When you’re away from home, having a good game on hand is a great way to keep everyone entertained while you’re sitting around and staying out of trouble. Whether you’re out camping in the bush or relaxing in a cabin room, you want a game that is simple, affordable and still fun for the whole family young and old. Below you will find my top games for travel.
1. Chinese Checkers
2–6 Players | Ages 7+ | 30–60 mins
Chinese Checkers is a strategy board game where players race to move all their pieces from their starting triangle across the board to the opposite triangle. You move one piece per turn by stepping to a neighbouring space or by hopping over adjacent pieces—your own or your opponents’. Multiple hops in a single turn are allowed as long as each hop is over one piece into an empty space. The first player to move all their pieces into the opposite triangle wins.
The set also packs down fairly small usually just the board and a bag of pieces. I normally use a zip-lock bag to keep the pieces together.
2. Grab & Go
2 Players (varies) | Ages 7+
Grab & Go isn’t one game—it’s a series of compact travel versions of classic Hasbro games. They are designed exactly as the name suggests: easy to grab, take anywhere, and play on the go. They are small, lightweight, and take up very little space. The quality is a little lower than full-size versions, but they are still great value and very travel-friendly.
Some of the Grab & Go games include:
- Battleship
- Monopoly
- Sorry!
- Candy Land
- Clue
- Connect 4
- Guess Who?
Each one packs neatly into its own storage case, making them ideal for travel.
3. IQ Busters Cards
1+ Players | Ages 10+
IQ Busters Cards are small, travel-friendly puzzle decks designed to challenge your brain with quick and clever problems. Each card features a short brain teaser—such as logic puzzles, riddles, number problems, visual challenges, or pattern puzzles—that you can solve on your own or with friends.
There are several different themed packs in the series:
- Brain Trainers – 100 puzzles designed to challenge and entertain
- Word Puzzlers – 100 creative word-based challenges
- Nutty Numbers – 100 number-focused puzzles
- Mind Bogglers – 100 intriguing riddles and logic puzzles