Whether you’re traveling with kids and looking for some great fun on the road, or planning to engage in your hobby with just other grown-ups around, a portable travel game is one of the best options for entertainment for road trips, long flights, and destination get-togethers. Of course, they’ve got to be compact, work for the number of anticipated players, and fit that travel vibe. So, you’ll find the following list a great resource for sorting out the best of the best travel games for whoever your group includes and whatever the mood on your road trip.
The Ten Best Boredom-Beating Travel Games
5 Second Rule
Age: 10+ (Community 8+) 3-6 Players: Time: 20-30 minutes
You’ve heard about the 5-second rule for food (which, of course, is not at all true!), but the 5 Second Rule in games is an absolutely delightful, goof-inducing quick game you’re going to love. The easy-to-play game involves picking a card, reading the supposedly easy topic, starting the timer, and managing, within 5 seconds, to name three things that fit the topic.
Naming three dog breeds in 5 seconds should be easy, right? Just say the words! You’ll get tongue-tied, language-locked, and absolutely giggly when silly, bizarre attempts escape your lips and those of your fellow players. The fast-paced game is timed with a marble-chasing mechanism that ends with a “zoooooooop!” when the marbles hit the bottom just 5 seconds later. And you’ve got 576 questions on 288 cards to play through, trying to get those words out in time. You never know what will happen in the madness.
Shotgun!
Age: 12+ (Community 8+) Players: 2-99 Time: 30-480 minutes
For a ridiculously fun travel-themed travel game, grab Shotgun! The family-fun game, designed especially for long rides with the whole family, which works for kids as young as 8 (according to the gaming community), with as few as 2 players.
To play this road-worthy game, nominate one person to be the card reader (usually whoever’s riding Shotgun! but it can also rotate, as needed) to read cards aloud to initiate the play prompt. Play the game until you reach your destination, need a break, or pause for a meal. The prompts involve dares, trivia, challenges, questions, and much more, all designed to draw you together, create a little chaotic fun, and engage everyone in the car as you drive. The game contains 200 cards, a drawstring pouch to keep it road-safe, and instructions to remind you of any rules that slip your mind while rolling down the highway.
Passport to Culture: Travel Edition
Age: 8+ Players: 2-5 Time: 30-90 minutes
Lovers of world travel will love Passport to Culture: Travel Edition. This beautiful game is the world culture take on the original game, providing over 1,000 new, unique questions on every country in the world. Explore the world playing across the world map depicted on the game board, asking and answering questions about cultures in every pocket of the globe. As you play, your goal is to gain as many passport stamps as possible by answering questions related to the cultures and countries you’re exploring in the game.
You’ll keep score through the CQ (Cultural Intelligence) scorepad, via the questions on over 200 countries and continents (on cards), and using the Passport to Culture die to progress along. Gain the most passport stamps to win! The game comes with a beautiful Travel Pouch, 50 magnetic passport stamps, the custom die, 15 answer cards, score pads, instructions, and 5 passports for players to track their correctly answered culture questions with. The well-designed game pieces, including the magnetic passport stamps and custom die, enhance the convenience and enjoyment of playing on the go.
Welcome To…
Age: 10+ Players: 1-100 Time: 25 minutes
In the wonderful world of Welcome To…, you and your fellow players aim to build the best new town in the United States in the 1950s. To do this, you must pool resources, hire employees, manage your supplies, and much more. And you do all this in a roll-and-write game mechanic for your score sheet, just, well, without actually rolling dice. Instead, you’ll flip cards on three piles to create action plans with a house number and corresponding action. You then fill in the numbers on your streets in numerical order, take the action to increase your real estate value and build or score points for pools, parks, and other amenities that increase the value of your city.
If you so wish, you can increase or duplicate your housing numbers, but keep in mind: you’re racing against the clock to beat your fellow players to create the most intriguing city in the country.
The game uses simultaneous play to keep the pace high, supporting large groups of players (read: great for family reunions or friend groups traveling together!), with numerous strategy options, and randomized action sets. No two games are ever the same, so you’ll be able to keep playing Welcome To… over and over for years to come. The game can be played on any flat surface, making it versatile and convenient for different locations.
Lost Cities: A Classic Board Game
Age: 10+ (Community 8+) Players: 2 Time: 30 minutes
Perfect for two players on a trip, Lost Cities is a card game that gives two explorers the chance to embark on research journeys to explore some of the most remote places on Earth: the Central American rainforest, the Himalayan mountains, the Egyptian desert, the bottom of the ocean, or a mysterious volcano. (So, even if you’re just going to Grandma’s house, you’re still exploring the world!)
Cards are placed to shape the expedition routes, earn points for players, and permit explorers to discover if they hedged their bets on the right expedition. These Lost Cities hold unseen mysteries and dangers, with a two-sided game board offering new variants and exploration possibilities.
Your goal is to gain points by exploring the different sites represented by the colorful suits on the cards played. On each turn, a player must play one card to explore or discard into the correct discard pile. Then, the player draws a new card from the deck or the top of a different discard pile. To play on an expedition pile, you must lay the correct color-coordinated card in ascending order (red 4 must be followed by another red card higher than 4, but it does not need to be consecutive). The game progresses in the same fashion, alternating turns for the two players until the last card is taken from the draw deck. At this point, the cards in both players’ hands are discarded and their expeditions are scored to determine the winner.
Claim
Age: 10+ (Community 8+) Players: 2 Time: 25 minutes
Uh-oh! The king was discovered face down in a wine barrel this morning, drowned and dead! Nobody knows what happened – could it be murder? Could it be greed? Whatever happened, the king died without heirs and it’s time for five factions of the realm to decide on the new monarch. Will you or your opponent in this two-player travel-friendly game claim the crown?
Two distinctive phases frame this amazingly fun game. In phase one, players get a hand of cards that they must use to recruit followers from among the factions. In the second phase, the followers must compete against each other to win over the rest of their factions and ultimately give you the victory and the crown. But beware: Each faction has its own special powers that affect the gameplay and those powers can change in each phase, making it a strategic memory match.
By the end of the game, the player with the most followers of a given faction has that faction’s total vote and whoever wins the vote of three total factions wins the game and lays Claim to the kingdom.
Cartographers
Age: 10+ (Community 8+) Players: 1-100 Time: 30–45 minutes
As cartographers in service to Queen Gimnax, you and your fellow players are set to help her reclaim the northern lands in Cartographers, a unique game delightfully suited for travel. You and the other players are sent to map out the territory the queen wishes to reclaim, through official edicts announcing her most prized lands. Meet her demands and earn the most reputation points to garner her favor. The enemy – the Dragul – contests the claims the queen lays on these lands and you must draw your lines carefully to keep their claim and influence down. Gain reputation stars by claiming land, ultimately aiming to claim the most across four seasons which pass, and win the game outright. The game’s compact design ensures easy storage, making it perfect for travel or recreational use.
Sea, Salt, and Paper: A Family Card Game
Age: 8+ Players: 2-4 Time: 30-45 minutes
A unique, beautiful aesthetic may be found in the travel-friendly family card game of Sea, Salt & Paper. The clever hand management game offers distinctive interactions, beautiful imagery, and lots of fast-paced action to keep you and yours entertained on those road trips or long flights.
During each turn, players assemble their hands and consider placing their cards for effect or deciding if they’re ready to end the round. You’ve got to decide if you think you’ve got the most points, though, as once the round ends, you’re stuck with the decision and someone else could beat your hand. There’s a thrill in choosing to end the round – clever you might catch your opponents off guard and win! Or you could be wrong and fold like the origami images on the cards.
Ultimately, Sea, Salt & Paper is a set collection game a bit like Rummy, but with loads of interactions and, of course, the gorgeous origami artwork displayed on the cards. The game ends overall when you reach 30, 35, or 40 points, based on the number of players (4, 3, and 2, respectively).
Backpacker: The Ultimate Travel Game
Age: 10+ Players: 2-6 Time: 60 minutes
If you’ve ever gone backpacking, the title of this game immediately evokes images of trekking the world with a big bag on your back, youth hostels, and cheap dinners in the communal kitchen. And while the game might include some of these components, Backpacker: the Ultimate Travel Game is perfect for any kind of travel you’ve got in mind, making it one of the best portable games for enhancing your travel experience.
In this game, take on the role once again (or for the first time!) of the Backpacker trekking the planet in search of adventure and incredible photos. Face constant, new choices as you play, determining which card to play at the right time. Decide if you’ll stick to one continent and many countries, or jet to the next continent to take in more of the world. Attend bonus events, take in advice (both good and bad!), miss planes, avoid getting ill, change your plans, or seek unplanned adventures when the opportunities arise. Your ultimate goal is to return home at the end of the game with the most photos, as gained through careful planning, patience, and a bit of luck.
Song Survivor
Age: 13+ Players: 4-10 Time: 30-60 minutes
Music lovers unite for this incredibly fun travel game: Song Survivor. The nostalgic song-themed game uses cards to pit players in a showdown against each other to sing, mimic the chosen word of the round, or sing their way to victory. The game is perfect for families, friends, and even new groups of soon-to-be friends as the game draws folks together through their mutual love of fantastic music.
Song Survivor provides two difficulty levels to help you gear the game specifically to your crowd. Flexible gameplay allows you to also adapt to different musical tastes. Challenge everyone to lyrical knowledge questions with songs ranging from hip hop to Disney classic songs, indie anthems to pop hits. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a trained singer or a karaoke fanatic – you could win, as the game introduces an element of chance similar to Russian roulette.
Most kids may find the challenge above their heads unless they listen to and feel confident in their musical knowledge, so most folks assess the game best for teens and adults. But nobody is left out, whatever their generation, as the music spans decades.
Conclusion
When it’s time to hit the road – or the airport – you’ll want to bring along a great collection of compact, inclusive games for the trip. And these travel games are some of the best games on the market, whether you’re on the road or at home! So, grab some quick-playing fun with 5 Second Rule or Claim, or keep the fun going all road-trip long with Shotgun! while you drive along. The fun never ends as long as you keep playing.
FAQ
What makes a game suitable for travel?
A suitable travel game should be compact, accommodate the right number of players for your group, and be appropriate for the travel setting (road trip, flight, or destination). A portable travel game is ideal as it is easily transportable and can facilitate interaction and enjoyment among players during travel.
What age ranges do most travel games accommodate?
Most games in the list are suitable for ages 10 and up, though some community ratings suggest certain games are appropriate for children as young as 8.
How long do these travel games typically take to play?
Game durations vary from quick 20-30 minute sessions (like 5 Second Rule) to longer games that can last several hours (like Shotgun!).
Can these games be played in different travel settings?
Yes, the games are designed for various travel situations including road trips (Shotgun!), flights (card games like Lost Cities), and destination activities.
How many players can these travel games accommodate?
Player counts vary widely, from 2-player games (Lost Cities) to games that can accommodate up to 100 players (Welcome To…).