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: DIY craft ideas you can make and play (21–30)
Card gacha machine
Trading card games are popular with everyone from kids to adults.
Even people who aren’t interested have probably heard about them because rare character cards often become a hot topic.
How about making a capsule toy machine (gacha) for those card games? This gacha is perfect for an elementary school science project, though it involves a lot of fine work, so it might be better suited for upper grades.
A nice point is that you can play not only with trading cards but with various kinds of cards.
It’s a fun gacha with an elaborate mechanism, including a coin-insert feature.
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.
Safe Design Marble Game
Kids love rolling toys! Many children want to play with marbles, but when kids are small, there’s a risk of swallowing them, which worries caregivers.
So here’s a toy idea that uses marbles safely.
Inside a box, move plastic bottle caps with marbles set inside them toward a goal without letting them fall into holes.
The marbles are firmly fixed to the caps, and the caps are also tied to the box with string, so it’s safe.
Decorate the box and caps with any designs you like, and play by tilting the box to slide the caps around.
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!
Marble run made from cardboard
Let’s try making a cool marble run using cardboard.
Prepare a rectangular piece of cardboard that isn’t too thick, and cut off one section on the large face and one section on the narrowest side.
Then, using the pieces you removed and other bits of cardboard, build the pathways for the marble to roll along and attach them to the base cardboard.
Instead of connecting every path all the way through, it’s also fun to leave gaps here and there so the marble drops down to the next level and continues.
Be sure to set up the goal area so the marble stops securely and doesn’t roll out after reaching the finish.
Marble roll with a toilet paper core
This is a simple marble run you can make using toilet paper rolls.
Prepare eight toilet paper rolls.
Cut two of them in half to make two shorter pieces each.
For the remaining six rolls, make a single slit in each so they can be opened up.
Assemble these six into two vertical towers by stacking three each.
Attach the halved rolls diagonally across the openings of the towers to form slide-like chutes, and you’re done! To ensure the marble drops down properly, be careful not to glue one end of each chute completely to the tower—leave a slight gap at the end.
Decorate the toilet paper rolls by drawing on them or adding washi tape or patterned origami paper!
Marble roll with a toilet paper core
This is a simple marble run you can make using toilet paper rolls.
Prepare eight toilet paper rolls.
Cut two of them in half to make two shorter pieces each.
For the remaining six rolls, make a single slit in each so they can be opened up.
Assemble these six into two vertical towers by stacking three each.
Attach the halved rolls diagonally across the openings of the towers to form slide-like chutes, and you’re done! To ensure the marble drops down properly, be careful not to glue one end of each chute completely to the tower—leave a slight gap at the end.
Decorate the toilet paper rolls by drawing on them or adding washi tape or patterned origami paper!