THE WASHINGTON POST – If your trip packing list doesn’t include a game or two alongside your underwear and passport, consider this your sign to start.
Games are a perfect way to fill little gaps, like the lull between leaving the beach and getting ready for dinner or after a big meal and bedtime. They’re also great for getting people off their phones, getting to know your travel crew better or resuscitating the group’s waning energy.
There are classics, such as the easily-packable Uno or good old-fashioned Yahtzee, but you could also shake things up with one of Italy’s most famous card games, a mysterious board game made by Neil Patrick Harris or a pared-down, sped up version of Monopoly.
Here are 10 suggestions, no screen time required:
1. FOR A CONVERSATION STARTER: HIVE POCKET
Small enough to play on an airplane tray table, Hive Pocket is the shrunken travel-friendly version of Hive, a two-player strategy game that takes inspiration from chess. Even though the game has very few rules to learn, travel writer Sebastian Modak calls Hive Pocket “a pretty cutthroat brain-burner” and a “surefire conversation starter” that’s great for making friends on the road. It’s such a hit, Modak has brought it along to at least three continents.
2. FOR THE SOLO TRAVELLER: BOX ONE
If you’re travelling alone or are the only one in the group feeling up for a game, behold Box One. Described as an “ever-evolving game of trivia, codes, puzzles, and discovery”, Box One was created by actor Neil Patrick Harris based on his interest in immersive theatre and escape rooms. Kenny Malone, a co-host for NPR’s Planet Money podcast, was so delighted by Box One’s whimsical twists and turns and secret gadgets that, despite it being a one-person game, he wound up pulling in his whole family to get involved. The game is on the clunky side, so it’s not for the carry-on-only but totally doable if you have space in your car on a road trip. Harris told the Strategist it’s “tricky to describe without revealing everything” so we won’t get too into the rules but know that it takes about an hour to play.
3. FOR THE BEACH: MOLKKY
Molkky is a Finnish wooden throwing game you can play out in the elements, making it great for camping, cabins in the woods and beach rentals. Molkky comes with 12 wooden pins and a bigger throwing pin. Players take turns trying to knock over pins, and the first to 50 points wins. Aja Frost, co-founder of the Platonic Love newsletter, said her friend group is obsessed with the easy-to-learn game. Despite it being a lightly physical activity, being good at other hand-eye sports doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good at Molkky, which levels the playing field.
4. TO IMPRESS ITALIANS: SCOPA
A card game that dates back hundreds of years, Scopa was invented in Italy but has passionate fans around the world. Pull out a deck in public, expect to attract some Italians, said Marissa Burkett, a strategy consultant who lives in Paris and often travels for work.
“It’s competitive and loud and lovely,” she said. “I always have it in my purse.” The “trick-taking” game is played with two people with the goal of winning a number of points determined at the beginning of the round (a common goal is 21). “It’s easy to learn but hard to be good at, so you can welcome new people easily into the game,” Burkett said.
5. FOR THE WORD NERDS: QUIDDLER
Less formal than Scrabble and easier to pack, Quiddler is a game for word lovers and book worms. The goal of the game is to come up with words with all of the letters you’re distributed. Points are scored by the value of your cards, the length of your words and how many words you come up with. Fans of the game like that it’s addictive and easy for newcomers to pick up, making it good for rowdy groups. You can play with up to eight people, or if you want to practice on your own so you can beat your friends later, it can also be played solo.
6. FOR TOTS UNDER 4: FIRST ORCHARD
When toys and books stop impressing your little one and you’re not ready to pull out the tablet, try My Very First Games: First Orchard. Recommended for kids two to three, it’s a toddler-approved version of the board game Orchard wherein players work together to pick fruit from trees before a raven. By The Way travel reporter Hannah Sampson said her two-year-old loves the board game, but it’s fun for grown-ups too. It’s great for teaching kids about organisation and taking turns.
7. FOR CHAOS: DUTCH BLITZ
Created by a German immigrant who relocated to Pennsylvania Dutch country in the 1930s, Dutch Blitz is a card game described by fans as fast, competitive and chaotic – there are no turns, everyone plays at once. You’ll need to read a little to get the rules, but think of it as part solitaire, part Nerts. The original game is good for up to four players, but you can buy an expansion pack to play with even more.
8. FOR A COUPLE’S TRIP: BANANAGRAMS
Writer and pie maker Erika Dahlby and her husband, Zach, love Bananagrams so much that they took it on their honeymoon to Europe. Fortunately, it didn’t take up too much room in their luggage. The game comes in a banana-shaped bag about the size of a toiletry kit. The rules are easy: Empty the banana bag of its tiles, each of which is printed with a letter and place each face down. Dole them out according to how many people are playing (between two to eight people) and race to use them to make words on their own grid.
9. FOR THE MULTIGENERATIONAL TRIP: MONOPOLY DEAL
Monopoly takes an eternity to play. Monopoly Deal is the opposite of that. While still real estate-themed, this quick-playing card game can blow by in 15 minutes and can get so heated that you’ll want to play back-to-back games, said Meredith Carey, deputy editor at Tripadvisor. The gist is to get three sets of buildings, while trying not to let other players steal from or bankrupt you in the process. It’s recommended for players eight and older, and can be played with two to five people (although Carey has had fun playing with up to six).
10. FOR BIG LAUGHS: TELESTRATIONS
Think telephone meets Pictionary, and you get Telestrations. You don’t have to be a good drawer to play; in fact, the worse you are, the funnier it is, said By The Way editor Amanda Finnegan. Every person gets an erasable pad and begins drawing a word picked from a card (everyone is drawing a different word). Then, the pad gets passed to the person next to you, and they have to guess what you drew. This gets repeated in the circle, alternating between drawing and guessing, until your pad returns to you – and the end result is usually nowhere close to what you originally drew. Finnegan said her family is still talking about drawings and guesses during beach trips years ago. – Natalie B Compton
