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SHELBY'S SURPRISE JOURNEY
DIY Board Game
In this Do-It-Yourself board game, players get to help SHELBY on his journey to find his wandering sheep, Little One.
Be the first one to finish the entire journey that goes from Shelby's home to the stable in Bethlehem and then back home again.
For 2 or more players. May be best enjoyed by Ages 4 and up.*
Appropriate Age Range Determined By Ability To Safely Handle All Construction  Materials and Finished Product(s).*
Shelby's Surprise Journey DIY Board Game
First, we send a “Hello” to our young Shelby the Shepherd friends! We are so glad you get to enjoy the board game inspired by the musical Shelby The Shepherd, The Musical and its original book Shelby the Shepherd and His Special Surprise! You get to help Shelby on his very surprising journey to bring his wandering sheep, Little One, safely back home from Bethlehem! Have fun being a shepherd! Shelby sure does!

And we can’t forget our grown-up friends! Thank you for taking the time to help our young friends with this easy-to-play, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) board game. Before it even becomes a game, it can be as much of a fun craft time as you want it to be!
GATHER YOUR MATERIALS
You will need something to play the game on (the game board), something to move in the game (the game pieces), and a way to move those game pieces from the Home space to the Bethlehem stable and then back Home again after Shelby has found Little One. Finally, you will need whatever you want to use to decorate the game board and the game pieces. (*Just be sure that any materials you use are non-toxic and that nothing can become a choking hazard to anyone.)
  • ||     The Game Board – It can be as simple as a piece of poster board or a piece of fabric, as long as the game spaces can be permanently marked out on it. And it can be any size you want, including a smaller version that would be great as a travel size! Our sample game board is made from a standard piece of poster board that measures 22” x 28” (approximately 56 cm x 71 cm).
  • ||     The Game Pieces – They can also be DIY pieces that you have made or found yourself, or you can borrow pieces from another game. Our sample game pieces are made from a single sheet of craft foam that we cut in circle shapes and painted different colors.
  • ||     The Piece Movers – We have supplied some fun clue cards that only need printed out, or the same clues are on a clues sheet that only needs read from! But if you don’t want to use the clues to move the game pieces, you can make DIY dice, or use your own dice or numbered spinner.
After you have decided on all your game materials, now it's time to get them ready!
THE GAME BOARD
||     To make the playing spaces on the game board, first draw out your favorite shape. It can be a square or a circle or a silly shape like what we used on our sample. Then, go back and draw another shape just like it, about 1” (2.5 cm) away from the first shape you drew.
||     Then, draw your lines between the two shapes to make the spaces. Just make sure the spaces allow enough room to fit the size of the game pieces you will be using. We made our spaces about 1” (2.5 cm) wide.
||     Mark one space for where you will start (Home) and another space for where you will have gone half-way (Bethlehem) before you start back Home again. That half-way mark is a special spot! Not only does it mean that you have helped Shelby get to Bethlehem and have found his lost sheep Little One, if you land on it exactly, you get another turn right away!
||     And if you are using the printable game cards, be sure to add the spots for the cards. You will start the game with drawing from the "On To Bethlehem" stack of cards. Then, once you get to the Bethlehem spot on the game board, you will begin to draw from the stack of “Let’s Go Home!” game cards.
FINAL TOUCHES - You can mark even more special spots, like we did with the shepherd’s staff. If you land on any of those spots, you can jump forward to the next similar spot on the game board! You can also color your spaces and add as many extra pictures around your game board as you like, especially ones that remind you of shepherds and sheep. This really makes it a one-of-a-kind game board!
THE GAME PIECES
||     We wanted game pieces in the shape of a circle, so we traced the circle using a coin, made the circle visible using a permanent marker, cut the pieces out, then painted the pieces different colors to match the colors we used to decorate the game board.
THE PIECE MOVERS
||     If you wish to move the game pieces by using the special Shelby the Shepherd clue cards, just print them out! There are 2 sets provided. One set is for moving the game pieces from the Home spot to the stable in Bethlehem (the “On To Bethlehem!” cards) and the second set is for moving the game pieces back Home again (the “Let’s Go Home!” cards).
HINT: To tell the difference between the two sets of cards, you can print them on different colors of paper, or turn over the clue cards and print the “On To Bethlehem” and “Let’s Go Home” card backs on them before you cut the clue cards apart. (It doesn't matter how you have the pages turned when you print the backs. They will print fine either way!)
HINT: If you don’t want to print out the cards but still want to use the clues, just read the clues off of the clues list. You’ll only need a way to decide which clue to read. Then just check off the clues you have read.
HINT: If you decide you want the game to move more quickly or more slowly, the clues are versatile for just that reason. Want a quicker game? Use only the 4/5/6-space clues/cards. Want a longer game? Also use the 1/2/3-space clues/cards. Want some Bible verse learning, too? Throw in the 5-space Bible verse cards! And maybe even add 2 extra spaces if those verses have been memorized! By the way, there are no “Move Backward” cards; Shelby is just too excited about getting to be on his shepherd’s journey!
ANOTHER HINT: If you don’t want to keep track of two different sets of cards, that is fine, too. Just mix them all together! The only difference is that some of the “Let’s Go Home!” clues mention Shelby’s sheep, Little One, as if he has already been found.
DON'T WANT TO USE CLUE CARDS? NO PROBLEM!
||     If you don't want to use clue cards, that is fine! Use your own dice or numbered spinner. Or you can make your own dice! Our DIY dice pieces are cut from a single sheet of craft foam that we finished with a permanent marker. To “roll” the dice, just put them in a cup and mix them up each time before you draw one out. No peeking!
TIME TO PLAY!
||     As you might have guessed already, the goal is to be the first one to make it all the way around the game board as you go from the Home spot to the Bethlehem stable to find Little One, and then back Home again. It’s just like what Shelby the Shepherd did on his surprising journey!

We hope you have a great time helping Shelby get Little One back home again! Happy shepherding!

“...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Enjoy even more fun times with Shelby The Shepherd by checking out his other DIY (Do It Yourself) Games & Activities!*
*Because of variances in construction, the finished product of any game or activity is not assumed to be safety tested. So be sure that any materials you use are non-toxic and that nothing can become a choking hazard to anyone. Listed ages for any game or activity are based on comprehension only and should not be relied upon to suggest an individual player's ability to play any game or handle any game or activity pieces safely.
©Wendi Miller. All Books, Games, Activities, Pictures, and Instructions Are For Personal Use Only. Not For Resale. Availability Does Not Suggest Transfer of Copyright or Ownership. Book PDF Is Read Only (No Printing Allowed). All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Find out even more about Shelby the Shepherd!
-  PRODUCERS' INFORMATION  > 
Access the full musical synopsis, get to know the musical characters and creative team, and request additional production information for your theater, church, or school.
​-  AS SHE TELLS IT  >
Author and playwright, Wendi Miller, takes a moment to describe Shelby's journey as a beloved Christmas character, from his social start to his musical makeover.
-  THE ORIGINAL BOOK  > 
Do you have a few minutes? You can even read the sweet Shelby the Shepherd and His Special Surprise Christmas book that started it all, available in a FREE PDF format! If it hasn't already, it could easily become one of your favorite holiday traditions!
"LIKE A WHOLE BUNCH OF LOVE GOT HERE ALL AT ONCE."
-Shelby
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts..." (Romans 5:5).
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