Make your own DIY giant connect four game, just like you used to play when you were a kid. Make it in just one day and be ready for some backyard fun!
You may remember, we hosted our wedding in our backyard last year. I wanted to make a few yard games for everyone to play and the first one I decided to make was a giant connect four game. This is Chris’s all time favorite board game so of course I had to make it.
I morphed a couple of different plans together to make this yard game from Jonathon Katz Moses and Build Basic. Then tweaked them a little to get the dimensions I wanted.
This is a full day project waiting on the paint to dry. You know what they say about watching paint dry. I promise you’ll love it when it’s done and have loads of fun playing it!
How to build a Giant Connect Four Game
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Materials
Tools
Let’s build it!
Build the Feet and Legs
Step 1. Cut 1×4 boards for the feet and legs using a miter saw. I added a tiny decorative miter to the ends of the feet to keep anyone from tripping over it.
Step 2. Assemble the feet. I used a pseudo mortise and tenon joint that will hug the leg later.
Step 3. Stain the feet and legs of the giant connect four game. Pre-staining will save you time later, I promise.
Make The Game Board
Step 4. You will need two sheets of the same size to make this game board. Stack them on top of each other and lay out your cork coasters on the top 1/4″ plywood sheet using 1×2 scrap boards as spacers. Measure and mark where the holes will go and then cut the end of the plywood sheets to size using a table saw or a jig saw.
I want to take a minute and tell you why I chose to use the cork coasters. I didn’t want to cut out a bunch of 5 or 6 inch circles and the cork coaster are flexible and will be easier to use for this yard game. The coasters are 4 inches which is why you have to do the math to configure the layout. You can totally cut your game pieces from wood if you want, this was just easier for me and cut way down on the time it was going to take to make this giant connect four game.
Step 5. Cut the holes in your plywood sheets using a 3″ hole saw. Make sure that the sheets are stacked exactly on top of each other and clamp them together. The 3″ holes are the perfect size for spacing on the game board and small enough that the game pieces won’t fall out. This was the part of this project I was dreading the most, but the hole saw powered through the cuts on the two sheets easily and it only took about 15 minutes to cut the 35 holes.
Step 6. Sand the rough edges of each hole. I used my router and a round over bit to round over each hole then sanded the entire game board. *Note – The better quality plywood you use, the less tear out you will have and the less sanding you will have to do around all of those holes.
Step 7. Add spacers made from plywood between each row of the two sides of the game board and attach it all together using wood glue and brad nails. Fill the nail holes with wood putty and give it one final sanding.
Finishing Touches
Step 8. Spray paint the cork game pieces. I really wanted some fun colors for this yard game so I used Behr Premium Beyond Navy for one team’s game pieces and Behr Premium No More Drama for the other. Allow to dry in between coats.
Step 9. Spray paint the game board. I used Behr Flat White. Behr Premium spray paint has a built-in primer which makes for fewer coats and makes it perfect for a one day project.
Step 10. Assemble the giant connect four game. Slide the legs into the base and secure with screws. Next attach the game board to the legs using screws.
Step 11. Add a piece to the bottom of the game board with a latch that will allow the game pieces to fall out just like in the real life connect four game.
After a day of building, the giant connect four yard game is done and ready to play! I love how it turned out!
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