Bust the boredom and keep the kids entertained with these fun DIY games. Whether it’s the weekend or the school holidays, make sure there’s never a dull moment!

Image: Marie's Pastiche

There’s a reason Mancala has been popular around the world for hundreds of years – it’s fun and it’s hard to stop. The game is often played on a wooden board with six holes on each side and a well on each end. This means you can easily create your own board with an egg carton! This take on Mancala is up there with one of our favourite DIY games for kids.

1. Place four marbles, stones, beans or other small objects in each of the 12 holes.
2. Each player has a well on the right side of the board.
3. To start the game, the first player picks up all of the pieces from one of the holes on their side of the board and drops one piece in each hole to the right of it. Players can drop pieces in their own well, but must skip their opponents well.
4. If you drop your last piece in an empty hole on your side, you get to put that piece, and all of the pieces directly opposite (on your opponents side), into your well.
5. The game is over when a player has no pieces left on their side.
6. The player with no pieces on their side takes all the leftover pieces from their opponent and puts them in their well.
7. The winner is the player with the most pieces.

• One egg carton
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Marbles, stones or beans
• Two bowls (to use as wells)

Image: Kojo Designs

Tic-Tac-Toe is a game you can play anywhere. You can create a board on almost any surface, but we love this portable fabric board idea from Kojo Designs. Kids can bring it out at picnics, home or a friend’s place.

1. Each player has a set of pieces that are all the same.
2. Players take it in turns to put down a piece in a square.
3. The winner is the person who lines up three pieces in a row – diagonally, horizontally or vertically.

• Fabric
• Fabric paint
• Paint brush
• Two sets of pieces (shells, painted stones, bottle caps etc)

Image: La Maison de Loulou

Bring the 80’s into the noughties with this fun take on the classic Tetris video game. It can take some time to cut out all the shapes, but it’s fun for kids to make and is well worth it in the end.

1. The player takes a random shape from a bag (or picks one from a pile without looking). They then place this shape on the board.
2. The aim is to fit as many pieces onto the board as possible before they reach the top.

• Cardboard
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Hobby knife (parental supervision required)
• Ruler

Grab some calk and get the kids out into the fresh air with a game of Hop Scotch. All you need is a concrete path or driveway – it’s that easy.

1. Draw a board (see example above).
2. To start, a player throws their stone into box 1. If they get the stone inside the box, they skip box 1 and hop into box 2, then 3 and continue to the last number.
3. Once a player reaches the end of the boxes they turn around and hop back to the start.
4. On the way back, the player must stop in the box before the one that contains their stone. They then bend over and pick up their stone, hop over the box and continue back to the start.
5. Once a player reaches home, they throw their stone into the next number and repeat the same steps.
6. When a player cannot complete a series, the stone gets passed to the next player.
7. The winner is the first to complete the entire course.

• Chalk
• A flat stone

Image: Pink Stripey Socks

If the weather forecast is looking bleak, bring the soccer inside with this awesome idea from Pink Stripey Socks. It will keep the kids entertained for hours.

Each player uses a straw to blow the ball around the ‘field’ to try to score a goal.

• Cardboard
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Straws (one for each player)
• Ball (polystyrene or pom pom)
• Figurine (to act as a goal keeper)
• Hobby knife (with adult supervision)

Do you know some cool DIY games for kids? We'd love to see them! Get our attention using @montmarteart or #montmarteart on social media to show us what you’ve created.