What materials do we need for a DIY board game?

Foam board or a blank game board, markers, cardstock for cards, a paper trimmer or scissors, one or two dice and two small pawns. Card sleeves help the deck last. The whole kit is roughly $15 to $40.

What size should custom game cards be?

Poker size, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, is the standard. Nine fit on a US letter sheet of cardstock, and standard card sleeves fit them.

Can we get a custom board game printed professionally?

Yes. Print-on-demand game makers such as The Game Crafter print single copies with custom boards, cards and boxes. Prices depend on components, and printing and shipping usually take a few weeks, so start well before an anniversary.

Is a custom board game a good anniversary gift?

It is one of the most personal ones, because every space is a shared memory. Add blank cards so you can add a new memory to the deck every year.

🎲 Dates for Couples

make a custom board game for couples

To make a custom board game about your relationship, take a simple roll-and-move track of about 36 spaces, name the spaces after real places and moments in your story, and add a deck of 40 to 60 cards with questions, dares and inside jokes. One evening to design, one to make, one to play. Done as a DIY project it costs $15 to $40. Printed professionally, it makes an anniversary gift that gets played for years.

by An Nayal, founder of Flamme · Updated October 2026

time: Three evenings: design, make, play
cost: $15 to $40 DIY, more for a professionally printed copy
players: Two, or two couples if you add a team rule
game length: Aim for 30 to 45 minutes

which game mechanic should we use?

mechanic	how it plays	familiar example	best for
Roll and move	Roll a die, move around a loop, do what the space says	Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders	First-time designers, lots of story spaces
Trivia race	Answer questions about each other to earn pieces, first to collect all wins	Trivial Pursuit	Couples who love quizzing each other
Cooperative	You both play against the game and win or lose together	Pandemic	Couples who hate losing to each other
Set collection	Collect matching cards (memories, places, foods) to score	Ticket to Ride	A more strategic, replayable game

how to make the game in three evenings

step 1

Evening 1: design (90 minutes)

Pick the mechanic. List 20 moments from your relationship together on paper. Choose the four landmark corners and draft the win condition in one sentence, for example 'first back to Now with three Memory cards wins'.

step 2

Evening 2: make (2 hours)

One of you draws the board, the other writes the cards. Print cards on cardstock at poker size (2.5 x 3.5 inches), nine to a US letter page, and cut them with a paper trimmer. Card sleeves ($5 to $10 for 100) make them last.

step 3

Evening 3: play and fix (1 to 2 hours)

Play it three times. After each game, each of you names one thing that dragged and one thing that worked. Cut the cards nobody liked, and change any space that ended the game too early or made it go on forever.

step 4

Optional: make the gift copy

Once the rules settle, scan the board and cards and get a single copy printed. Print-on-demand game makers such as The Game Crafter print one-off games with custom boards, cards and boxes. Allow a few weeks for printing and shipping.

how to lay out the board

Draw a loop of about 36 spaces around the edge of an 18 x 18 inch board. Foam board, a blank game board or the back of an old board game all work.
Make the corners big landmark spaces: where you met, your first trip, the first place you lived, and 'now'.
Mix space types: about half card spaces (draw a question or dare), a quarter story spaces with a fixed action ('missed the last train: go back 3'), and a quarter free or bonus spaces.
Put a center area for your score track, discard pile and the photo of you two that should obviously be in the middle.
Use bottle caps, two LEGO figures or tiny objects that mean something as pawns.

card ideas to steal

1. Memory: describe our first date from the other person's point of view.
2. Question: what is one thing I do that you have never told me you love?
3. Trivia: what did I order the first time we went out for dinner?
4. Dare: recreate the photo from our first trip, right now, with whatever is in the room.
5. Story space: 'the flight got cancelled'. Both pawns move back 2 spaces.
6. Question: which year of us would you replay, and why?
7. Trivia: name three of my friends' partners. One point each.
8. Dare: sing the first line of our song. The other person finishes it.
9. Future: name one place we will go before our next anniversary.
10. Wild card: swap positions on the board with the other player.
11. Question: what is something you were nervous to tell me early on?
12. Inside joke: say the phrase only we understand. Free move forward 3.

variations & upgrades

the anniversary gift version

One of you makes the whole game secretly as a gift, using photos and dates the other will recognize on every space. Wrap it in a box with your names on the lid. Add a few blank cards so you can add a new memory every year.

long-distance version

Build the board in a shared online whiteboard and draw cards from a shared document or a random number. Play it on a video call. Print the physical version for your next visit.

double-date edition

Make a second deck about the other couple and play two teams. Trivia about each other's partners is where it gets loud.

good questions, answered

Pick a simple mechanic like roll and move, draw a loop of about 36 spaces themed after moments in your story, write 40 to 60 cards with questions, dares and trivia about each other, then playtest three times and cut what drags.

An Nayal

Founder of Flamme, the couples app used by more than 200,000 partners. He writes the relationship guides here and builds the free tools that go with them. annayal.com

also try

Date ideas turns a game night into a full date: 260 plans, filtered by budget and vibe.

keep the night going

🧠 Couples Trivia

The about-us pub quiz: 50 questions in 5 rounds.

💞 How Well Do You Know Your Partner?

The newlywed-style quiz game with a score and a verdict.

🏗️ Jenga Date Nights

Five ways to build the evening around the tower.

🪚 Woodworking Projects for Couples

Four beginner builds for two, with a cut list and costs.

💬 The Question Game

120+ couple questions in 7 decks, dealt like cards.

more cards, no printing

Flamme has couple games, a daily question and a deck of prompts in both your phones, ready on nights you did not plan. Free on iPhone and Android.

scan to get the app 📱

Point your camera at the code - it opens the App Store or Google Play on your phone.