A couple of weeks ago I was at the AireCon board game convention in Harrogate. It’s really friendly convention with a lot of open gaming space, a great games library, and an overall friendly vibe. It’s also great for board games with children.

I ran one of the many activities on offer: making a race game. This was a chance for children to use a whole load of paper and craft stuff to make their own game. I’d say it was a simple exercise, but none of the games were simple games. The kids came up with some really interesting ideas and mechanics, including:

• Using dice as player counters, with the number on the top representing health points
• Blindfolded games where you feel your way along the board using different textures
• Different coloured spaces determining how many dice you get to roll

Here’s some of the games they made.