DIY Chinese Checkers Game

Here it is, gang! The grand finale to our DIY game series! I don’t know why I chose Chinese Checkers for the grand finale but it just felt right. Maybe I just love how organized and symmetrical it is. That’s probably it. In any case, I hope you’ve had fun with the series and maybe even made a game or two of your own! We’ll be featuring a few of these games in some of our other upcoming summer projects, so stay tuned for lots more summer fun. In the meantime, let’s make Chinese Checkers!

Materials

• 3/4″ round balls (60)
• 18″ wood round (find it in the lumber section at Home Depot or Lowes)
• 5/8″ drill bit with drill
• circular saw
• sander
• ruler and pencil
• washi tape
• craft paint in 7 colors
• paintbrush

Make Time: 4 Hours (Plus Drying Time) 

To make the board:

1. Draw a hexagon on the board. Use your circular saw to cut off the edges of the circle and make it a hex.
2. To draw all the dots for the holes on the board, draw a dot one inch in from each point of the hex. Connect the dots to create a six-point star. Make a dot at each intersecting point. Start filling in the dots along the lines. You should have a dot every 1 1/8″. Keep filling in, using your ruler to keep the dots in straight lines.
3. Drill a hole at each dot, placing the drill bit carefully centered on the dot. Drill about halfway through the wood.
4. Give the entire board a good sanding and brush off all dust.
5. Choose 7 paint colors. Paint the inside of the holes. Each point of the star and its corresponding 10 holes should have its own color, and all of the center holes can be another color. Allow the paint to dry completely.

To make the game pieces:

1. Wrap a piece of washi around a wooden marble at the halfway point.
2. Apply a thin layer of paint on the unmasked part. Use the washi to stand the marble up while drying.
3. If desired, add a second coat of paint. Remove the washi tape and set the marbles in the board to dry and cure.
4. Repeat the process with 60 marbles, 10 in each color. Make the colors correspond to the colors you chose for the points on the board.

Eeeeee I love it! This one turned out so cool that we leave it out on our coffee table! (At least, we will until Henry can walk around and then we’ll have to put it some place where he can’t eat the marbles.) Guys, I hope you’ve loved all the games! Did you have a favorite or try any of them? Leave a comment and let me know! And if you did put some together, be sure to share on Instagram with #thelovelysquad. Have fun! xoxo

P.S. See all of our past game night DIYs right here!

Tutorial photos by Lovely Indeed. All other photos by Scot Woodman.