Board games Clare Walters Games in which your child has to take turn teach useful skills, including counting, matching objects, spotting details, sharing - and how to be a good loser. There are many games you can buy or borrow, but you can also make your own.

Fun and games

Run, rabbit, run! - for younger children, make your own race game by drawing a wide wriggly path on card and dividing it into 50 blocks - like the layout of a snakes and ladders game. Draw two rabbits and a cross fox at the start square and a rabbit hole on the square just before the finish. Then add 'help' features to some blocks (eg "short cut", "move on two") and 'hindrance' features to others (eg "dead end", "miss a go"). Find two counters, roll the dice and get racing!

Take turns to roll the dice

Beetle - an old favourite. Give each player a piece of paper and a pencil. Allocate the different parts of the beetle to different numbers on the dice (eg 1 = body; 2 = head; 3 = tail; 4 = one eye; 5 = one feeler; and 6 = one leg). Take turns to roll the dice and gradually build your beetle (you must start with the body). First to finish is the winner.

Lotto - cut 12 pairs of identical pictures from magazines. Stick one set on to two boards (six pictures on each) and the other on individual cards. Take a board each and lay the cards face down. Then take turns to pick up a card. If it matches a picture on your board, place it on top. The first person to complete their board is the winner.

Pairs - again, cut pairs of pictures from magazines (as many as you like, but no fewer than ten). Stick them on to individual pieces of card and lay them face down on the table. Then take turns to turn over two cards at a time. If they match, keep them; if they don't, turn them face down again. The person with the most pairs is the winner. (The same cards can also be used for snap.)

Don't forget classic games such as snakes and ladders, ludo, Chinese chequers, chess and draughts.

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