outside in your yard, you can also make this on a larger scale to be played outside. Use wire netting to make the outside of the structure and create a simple open wooden square on four legs with plywood to place the netting on. Create a cylinder with the netting and use gauge wire to secure it together, then secure it to the wooden structure with a staple gun. Use bamboo garden stakes and ball pit balls or even water balloons to play the game.

Checkers

The classic game of checkers is easy to make yourself with objects you likely have around your home. Take a foam board, piece of plywood, or even a piece of cardboard and use paint or markers to create the board. Then, take buttons that you spray paint to be two different colors to be your pawns. Just like that, you have a checker set!

Memory

Whether you print images off the web or draw them yourself, you can easily create a memory game that can provide tons of fun and entertainment for adults and kids alike. You could even print out fun family photos for this game or photos of your pet or favorite place. Creating duplicate pieces of artwork is a fun way to be creative during the quarantine that can contribute to this homemade game, too.

Glow in the Dark Ring Toss

For a nighttime game that is sure to please, set up a glow in the dark ring toss game. This is another great game to play outside. Use glow rings and a stake in your yard to play. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! Another game you can use glow rings for in the dark is to set up a simple hopscotch board to play once the sun sets.

Miniature Bowling

Bowling is a game loved by many, but with the possibility of getting to a traditional bowling alley currently out of the question, there’s no choice left but to make your own! Do so by collecting empty water or soda bottles that you would otherwise recycle, Paint them white with spray paint if you feel so inclined. You can even add the red stripes at the top like regular bowling pins by using red duct tape.

After the bottles are stripped of labels, washed, dried, painted, and taped, they're ready to go. Fill them with some sand to make the game more challenging and to give them some weight. Use a rubber ball to bowl with and you’ll have an entertaining game for the entire family to enjoy. This game also gets extra bonus points since it involves upcycling plastic bottles.

Bag Toss

If you have some old jeans and any kind of plates that you’re willing to part with, you’re in business to make a simple bag toss game from scratch. Use the pockets of old jeans filled with beans, sand, or rice to toss into the plates.

Paint the plates and label them with different score amounts. It’s best if you have plates or saucers of different sizes so that the smallest can be placed furthest for the most points and the biggest closest for the fewest points. Make sure the plates or saucers are somewhat durable for this game, too. That’s just about all you need for a fun and invigorating game, which is best played in your yard.

All of these games are simple enough to make with items that can be frequently found around your home. If you can’t find any of the supplies, don’t be afraid to improvise. Use this time at home to have some fun and enjoy quality time together by creating and playing homemade games.