Handmade games: DIY craft ideas you can make and play
We’ve put together a collection of DIY game ideas you can make and play.
Crafts are great not only for indoor play, but also for activities in childcare settings and as summer break projects for elementary school students.
And if what you’re making is a game, kids can enjoy playing with it even after the crafting is done—which they’re sure to love.
In this article, we introduce a variety of games you can make by hand.
If you’re looking for handmade game ideas, feel free to use this as a reference.
Since they’re handmade, it’s also fun to set your own rules and difficulty levels!
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Handmade games: Craft ideas you can make and play (11–20)
Strikeout
This is a homemade strikeout game made using a large cardboard box! To make each of the nine targets fall backward properly when hit by a ball or beanbag, tape only the bottom edge of each target in place.
Adding a stopper on the back—such as a straw—will help prevent the targets from falling over on their own.
While standard versions have numbers on the targets, it’s also fun to attach drawings of animals or characters made by the children! Why not build it together with the kids and set it up in a daycare or kindergarten classroom so energetic children can move their bodies to the fullest indoors?
soccer game
Let’s play soccer with a handmade board game made from easy-to-use cardboard.
You can enjoy both the fun of making the game and the fun of playing with what you’ve created.
Because it’s a manually operated soccer board game, you can play solo or with friends.
If you put care into the details, it can also be used for summer vacation assignments or free craft projects.
The game is divided into parts for kicking the ball toward the goal and a goalkeeper part that blocks shots, so challenge each other and see who wins!
Target shooting game
Let’s make and play a handmade target-shooting game that lets you enjoy both the fun of crafting and the fun of playing with what you’ve made.
You’ll use easy-to-find items like chopsticks, clothespins, and plastic bottle caps, so be sure to try making it and have a go! Use a tool that takes advantage of the clothespin’s spring to launch a ball powerfully over a distance, and aim it at a handmade target.
Try designing the target to look cool and stylish, too.
This makes a fun craft-and-play activity both at preschools and kindergartens as well as at home.
Elementary school students might also enjoy making it as a free project.
Sugoroku game
Sugoroku, the classic board game.
Let’s try making this long-beloved favorite by hand.
Coming up with the contents of the spaces you land on together with family or friends is part of the fun.
You can design the board however you like, so even the creation process is a delight.
The best thing about handmade versions is their originality.
Unique, one-of-a-kind entries and rules—different from store-bought versions—will make the game even more exciting.
After enjoying the crafting, play sugoroku together with family and friends.
Have fun with your handmade sugoroku, which you can freely tailor from simple and easy to challenging and difficult.
Pinball machine
Let’s handcraft an original pinball machine where you can freely decide the layout and obstacle designs.
You’ll enjoy both the process of planning the design while making it, and playing pinball after it’s finished—double the fun.
Use easy-to-handle materials like cardboard, rubber bands, chopsticks, and straws.
Cardboard is sturdy and thick, making it a great material for crafting, so try making your own handmade game board.
Start by setting up the launch area for flicking the marble and plan where to place the obstacles.
Create and play with a one-of-a-kind, original pinball machine that exists nowhere else but yours, and aim for a high score.
racing game
A colorful and comical craft where a game unfolds inside a cardboard window, just like Mario Kart.
You can also test how to control Mario on this flowing course.
Install a rotating mechanism inside the base box, attach a course paper with obstacles and other designs, and by moving it, you create the appearance of a scrolling track.
Finally, attach a Mario mascot that can move left and right with a steering wheel, and it’s complete.
It’s also important to decorate it colorfully to enhance the Mario Kart atmosphere.
New Year’s gift envelope game
We’d like to introduce a New Year’s otoshidama cup game that naturally exposes kids to numbers and arithmetic through play! It’s easy to make: write different amounts on paper cups, stick labels on them, and tape the cups to the table.
Lining them up against a wall makes it easier to land beanbags in the cups when thrown.
Aiming and tossing helps build concentration, and the joy of getting one in boosts motivation.
By adding up the amounts in the cups, even young children can get familiar with numbers and experience the fun of calculation while playing.
It’s also fun to make your own play money, so be sure to try making it and playing together!
Milk Carton Stacking Game
The “Tsumitsumi Game,” made by cutting a milk carton into thin strips, is a simple handmade game you can enjoy with everyday materials.
Players take turns stacking the cut pieces and compete to see how high they can build without toppling the stack.
It’s great for young children to develop fine motor skills, and it also challenges adults’ concentration and sense of balance, making it fun across a wide range of ages.
With simple rules, it’s easy to play in a short time and is recommended for family or friends.
The satisfaction of a successful stack and the funny mishaps when it collapses make for lots of laughs.
Its appeal also lies in the convenience of using recyclable materials and the freedom to change how you play with a bit of creativity.
Rubber Band Crane Game
It’s a game where several people hold a tool made by connecting rubber bands and strings, and thread a paper cup through its end to operate it like a crane.
Participants pull the strings together, lifting the paper cup while keeping their balance.
Placing the cup in a target spot or stacking it is challenging, requiring cooperation and concentration.
It can be enjoyed by large groups, making it great for parties and school events, and it also helps spark communication.
Although it’s made from simple, everyday materials, it’s captivating and works as a hands-on crafting game—an engaging and appealing idea.
A marble coaster with interchangeable tracks!
When you keep playing with the same toy, you can get bored, right? At times like that, try making a marble run with interchangeable courses so you can keep it fresh! First, build the base track out of cardboard.
Using bamboo skewers or similar materials, create features like an escalator-like lift that carries the marbles upward, or a spiral where the marbles twirl down.
For the swap-in courses, prepare pieces of cardboard shaped to fit into the base track, and on each one attach small cut pieces of cardboard, straws, or short wooden sticks to make a variety of course types.
By swapping these in and out, you can enjoy your marble run for a long time without getting bored!
