Creating custom cards for your homemade board games can take your designs to the next level. Whether you want sturdy, professional-looking cards or just some simple printouts for prototyping, making DIY game cards is totally doable.
In this step-by-step guide, as a professional custom game cards printing manufacturer, I’ll show you exactly how to create custom board game cards on your own.
How to Make Custom Board Game Cards
Choose Your Card Stock
The first step is picking out a good cardstock or paper to print your cards on. You’ve got a few options here:
Plain paper: Simple printer or copier paper works fine if you just want to prototype your cards or make some very lightweight versions. These won’t hold up super well with lots of use, but they’re cheap and easy.
Cardstock: For more durable custom game cards, go with a heavier cardstock. I recommend something around 100-120 lb. This will give you cards that feel nice in your hand and can stand up to some wear and tear.
Poker-style cards: You can buy blank poker card stock online or at some craft stores if you want your homemade game to have cards just like a real deck. These tend to cost a bit more but give your game some instant legitimacy!
No matter which paper type you choose, make sure your printer can handle it. And if you’ll be printing on both sides of the cards, get paper that isn’t too thick, or you may run into issues.
Design Your Board Game Cards
Once you’ve got your cardstock, it’s time to design your actual cards. You’ve got a full blank slate here — the options are endless!
I recommend using graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign to create your cards. But Word, PowerPoint, or even Google Drawings could work in a pinch.
Some things to keep in mind for your card designs:
- Decide on a standard card size and design your individual cards around that dimension
- Include any text or imagery that the cards need for gameplay purposes
- Create a back design that will be identical across all cards (unless you want to print fronts only)
- Format multiple cards on each sheet for efficient printing. You can usually fit 9+ cards on a standard 8.5″ x 11″
- Add crop marks to make cutting easier
Experiment, play around with layouts and visual styles, and edit until you have a card design you love!
Print Your Board Game Cards
When your cards are all set, it’s time to get them physically printed out. Any standard home printer should do here — no need for anything too fancy.
One thing to watch out for is ink usage. Printers tend to use way more ink for graphics and images than plain text. And printing many cards with lots of color can drain those ink cartridges quickly.
So I recommend choosing an efficient layout to conserve ink. Or better yet, head to a local print shop like FedEx Office or Staples. They likely have printers more suited for this type of job.
A few extra printing tips for DIY game cards:
- Print fronts first, then flip over the sheets and print back designs
- Use a laser printer for sharper results vs. inkjet
- Consider printing on both sides to save paper
- Print on the actual cardstock vs. sticking paper prints later
And don’t worry about doing test prints on plain paper first. The beautiful thing about making your own cards is that you can keep tweaking and improving!
Cut, Finish, and Play!
You did it — printed cards in hand! Now, just a bit more work to go from paper to a playable deck:
Cutting: Use an sharp craft knife and metal ruler or paper trimmer to neatly cut out the cards along the crop lines. Take it slow to avoid mistakes. A corner rounder can smooth out sharp corners for a nice finish.
Lamination (optional): Adding a laminate layer makes cards far more durable and gives them an instant glossy look. Laminate before cutting for best protection.
Once your cards are all cut out, you’ve officially made your own custom deck for your homemade board game!
Give that deck a shuffle and playtest with the full experience. Pay attention to how the thickness, texture, flexibility, and overall feel of the cards impact the gameplay. Then make tweaks and refinements for your next printing.
The Bottom Line
The wonderful thing about DIY game cards is that you can print new versions easily. So don’t be afraid to experiment and upgrade your deck over time.
And if issues do pop up mid-game, like peeling corners or flimsy cardstock, no worries! Just bust out some sleeves to protect your deck so the fun doesn’t stop.
Alright, that wraps things up. You’re now equipped to design and print custom cards for any homemade board game your creative mind can concoct!
Let me know if you have any other questions down in the comments. And if you end up making a cool card-based game, I’d love to see photos!