Makerboard Game #3: SUSPENsion-baseD balance game

I made this a few years ago to test my then-new 3D printer, but last week during the CoMakingSpace open day celebration there was such positive feedback that I thought I'll have to finally share it ;-)

The design is based on the junior version of an American game I could not get over here in Germany, but I'll point out some apparent differences later on.

Stand You can basically hang the starter piece whereever you want, but it would be best if it could move as freely as possible and further game pieces won't hit any obstacles (like the table) too soon.

I went for a Makerboard compatible piece that holds an M4 threaded rod (any other sizeable foot other than the Makerboard should work as well, just make sure it's steady enough so the game won't end by tipping over).

Please note that I have not actually tested the included hook design - just before I wanted to print it, I found a suitable hook in my spare parts collection and have been using that one ever since.

Rules Keep in mind that these are just "my" rules! I'm not sure about the original ones since I only knew how the gamelooked when I defined them - feel free to adjust anything to taste:

• up to 8 players (you can easily print more or less, I think the original game is only for 4)
• give one piece of each color to every player, place the remainder on a public pile
• players take turns rolling a color die to determine which piece to hang
• if you don't have the piece you're supposed to play, roll again
• only hang your pieces in free places (you can try to let them slide or fall into occupied places)
• if pieces fall down during your turn, add them to your pile (if only the one new piece falls, take an additional one from the pile)
• the first player to get rid of all pieces wins

Of course, you can make up additional rules or change these - some ideas:

• limit how many hands can be used
• introduce "penalties" if you roll a color you don't have, but someone else does (you hang their piece)
• introduce a "draw from the pile" chance on certain die rolls

I scaled my pieces to fit a rather small print bed and therefore they seem to be smaller than in the original game - but that's not really a problem, it just makes the game less suitable for children and more challenging for adults I'd say! It also gives room for more players, making this a nice party game.

Further Ideas

• make the starter piece and one or more other type(s) out of flexible material for an additional challenge
• make a custom die or spinner to fit the rules you've chosen

Print Settings

Rafts:

No

Supports: 

No

Filament: UniCoFil PLA 
 

Notes: 

You'll need 7 different colors. Be smarter than me and use six colors that you would find on a standard color die...

Here's what you should print for an 8-player game:

• 1x "starter & piece #1" as the starter - first color (not on die)
• 8x "starter & piece #1" as playing pieces - second color
• 8x "piece #2" - third color
• 8x "piece #3" - fourth color
  etc.

Additionally, you can print the holder and hook for an M4 threaded rod or just design your own hanging hardware. An angle of 45° and a rod length of 42 cm works quite well in my opinion.

How I Designed This

I just had a photo to start with, but after some guesswork about parts that were distorted or barely visible in the photo I came up with 6 different pieces I was happy with.

Designed them as SVGs in Inkscape, then imported to Tinkercad and extruded to 3D shapes.

Category: Games