A back-and-forth grid of spaces numbered 1 to 100Ten rows of ten. Row one runs left to right and row two right to left, so the numbers snake upward.
A board in mid-game seen from a player's seatDraw the board as a slanted diamond, stand the pieces on it and give each one a short shadow.
A board with a home corner in a different color for each playerFour corners, four colors. Draw a ring in each corner for every piece that starts there.
A checkered board of 64 squares seen at an angleEight by eight. The far squares get shorter, so rule the diagonals to find where each row falls.
A cross-shaped board with a home square at the centerFour arms of three columns each meet at one center square. Give each arm its own color.
A Finish space with a flag on a poleThe last space is the biggest on the board. Plant the flag so it overlaps the border.
A folding board drawn half open along its creaseTwo halves hinge at the center fold. Tilt one half up and let the path bend with it.
Show all 60 ideas (53 more)
Boards and paths, continued
A honeycomb board: one hexagon with six more around itEvery side must be the same length or the tiles will not meet. Draw the middle hexagon first.
A path that forks into a short risky way and a long safe wayBoth branches leave one space and rejoin at another. Mark the risky spaces with a small warning sign.
A round board with twelve spaces like a clock faceTrace a plate. Mark the top, bottom and sides first, then put two more spaces between each.
A spiral track that ends in the middle of the boardStart at an outer corner and wind inward to the last space. Some race games are played on a spiral.
A square loop of spaces round the edge of the boardFour corner squares first, then equal spaces between. The middle stays free for a picture or card piles.
A Start space big enough for four piecesMake it twice the size of a normal space and letter START so it reads from the player's seat.
A winding path of thirty spaces from Start to FinishDraw the path as two parallel lines first, then rule it into spaces and number them.
Four special spaces: miss a turn, go again, swap places, draw a cardGive each kind its own small icon, so players know the rule without reading a word.
Pieces and tokens 15
A classic pawn: a ball on a coneA round head on a cone-shaped body with a flat foot. Draw four, one in each player color.
A cloth drawstring bag spilling tokens onto the tableThe bag slumps like a pear. Tokens near the mouth overlap; the ones that rolled away sit alone.
A die with pictures in place of dotsSix faces, six icons: a star, a bolt, a leaf. Plan it unfolded, as a cross of six squares.
A first-player marker: a crown on a small standThree points and a band, set on a short post with a round base so it stands by the board.
A heap of small wooden cubes in three colorsDraw the nearest cube whole and tuck the others behind it. Three faces show, in three tones.
A pair of dice in mid-tumbleTip each cube onto a corner. Add two short motion lines and one shadow under the pair.
A person-shaped wooden piece, arms and legs spreadA meeple is a little figure in one bright color, usually wooden. The word is short for 'my people'.
A row of six pawns shrinking into the distanceSame shape, six colors. Each one stands a little higher on the page and a little smaller.
A sand timer with half its sand run throughTwo glass bulbs joined by a narrow neck. Heap a cone of sand below and dip the sand above.
A six-sided die showing 1, 2 and 3 around one cornerOpposite faces of a die add up to seven, so 1, 2 and 3 always meet at one corner.
A spinner: an arrow pinned to a circle of six wedgesCut the circle like a pie, color each wedge and pin the arrow at the exact center.
A stack of five flat counters, slightly out of lineEach counter is a short cylinder: an ellipse on top and a curved edge below.
A stand-up card character slotted into a baseA flat drawn figure held upright in a small slotted foot. Show the thin edge of the card.
A twenty-sided die resting on one faceTwenty triangle faces in all. Start with one triangle in the middle and build the rest round it.
Four animal tokens on matching round basesThe same base under each makes them a set. Try a fox, an owl, a frog and a bear.
Cards and money 15
A 'Miss a turn' card with a snoozing characterClosed eyes, a nightcap and three Zs rising. Keep the wording to three words.
A 'Move ahead three spaces' card with an arrow and footprintsBig number, one arrow, three footprints. The picture should say it before the words do.
A bank tray with a slot for each bill, seen at an angleA long shallow box cut into five slots. The bills stand a little higher than the tray.
A card back with one large question markCenter the mark, add a plain border and round the corners. Every card in the pile gets the same back.
A character card: portrait above, three stats belowThe top half is the picture. Under it go three rows: a name, a strength and a special move.
A hand holding three game cards, thumb across the bottomFan the cards from one corner. The thumb hides part of the front card; four fingers show behind.
A play money bill with your own face in the ovalA wide rectangle, the number in all four corners and an oval portrait in the middle.
A punch sheet of card coins with half of them pushed outEmpty circles show where coins were. Leave two still held in the sheet by small tabs.
A quiz card with the answer printed upside downQuestion at the top in large letters. The answer sits small along the bottom edge, turned over.
A rule card with four steps, each with a tiny pictureNumber the steps and draw each as one icon. A new player should follow it without asking.
A score pad with tally marks in bundles of fiveTally marks are grouped in fives so they are quick to read. A column for each player, names on top.
A stack of play coins with a star stamped on the top oneDraw the top coin as an ellipse, then stack curved edges below it. Six is enough.
A treasure card and a trap card from the same deckSame border, same back. Only the picture and one word change, so the two read as a set.
A whole deck spread in an arc across the tableEach card overlaps the last by the same amount. Only the final card shows its whole face.
Play money in five colors, one for each valueSame layout, new color and number on each bill: 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100.
Box lids 15
A box lid with the game's name in big block lettersThe title takes the top third. Rough the letters in as blocks first, then round or sharpen them.
A box seen at an angle, with the title again on its sideThree faces show. Repeat the name small on the long side, where it sits on a shelf.
A corner badge: ages 6 and up, 2 to 4 playersSmall circles or shields in one corner of the lid, one for the age and one for the players.
A lid border made from the spaces of the board's pathRun the path round the edge of the lid as a frame, with Start in the top left corner.
A lid drawn in three colors onlyPick a dark, a mid and a bright. The bright one goes on the title and nowhere else.
A lid for a game about your own townPick three landmarks a neighbor would know and line them up on the horizon behind the title.
A lid for a game set on the ocean floorTitle on a strip of sand, bubbles rising past it, and the game's path as a trail of shells.
A lid showing four players round the board, seen from aboveFrom above a player is a head, two shoulders and two arms reaching in. The board is a square.
A lid that shows the board in miniatureShrink the path to a few bold spaces. A lid needs the board's shape, not every square.
A lid with the hero and the rival facing offPut one figure in each lower corner, leaning in. The title arches over the gap between them.
A logo for your game: its name and one small symbolFit both inside a simple shape, a shield, a circle or a banner, so it shrinks well onto the cards.
A title with a pawn for the letter I and a die for the OSwap one or two letters for pieces. Keep the swapped shapes the same height as the letters.
An open box with the folded board, cards and pieces in the trayThe lid leans against the box. Inside, the tray has a well for each part.
The back of the box: the whole game laid out, with captionsDraw board, cards and pieces as if mid-game. Add three short captions with thin pointer lines.
Three game boxes stacked on a shelf, narrow sides outOnly the narrow sides show. Each needs a title that reads sideways and a small logo.
How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: 60 parts of a board game of your own to draw, in four groups (boards and paths, pieces and tokens, cards and money, box lids), each marked easy, medium or hard. The ideas, the levels and the drawing hints are our own, and no published game is named or copied. The few stated facts were read on 2026-10-08 in these English Wikipedia articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dice (revision of 2026-09-10: opposite faces add up to seven, so 1, 2 and 3 share a corner), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_icosahedron (twenty triangle faces), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeple (revision of 2026-07-26: the meeple, the word, the ball-on-a-cone pawn), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_game (revision of 2026-07-11: track shapes), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboard (revision of 2026-03-29: 64 squares), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass (revision of 2026-09-23: two bulbs and a neck) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally_marks (revision of 2026-09-26: groups of five). A detail those articles do not give was left out. Licence: own work
How it works
Sixty board game drawing ideas, each a part of a game you make up yourself, not a copy of a published one. Every idea names the one thing to get right, such as equal spaces or matching card backs.
Read the full guide
The order to draw a game in
These work as board game drawing project ideas for school in the order they are grouped. Draw the path first, because it decides how many spaces, pieces and cards the game needs. Pieces come next, then the cards that the special spaces send players to. The lid comes last, when the game has a name.
Dice that look right
Opposite faces of a die add up to seven: 1 sits opposite 6, 2 opposite 5 and 3 opposite 4. Only three faces show at once, and 1, 2 and 3 share a corner.
Give every card in a deck the same back, or players can tell what is coming.
Questions and answers
How do you draw a board game board?
Start with the outline and mark Start and Finish. Join them with a path of two parallel lines, then rule the path into equal spaces and number them. Add the special spaces last, each with its own small icon.
What is an easy board game to draw?
A square loop of spaces round the edge of the board is four corners and a ruler. A round board with twelve spaces like a clock face starts from a traced plate. The list has 24 easy ideas.
What do you need to draw for a board game project?
A board with a path, a piece for each player, a die or a spinner, a small deck of cards and a rule card. A box lid with the name of the game finishes it. The list holds fifteen ideas for each part.