How to Make a Plinko Game

Plinko, a popular game on "The Price Is Right" TV show, can be reconstructed at home for a party game. Plinko involves sending flat, round playing chips down a pegged wall in order to win cash and prizes. Teachers should consider building Plinko game boards as a study review game, allowing students to have fun while they study. Building a Plinko board for homemade use requires some simple construction skills, but is relatively easy to finish. The most challenging aspect is creating the correct pattern of pegs.

Place the board flat on the work surface so that shorter ends are at the top and the bottom. Push 10 dowel pins into the holes on the pegboard in the first vertical row. Skip a hole between each of the pins.

Move to the second vertical row. Skip the first hole. Push nine pins into the second vertical row, skipping a hole between each pin. Continue until the vertical rows are filled, alternating between 10 and 9 pins in each row. For example, rows 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 should have 10 pins, while rows 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 should have 9 pins.

Finish by filling the four to six horizontal rows at the bottom of the board full of pins. This helps create a groove where the poker chips can stop.

Place a rubber band around the top pegs in the first three rows to form a triangle. Repeat with the bottom three pegs. This helps create a wall for the poker chip. Repeat with the top and bottom pegs on all the rows, grouping them by threes. For example rows 1,2 and 3 should share a rubber band. Rows 3,4 and 5, and 5,6 and 7 should also share a triangular rubber band. Every third row will share two rubber bands.

Draw a title as well as prizes or dollar amounts for the rows on a piece of paper. Use scissors to cut out the different decorations. Glue the paper pieces to the board with craft glue.

Play the game by dropping poker chips into the grooves at the top of the Plinko board. Watch the chip fall and see which “prize” slot holds the chip when it finishes bouncing its way down the board.