This past Saturday I had to make some carnival games for my son’s cub scout pack’s Blue and Gold banquet.   I already had a few, but felt like I needed one more – so I found an idea online for a DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game.  Now, the idea I found online was really just a picture – but I figured I could work out the dimensions and build something reasonably close to the game I saw.

Building the Prototype:

It took me about an hour to put together this DIY Tic-Tac-Toss game prototype using some leftover MDF from my dining room wainscoting project.  I already had a piece of MDF cut to 4″ wide x 8′ long and another cut to 8″ wide x 8′ long, and they looked to be decent heights for the front and side.  So then I needed to determine how wide to make each square.  I guestimated that an average ball is about 3″ in diameter, and I wanted to give a little padding to make it easier, so I settled on approximately 5″ x 5″ squares.  This means my side pieces would be cut at 16″. Since I used 3/4″ MDF, I added 1 1/2″ to the 16″ and cut my front and back pieces to 17 1/2″.  This would allow me to do simple butt joints at all four corners, nailing (actually, stapling) through the front and back pieces into the sides.  Of course, I used wood glue as well to give the joints extra strength.

After I had the dimensions determined, and had all four sides cut, I cut a 17 1/2″ x 17 1/2″ piece to use as the base.   Then I glued and nailed the sides to the base from the bottom.  This gave me my completed outer shell, so I just had to build the dividing walls of my DIY Tic-Tac-Toss game.

For the two inner walls running front-to-back I cut two more 16″ pieces from the 4″ wide MDF and simply glued them in place.  Given my 16″ dimensions, to get three equal squares, the dividers needed to be glued in just about 4 3/4″ from the sides.  My nine squares weren’t all perfect, but they were within about 1/8″ of each when all was said and done.  Once the front-to-back inner walls were in place, I re-measured the widths of the left, middle and right columns, and all three were close enough to that 4 3/4″ width that I could cut all six of my left-to-right wall pieces exactly the same.  These I simply glued in place as well, again trying to keep the squares around 4 3/4″ each.

Technically at this point my DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game was “done”, but I wasn’t fully happy with it yet.  So I decided to add just a little trim to the top of the squares using some leftover 1/4″ lauan I had laying around from some other project.   I cut the lauan down to 1″ width, and then cut:

• 1 – 17 1/2″ piece for the front lip
• 2 – 16″ pieces for the front-to-back walls
• 6 – ~4 11/16″ pieces for the left-to-right walls

You’ll note the lauan trim I used was about a 1/4″ wider than the MDF itself, so there was a little bit of an overhang on each side of each wall.  To attach the trim, I just used wood glue and a brad nailer.

That was it!  A quick and dirty DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game prototype.   Though keep reading below to see what I learned and what I will do different for the next one I’ll build.

How to play:

Obviously, I forgot to mention how to play this carnival game.  Well, I really don’t know what my original inspiration intended as the true way to play; but I decided to go with the following.   Set the game on a table about five or six feet away from the contestant.  I used a folding table, and set the game at the far end so the near end is where the boys would stand.  Give the contestant five balls (I used cheap “nerf” balls from the local dollar store), and let them toss or bounce the balls in order to get three in a row.  Very simple, very fun for the boys.

What I learned:

Let me start by saying, I’m going to proclaim my DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game a hit with the boys of the local cub scout pack. They were lining up to play all night.  Though there are some things I would do differently the next time I build one of these – and the next time I set one up to play.  Here are the things I learned:

1. Nerf balls are extremely bouncy.  The image I used for inspiration showed good old wiffle balls, but I couldn’t find any that morning so I went with the nerf.  Though I’m not certain that the wiffle balls would be much less bouncy; but I’m guessing carnival folks don’t want the game to be too easy.
2. The front and inner walls don’t need to be 4″ high.  I’m thinking 3″ would be better for several reasons, but mainly because the balls “disappeared” when the boys actually made them in.  This meant they had a hard time knowing which squares they had to aim for in order to make three in a row.  I compensated by putting a box under the back end of the game, so it was tilted up for them to see.  I’m not certain if it’s better long term to have the board tilted, or just the shorter walls.  For now, I’m voting for just using shorter walls.
3. I’d probably keep the outer sides and back wall at least 8″ high – I might even go up to 10″ high if I want to make the game easy for the kids.  Going back to item #1 above, the balls bounce a lot and having higher walls would have helped to keep the balls inside.
4. Using 3/4″ material is overkill for the planned usage.  Granted, 3/4″ is what I had laying around so I won’t complain, but 1/2″ solid wood material is what I’ll probably use for the outside walls and base on my next trial.  For the inside walls I’m certain 1/4″ or 3/8″ material would be fine since these are just dividers.
5. I’d probably also use simple cross lap joints for the dividers. This would mean I could position the fence on my table saw exactly where I need it to be. Make four quick passes (two for each divider) and then just glue it all together.
6. When I want to make a really nice version of this, I’ll probably use a solid sheet of wood for the top trim and route out the holes for each square using a template.   This is obviously not necessary, but I think it would definitely result in a better finished look.  Plus, it would mean that I don’t have to really fuss too much with getting my inner walls positioned exactly right.  I just make certain the holes in the top trim piece are all exactly the same, and when it gets attached it will hide any imperfections in the inner wall layout.

Well, those are my notes and tips on this quick DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game prototype.  I hope you find these useful, and as always, if you have any comments, thoughts, or questions feel free to leave them in the Comments section below.   Also look for actual plans for building an updated version of this DIY Tic-Tac-Toss carnival game in the near future, as I’ll be writing those plans up shortly.

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