1+ 2+ 3 Custom Travel-Game Mod _{By Harry Miller}

Make a travel edition of your favorite, and otherwise housebound, board game.

You will need: Magnetic metal boards (available at office supply stores), clear Contact paper, duct tape, adhesive magnetic paper or magnets, plastic clips (to hold cards or paper money together)

Can you take your favorite board game with you on a trip? If not, follow my instructions to make your own travel edition. I made a travel version of Rivers, Roads and Rails (by Ravensburger). The original version has to be played on the floor or on a table. You can take mine in a plane, a car, or a boat. When choosing your game, keep in mind that the fewer the pieces the better.

1. Make a magnetic board. Rivers, Roads and Rails is composed of 140 2"× 2" cardboard tiles, on which are drawn a river, a road, a railroad, or a combination of any of the three. The pieces for a travel edition need to be able to move without disrupting the game. Also, the playing space needs to be more confined. I found that 2 magnetic metal boards (about 9"× 14") held together by a piece of duct tape were a small-enough space to play on if I shrunk the tiles down by half.

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2. Shrink game pieces and playing field. I used my printer/copier to shrink the tiles down by ² half to 1"× 1" squares. If your game has an illustrated playing field, you’ll have to do the same thing for the game board, and then stick it to the magnetic boards.

3. Make the game pieces magnetic.
Take a sheet of flexible adhesive magnet paper
and stick the tiles onto them. Then cover them
with clear Contact paper and cut them apart
using a cutting board. (My mom helped a bit.)
I sent a letter to Ravensburger with my design
plans, hoping they will produce it. (Maybe
I can even get some credit.)

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For extra credit

Illustrations by Dustin Hostetler

+ A zip-lock plastic bag might work just fine as the travel bag, and some plastic potato-chip clips can keep your game cards together. On the other hand, a hand-sewn bag of vintage fabric and an old silver cigarette case may be a more elegant card holder.

You’re done! Play the game to find any flaws. If there are problems, go back and make necessary adjustments until it’s perfect!

Harry Miller is a 12-year-old home-schooler who loves to invent, build, and destroy things. On sunny days he can be found terrorizing plastic soldiers with a magnifying glass.

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