The idea for checkers from milk caps was born one day at work, when I threw another milk cap into a collective container. Seeing dozens of colored caps, I immediately began to think how can I use them in another DIY project. I decided to start with making checkers, which are the perfect game for my 5 year old daughter. That was a great choice. We have them for several days and we have already played a dozen or so games 🙂
I have prepared for you a ready-to-print board template , so that making the game is really easy and takes a few minutes.
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Supplies
- 24 caps (2 colors). If you have only one color it’s not a problem, you can always color 12 caps with waterproof marker.
- Printed board template (download below)
- A piece of cardboard or Plexiglas. I used Plexiglas, because I still had 2 pieces after the frame with butterflies.
- Scissors
- Double-sided tape
- Kids 🙂
Making of Zero Waste Checkers
Print the board template, which you can download below.
Cut out both parts of the board and stick them on cardboard or Plexiglas. If you have extra Plexiglas, stick it on top. Thanks to this, the board will last longer. But this is not a necessary step. If your paper board is destroyed then you can print another one.
Arrange the pieces from the colored milk caps and start the Zero Waste Checkers game 🙂
The rules of most popular game version in Poland (the full version can be found, for example, in Wikipedia):
- Set pieces called men or stones on black fields, 12 on the bottom of the board, 12 on the top of the board.
- Men move diagonally one space to the front. They cannot go backwards.
- There is a duty to capture. Men can capture both forward and backward. If there are several possibilities of capturing you have to go for the longest one. If they are equal then the decision belongs to the player.
- When the man reaches the end of the board, it turns into a dame. The dame can move diagonally over any number of fields. It can go forward and backward.
- The end of the game occurs when one of the players collects all opponent’s pieces or when the opponent has no more movement, because he is blocked.
If you are looking for more inspiration for DIY with children you can find it in our Kids section in others or Montessori.
Related posts
Nothing gives more satisfaction than doing something yourself. I haven’t even thought about DIY as my hobby, I’ve just done different “projects” when it was needed. Sometimes it’s a disguise for the Masquerade Party in kindergarten. Another time, cutting out the pumpkin and baking the witch’s fingers for Haloween. Or simply organizing holiday souvenirs. Now I decided to share my realizations with you. Let’s go it together!
