I hope you enjoy this good manners game. If you have any manners tips or games you would like to share, please email me at allisonray@gmail.com . You are welcome to use these games or share them with friends, students in class, brownie troop or boy scout troop, but do not post these on any message boards, website or add them to any list that is sold. This game is copywritten.

Manners can be taught to children and reinforced in a fun way to it's not such a "bore" and "bother". This Manners game is fun for children and their friends to play to "remember their manners."

Game Board

You will need a piece of poster board or large piece of cardboard. I like to make our pretty and fun so I leave a 1 inch border around and decorate it with stickers (kinda like a frame). With a yard stick, grid off the remaining space into 1 inch squares. We usually end up with 70 squares. Number each square starting with the bottom left hand square at the START then in order from the outside of the square inward and we make a square in the middle home. However you can set up the game board any way that you would like.

Note you will want to create some "good manners" squares and some "bad manners" squares. Take a little time with and think about the manners your children need improvement on and also the ones that they have mastered. This will help personalize the game to your family. Some examples of squares might be: Saying Please, Saying No Mam or No Sir, Talking while someone else is talking, Talking with your mouth full, Talking loud, Hitting or shoving, Interrupting, Saying Excuse me, Saying I am sorry, Not Sharing, Sharing, Saying Thank you, Saying Ya and Huh, Removing your hat indoors etc...

Once you have numbered the squares. Mark the manners squares then take a crayon or marker and color in each of the "good manners" squares one color and all the "bad manners" squares another. Then take a dark color marker and mark the route or path that the game will follow. If you children are younger you might consider making a "Yellow Brick Road" or a "Road that is black with while lines".
Click here to download an example board.

Spinner

Chances are you have a spinner from another game you can borrow. If not you can make one with a butterfly clip and a circle onto a piece of flat square cardboard. You can also roll dice to move the amount of squares by the number on the dice.

Game Markers-Pieces

Each player will need some type of game piece or marker. With older children you can use pennies with smaller children you might use a toy soldier or something that they can easily move but that they will not put in their mouth and choke on.

Rules of the game

Each player puts their game piece on the start square. Each turn they will move forward the number of squares indicated on the spinner or dice. When they land on a good manners square they receive a bonus of moving 2 squares forward and when they land on a bad manners square they move two squares back. You can enhance the game further by making the rule that if the child lands on a bad manners square and can tell you what the appropriate behavior would be then they only have to move back one square. This is a good way to have a family dialog. The first player to reach the home square wind the game.

Some of our favorite books about manners for kids

365 Manners Kids Should Know: Games, Activities, and Other Fun Ways to Help Children Learn Etiquette

Manners Can Be Fun