19 July,2026 09:42 AM IST | Mumbai | Junisha Dama
This Sunday, you can design your own game to play with your family and spend some quality time. Pic/iStock
No one really wants to step out on monsoon weekends. Plans get cancelled, cafés are packed, and everyone ends up in different corners of the house, glued to screens. Instead of reaching for another movie or binge-worthy series, why not create a board game that's yours?
We experimented with a website, Genially, which allows you to create a free board game using their templates.
Our Rainy Day Rescue game turned out to be a family-friendly board inspired by rainy evenings at home.
The beauty of making your own board game is that no two versions have to be the same. Swap the questions, invent new dares, add inside jokes, or base it on your favourite films, vacations you have taken, or books you have read.
Younger children can enjoy simple picture-based challenges, while older players can take on trivia, puzzles and strategy tasks.
There is a template on the website for everything, including games you know and love like Snakes & Ladders, Tic, Tac, Toe, and more.
DIY board games are also a surprisingly effective educational tool. You can customise them with maths problems, vocabulary exercises, history facts or science quizzes. Parents can use them to encourage storytelling, reading, teamwork and problem-solving. Even designing the game helps children think creatively as they build rules, characters and challenges of their own.
1. Pick a template: Search for "Hand Drawn Game Board" and click on a template of your choice to open it in the editor.
2. Personalise the board: Click on any text box to replace the sample text with your own theme. Use the text tool in the left-hand toolbar to add new titles and instructions.
3. Customise the design: Select any square or graphic to change its colour, resize it or replace it. Use Resources or Images in the left-hand menu to add icons to match your theme.
4. Add game instructions: Use Text tool to label special spaces such as âmove ahead 2 spaces' or âmiss a turn' or âdraw a challenge card'.
5. Create challenge cards: Click Pages in the left sidebar, then âadd page' to make a new page for your printable challenge cards. Add trivia questions, charades, riddles or storytelling prompts using the Text tool. Duplicate the page to create multiple card sheets quickly.
6. Export and play: Once your design is complete, download or export the board (download formats depend on your Genially plan), print the board and challenge cards.
Genially's Board Game template is designed as an interactive digital game, but it can easily be adapted into a screen-free activity for family game night.
. Design and customise your board using Genially.
. Download or export the board as a PDF or image (export options may vary depending on your Genially plan).
. Print the board on A3 or A4 paper, or mount it onto recycled cardboard for extra durability.
. Print the challenge cards separately and cut them into individual cards.
. Use coins, buttons, bottle caps or LEGO figures as playing pieces, along with a regular dice.
. Store everything in an envelope or box so you can reuse the game whenever the rain keeps everyone indoors.
Tip:
Laminate the board and challenge cards or slip them into transparent sleeves, so you can write new challenges with a whiteboard marker and enjoy a different game every time.
