Replace Your Games Board or Create Your Own

Have you ever purchased a game with cheap, flimsy plastic pieces and a games board that looks like a kindergartner drew it? Maybe that game even cost you a whopping $20! Then there are some games that include little more than dice, a pad of paper and a pencil. "I could have made this!" you tell your friends. Well, now it's time to put your money where your mouth is and make your own boardgame! This may sound like a crazy activity reserved for the super-art-freaks or the diehard-do-it-yourself types, but given the latest innovations it's easier than you think.
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In this recession, family games are flourishing. Parents are deciding that $40 to buy four movie tickets, plus the cost of concession snacks is a little outside of the budget. It's time to look back to traditional fun. People with an artistic streak will love to surprise family members at the next game night by busting out their own custom game that they've created! At first, this sounds like a lot of work and one pictures that it'll still look like a couple of pebbles and a poorly cut games board, but new technology makes it easier than ever to create personalized, original, professional-looking board games.
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Parents are often looking for new ways to stimulate their children's creative minds and encourage family bonding time. Building games can be a really rewarding way for kids to see a project from start to finish and enjoy playing with their own custom games board for years to come. Imagine the pride your child will have when his or her friends come over to see the original game! In the past, making a trivia board game or life simulation boardgame meant taking a trip to the local crafts store and spending a bunch of money on supplies. Today, you simply need internet access and around $20 to get this fun project underway!
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Is it fun? Is it challenging? Is it non-frustrating? Is there a reward? Is it a fresh experience? These are the questions you will need to ask yourself as you begin to design your own customized games board. You can theme your game around a geographic location, a musical artist, a movie or a special occasion. You can add double and triple move spaces. You can make collecting the most money the end goal, arriving at the finish space first or scoring more points than opponents. You can vary colors, patterns, design or use your favorite artwork and insert photos. You can use dice or spinners. You can make your board into a loop like the Monopoly board or with an end space like The Game of Life. There are limitless possibilities when you are the publisher of your very own game board.

At www.thegamecrafter.com, you can create your own games board and sell it too! According to JT Smith, CEO of the Plain Black Company that created the site, they're looking to "showcase the power of WebGUI, an open source content management system." The site is designed for individuals who want to create a customized one-off game, for independent game makers and by pros. To build your own classic board game, you start by uploading the artwork you'd like printed on your board and cards. Next, you'll choose which accessories you'll need -- whether it is timers, dice, pawns, etc. You'll then write out the rules document. As of right now, amateur game-makers can't customize their pawns yet, although the company says even more design options will be coming shortly. The best part is that there is no upfront cost to create family games. The site covers all distribution and printing costs, merely taking a 50% cut from each sale.
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It's easy to make your own games board at www.thegamecrafter.com. Surprisingly, there are no up-front fees, no contracts, no mandatory order volumes, no distributor obligations and no publishers to deal with. First, you come up with an idea and design your components. Then you upload the artwork for your decks and board. You select the dice, tokens and pawns you need. Lastly, you set the price and collect your royalties! TGC will charge you nothing to get started but will simply keep 50% of the revenues, which is a better deal than if you had gone through publishers and distributors (who only leave you 30% of the revenue). Some people are serious entrepreneurs looking to make the next great trivia board game or strategy board game. Others are people who'd just like to make fun family games for a gift. Imagine being asked trivia questions about your ancestry, your childhood or family memories! Teachers have made educational games through the site to complement their lessons as well.
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There are many reasons why you may want to make your own games board at www.thegamecrafter.com, which is a self-publishing site for gamers. Indie game creators could benefit from building games on this site, compared to going the publisher/distributor route. With publishers, you generally have to order a minimum of 5,000 to 20,000 games to be sold. The TGC site will produce just one game if you so desire and from then on, they'll only produce as many as people order from the site. Professional game authors may use the site to create a prototype or test-game to decide if it's production quality. If it is, they are free to take the game wherever they want, since there are no copyright issues. Creating family games for Christmas gifts, anniversaries, wedding presents or family reunions is such an innovative idea for brightening someone's day. Often teachers will engage their students with a customized game that builds upon their lessons too.

A similar website for creating your own games board is www.instantboardgame.com. To get started, you'll look through some of the user-created board games to get some ideas. Many of the games are set up similar to The Game of Life or Monopoly, where you navigate your way around the board, using play money and pawns. However, you can also create your own dice games and strategy games too. You can customize each space on the board from scratch or choose a special themed board. When you're finished, you can share your design online, receive feedback and order your final product, complete with cards, dice, money and tokens. Building games is not only a rewarding experience, but the finished games also make personalized gifts too.

Speaking of the Monopoly board game, have you ever wished you could have your own custom Monopoly games board? Well, now you can at www.mymonopoly.com! At this site, you can tweak, customize and personalize this classic board game for a parent, sibling, best friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, child or other Monopoly-lover. Once you print the easy-to-use board planner and follow the instructions, you'll have a custom game within 14 working days! You can also buy My Monopoly Vouchers to allow friends or family members the option to customize the game themselves.
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There are so many variations of the Monopoly board out nowadays that it can be hard to choose. You can get a Simpsons Monopoly, NHL Monopoly, American Cities Monopoly, The Beatles Monopoly and Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly, to name a few. If none of them seem personalized enough, you'll be happy to know you can create your own customized board for family and friends at www.mymonopoly.com! You'll create a new games board title, twenty-two new property names and four new station spaces. You can add special artwork or themes to go with your game too. Building a custom Monopoly board game is surprisingly affordable and is a really unique way to celebrate a holiday, anniversary or special occasion!
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You can also create your own custom Monopoly board through several different methods. At www.mymonopoly.com, you'll be able to create a new games board title, 22 personalized property names, 4 new station spaces and add a custom theme or artwork. Within 14 days, the company will print everything and you'll have your very own Monopoly board game. Another option is to visit www.tdcgames.com/myo.htm, where you'll use software, along with your printer to make a custom Monopoly board and pieces. You'll be able to put your own pictures on the money and the markers! You can also create your own custom cards, box and board spaces. It's a little more D.I.Y., but there are also more options for customization that could be really fun.

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Replace Your Games Board or Create Your Own

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