Here's a race game that the whole family can make together and then play! It's great for post-Thanksgiving dinner fun. Just print the game board patterns, then cut and glue. That's all it takes to make the game board for Turkey Trot.
Make your own race game! Included in the project are patterns and tips for making a game board for a race game of your own invention! You can make a game for just about any theme, idea or event. A blank game board and set of stickers makes it super easy to make a game.
The Turkey Trot game and rules are based on the Game of Goose—a race game with roots dating back centuries. There are many different game boards and rules for the Game of Goose, which is sometimes called the Game of Life. See the rules for playing Turkey Trot at the end of the project.
Choose a game board to make. Download and print the pattern(s).
Print the patterns for all four sections of the game board—Upper
Left, Upper Right, Lower Left, and
Lower Right. Or, print the Small
Game Board pattern for a game board that fits on one page. You can print on
computer paper or directly on white cardstock.
Use the Design Your Own patterns to make a game board for a Goose-like race game of your own invention. Make a game that generally follows the rules of Turkey Trot and features similar game spaces. Decorate the game board with drawings or base a game board on a set of stickers (see examples in the Tips section).
Patterns are Adobe PDF files. The Adobe Reader is available for free.
All of Aunt Annie's project patterns are designed to be printed on standard letter-size paper (8.5"x11" or A4). When printing from Adobe Reader, you may need to select Auto-Rotate and Center or Choose paper source by PDF page size to ensure the best fit.
If you printed black & white patterns, color each game board section with any colors you like. You might color the spaces with alternating colors. Pick two contrasting colors, or leave half the spaces white. Save time by leaving the blank egg spaces white.
If your are using a Design Your Own pattern, make light pencil marks where you want each type of game space. In Turkey Trot there are six forward-facing turkeys (go again), two backward-facing turkeys (go back), two dice spaces (roll again), two STOP spaces (lose turn), one jail space (lose two turns) and an umbrella and cloud pair (jump ahead). Make drawings with markers on each game space or use rubberstamps. Add writing to explain the rules or make funny comments. Tip: It's fun to make a game board using stickers. You can make a game for a holiday by using a set of stickers for that holiday.
Trim the printed patterns to the outline around the section, or within ¼" to ½" of the outline. If you leave a border, make its depth the same on all four game board sections. Be careful to cut the angled sides of the glue tabs precisely. This will help the game board fit together better.
If you are using the Small Game Board or the Design Your Own there are no glue tabs and you can skip to Step 5.
Once you have cut all four sections, glue or tape them together. To do this, lay out the sections in their correct positions. Slide the glue tab on each section under the adjoining section. Join the first section with the second section. Proceed around the board doing one seam at a time. Be careful to align the game board's track at each seam.
Tip: If you printed on computer paper, you can make the game board more durable by gluing it to cardboard—poster board works well.
Protect your game board from getting dirty with clear contact paper. Cut two pieces of clear contact paper about ½" larger than the game board in both dimensions. Apply one piece of contact paper to the back of the board and the other piece to the front. Be sure to center everything and to smooth out any air bubbles. Trim the contact paper, leaving a small border.
Contact paper is self-adhesive shelf liner usually available on rolls in hardware and discount stores.
That's it! Now it's time to play!
(Turkey Trot rules below)
Here's what you need: 2 dice and 1 unique
playing piece per player. You can use game tokens from other
games, or make your own using
Aunt Annie's Modeling Dough, see the
Miniature Turkeys craft
for how to make special turkey playing pieces.
In a pinch, you can use colorful cereal as game pieces.
Number of players: Two or more.
Object of game: To be the first player to
reach the last space, exactly. Other players continue playing for
places.
Before you start: Throw the dice to determine
the order of play. The player with the highest total on the dice goes
first, then play proceeds around the board to the left.