I’ve been slowly turning my board games into books. Originally, I used my Cricut to cut vinyl that I’d iron onto a book box for the container. But I wanted to try printing the cover on a basic at home printer. After some trial and error I figured it out! And this might just be the easiest, most cost effective, and high-end looking result! Here’s my tutorial on board game books printed edition.

how to make board game books printed

SUPPLIES

Today we’ll be making over a book box to hold the game Flip 7.

step 1- measure the book box

For this project, I’m doing a contrasting binding. That means the spine is one color and comes over onto the front of the book. Think of old fashioned books with leather spines, but the cover is linen. The reason I’m doing this is that that means I can print the spine, front cover, and back cover in three pieces. If I was to do one piece, my at home printer isn’t big enough for the job.

The measuring and designing the book cover are a little slow, but then printing it and gluing it on are fast and satisfying! So if this seems boring, I get it. But it’ll be worth it!

To begin, measure the book box– you want the height and width of both the cover and the spine. The book box I’m using is 8″x10″ on the cover. To get the cover (and back cover) measurements, I’m adding 1/2″ to the width and 1″ to the height so the paper can fold over onto the inside of the cover. And I’m subtracting 3″ from the width so the spine piece can come over the front of the book.

So the book cover and back cover will be 5.5″ x 11″ for a book box with an 8″x10″ cover.

To get the spine measurements, I’m going to decide how big the label on the spine should be. The spine measures 3″x10″ so a label that’s 2″ wide by 7-3/4″ will look nice. I’ll print that on a piece of 8-1/2″x11″ paper so that it’ll be big enough to wrap around the front of the book.

step 2- design the printed book cover

Next, take the measurements from above and design the book box. For the cover I’m starting with a blank canvas on my graphic design software (I’m using PicMonkey) that measures 5-1/2″x11″

For by book cover, I want a pretty picture to add interest to the book. To source that, I like to look on A House is Announced Public Domain Print Shop. There you can find a collection of beautifully curated public domain art that are free to download! I like to use a scenic landscape or cloud image for my books. Find an image you like and download it. I’m using “On the Oise” for our book box game.

Once you have art you like, put it on your cover. I like to choose a horizontal piece of art and use the left section of the picture for the cover and the right side of the art for the back cover. Next, add a border to the image. I use a rectangle to go around the edge. I change the color so it works with the tones in the image.

After that, I add the title to the game on the top center of the cover. For this, I use the font “Luxurious Script”. I use that same font to write who the game is by in a smaller font in the bottom center. I think this looks like the author and is very cute!

For the back cover, I use the same measurements. Then I use the right side of the image so it looks like it wraps around the book. I also use a rectangle border. Then instead of the title of the game, I type up information on the game. I just find this on the website for the game. I also add the age the players should be and how many people can play.

For the spine, I still use the “Luxurious Script” font in the same color as the front.

For the spine, I once again use a border. Then I just type up the name of the game. Then I rotate it 90 degrees so the title runs down the spine. I like to change the color of the rectangle and title on the spine to match the color of the book cloth I’m using on the spine.

I design the spine to be the size I want the border. Then I start a new canvas that’s 8-1/2″x11″ and center the spine label on it. This way when it prints, there’s plenty of space on either side to wrap onto the front and back cover.

Once designed, download the front and back cover plus the spine.

step 3- print the book cover

And now, let’s get those printed! I’m going to do three rounds of printing- one for the front cover, back cover, and spine.

For the front and back cover, I’m printing onto white cardstock that’s textured. I just get this at my craft store in the scrapbooking aisle. You can also get it online here. Make sure to print onto the textured side. When printing, make sure to scale it 100% so that it prints the size you made it.

For the spine, I’m printing onto book cloth– again it’s textured. The book cloth I had was larger than would print in my printer so I tried it to be 8-1/2″x11″. Make sure to print onto the textured side.

Now you have all the components you need for your book box!

step 4- trim and glue the spine

For the next step, simply trim the spine to fit on the book box. I use a paper trimmer to trim the width to be exactly what I want and cut the height to be a little long.

After it’s trimmed, I use Elmer’s glue and apply it to the spine with a foam brush.

Next put the cover onto the spine. Add some glue to the front of the cover and use a bone folder to adhere the book cloth to the front of the book. Repeat for the back cover

At this point, the book cloth is too long. Fold it over on the lip of the cover, where it hits the “pages” of the book.

Unfold the cover and then use scissors to trim on the indented line.

Then glue it in place. Repeat for the bottom of the book.

step 5- trim and glue the front and back cover

Now let’s move onto the front cover. Use a paper trimmer to trim the cover- cut off any of the white edges.

After it’s trimmed, I use Elmer’s glue and apply it to the cover with a foam brush.

Next put the cover onto the front of the book box. Make sure to butt the cover right up to the spine’s book cloth. If there’s a gap it will look bad! Use a bone folder to smooth the cover into place. Also start pushing the edges of the cover over the front of the book to create an indent.

At each corner use scissors to cut a 45 degree cut. Don’t cut right next to the book box, but give it a little space.

Next, we’re going to fold over the top and bottom flaps of the cover. Add glue to the cover and the book box. I like to use a small artist’s paint brush for this step.

Then use the bone folder to fold the flap over. Do this for the top and bottom of the cover.

And now, use the bone folder to push in the side of the flap- do this on the top and bottom of the side. Repeat the same step for the bottom side of the cover. Again, add glue to the cover and the book box and fold it over.

Repeat the same steps for the back of the book. The only difference if the back of the book box doesn’t open so you have less wiggle room. So fold the cover into place, see where the indent is, cut down the cover so it fits perfect. Then, glue the flaps in place. Make sure to do the top and bottom flap first before moving onto the last side flap.

When complete, wipe up any excess glue. Then place under a stack of books to dry.

step 6- finish

Finally, all you have to do is put the game in the book box and you’re done!

after- board game books printed

The result is a really beautiful book box! The spine on this one looks so professional and very high end. I also love the cover! The scene doesn’t have anything to do with the game, it’s just pretty and looks like a fancy book.

I also did this project with the game Sequence. I had issues with my printer and it didn’t print long enough, so I colored in the cover- lol. But I did that project first and then ironed out the problems for this tutorial.

I am very happy with how they turned out. They are so pretty and could be left out all the time or will look really beautiful on a book shelf.

These are two of my all time favorite games, so if you’re looking for a fun game recommendation, I love Flip 7 and Sequence! I have already made over these games for my game shelf in the vinyl style, so I gave these away for Christmas. My family was so excited to have them- it was very sweet.

price breakdown

This is a very affordable project. You can find the book boxes in craft stores for less than $10- though I had mine at home from a past project. The scrapbook paper cost $1 and I already had the book cloth on hand. So I did this very cheaply. If you have to buy supplies it’ll be closer to $30 but then you can make a bunch.

I am so happy these turned out! I think they look great and are a really good alternative to the other methods I’ve shared. Especially if you don’t have a Cricut. I’m using the cheapest printer I could find on Amazon and it’s been great! Which also helps this be an affordable project. Would you try this? Any questions on board game books printed? Let me know in the comments.