Here is my Bandana Game Board.  (Also spelled bandanna.)  The Bandana Game Board evolved over the years of taking it with me on family vacations.

At first I just made a game board out of cardboard and glued squares of colorful paper to it.  But this was rather big and cludgy  and if it got wet or dirty I had to make another one.  It wasn’t ideal for camping or boating.   Happily I hit upon the idea of  a scarf I could just toss in my bag or wear hiking.

I’ve made a number of them over the years and they are always a popular gift for 3-4 year old toddlers who are just beginning to play games.  We play ‘Don’t eat Pete’ with the young set as well as tic-tac-toe.  For those with more game skills, we play a version of Speed Mancala.

Making the Bandana Game Board

I began this one with two bandanas.

I looked at the design on the solid purple scarf and decided it would be the base for the board and I used the multicolored one for the 8 squares.  (The board itself has 16 squares, but you only need apply 8)

I measured from the  edges of the border design and divided by 4 to know what size to make the 8 squares.

I ironed some thermal heat bond paper to the wrong side of the multicolored  cloth and chose where I would cut my squares according to color and design.

After cutting out my squares, I took some time and played with them deciding how I would arrange them on the background cloth, spacing them evenly on the background.

I peeled off the bonding paper and ironed the squares in place.   If you want this to be a no-sew project, you are finished.  Enjoy your new game board.

If you wish to be able to wash the cloth with confidence, you can closely  zig-zag the edges of the squares.  It adds about 10 minutes to the project.  If you wanted to stitch it by hand, you could always edge the squares with a blanket stitch, but of course this takes extra time.

Here the Bandana Game Board is set up for a game of ‘Don’t Eat Pete’ using Cherios.  (Though you can use popcorn or mini m&ms or skittles or any small treat.)

Don’t Eat Pete rules:

• Put one piece of candy on each square and send one player out of the room as ‘it’.  
• The other players choose one of the squares to be ‘Pete’.
•  The person who left the room comes back and begins to eat the treats off of each square only stopping when the other players yell “don’t eat Pete!”  because the ‘it’ player has touched Pete.  
• This game can be played indefinitely or until you run out of treats.  It is generally accompanied by squeals of delight and yummy noises.

To play Speed Mancala:

• This game plays quickly as it is an 8 space board instead of the usual 12.
• Fold under the outside edges on opposite sides so that you have a rectangle that has 8 spaces on it.  The border at each edge, or small cups (if available), become the outer stores.
• You can use whatever is available for playing pieces.  I have used paper clips, small stones, pennies, sea shells etc.
• You will need a total of 32 playing pieces, enough for 4 in each space or ‘kalah’.
• For further explanation of the game please consult this Instructable.com explanation, keeping in mind that there are only 8 spaces on the scarf and you only need 32 playing pieces.