Holiday Travel Fun: Five 3D Printed Board Games to Keep Kids Offline
Dealing with bored kids this summer? Here are five fun games you can 3D print for home or travel. Each is simple to learn, small enough to take with you anywhere, and 100% guaranteed fun.
Every year, it seems like us parents all have the same problem – how to keep our kids entertained and, hopefully, offline over the summer holidays? From all the great board games to 3D print, I found five that are especially great for young kids, whether you’re stuck at home on a rainy day, or in the car on the way to visit grandma.
The games I picked are compact enough to be stowed away for car rides, camping, or tucked into your carry-on. They either have self-contained boards or no board at all. You might want to think about printing a few extra pieces though. Nothing prevents a meltdown faster than having replacement parts on hand when game components get stuck between the car seat or left back at the hotel by mistake.
If you’re like me and have a five-year gap between kids, it’s hard to find a game that is easy enough for your youngest to follow along and fun enough that it doesn’t bore the oldest to tears. That’s what I looked for in choosing these games. Rules are simple, so they’re perfect for a range of ages – even us parents won’t have to pretend we’re having fun.
Since these are all 3D printed, you can customize the games to fit your kids’ tastes and interests. Got one kid who’s all sparkles and rainbows and another who prefers goth? No problem! Stay one step ahead of the arguments and print one of each! For even more fun, try printing with glow-in-the-dark filaments to keep the fun going after lights out!
If you see your perfect game here but don’t have the time or patience to print it yourself, try a service like Craftcloud to do the work for you. They have suppliers around the world ready to print pieces for your new games in no time. You’ll have those bored looks changed to all smiles and excitement before you know it!
Note: Some of these games have small pieces, so they’re not suitable for kids under age four. These games are original creations from the maker community. Some are more board-based than others, but all will be great fun and unlike anything you’ve played before!
Hive
The objective of this game is to surround the other player’s queen bee tile, effectively capturing and taking over her hive. Each bug type has specific moves they can perform, like in chess. But, in contrast to chess, there’s no board, so each game can take on a different form, and you never know what’s going to happen.
This set is all flat pieces so it doesn’t need supports, and you can add some color with a dual-extrusion 3D printer.
- Who designed it? Gigbrinus
- How printable/popular is it? This model has 54 makes and 14 remixes, so a lot of people are enjoying their new games!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Sternhalma (Chinese Checkers)
Did you know this game is actually German? It’s believed that the name “Chinese Checkers” originated in the US as part of a marketing strategy for the game.
To play, you’ll need 60 pegs printed in total, 10 for each of the 6 colors. And as the creator does, you can print them all together and then paint the top of the peg. The board also includes storage for the pegs, so you don’t risk losing any!
- Who designed it? Pandas
- How printable/popular is it? This board game has 461 downloads. It might be a good idea to use brims for the pins, and you can print many at once to save time.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Ludo
The perfect way to start a fight with friends is to play a game of Ludo. You know that moment when your friend can choose to skip you, but they end up stopping in your tile and killing your pawn? That’s not fun.
This game is derived from the Indian game Pachisi. The mechanics are very simple: take your four pawns across the board and into the center before any of your opponents!
- Who designed it? fchamone
- How printable/popular is it? This model has over 107 likes and over 1,000 downloads, though no makes have been shared yet. You can print the parts separately, in different colors, and then fit them all together.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Travel Tic-Tac-Toe
After many spin-offs of this game, we’ve finally come to what looks like the original. And you can play it anywhere!
Thanks to the smart design, the board can fit both the circles and crosses, and the pieces can even be stacked on top of each other for storage. To win, simply stack three in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line before your opponent.
- Who designed it? Henk
- How printable/popular is it? This model has 12 makes, with one user mentioning it prints well in PLA.
- Where to find it? Printables
Connect 4
As the classic Connect 4 goes, you win this game by stacking four discs in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Just make sure to do it before your opponent!
This miniature game includes storage in its base for all the pieces. You’ll need 25 in each color, and some glue is required to assemble the frame. For your discs to slide in without issue, you’ll need a good printing resolution and close dimensional accuracy. Otherwise, a bit of sanding could be necessary.
- Who designed it? OndrejStritesky
- How printable/popular is it? This model has 62 makes and 8 remixes.
- Where to find it? Printables
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Lead image source: Travel Tic-Tac-Toe by InsertNameHere via Printables
License: The text of "Holiday Travel Fun: Five 3D Printed Board Games to Keep Kids Offline" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.