Wahoo board template for 4, 6 or 8 players
A full-size drilling template for a homemade Wahoo or marble race board, sized to your marbles, with home rows, start holes and the centre shortcut.
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How the board is laid out
Each player gets an arm. The track goes up one side of the arm, across the tip in a row of 5 and back down the other side, the home row runs down the middle of the arm, and the start holes sit outside the track between arms. The starting layout is the original Aggravation board (US patent 3,166,325): 4 track holes up each side of an arm, 4 home holes starting one hole in from the tip, 4 start holes and a centre hole. The Our Pastimes build guide draws a shorter arm with 3 a side, and a longer one for 5 marbles.
On 6 and 8 arm boards the arms meet at an angle, so the first hole after each inner corner sits a little further out to keep a full spacing between holes. In Aggravation-style rules the centre hole is a shortcut, left on a roll of 1 to one of the inner corners, and six-arm party boards also use the inner corners as shortcut holes (Wikipedia). Aggravation is a trademarked game sold by Hasbro; this is a generic board in that style.
Example: 4 players with the starting sizes (5/8 in holes, 1 in apart) gives 89 holes on a 16 1/8 in board. With 3 track holes a side it has 81; with 5 home and 5 start holes for 5 marbles, 97.
Questions
How many holes does a Wahoo board have?
It depends on the board. The original Aggravation board has 4 track holes up each side of an arm and 5 across the tip, so 4 players get 56 track holes, 16 home, 16 start and a centre hole: 89 in all. Shorter homemade boards with 3 a side have 81.
How big is a 6 or 8 player Wahoo board?
With 5/8 in holes 1 in apart, a 6 player board comes out about 22 1/4 in across the flats and an 8 player board about 22 1/2 in. Smaller marbles and closer spacing shrink it.
What size holes for the marbles?
Measure your marbles and test in scrap. The Our Pastimes guide drills wells about 3/4 in across and 1/4 to 1/2 in deep for 1 in marbles, 1 1/8 in apart. This tool starts at 5/8 in holes 1 in apart.
Do I need the centre hole?
Only if your rules use the shortcut. In Aggravation-style play a marble enters the centre by exact count and leaves on a roll of 1 to an inner corner hole. Untick Centre shortcut hole under More options if you play without it.
How do I print the template at actual size?
In the print dialog choose 100% or Actual size, and turn off Fit to page or Shrink to fit. Then measure the square on the first sheet. If it isn’t exactly 4 in (or 100 mm in metric) on each side, the page was scaled, so print again.
How do I put the pages together?
Trim each sheet along the dashed lines on its left and top edges. Lay it over the sheet before so the cut edge sits on the solid line and the short ticks join up, then tape it. Holes near a join print on both sheets, so they should land on top of each other too.