Peg Game Project

Ideal for all year round fun, this super simple wooden peg game will bring hours of enjoyment for kids of all ages!


Part 1 - Mark out and cut to size

Firstly, mark out the material to form a 100mm square. Then using a Japanese crosscut saw (or a tenon saw) carefully cut to size.

Then from two edges, make two marks at 33 mm to form the grid lines. Using the same saw, cut along those lines but only score in around 2mm deep.

You can find the centre point of each square very simply. Mark corner to corner diagonally and you'll find the centre.

Part 2 - Drill the holes and sand up

Whatever dowel you choose, the drill size must match. In our case, we used aso a 12mm lip and spur drill was selected. Drill in around 8mm deep into the board.

Next, round off the sharp edges using 120g abrasive.

Part 3 - Cut the pegs

For this part, we used a length of 12mm dowel cut to 20mm lengths. However, any pre-cut dowel could be used. Once cut, sand up all of the sharp edges.

Part 4 - Finish

To finish, we opted for two different colours for the pegs; red and yellow. The peg board itself was left the original light plain wood colour. The colours and finish you choose is completely up to you though. The final step is to finish the entire project with a fine toysafe oil.

How to play

The rules for playing the wooden peg game are similar to the classic Noughts and Crosses game. Each player takes it in turn to place their coloured peg into one of the empty peg holes in the wooden grid. To win the game, you just need to get three of your coloured pegs in a line horizontally, vertically or diagonally. 


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Discover more…

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, keep an eye out for our next woodworking project for kids as part of our Beat The Boredom series. Watch this space for more details! Furthermore, why not take a look at all of our previous projects below?

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