I 3D printed these games to play with family at Christmas
A 3D printer is a great tool, especially during the holidays. I recently upgraded to the Bambu Lab P2S and wanted to put it to use to create fun games for the whole family. Here are five of the games I 3D printed to play (and give) this Christmas.
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3D printing allowed me to modify these games the way I wanted
Mini board games in pocket format, what do you think?
My wife loves collecting the world’s smallest games, so I thought 3D printing small games would be perfect. The problem is that I couldn’t find models small enough for what I wanted, but since I was 3D printing them it was easy to solve this problem.
One of my favorite things about 3D printing is the ability to resize Nothing, and it almost always works. With the games I 3D printed for Christmas, I was able to reduce the games and make sure everything still worked perfectly. When scaling 3D prints, you need to make sure to scale each piece, not just a handful of them. As long as you scale the entire project evenly, everything should print fine.
One final note on scaling: always check the preview output before printing. There was a project that I wanted to scale up to 50%, but I couldn’t because it had very fine details that weren’t going to print well at such a small scale. The preview showed me the problem very well and I was able to enlarge it bit by bit until it was the smallest size I could reasonably print with my 0.4mm nozzle.
- Construction volume
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256x256x256mm
- Print speed
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600mm/s
The Bambu Labs P2S 3D printer is ready to use and can get you printing in 15 minutes. It allows printing up to 20 colors with the AMS unit, has an improved built-in camera for remote monitoring and time-lapses, and has a closed body for printing even high-temperature filaments.
Analog Tetris
Who knew Tetris could be a physical game?
Tetris is a classic game that I usually only think about in the digital realm. It’s a game that helped video games become mainstream in the late 1980s and early 1990s, making it iconic.
When I saw this analog version of the age-old game, I knew I had to print it. I definitely reduced this one by 50%, but you can print it as large as you want.
This now compact version of Tetris is perfect for my wife and I to take with us to restaurants and waiting rooms, as it fits easily into a purse or backpack and can be ready to play in seconds. I haven’t figured out how to distribute the coins yet, so it’s tricky, but playable, but that’s part of the fun!
I only had a few colors available to me when I printed this game, so some tiles share colors with other tiles. I plan to change this and give all tiles unique colors in the future, but that’s part of the fun of 3D printing: you can easily change the aesthetic of a print from the original simply by changing the colors.
Tetris balance mini – travel edition
Tetris, with a touch of originality.
I first saw a commercial version of this 3D print on Instagram about a year ago. It looked like super fun, but I wasn’t planning on spending the $30 (or whatever) on it. I’m glad I waited, because now I have it as a fun, pocket-sized little travel game my wife and I can play anywhere.
As with the Analog Tetris project, I also reduced the Tetris balance mini-game by 50%. This game is actually tiny and could easily fit in a larger pants or jacket pocket. The principle is simple: balance the Tetris pieces on the base without overturning the tower.
It’s a game that’s easy to understand, but difficult to master. You have to balance a lot of things (pun intended): where you place the pieces, how much force you use to place the piece, and even if the table moves or wobbles. Don’t play this one on a table with a wobbly leg.
Cascade Connect – a Connect 4 with automatic sorting
My father-in-law was blown away when he saw this self-sorting masterpiece.
Connect 4 is another one of those ultra iconic games that everyone thinks of when it comes to something simple yet fun. Cascade Connect takes the standard Connect 4 that we’re all used to and puts a unique spin on it (I’m full of puns today, it seems.)
With Cascade Connect, you have two spiral-shaped pieces that each twist in a different way from the other. Print one set in one color and another set in the other color. Colors are the only way to tell them apart (like with the traditional Connect 4.)
When you place the pieces into Cascade Connect, they twist and snap into place. When the game is over, simply lift the center board slightly and each piece spins down and self-sorts onto its respective side. It’s really cool to see them twist and sort, and I love how this print looks, even at 50% scale.
Mini bowling game with automatic ball return
Why spend money on shoe rentals when you can play at home (or at a restaurant)?
I’m a big fan of bowling. Years ago I was playing in leagues and my best game was in the 280s (300 being a perfect bowling score). So when I saw this mini bowling game, I knew I had to print it.
This game was actually already perfectly sized. I didn’t need to shrink and it turned out exactly how I wanted. I will say that the pins gave me some issues adhering to the bed at first, and I had to do some work to get them to print well. I recommend not printing with the edge it’s trying to add, but rather slowing down your printer a bit. I put my Bambu Lab P2S in “silent” mode, which slowed it down by 50%, and I was finally able to get it to print correctly once I did that.
I ordered some stainless steel ball bearings from Amazon cheaply to use as a bowling ball, although you can 3D print your own. I chose the ball bearing route because it is heavier and will allow the pins to fall out more easily.
The best part about this print is that it has an automatic return function for the ball, although I had to lift the lid to retrieve the ball every now and then. Since you choose the size of ball bearing you use, you can customize the size and weight of the bowling ball for the game (as well as how easy it is to get the ball out of the return).
Mastermind (travel edition)
How quickly will you win?
I remember playing Mastermind as a kid when friends came over. Although not as well known as Tetris or Connect 4, Mastermind was a unique game in which one person set a “code” using four colored pins, and the other person had to try to guess the code. It was a game of deduction and fun, and it’s played a bit like Wordle, just with pegs and colors.
I marked down this 3D printed Mastermind set by 50%, just like most of the other games on this list. Everything prints perfectly, even at the smallest settings. Honestly, I was very surprised at how well the little pegs printed and fit into the game.
Mastermind is certainly small enough to take with us when we leave the house to play a simple game that wastes time waiting for food at a restaurant. It’s also fun to just play at the dining table.
The best part about 3D printing is being able to make just about anything you can imagine. Since my wife loves miniature games, I was able to easily find models, shrink them, print them, and make her a Christmas gift that she would love. Additionally, 3D printing is extremely cheap. Most games cost me less than $1 in filament total to be printed in standard PLA.
Whether you print these games as gifts like I did, or just for fun with friends or family, they will definitely become staples in our board game collection.
