When you see the photo above, what comes to mind?

For me, I think of love. I think of closeness, being fully known and accepted. I think of safety, freedom to be yourself, and being surrounded by people who not only love you, but like you. I think of family.

In this blogpost, I will explain what this sweet image has to do with creating your own family trivia game!

I remember seeing photos like this one, especially the closeups, even before I had children of my own. I was teaching full-time, and I was also a photographer. I photographed mainly weddings, but also did family sessions, newborn sessions, and other portraits on the side. I loved photographing interactions between families, especially tiny details like the relationship above, with my macro lens. Even as someone who didn’t have kids yet, I knew the moments were fleeting.

As we all know, children change so quickly. Each year they are with us, we are loving them for their unique selves, in that moment.

Preserve Memories through a Family Trivia Game

Ok, so you may be thinking…what does reminiscing about sweet baby hands, have to do with board games?!

If you’ve been here awhile, or seen my Teachers Pay Teachers resources, you know that I love creating games for kids! I also love seeing my kids create their own games. I think creating your own board game is a challenging but amazing project for kids; you may have read all about our adventures doing so here or here!

A few years ago, I had the wild idea to create a board game based on our own family memories. I had been collecting little quotes and anecdotes of my kids, in the Notes app on my phone, for years. I wanted a way to use these memories, appreciate them, bond over them and keep them alive somewhere besides my phone (and baby books)!

Thus, Reyes Rascal Race was born!

Reyes is our last name. I decided to create a board game based on trivia about our family. The result was even better than I could have imagined!

How to make a Family Trivia Game

A few years ago, I learned that Amazon sold these DIY Board game kits. I ordered one, and started my planning!

As you can see by the listing, it comes with:

• A blank gameboard: high quality cardboard, with a white finish
• Colored pawns
• Several white (blank) die
• Several stacks of fresh white game cards
• A white (blank) spinner

I had a phone full of notes, a bucket full of colorful Sharpies, and a few ideas rolling around in my head. I started planning our customized family trivia game!

Here are a few things I wanted to include:

• Funny quotations, habits and interests our kids had had, over the years. I knew these would be the basis for my trivia question cards
• Harder questions, also based on our family, that could be used as bonus question cards
• A few surprise spaces on the gameboard that were fun to land on: for example, I drew a (terrible) trampoline and labeled it “T,” so if they land on one of those, they get to catapult to the next “T” on the board. This creates anticipation, variety and surprise in the game!
• A few special “shortcuts” on the gameboard, based on real places my kids love (the resort we brought them to for several years of summer vacation, the famous “Great Wolf Lodge” waterpark they love, as well as a “Mini Bike Shortcut,” because my husband builds, fixes, and races minibikes and has included my eldest son in this endeavor)

Here is one of the special shortcuts I created. This is unique to our family, because my husband builds, repairs and races minibikes. Adding personal touches like this makes the game special, and is exciting to your kids!

An overnight at Great Wolf Lodge was one of the first “outings” we did with younger kids, and it is a special memory for them. They love this shortcut!

Here is a sample card, front (label created on Canva, printed on either sticker paper or adhesive address labels!) and back. As you can see, I just used simple print so even my youngest kiddos can read the trivia cards while playing!

Using Games to Build Family Culture

If you’ve been here awhile, you know I’m a big fan of board games! I recently blogged about playing The “Allowance Game“ with my preschooler, and shared some of the amazing benefits that family board game play can provide.

Designing your own Family Trivia Game takes this to the next level. I can honestly say that this project is one of the most special things I have ever created for my kids. By making a game out of our memories, I discovered a creative way to preserve time, to reminisce, and to bond over our past as a family. I love seeing the kids’ faces light up as they read a trivia card question aloud with a knowing look (they almost always know the answer! I should probably make them harder!)

The bonus here is that your kids can create this with you. It can be a labor of love, something you make to surprise them, or you could involve them in the entire process!

This Game Grows with your Family

I created a 12-page template for you to create our own Family Trivia Game! Check out the preview here, to get a feel for what is included! If you’re feeling inspired, give it a shot. It was a fun project for me, and something I (and my whole family) will cherish forever!

I should mention, too–it is very easy to add things on as years pass! When I created the game, we only had three kids. Now, we have four! As my youngest has grown, I have added in her little picture, as well as a few dozen cards (now) that feature details about her. This game can definitely grow with your family.

If you end up creating one, I would love to hear how it went for you! If you’d love to explore other game-related options, here are some choices:

• DIY Board Game Planning template: here is a general guide, for kids creating a board game of any type!
• FREE Board Game Templates: use these in tandem with the template above, if you need a basic structure to get you started!
• Story Elements Board Game: I love using this with lower elementary! This game can be used with any book you read, either a story book or a chapter book! It’s a great review of concepts like: title, author, illustrator, setting, problem, solution, theme, plot, characters, and more.

Happy playing!

Cait