Magna Tiles are one of our favourite toys. I love how they are so open ended and can be used in so many different ways. As well as using them to build upwards in 3D structures, one really simple way that my kids like to play with these is to use them to create path ways to make their own DIY board games.
You can combine this board you build with favourite figures like Skylanders, Amiibos, Duplo people or any figures that have a flat bottom to place onto each square. My boys love to play it with Skylanders figures.
The figures can then be used as play pieces in your board game. You’ll need a dice or spinner too, and you’re ready to play. Just decide on a start and end space on the board, and use the numbers on the dice to count forward. This is a simple and fun way to practise counting with young children too, and of course to practise skills like turn taking while playing the game. (Find out more about what children learn by playing board games)
You can get creative and add additional rules, like we usually use the squares with the empty spaces in them to mean miss a turn, or some other bad result like roll the dice and move backwards – just to add some more excitement into the game.
You can make cross roads with different path ways, and make the game as big as you like.
The brand we have is actually Play Mags, not the official Magna Tiles ones. I’ve been happy with the quality of them, and would recommend.
You can buy them on Amazon. We have this pack of 100(UK link) (Click here for US link)
If you need extra Skylanders figures for this kind of activity, and your kids don’t mind which characters then I would recommend buying the Giants ones – since that game is one of the older ones now, the figures get pretty cheap. I have picked them up for 3 or 4 pounds sometimes!
More DIY Games
Want to make more simple games with the kids? You might like some of these ideas
DIY Pizza Box & Playmobil Board Game: Race to the Lost Treasure
Toddler Games with Musical Shakers, for Speech and Language Development
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
This is a wonderful idea, I’m going to pass it onto my nephews, who I think would just adore this idea x