Tabletop Games with Soda Caps

Chess, Draughts (Checkers), Halma,.....

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 32 soda caps or similar.

Download pdf template (colour or black and white print)
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The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm. Chess pieces can be used for other games.
Chess rules
Draughts (Checkers) rules (variants included)

Other games for chess boards:
Halma, is an agile and funny variant of Chinese Checkers for two players. 20 Pieces
Fox and Hounds: 5 pieces
Lines of Action, 24 pieces
Makruk - Thai Chess. The same Chess pieces
Connect Four, 64 pieces (the pieces of two Chess games)
Reversi, 64 pieces (the pieces of two Chess games)
Hashami Shogi (9x9 board, use the intersections of the 8x8 board) 18 pieces
Breakthrough, 32 pieces
Impasse, 16 pieces
Crossings 32 pieces
Chess variants
Eximo
Lord and Vassals
Sapos
Guerrilla Checkers
Kangaroo
Fission
Network

Nine Men´s Morris

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 18 bottle caps or paste on the reverse of the Chess board. As shown in the picture, chess pieces can be used.

Pdf document download
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The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm.

Rules

Catch the Mouse - The Game of the Cat and the Mice

This is a funny german game, for 3-6 players.
Mice are 2 - 5 soda caps with a perforation. You can also use other objects as mice. A cord of about 30 cm is attached to each one which will be held at the other end by a player. The cord has to resist some force, it has not be rough nor too thin because it should not cut the skin of the children´s firnger.

The Game of the Cat and the Mice. - Mouse take care!

Just draw some funny mouse faces on labels and paste them on the caps or decorate them at will. Each player has a mouse except one player who is the cat. The cat has a plastic (or leather) cup and a die.
It is suggested to protect the table with a tablecloth.
Mice have to be on top of the table, in the center, at a distance of about 5-10 cm between them and are held by the players with the cords on their hands. Hands should not be on the table.
The cat throws the die with the cup, if 1 or 6 is thrown he can trap a mouse with the cup while others flee. The player whose mouse is caught becomes the cat and the one who was the cat becomes a mouse.
As previously agreed, if a mouse runs away without being thrown 6 or 1 he becomes the cat or is out of the game. The player who's mice are caught three times is out of the game. The winner is the last player with a mouse.
Download Rules
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Download labels for the caps.
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Ludo

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 16 plastic soda caps or similar.
Download PDF document
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The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm.

Rules

When printed in black and white there is no need to paint all circles, just draw a colour circle inside.

*Comment: The german version of Ludo -also published here- is the best choice when playing with soda caps for reasons of size and distribution. There is no small finish square in the centre of the board, every piece has its own square inside the home column at the end of the race. Recommended.

The Game of the Goose

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard. Use soda caps or similar as pieces, one per player. The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm. The Game of the Goose was born in Italy in the renaissance.

Download PDF document
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Rules

Snakes and Ladders

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard. Snakes and Ladders is a game of India. Use soda caps or similar as pieces. The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm..

Pdf document download
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Rules

Chinesenspiel - the Game of the Chinese

Chinesenspiel print, cut, paste on a cardboard and 4 soda caps. Size of the board 36 x 36 cm. Chinesenspiel is a german Ludo style game for little children. Print only in colour.

Download pdf document
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Rules

Dou Shou Qi - Jungle Game

The Game of the fighting Animals, J

ungle or Animal Chess, a popular chinese children game. print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 16 soda caps. The size of the board is 30,5 x 39 cm depending on the printer and the selected print mode. Version for westerners.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Ludo, german version

Print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 16 soda caps or similar.
Download PDF document
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The size of the board is 36 x 36 cm..
Called in Germany "Mensch ärgere dich nicht!", the German Ludo is the best for playing with plastic soda caps because there is no small home in the centre without space for pieces, a home row must be filled with the pieces instead.
Rules
If printed in black and white, there is no need to paint all circles, just draw a colour circle with a pen inside them.

Backgammon

Backgammon, black and white. Print, cut, paste and play over a cardboard and 30 soda caps or similar. Size of the board 41,5 x 35 cm. It is possible to use the pieces of Chess or Checkers International. If a doubling cube is not present it is possible to play this game with two dice in the traditional way.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Draughts (Checkers) International

Print, cut, and paste the pdf document on a cardboard and 40 soda caps or similar.
Pdf document download
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The size of the board is 42,5 x 42,5 cm. .
Rules
Other possible games:
Halma 10x10
Amazons
More games on a 10x10 grid

Bulls and Cows (paper and pencil game)

Bulls and cows is a traditional English pencil and paper game for two players whose objective is to guess a four digit secret number. All digits must be different. Nothing else than paper and pencil are needed.

Shogi, print, cut and paste on cardboard. Pieces are pasted on cardboard, the figures with gray colour are pasted on the reverse of some white figures (look at the rules). The pieces of both players are of the same colour. Size of the board 32 x32 cm. Version with western chess pieces.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Seega

Seega 5x5 print and paste on a cardboard and 24 soda caps. Board size 18x18 cm. Checkers like north west african board game.
Pdf document download
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Rules

Also playable on a 5x5 game board
Indian and Jackrabbits
More games on a 5x5 grid

Alquerque / Zamma / Fanorona

Alquerque, print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 24 soda caps. Board size 18 x 18 cm. Alquerque is the father of all Draughts, brought by the Arabs to Spain, Fanorona a popular game from Magadascar, Zamma (Dhama, Dhamet, Asrand) a popular game from northwest Africa.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Other Games played with an Alquerque board
Fetaix (Qireq) a modern Alquerque variant
Catch the Hare /Coyote and Chickens
Indian and Jackrabbits
Bagh Chal
Main Tapal Empat
Bagh Bandi
Sher Bakar
Quirk
Minarett
Bagh Guti
Arrows

Four joined Alquerque boards wihout the inner border make a Zamma board. 80 caps (40 for each player) are needed.
Rules of Zamma
Also played on a Zamma board: Tiger Game played with forty

Two joined Alquerque boards without the inner border make a Fanorona board. 44 caps (22 per player) are needed.
Rules of Fanorona

Kharbaga

Kharbaga print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 40 soda caps. It is an african Checkers like game. Size of the board 36 x 36 cm.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Xiangqi - Chinese Chess

Xiangqi print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 32 soda caps. Board size 36 x 40 cm.
Version for westerners
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Traditional version, pices with chinese characters (colour)
Traditional version, Mirror
The pieces are adapted from Wikipedia
Rules

Janggi - Corean Chess

Janggi, version for westerners, print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 32 soda caps. Board size 36 x 40 cm.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Pachisi

Pachisi print and play on a cardboard and 16 buttons, little cork disks, etc as pieces. - Soda caps are too big for this game! - Lenght of the bar of the cross 42,5 cm. Pasted diagonally on a cardboard gives an aproximates board size of 36 x 36 cm. Pachisi is the national game of India and Pakistan, it is the father of all Ludos.
Pdf document download
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Rules

Beans marked on one side with a painted dot can be used as cowries.

Mancala - Bao / Oware

For Mancala games you can use an egg carton from a dozen eggs or dessert bowls as board and seeds, beans or corn grains as pieces and two small bowls or boxes for storing them. (In the picture big caps of 6 liter mineral water bottles and little Eucalyptus seeds were used.) Mancala games are popular in Africa.
Oware Rules
Bao Rules

Yoté

Yoté print, cut and paste on a

cardboard and 24 soda caps. Board size 18 x 21,5 cm. African Checkers like game.

Download pdf document
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Rules

Yaguareté - The Jaguar

Yaguareté print, cut, and paste on a cardboard and 16 soda caps. Size of the board A4. Yaguareté is a guarani game in the style of the Foxgames with an extended Alquerque board. Jaguar Games with similar boards are common to native south american people.
Pdf document download
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Other Jaguar game board variants
Rules
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Adugo, (another Jaguar Game)

All games played on an Alquerque board can be played with jaguar game boards.

Other names given in South America to Jaguar Games
Komikan, Comina, Cumi, Kukuli, Kumisiña, El León y las Ovejas, el Zorro y las Llamas, Taptana, Ukuku, Puma, Leoncito. In Brasil the jaguar is called onça.

Mu Torere

Mu Torere print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 8 soda caps. Size of the board 18 x 18 cm. Mu Terere is a game from New Zealand.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Peg Solitaire / Fox Games

Peg Solitaire english version (32 pieces), and Halatafl -Fox Games-, print, cut and paste on a cardboard and soda caps. The minimal size of the board must be 30 cm (a 2 - 3 cm border has to remain). Peg solitaire is a 18th century french game, Halatafl a viking game. Peg Solitaire and Foxgames use the same board.

Pdf document download
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Rules of Peg Solitare
Rules of Fox Games

Peg Solitaire european version (32 pieces)
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The minimal size of the boards must be 30x30 cm (a 2 - 3 cm border has to remain).

Surakarta

Surakarta print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 24 soda caps. Size of the board 36 x 36 cm. Surakarta is a game of Java.

Download pdf document
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Rules

Connect Four

Connect Four, print, cut and paste on a cardboard and 42 soda caps.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Connect Four can also be played on a Chess board with 64 pieces (pieces of two Chess sets).

Tic Tac Toe / Three Men´s Morris

Tic Tac Toe and Three Man´s Morris, print and play on a cardboard and 10 soda caps.

Pdf document download
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Tic Tac Toe rules
Three Men´s Morris rules

Patolli

Patolli print and paste on a cardboard and 24 buttons, little cork disks, etc as pieces. - Soda caps are too big for this game! - Lenght of the bar of the cross 40,5 cm. Pasted diagonally on a cardboard results in an aproximate board size of 32 x 32 cm. Patolli is a Ludo like game played in Mexico before the conquest.

Pdf document download
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Rules

Emergency paper or cardboard dice.

Pdf document link with six dice
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