Marbles and Jokers Board Game - DXF Files Included

Board games are extremely popular throughout the world and have been around for thousands of years. Chess is nearly 1500 years old and checkers is even older... about 5000 years. I was a child way before video games were a thing so I played lots of board games growing up. Clue, Monopoly, Risk, Sorry, Trouble... were some of my favorites. Speaking of the games Trouble and Sorry... my brother told me about a board game he had played recently that was very similar but with a bit more complexity. It's called Marbles and Jokers. The basic idea dates back to the 4th century in India with a game called Pachisi where you are moving game pieces from a starting position around a track and into a home position. Marbles and Jokers can be played by 2 to 8 people and the game board dimensions vary based on how many are playing but my brother said they just play with 4. I am always looking for ideas for Christmas presents so I thought I could make a game board for my brother and his wife.

I did a search online and found lots of pictures of game boards. Apparently it is a fairly common board that people make and the design seems to fall into a few different categories . For the most part I didn't like what I was seeing. DIY stuff is great and I certainly don't want to knock anyone but there are times when things look a little too DIY and don't display good craftsmanship. But while I was looking through all the various images I found one that I really liked made by a company in Canada... Michaud Toys. They've got a lot of really neat stuff if you want to check it out. So I based my version on their board. I didn't want to copy it exactly and had a few ideas of my own that I wanted to incorporate. Plus their board was smaller than I wanted and was played with only 4 marbles instead of 5. I also decided that this would be a perfect project for my laser cutter. All of the pieces are laser cut from 1/4 inch thick hardwood and epoxy glued onto a plywood substrate and then I added a hardwood frame and brass feet. There was quite a bit of work involved but none of it is hard and you end up with a family heirloom quality piece. Though a lot of the work was in refining the design so at least that part is done now!

I used AutoCAD LT to design the basic board pieces and converted them to DXF for my laser cutter. Once imported I used the laser cutter software to add decorative bits to the design before cutting the parts. Altogether it took about a week to design and build.

Let's get started!

1/4 Inch Thick Hardwood - You need 3 or 4 different types of various shades to get a good contrast. I used walnut, oak, chestnut, and a tiny bit of cherry.

3/4 Inch Hardwood for the frame. I used walnut.

West System Epoxy - This is what I bought and it is WAY too much for this project but I have a bunch of other projects where I use epoxy.

Good quality 1/2 inch plywood - 18 inches X 18 inches

Minwax Wipe On Polyurethane

Cutting Board Feet - You only need 4 but I bought the 8 pack. I'll use the remaining 4 for a cutting board.

Marbles

Two Decks of Cards

Brushes

4 Inch Foam Roller

Masking Tape

Clear Packing Tape

Cotton Cloth

I used a variety of wood working tools. Surface planer, random orbital sander, clamps, frame clamp, table saw, miter saw, drill, screw driver, router table, and laser cutter. You could probably cut out the parts using a scroll saw and drill press but that would take quite a while.

In order to get a feel for how big to make the game board I first drew the basic layout full size by hand. I have an old drafting machine that I salvaged from the trash when our company moved to CAD back in the late 80s/early 90s. I ended up with the board being 18 inches by 18 inches.

I purchased a copy of AutoCAD back in 2011 but it no longer runs after all these years of operating system upgrades (it was originally intended to run on Windows 7). I got a lot of really good use out of it so I'm not too upset. I tried a few other free CAD packages but ended up missing what I already knew how to use so I downloaded a trial copy of AutoCAD LT. I didn't need 3D design capability so AutoCAD LT was perfectly fine. Ha, it felt good to be back in familiar territory and it only took me a day or so to design the game board pieces. I've included a PDF file of the all the assembled basic parts. I have also included the DXF files for each piece as well. For the decorative bits I searched online for the various images that I was interested in and imported them into my laser cutter software along with the associated DXF file for the basic part I was modifying. You will need to do the same with your laser cutter software. This way you can personalize your own board the way you like it. Since the game is played with a couple of decks of cards I decided to go with a playing card motif. I think it works.

Note: I do like AutoCAD LT and I guess from here forward I'll just get a monthly subscription whenever I need it.

There are two parts to the corners and you will need 4 of each. As with all of the parts you will need to pay close attention to the grain direction of the wood. I used a light colored oak for the corners and for the center circle. I used walnut for the ring around the center circle. You will need 1 of each part for the ring and center circle. I would recommend sanding the blank pieces of wood before they are cut. That way you aren't rounding off the edges of the finished piece. Plus the ring is very delicate. You're going to sand it later anyway once the board is assembled but I think that this gives you a good start.

The Start and Home pieces are each made up of two parts... inner and outer. I used chestnut for the inner piece and walnut for the outer outline piece. You will need 4 each of the Home and Start pieces. I did decorative inlays but if you preferred you could also just do engraving. Whatever you like best. I've included a blank home file if you want to do something different. On the finished board you will see that the inlay of the house has an outline around it. I used my laser cutter software to generate that feature.

The track is walnut. And once again you will need 4 each of the Track pieces.

Get a high quality piece of 1/2 inch plywood . It should be perfectly flat and smooth for the best results. To begin with it needs to be 18 inches by 18 inches. Once you have this cut then take all of your laser cut parts and assemble them on top of the plywood. More than likely the plywood will be just a smidge oversize. Take note of how much oversize it is and trim off that excess so that you will get a perfectly flush fit. For example, in the first picture I have aligned the back and left sides and you can see the plywood protruding just a tiny bit in front. The same thin protrusion exists on the right side too. Those areas are what I trimmed to get a flush fit.

I chose a slow curing epoxy to give me plenty of time to get all of the pieces in place and be able to adjust them if necessary to get a good fit. Epoxy is amazing stuff and I love it but boy it is very temperamental. It needs to be mixed in precise ratios (I weigh it out in grams), stirred thoroughly for 2 minutes, and used in a controlled (cool) environment. It's also extremely messy and if you get it on something... it's not coming off. If you have never used it before you may want to practice with it to get the feel for how much to use and how it performs. Now I am telling you... you need to have everything in place and ready to go because once the epoxy is mixed the clock is ticking and you can't be fooling around. I also need to emphasize the importance of using it in a cool environment. The chemical reaction when the resin and hardener are mixed is exothermic... that is it gives off heat. The reaction accelerates as it gets warmer so if you are not careful you will get a runaway reaction which is a mess. So this is not something you do in the garage during the hot months of the year. Ha... and to add to it... it can't be too cold either otherwise the mixture won't cure at all. Like I said... it's very temperamental. Now that I think about it you could probably have an entire Instructable on the use of epoxy.

I used two small batches of epoxy for my glue up. The first batch is rolled on to the plywood in a thin layer. The second batch is brushed on to the laser cut parts and then set in place on the plywood. Work as quickly was you can and once everything is set in place take a look at how everything fits. Make sure it all lines up as smoothly as possible. To ensure that all of the parts are pressed down nice and flat I used a piece of glass covered with clear packing tape as a caul plate and added about 50 pounds of weight on top (using my jug line lead weights). Set the piece of glass with the tape side down gently on top of the assembly doing your best not to move any of the parts (the epoxy should be starting to jell a little so this shouldn't be hard). Once the glass is down look at all the parts and make sure nothing has moved... adjust if necessary. After you are satisfied with the arrangement then very gently and carefully add weight on top of the glass. Then walk away and don't touch it for at least 12 hours. After 12 hours you can remove the glass sheet. The epoxy won't bond to the tape but it still will take a little effort to pop it free... just be careful. Now you can sand it smooth and be amazed with the results!

The frame is walnut to match the track. It is 3/4 inch thick material that is ripped to 1-1/4 inches wide and then shaped on the router table. I used a 1/4 inch round over bit. The pieces are meticulously cut (mitered) to match the assembly you made in the previous step.

Since I was using epoxy again I wanted to tape everything to help keep the glue off of the areas where I didn't want glue. It's time consuming but beats the heck out of trying to sand off the glue later. You also want a dead flat surface as your foundation. I have a big piece of thick glass that used to be the table top for an old TV stand that I keep for this purpose. I covered about a 20" by 20" area with clear packing tape. The epoxy won't bond with the tape as well as it would to the glass... and we do want this thing to come free once the glue cures!

This time we will do things a little differently with the epoxy. You'll just need one small batch but we will add a step to the process. Once the hardener and resin are mixed take a brush and paint on a thin coat on all of the mating surfaces. Now we will need to thicken the epoxy. I like to use the fine sawdust powder from the random orbital sander catch bag. Mix in a little bit at a time and stir it until it is well mixed and smooth. There are roughly three different consistencies that are described as being similar to 1) syrup, 2) ketchup, and 3) peanut butter. With no thickener the mixture is like syrup and as you add more you get to the ketchup phase... and even more gets you to peanut butter. Each has it's own use. We want ketchup. Once you get that mixed up then brush it on to just one of the mating surfaces (you don't need to do both sides). Now clamp it together... hopefully you have one of these nifty frame clamps. They're not very expensive and make the job SO MUCH EASIER! Highly recommended. Clamp it together and clean up the squeeze out as best you can. Now let it sit for at least 12 hours.

Once the epoxy is cured pull off the tape and sand everything smooth.

Note: If you notice the tape around the Home area in the second picture I had ended up with a gap that bothered me between the laser cut pieces there. I used some extra epoxy to fill in the gap.

The finish is a wipe on polyurethane made by Minwax. It’s good stuff and I’ve used it on several projects with excellent results. Just follow the directions on the container. I find that it takes at least 3 or 4 coats.

Feet locations are marked and pilot holes drilled on the bottom of the board. Then a couple coats of finish are applied and when that dries the feet are installed using the included screws. I am impressed with these brass feet. They are heavy and appear to be well made. I especially like the no-slip rubber O rings installed on the bottom. Very nice!

Note: The finished game board is 19.5" x 19.5" x 1.5" and weighs about 7 pounds.

The last detail is to include two decks of standard playing cards and the bag of marbles. The marbles are quite nice and there are more than is needed so you have several spares in case any are ever lost or broken. They are glass so if they roll off the table onto a hard tile floor they could crack or chip.

And just like that we are ready to play!

I did a search for Marbles and Jokers game rules. Ha, just like pretty much everything... the rules vary. But, for the most part, here's what I found to be the standard rules:

The goal of Marbles and Jokers is to move all five of your marbles from Start to your Finish (or Home) area using cards, with special cards like jokers providing unique movement options. Each player's Home area is to the right of the Start area.

Game Setup

Each player chooses a color and takes five marbles of that color, placing them in their Start area.

The board has a track for movement, usually clockwise, ending in a Finish or Home area.

The Start area arrow points to the position on the track where you first place a marble when moving out of the Start area (playing a Joker gives you more options).

Use two standard deck of cards for 4 players, including jokers. Shuffle and deal five cards to each player; the remaining cards form a draw pile.

Players can play individually or in teams, with partners sitting opposite each other.

Basic Movement

On your turn, you play a card and move a marble according to the card's value. Face cards count 10. You must use the full count of the card; partial moves are not allowed. NOTE: I've also seen where a Jack is 11, a Queen is 12, and a King is 13.

Aces, face cards, and jokers allow a marble to move from Start onto the track. Follow the arrow to the start position on the track.

Marbles cannot land on or pass over another marble of the same color.

Once a marble reaches the Home area, it is safe and cannot be displaced by opponents.

Special Cards

Seven (7): Split the move between two marbles, moving forward.

Eight (8): Move a marble backward 8 spaces.

Nine (9): Move one marble forward and another backward for a total of 9 spaces; if only one marble is in play, the card is unusable. NOTE: Here's another area where I found some differences in rules... sometimes 9 is not a special card... it's just a 9 and you move a single marble forward 9 spaces.

Joker: Move a marble from Start or the track to replace an opponent's marble on the track, or move a marble from Start to the track. If all Start marbles are out, you can move a marble from anywhere on the track to displace an opponent's marble.

Turn Rules

Draw a card at the start of your turn to maintain five cards in hand.

If you forget to draw, your turn ends, and you draw extra cards on your next turn to restore your hand.

If you play out of turn, the marble returns to its original position, and the card is lost.

Winning the Game

The first player (or team) to move all five marbles into the Finish area wins.

In team play, teammates can move any of their team’s marbles, allowing strategic coordination.

Strategy Tips

Use jokers strategically to displace opponents or free marbles from Start.

Split sevens and nines wisely to maximize movement and block opponents.

Plan moves to avoid getting stuck behind your own marbles or overshooting the Finish area. Note: Strict rules do not allow you to overshoot or pass the finish area and keep going around the track.

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable and maybe are inspired to make your own Marbles and Jokers game board. Post pictures of your work if you do! This really is a great project for your laser cutter and has me thinking about making other board games. Monopoly for sure... and maybe Clue... I always loved those games.

As always... questions and comments are welcome.

Until the next Instructable...

SW