www.3ders.org

Sep 12, 2015 | By Tess

Board games the likes of Monopoly and Clue bring back pleasant childhood memories of sitting around a table with friends or family enjoying the entertainment of the game. Perhaps one day, newly created board game Walls will conjure similar memories, and enter into the canon of board games. If the creators of 3D printed Walls realize their Kickstarter goal of $25,000 by October 10, this could very well be the case!

Walls was conceptualized and developed by Dustin Fausett and his group of Boy Scouts in Springville, Utah. The game, which was initially a project to earn a Boy Scout Merit Badge, turned in to something more as the enthusiasm for the project grew, and Fausett and the Boy Scouts realized they had come up with a game that could be enjoyed by many and was a potentially marketable board game.

After months of testing the game and making adjustments to its name, its game design and rules, they settled on a simple, yet effective design and the name Walls. The board is a simple 12X10 grid, with a key on the side with instructions for particular rolls of the dice. The grid is perforated with small holes at each corner in which the 3D printed small plastic walls can be placed. In earlier prototypes of the game, push pins were used as the walls, but needing a more durable and safer material, Fausett opted to 3D print the walls.

The premise of the game is to get from the starting square to the finish square, all the while trying to avoid walls and simultaneously block the opponents with the walls. Two dice, one green and one red, determine how many spaces to move and how many wall movements can be made per turn. The game is simple to understand, but as is emphasized on their kickstarter page and in Geek Dad user Rob Huddleston's review of the game (), it is a very strategic game and keeps both children and parents engaged.

The board game is meant for ages 8 and up, and the makers of it estimate that a game will last between 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the level of strategy. At the moment you can get a copy of Walls for $29, a special Kickstarter rate for first backers. The game comes with the following pieces:
- 1 board
- 100 3D printed walls
- 6 pawns
- 1 red die
- 1 green die

The Kickstarter campaign has currently received just over half its intended amount, and with just under 30 days until the campaign expires, Dustin Fausett and the group of Boy Scouts who developed the game are hopeful that their project will come to fruition. The game design is ready and the creators of the game are simply waiting for the funding to begin the additive manufacturing process of the walls, after which they can make the board to fit the 3D printed pieces.

It is exciting to see 3D printing technology contribute to making this new board game, and to see a younger generation partaking in the creation and design of it. Here at 3ders, we hope that Dustin Fausett and his team of Boy Scouts are able to put the game into production for many more to enjoy!

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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