$8.97
Printable friendship-repair game for tweens ages 9-12: a co-op board game with a 6-knot rope board and 24 print-and-cut cards for the week a friend leaves them out or goes cold after a fight. Instant download, print at home in A4 or US Letter — 11 pages.
Made for one parent and one 9-12 year old — play it at the kitchen table after school, in a counselor’s office, or as a calm-down before the hard conversation happens for real. No training needed to run it.
For the kid who says “they don’t like me any more” — and you don’t know what to say next. Most friendship printables tell a child what to say. This one starts one step earlier — with the story in their head — because that story is where the damage happens, in the gap between what actually occurred and what it seemed to mean.
Every turn runs the same five steps, in this order:
1. Draw a Knot card — a real tween rupture: the saved seat, the group chat they’re not in, the joke that stung, the friend gone quiet since Friday. 2. Say the story in your head, out loud — starting with *”The story in my head is…”*. Said aloud, a thought stops sounding like a fact. 3. Check it — say one other thing that could be true — *do I know that, or am I guessing?* The card never hands you the answer; stuck kids get two options from their partner and choose. 4. Say your repair move — draw a Repair Move card and say the whole line out loud: an I-statement, a curious question, an invitation, or deliberately giving it a day. 5. Untangle a knot — color one in and pass the rope over. When all 6 knots are colored, the game ends together — it’s cooperative on purpose.
Some knots are not yours to untie. Four cards marked NOT-MY-KNOT are shuffled into the deck — the person who has something to say every single day, the photo someone won’t take down, the “stay my friend only if you leave them out” deal, the unsafe secret. On those there is no repair move: the child names a grown-up they’d tell, out loud, and still untangles a knot — because asking for help is a full move, not second best.
What’s included (11 pages)
In the box: Count Rope board: 6-knot track Print-and-cut cards: 24 total = 10 Knot (incl. 4 Not-My-Knot) + 6 Check-It + 8 Repair Move Grown-ups setup + how-to-play pages: 3 Paper sizes: A4 + US Letter
Includes a worked example turn + parent note (together on the final page) — one turn written out so you can hear what “good” sounds like before you play, plus the two rules that matter most: don’t use the game to reopen the real argument, and your child chooses the move but never the other person’s answer back.
Common questions
What is this? A print-and-play cooperative CBT board game that helps a tween untangle a friendship rupture — testing the story in their head against the evidence, choosing a repair move, and rehearsing it out loud before Monday.
What age is it for? Tweens 9-12, played with one grown-up.
What’s included? A 6-knot rope board, 24 cut-out cards (10 Knot cards, 6 Check-It cards, 8 Repair Move cards), 3 grown-up and how-to pages, plus a print guide and license page — 11 pages in A4 and US Letter.
How do I use it? Print it, cut the four card sheets once, and play at the table in about 20 minutes. A grown-ups page up front sets it up in ~5 minutes, and you play too — saying your own repair line first.
Do I get a physical product? No — this is an instant digital download. Nothing is shipped.
Can I print it more than once? Yes — print as many copies as you need for your own family or single classroom.
Created by a mental health professional with a PhD. Built on published CBT research.
Instant digital download — nothing is shipped. Print as many copies as you need for your family or classroom. Please note: this is an educational tool to build coping skills — it is not a substitute for therapy or professional care.
Age: 9-12 (tweens) Pages: 11