Zombie In My Pocket

Zombie In My Pocket is a print and play game I found over on BoardGameGeek. Recently, I have been making parts, pieces and bling for some of my board games. The next step is to make a print and play board game. I chose this game as my first print and play because it does not have a ton of pieces to make, and I had all the materials I needed on hand to make the game.

What I used to make this game:

1. 110 lb white card stock

2. regular white printer paper for the rules

3. self-healing cutting mat (the picture is just an example. These mats can be found at most office supply stores)

4. A hobby knife

5. White Mat Board (I purchase mine at Michael's)

6. Paper Glue (I use zip dry as I have had great results)

7. Red Construction paper

8. A metal ruler

9. Scotch tape

10. Gaming Stones

11. FFG American Board Game card sleeves.

First, I printed out all of the game pieces on 110 lb card stock. I then printed out the rules on regular printing paper and followed the instructions to make the rules booklet. Next, I measured one of the location tiles and cut 16 tiles out of the mat board. I then used the paper glue to join the tiles to the mat board. Avoid basic Elmer's glue as you can get some bumps when using white glue. 

While the tiles were drying I cut out the nine playing cards. The FFG Standard Board Game sleeves required a little extra trimming in order to get the cards to fit, but I noticed no loss of graphic or game information by making the cards slightly smaller.

I then turned back to boardgamegeek to find some additional files to track time, items and player statistics. I found this file for time and items and this file for the player statistics. I printed these cards on the cardstock and will laminate them the next time I use the laminator.

The hardest part of construction was making a box. I used my game box for Pocket Battles as a template. After measuring out the box on the mat board, I used the hobby knife and ruler to carefully cut the box out. Note that the side flaps are connected to the main body of the box parts. The top of the box is bigger than the bottom so that it will close properly. I then scored the folds of the mat board with the hobby knife and ruler. 

Once the folds are scored, apply glue to the square bottom of the box and glue straight onto construction paper. Cut the paper as shown below so that you can later fold and glue the paper to the box. Then fold the four sides of the mat board and connect the corners with the Scotch tape.

Carefully apply the paper glue to the construction paper and glue the paper to the outside and inside of the box. Make sure to glue the shorter sides first. You will need to glue the corner tabs to the short sides as well. This additional flap adds increased strength to the box. Once the box has dried, you can add a logo to the box top for a final touch (something I have not done yet). 

Check out the pictures and let me know if you have any questions on this print and play project. (I'm writing this entry while half awake).

Oh yeah, the game is a fun little one player diversion. Check out the other files and all the variants others have contributed including Alien in my Pocket. Any suggestions on what I should do for my next project?