Games are an essential part of travel for our family. We play them at the airport, on the plane (well, certain ones), at the beach, and in the evening. We play a lot of games at home too, but it’s easier to make the time to play on vacation because there’s no work, TV, phone calls, or household chores standing in the way.
Because we like to pack light, we don’t travel with all the same games we play at home. (We like Catan, Ticket to Ride, Monopoly etc. But those are big games that take up big space.) We add a new travel sized game to our collection every year or so, and these are are favourites (the ones that make it on almost every trip we take).
We tend to like games that require some strategy or offer some learning benefit – you won’t catch us playing snakes and ladders or candy land!
Our top picks for travel games are easy to pack and easy to play without a big dining room table.
(I’ll put suggested my ages by the games, but the fact of the matter is the more games you play with your kids from a younger age, the more games they can play sooner. Don’t wait to teach your kids a new game just because they’re little! In our family we play everything – competently – on this list by age 5 or 6.)
(Note that “travel” is different than “airplane” – some of these games are great for a plane, but not all… for that, see our list of recommendations for airplane activities for kids!)
Memory (for all ages)
I could bust out pictures of our family playing memory in almost every destination we’ve ever been to, from the time my youngest was about 3. (We have the Disney version, which I am particularly fond of.) We do have the box, but to make it travel friendly we dump it all into a sandwich bag. It’s light, it’s fantastic for every age, you can play with any number of people, and if you do lose a tile (we haven’t yet!) the game isn’t ruined.
Spot-It (for all ages)
Spot-it has almost all the same travel benefits of Memory (I prefer memory, but there are times when my kids prefer spot-it). You race to spot matching symbols between two cards first, (it’s good for enhancing visual perception and quick-thinking skills). There’s 5 different versions of the game you can play, so it doesn’t gold old fast. One thing to note about this game is that it’s stored in a little round tin, and the x-ray machines at security may stop you and ask to see inside. (Ask me how I know!) You can avoid this by leaving the tin at home and putting your game in a sandwich bag.
(My daughter got “World’s Smallest” Spot-It for Christmas, and now this version lives in her purse.)
A Deck of Cards (for all ages)
Our favourite card games currently are Spite and Malice (instructions here) and Sweep. Younger kids do well with rummy, go fish etc. Any of the classics. A waterproof deck of cards is great for the beach, pool or sticky-fingers-from-snacks play.
Dice Games (for ages 4+)
I also always have a set of dice in my purse so that we can play bank (you can get an app for it from the app store on your phone). Last year we were at Disney in line for a ride that shut down, and as everyone else was bailing from the line, we settled in and played a few rounds of bank… and we were first in line when the ride opened 20 minutes later.
LCR, Yahtzee and Farkle have all made it on various vacations. For the younger crowd, LCR is probably your best bet.
Our favourite dice game right now is Qwixx, – I think it’s a little better suited to the 5+ years range, but if you’re willing to help your 3 or 4 year old, you can start them early. it’s 5 dice and a score pad, which I often stuff right into the sandwich bag with the memory game. This is a great one to help younger kids learn to make critical and logical decisions. You roll the dice and cross off the total of your white or coloured dice on your scorecard – but you can never cross off anything to the left of what you’ve already crossed off.
Rat-A-Tat-Cat (for ages 4+)
This one is a go-to for my youngest, and has been for years. As soon as your kid can count to 10 (and understand that 10 is larger than 9 etc) they can play this one. The goal of the game is to have the lowest score when you add all the totals of your 4 cards at the end of the game. Games take less than 10 minutes, but do require a table or floor to place your cards in front of you. It’s just a deck of cards, so we take it out of the box, wrap it with an elastic, and put it in our game bag.
OK Play (for ages 4+)
This game was specifically designed for travel and it’s totally waterproof so it can be played at the pool / beach easily. It clips on the outside of your bag, so it doesn’t take up space inside your bag.
Electronic Othello / Reversi (for ages 5+)
We aren’t heavy on electronic games, but for an airplane or road trip, it’s hard to beat this electronic Reversi game from GiiKER. It’s one major downfall, imo, is that it’s a two player game. Our kids LOVE this one and they’ll play it between themselves on a plane or in the car, but the whole family can’t get involved unless it’s a tournament.
Quirkle (for ages 5+)
Don’t let my age recommendations scare you, my kids played Quirkle just fine when they were about 4! Quirkle is nice and easy to pack, not heavy, and it fits nicely into awkward spaces (because it lives in a canvas bag). This is a problem solving / logic game in the same vein as OK Play, but more complex. Points are scored by placing tiles in row where all tiles share a common attribute. The one draw back of Quirkel for travel is it can sprawl out during play, so we often play it on the floor in a hotel room or on the concrete by a pool etc.
Deduckto (for ages 5+)
This is game is also just a simple deck of cards, so you can take it out of the box and put it in your bag of card games. It’s a fun clue-like slueth / power of deduction game, kids seem to pick it up pretty quickly.
Trash Pandas (for ages 6+)
This is a card game that comes with a custom die and 6 game tokens, so it does pack small but it’s extra pieces do require more supervising than just an elastic. We love that it’s quick, involved, and very strategy based.
Tavel-Sized Azul (for ages 6+)
We love this classic tile game and we were thrilled to learn that it comes in a travel size version – this one takes up a touch more room than anything else on the list, so we don’t take this one if we’re traveling carry-on only.
What Are Your Favourite Family Travel Games?
We’re always looking to add to our list, and we’d love to know! Let us know which games keep your crew occupied on vacation.
