April 21, 2014 Crystal Clark

LegoLand Board Game | DIY Indoor Fun | Better than CandyLand!

I have been in the market for a good children's board game for my 5 and 3 year old boys for a few weeks and have been slightly discouraged by the quality and message some of them were giving. Rather than buy something I didn't like, I hopped online and after a little research found this idea from Inspired by Familia.

I loved the idea but the artistic side of me needed to jazz up the graphics a bit.
LegoLand is similar to CandyLand... without the fixation on candy! What natural mama wouldn't love that?

So what I did:

I downloaded the photos of her playing cards and fixed her graphics in photoshop to be more preschool oriented for my non-reader.

After printing, I glued each card to colored cardstock for durability.

Then I found black and white LEGO graphics on google images. My boys helped color and cut the pictures out.

I cut a cardboard box into the size I wanted, with a folding crease in the middle. We glued green cardstock to the board, then glued all the pieces on. Drew in the draw and discard spots and wrote some silly sayings in the dialog boxes.

Finally, I dug through their LEGO stash to create a small tub of pieces that are exclusively for the game. There is a nice assortment of minifigures, bricks, weapons, accessories and fun specialty pieces to build with through the game.

VOILA!!! We had our very own custom LegoLand Board Game!

After playing the first time, it was obvious that we need more of the cards to move along the game than was available, so I went back into photoshop and created one more card sheet. Now the game flows so nicely! We have played several times and my boys LOVE it! I really enjoy how well they play together and they don't really need my help to play. And I really love seeing what their little creations look like at the end of the game. Always different and always awesome.

** Since taking these pictures, we have also decided to add a clear contact paper barrier

to protect the game from drool and slimy hands. **

How to play:

1. Each player picks a minifigure complete with head, body, legs, arms and hands.

NO hair or accessories. You will earn those through the game.

2. For each players turn draw one card.

The card will have instructions:

A colored LEGO brick. (this is the space you move to that is closest to you).
Do as the card says if it contains instructions rather than just a LEGO brick.
If you land on a space that has additional instructions, do that as well.

3. When moving, always move towards the giant head finish line.
(Unless you draw a "Go Back 1" Card.)

4. When building your creation only pick the kind of piece specific to the card drawn or space landed on. (Hint: We have found that it is easiest to first pick a bigger base plate to build on.)

5. To win a player must do one of these: Be first player to reach the Giant LEGO head or be the first player to reach the end with the most pieces collected. You can play either way.

Or make up your own rules! That is the best part of creating your own board game anyway, Right?!?