Cooking a Salt Dough board is a little difficult until you have mastered making smaller pieces so for the moment If you have a Chess or Draughts board. please use it, or look at the board (top left) and draw it on a piece of cardboard

• Choose the shape you would like to play with. It may be a star, a round piece, a square, a blob or a bunny. I have chosen to make a coiled up snake.
• Each piece should be flat on the top, so that you can make Kings, and able to fit inside the squares you have or have made.
• You will need 40 pieces, 20 for each player, but should make a few more in case the dog eats some.
• So, make up a blob of Salt Dough that you think will be big enough

• Don't worry if you make it too small because it is easy to mix some more.
• Break down the blob into 40 or more Equalish blobs.
• Life is good because if you have made your blobs the right size everything else is easy.
• For my pieces I rolled each blob into a long snake and wound it around to make a really nice playing piece.
• When it is wound just press it down gently with something flat until it looks good and fits.

• When all of your pieces are made lay them out on a piece of baking paper (this helps the bottom dry) until they are quite firm and dry.
• Have an adult place them in a low oven, on the baking paper, and cook them for 1 to 2 hours.
• The pieces should not brown and should sound like hard plastic when tapped on the table.

• Divide the pieces into two lots (20 or more pieces each).
• Mix two different colours in disposable containers by adding food colouring to a big squirt of PVA hobby glue.
• Completely cover each piece with this mixture at least twice to ensure that they not only look good but are completely sealed.