As spring break nears, students throughout campus are eagerly waiting to back away from their books, spark up the grill and finally get outside and enjoy the beautiful, warm weather.

With this resurrection of outdoor activities comes one of the most popular yard games the Midwest has to offer: cornhole.

College students throughout the United States have been playing cornhole for decades now. It can be traced back to 14th-century Germany, according to the American Cornhole Association’s Web site.

However, the game eventually progressed into a strategically advanced competition requiring skill and concentration, along with a great deal of luck for some players.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that cornhole gained popularity in the midwestern United States, especially in Cincinnati where the modern game is believed to have originated. Now participants throw eight beanbags onto two, 4-by-2 boards placed 33 feet apart.

Cornhole boards can be purchased, but they can cost as much as $200 and can take weeks to be delivered through the mail.

So why wait? Take these few simple steps and create a brand new set of your own.

Materials needed:

Wood

(4) 8-foot structural two-by-fours

(2) 3/4 24-inch by 48-inch sheets in plywood

Hardware

(4) 4-inch long 3/8-inch carriage bolts

(4) 3/8-inch fender washers

(8) 3/8-inch locknuts

(56) 3-inch deck screws

Step 1: Prepare the lumber

– Cut all four of the 8-foot two-by-fours to a dimension of 1 1/2-by-3 inches

– You should now have four long side and four short side segments, four legs and two cross beams.

– Select one of the 8-foot sections and make a crosscut 48 inches from the butt of the board.

– Make another crosscut at 21 inches.

Step 2: Construct a box

– Hammer two 21-inch pieces into the sides (one at each end) of one of the 47-inch pieces, and attach each with two 1-5/8-inch wood screws. Follow suit with the other 47-inch piece, attaching it to the opposite end of the 21-inch pieces to form a rectangular box. This is the basic frame to support the board.

– Cut another 21-inch piece of the one-by-three lumber and attach it to the box frame. (This is the cross-brace to prevent the beanbags from bouncing)

Step 3: Cut the hole

– Use a 6-inch hole saw to cut a 6-inch hole centered nine inches

from the trailing edge aligned to the middle of the board.

– Sand the inside edge of the hole created, ensuring a smooth edge.

Step 4: Create and attach the legs

– Measure down each leg 11 3/4 inches and make a 25-degree mitered cut (this will ensure that your boards will tilt at the appropriate angle).

– Measure 3 9/16 inches from the edge of the board and clearly mark a line.

– Place one of your finished legs with the shorter end facing down into the box so that it is flush with the back of the plywood and lapped against the long side of the box.

– Clamp the leg segment in place and bore a 3/8-inch hole into the box frame using the leg center hole as a guide.

– Repeat for each leg in each corner.

– Assemble the folding legs to the box using a carriage bolt, a washer, and two locknuts per leg

– Tighten each leg to your preference of pivot friction.

The estimated price for these materials is only about $30 to $40 and should only take a couple of hours to perfect.