The Game of Family Life

In today’s mobile society, we are often separated from our extended families. We may live on opposite sides of the country, far away from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our family found itself in this situation when we moved to New England and left loved ones many miles behind in Michigan.

Eager to maintain our children’s sense of belonging to a larger family and to reinforce the good times we had had in the past, we created “Our Family Game.” The object of the game is to start from our house in Bedford, Massachusetts, and travel to visit relatives in various parts of the country. The first to get to “Home At Last” (to our three patiently waiting cats) is the winner.

In addition to keeping our hearts turned to relatives far away, this game draws our immediate family closer. The moves are based on experiences that take place in our daily lives. Good behavior is reinforced by advancement on the game board.

Playing Rules

A player advances on the game board by drawing a yellow card (we used yellow 3 by 5 inch cards, cut in half) and following its directions. For example:

“You did a great job cleaning your room … advance 5.”

“Sorry, you missed the school bus … go back 2.”

“You made a new friend in school … advance 3.”

“You forgot to feed the cats … go back 3.”

To add interest, a yellow card might say “Pick a pink card.” Pink cards involve more dramatic moves:

“Go to Gram’s house or go back 5 spaces and miss a turn.”

“Visit Aunt Nancy and Uncle Herb or go back 10 spaces.”

A choice is given, because if one is advanced on the game board, it might not be desirable, for example, to visit Aunt Nancy and Uncle Herb, which would be a very large backward move. Going back ten spaces is less of a penalty.

On the game board path are additional instructions:

“Miss a Turn”—These are scattered throughout the game.

Special Moves—Also scattered over the board, these allow the player to move ahead. For example:

“Mr. and Mrs. Myers want you to see their lambs … move ahead to the Myers’s farm.”

“Gram misses you … pay her a visit!”

Materials

We made our game board from a twenty-eight-inch square of colored mat board, purchased at an art supply store. (If you want your board to fold, score it once down the center back with a knife or similar tool, then fold it and reinforce the cut with cloth tape.)

The players’ path is made with all-purpose labels. I used the one half by three quarter inch size.

For graphics, we used family photographs, magazine cutouts, and pictures from calendars. All family members helped cut out, arrange, and paste the pictures on the board.

Instructions can be written on the board by hand or with letter transfers purchased at an art supply or stationery store.

We made playing pieces from small photographs of each family member and mounted them on plastic holders recycled from an old, purchased game.

If you want to design your own family game board, take a closer look at the format and graphics of games on the market—the possibilities are limitless! A family game is as much fun to design as it is to play.—Kathryn Kleekamp, Bedford, Massachusetts