I love board games, but traveling makes taking them along difficult. They are a great activity, and they are fun to play after a long day of sightseeing, or in the car while on a long road trip. Personally, I also use this set for school as well, and my friends and I often pass lunch periods playing Clue and Risk.

This is definitely a very time consuming project, so if you plan on trying this, I would advise finding music, a podcast, a TV show, or my personal favorite, Crash Course on YouTube. It is much easier to listen to something, as a nice break from the monotony of gluing on magnets. However, I feel that so far, this set is absolutely worth the effort.

This set is designed to contain Clue, Risk, Chess, Checkers, and Battleship. It contains pieces, cards, the boards, and everything is magnetized for easier passing around. It is also only 18 cm by 27 cm (7" x 10.75").

All right, last note, I promise! Your game set will most likely not look anything like mine. This set was assembled from pieces that I had on hand, so a lot of this project is centered on improvising as well as finding ways to use pieces that you already have on hand.

So, without further ado, here it is!

Oh, and by the way... If you are wondering about the color choices, they are the Hogwarts House colors. I am a nerd and very proud of it.

Step 1: Materials: a Very Loose List

You will need a lot of materials. I have split this list up into several parts, but be advised that these will vary by person. I apologize for the immense number of files.

You Will Need...

For the box itself:

A box that:
- latches securely
- has dividers already (not necessary, but much easier)
Dividers (if they aren't included)
Containers of all sizes, shapes and styles, such as
- miniature Altoid tins
- bead containers
- miniature jars
- jewelry boxes
- small containers from store bought items
- etc.
Miniature dry erase markers (I would advise carrying six)

For the boards:

(Print the boards on normal computer paper)

Thin magnetic vent covers (the number and size will depend on your board size)
Clue Board Template*
Risk Board Template*
Chess / Checkers Board Template*
Battleship Board Template*
2-4 miniature binder clips
Glue dots or a low-temp hot glue gun
Clear gloss packing tape

For the cards:

Risk Card Template* - printed on card stock, double sided
Clue Character Card Template* - printed on computer paper
Clue Weapon Card Template* - printed on computer paper
Clue Room Card Template* - printed on computer paper
Clue Checklists* - printed on computer paper
Clear gloss packing tape
A corner rounding punch (optional)

For the pieces:

A roll of adhesive backed magnetic tape
Beads of all sorts; I used
- Wooden beads in four sizes
- Pony beads
- Mini pony beads
- Crystal beads
- Large seed beads
Polymer clay in
- grey
- the Clue character colors (optional)
A low temp hot glue gun
Low-temp hot glue sticks

For the Dice:

Dice Template* - print on card stock
Hot glue or another adhesive of some sort

And... breathe.

Whew.

*You may need to adjust the size of the printed templates based off of your box size, design, and the containers that you use.

Step 2: The Box Setup

First off, pay no attention to the magnet piece, I will get to that.

Setting up your box is very much your design. The photo above shows the way mine is set up, but you can adjust based on the size and layout of your box. If you want your pieces to be stored like mine, you simply need to have:

One half of the box separated apart (I split mine in half to minimize container sliding)
Four spaces on the top of the other half
Below that, one long space and one smaller one
Four more spaces underneath that
Two spaces on the bottom

Now simply play around with your containers. My design is above, but you can organize yours in whatever design works for you.

On my design, shapes indicate containers, while plain text indicates that the pieces just sit in the allotted section.

Step 3: The Boards

The actual game board are attached using magnets. To start off, you will need to determine a size for your boards. This rectangle size should fit on top of your box.

To start, cut out six rectangles of this size from your vent covers.

Attach the first rectangle magnet side up onto your lid. You can either use glue dots along the edges or you can use a low temp hot glue gun. You only need to secure the edges, so don't go nuts.

(Most vent covers will have a black magnet side and a colored side, typically white.)

Now for the boards.

Clue:

Attach your clue board in the same manner. It should be attached to the magnet side, so the color side should be on the back. Cover the two margins - the spaces of pure green on both ends that aren't part of the actual board - in the packing tape. Trim the excess.

The packing tape acts as a dry-erase board, and allows you to record where characters are and whose turn it is in case of interruption.

Risk:

Attach the board to the magnet in the same way. Don't use any tape.

Chess/ Checkers:

Attach the board to the magnet in the same way. Don't use any tape.

Battleship:

Attach your two battleship boards to the remaining magnet sheets. Fold them over along the center line and make a crease so that they stand at a right angle.

Cut two magnet strips from your leftover pieces. Attach them to the backside at the top of each board, making sure that they line up.

Close both boards and secure them with your mini binder clips.

The boards can be stored inside the lid of your container.

Step 4: Cards and Dice

Next up are the miniature dice and cards.

Clue Cards:

Cut your cards out of the paper. Trim the corners if you desire.

Cover the backs of all clue cards with packing tape. Trim the excess

This allows you to record who has what cards in case of interruption.

Clue Checklists:

Cut the cards out of the paper.

Cover both sides of the checklists with packing tape. Trim the excess.

Fold the cards in half, crease, and then rubber band them all together.

Once again, dry erase markers can be used to record. It allows you to reuse cards and save time and paper.

Risk Cards:

Cut the cards out of the card stock.

Dice:

Cut the dice out of the paper. Fold along the lines.

Use your adhesive to fold up the dice.

If you choose, you can fill the dice with hot glue to add some weight. (Warning- this does involve a little bit of hot potato, as in tossing the dice around as they cool to avoid getting burned.)

You are getting closer, but brace yourself. Here comes the part that really tests your patience.

Step 5: The Game Pieces

Oh boy... take a deep breath, take a break, and put on something interesting to listen to, because this is about to get very boring. I made these using the beads that I had, so feel free to choose your own way of doing it. I attached beads together using hot glue.

Chess- Light:

You need:

8 pawns

I used single wooden round beads for these.

2 Rooks

Two medium wooden beads stacked.

2 Knights

I used two small wooden beads and then added a seashell bead at a slant for the head.

2 Bishops

One small wooden bead with a striped seashell standing upright on top.

1 Queen

Here is what I did: one large wooden bead, a crystal bead on top of that, and a small wooden bead on top of that.

1 King

Same as the queen, but with a seed bead on the top.

Chess- Dark:

You need:

8 pawns

I used single wooden round beads for these.

2 Rooks

Two medium wooden beads stacked.

2 Knights

I used two small wooden beads and then added a seashell bead at a slant for the head.

2 Bishops

One small wooden bead with a striped seashell standing upright on top.

1 Queen

Here is what I did: one large wooden bead, a crystal bead on top of that, and a small wooden bead on top of that.

1 King

Same as the queen, but with a seed bead on the top.

Checkers:

You need:

12 red pieces

I used pony beads.

12 red kings

I used yellow crystal beads for these.

12 black pieces

I used pony beads.

12 black kings

I used green crystal beads for these.

Battleship:

You need:

40 white MISS pieces

I used miniature pony beads.

40 red HIT pieces

I used miniature pony beads.

10 ships

I looked up a reference online for these, and you will need two of each ship. I made this out of polymer clay, checking the board for the length.

Clue:

You need:

Miss Peacock

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a blue bead.

Miss Scarlet

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a red bead.

Mrs. White

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a white bead.

Mr. Green

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a green bead.

Professor Plum

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a purple bead.

Colonel Mustard

I fashioned a tiny figure out of clay, however you could easily substitute a yellow bead.

Risk:

You need:

40 green soldiers

I used seed beads.

12 green horses

I used miniature pony beads.

8 green cannons

I used regular pony beads.

40 blue soldiers

I used seed beads.

12 blue horses

I used miniature pony beads.

8 blue cannons

I used regular pony beads.

40 yellow soldiers

I used seed beads.

12 yellow horses

I used miniature pony beads.

8 yellow cannons

I used regular pony beads.

40 purple soldiers

I used seed beads.

12 purple horses

I used miniature pony beads.

8 purple cannons

I used regular pony beads.

So... close...

Step 6: Magnets

This step is the simplest, but it takes a painfully long time.

Cut your magnet tape into pieces and attach the right size piece to the bottom of EVERY game piece. Use hot glue, as the adhesive isn't strong enough to hold.

That's it. I wish you good luck.

I will not blame you if you avoid all magnets for at least another year or two.

Step 7: Pack It All Up

If you are reading this then you have survived the magnet stage. Hooray! Good for you!

You're in the home stretch now, so get excited.

To pack up:

Place your clue cards into the container.

Rubber band the checklists together.

Fill two of the four Battleship containers with 20 white pieces each. Do the same with the red.

Place the dice inside their containers.

Fill up your Risk Piece jars, separating out the soldiers, horses, and cannons.

Finally, arrange everything inside your box.

Place all of the boards inside the lid and snap it closed.

Finally, to assemble the boards, simply remove the board for the appropriate game and place it on top. Arrange the pieces and other elements correctly, and enjoy playing!

For the battleship game board, arrange the boards as shown and use the binder clips to keep them upright. You can place magnets on both aortas, including the vertical piece.