Best Travel Games for Kids & Families: Games We Actually Take Travelling
When you’re travelling as a family, every bit of luggage space counts. We’ve spent years travelling with our son, often moving from place to place rather than having a permanent home base. And somewhere along the way, we discovered that a few good travel board and card games that are suitable for kids, are worth their weight in luggage space.
They’re brilliant for long evenings in hotels and apartments, rainy days, waiting around at airports, slow afternoons when everyone’s tired, and those inevitable moments when you’ve exhausted every other form of entertainment. They’re also a nice way to get everyone away from their screens and actually spend some time together.
But not every board game makes a good travel companion. Some have enormous boxes, dozens of tiny pieces and boards that require half a dining table to set up. Those aren’t exactly ideal when you’re trying to fit your entire life into a suitcase.
So we’ve become pretty selective.
I have written a detailed post about what we pack for long term travel, and what we leave behind here.
These are the family board and card games we’ve personally played, enjoyed and found transportable enough to take travelling. Some are genuinely tiny. Others are larger games that we’ve decided are worth sacrificing the luggage space for. And a few have an extra worldschooling bonus, whether that’s geography, mythology, history or strategy.
I’ve included our honest thoughts on what makes each one worth packing — and who I think will enjoy it most.
What Makes a Good Travel Game?
Before getting into the games, there are a few things we look for when deciding whether a game deserves space in our luggage.
It needs to be reasonably compact
This sounds obvious, but board-game boxes can be ridiculously large compared with what’s actually inside them. For long-term travel, we often take games out of their original packaging and store the components in smaller bags or containers.
It shouldn’t take forever to set up
A game that requires 15 minutes of arranging pieces before you can play isn’t particularly appealing when you’re sitting in an airport or trying to squeeze a game onto a tiny hotel table.
It needs to work with children AND adults
We’re not interested in games that are technically “family games” but leave the adults desperately hoping the game will end.
It needs to survive travel
Lost pieces happen. Cards get bent. Things get squashed in backpacks.
The perfect travel game either has relatively few components or is forgiving when something inevitably goes missing.
And, perhaps most importantly:
We have to actually enjoy playing it.
There are plenty of wonderfully educational games that never made it into our luggage because nobody wanted to play them twice.
These are the games that passed the test.
1. Dungeon Mayhem
Best for: D&D fans and older kids
Players: 2–4
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If your child is obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeon Mayhem is an incredibly easy game to justify bringing along. Our son is D&D obsessed, so this one was always going to be a winner in our family. As you can see, ours is very well loved and used.
It’s a fast-paced card game where you choose a D&D character and battle against the other players. The gameplay is chaotic, funny and deliberately uncomplicated, which makes it much easier to pull out for a quick game than a full D&D session.
And that’s the big travel advantage. You don’t need a board. You don’t need a huge playing area. You just need the cards and somewhere to put them. It’s the kind of game you can play after dinner, while waiting for something, or when you’ve got half an hour to kill.
Why we love it: It’s one of those rare games that manages to feel like a proper strategy game while still being quick enough for travel.
And if your child already loves D&D, there’s the added excitement of getting to play as fantasy characters.
2. Carcassonne
Best for: Families who want a proper strategy game
Players: 2–5
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Carcassonne is one of our favourite games to take when we want something that feels like a real board game, rather than just a quick card game.
The basic concept is wonderfully simple: players take turns laying landscape tiles to build cities, roads, monasteries and fields, placing their little meeples as they go.
But there’s much more strategy hiding underneath those simple rules.
One of the reasons it works surprisingly well for travel is that there isn’t actually a fixed board. The landscape grows as you play, so you can create a relatively small playing area if you’re short on space.
It’s also a great game for children who are beginning to understand planning and strategy. And, as a bonus for worldschooling families, there’s something rather satisfying about literally building a little landscape together while travelling through real ones.
3. Splendor
Best for: Older kids and adults who like strategy
Players: 2–4
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Splendor is another game that doesn’t necessarily look like an obvious travel game.
The original box isn’t exactly pocket-sized, but the actual game is relatively manageable, and it’s one we’ve found worth taking when we know we’ll have some proper table time.
The game involves collecting gems, acquiring development cards and building up your engine so that you can attract nobles and earn points.
It’s easy enough to learn, but there is plenty of strategy once everyone understands how it works.
It’s also a good option for families with older children because it doesn’t feel like a children’s game that adults are merely tolerating.
Travel tip: If you’re taking games like Splendor on a longer trip, consider ditching the original box and finding a more compact way to store the components. We like these ziplock pouches that come in different sizes. They can turn a bulky board game into something small enough to slip into a handbag, rather than taking up a quarter of your suitcase.
We’ve discovered that this can make a surprisingly big difference when you’re travelling long-term.
4. Horrified: Greek Monsters
Best for: Mythology lovers and cooperative play
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the Greek Monsters version of Horrified, and it’s one of my favourite additions to a worldschooling family’s board-game collection.
If you’re studying Greek mythology — or your child is simply fascinated by Greek gods and monsters — this is a fantastic way to turn that interest into something interactive.
Rather than competing against each other, everyone works together to defeat the monsters.
And that’s something we particularly like about cooperative games when travelling as a family. You don’t have the inevitable situation where one person is spectacularly winning and another is spectacularly losing. You’re all on the same team.
The mythology connection also makes it an easy jumping-off point for worldschooling.
After playing, you can look up the monsters, find out where their stories originated, compare the game’s versions with the original myths, or even explore ancient Greek sites if you’re travelling through Greece.
Travel verdict: This isn’t the tiniest game on our list, and it needs a proper table, but we think it’s worth the luggage space when we’re travelling somewhere for long enough to actually play it.
5. Top Trumps: Wonders of the World
Best for: Geography-loving kids
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This might be one of the most obvious worldschooling travel games on our list.
We’ve played Top Trumps versions for years, but the Wonders of the World versions are particularly good for travelling families. You get cards featuring different places and compare statistics to try to win your opponents’ cards.
It is simple, portable and requires virtually no setup. But the best part is what happens around the game.
Suddenly you’re looking at a card for a place you’ve never heard of and your child wants to know:
“Where is that?”
Which leads to the map. Which leads to looking up the country. Which leads to finding out what language they speak. Which leads to discovering that there are pyramids/volcanoes/elephants/ancient ruins there. And congratulations — you’ve just accidentally spent an hour doing geography. That’s basically worldschooling.
There are also versions of the game with Ancient Rome, Greek Myths, Animals, and many more.
6. Exploding Kittens
Best for: Quick games almost anywhere
Players: 2–5
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you’re looking for a game that can be pulled out almost anywhere, Exploding Kittens is hard to beat.
It’s a card game, so there’s no board to set up and very little space required.
The rules are easy to learn, games are relatively quick, and the ridiculous illustrations make it particularly appealing to kids.
We’ve played it while travelling and it’s exactly the kind of game you want when nobody has the energy for a complicated strategy game.
It’s also very easy to pack the cards separately rather than taking the entire box.
Best travel feature: It takes up almost no luggage space compared with a traditional board game.
7. Trash Pandas
Best for: Short, silly family games
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trash Pandas is another little game that earns its place by being small, quick and genuinely fun.
The premise is exactly what you’d expect from the name: you’re a raccoon rummaging through trash trying to collect the best loot.
It’s a push-your-luck game, so every turn involves deciding whether to keep going and risk losing what you’ve collected or play it safe.
That makes it particularly fun with kids because you get those wonderfully dramatic moments of:
“I’m going to roll one more time…”
…followed immediately by disaster.
It’s small enough to be an easy addition to a travel bag and doesn’t require much space to play.
This is a great “we have 15 minutes before we need to leave” game.
8. Bears vs Babies
Best for: Kids who like weird and silly games
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bears vs Babies is one of those games that makes you laugh simply because the premise is so ridiculous.
You build bizarre monsters out of cards and send them into battle against equally bizarre baby armies.
It’s not the most educational game on our list. It doesn’t need to be.
Sometimes a family needs a game that is just completely silly in the best possible way.
It’s compact, easy to pack and works well when you want something entertaining without a huge time commitment.
And let’s be honest: when you’ve spent all day sightseeing, hiking or navigating airports, sometimes “educational” is the last thing anyone wants.
9. Minecraft Explorers
Best for: Minecraft-loving worldschoolers
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you have a Minecraft-obsessed child, you probably don’t need much convincing to put this one in your luggage.
Minecraft Explorers brings the familiar Minecraft world into a physical card game, which makes it a particularly nice compromise for families who are trying to balance screen time with other forms of play.
It also fits beautifully into our worldschooling approach because Minecraft itself can become a surprisingly useful springboard for learning about things like resource management, planning, exploration and problem-solving.
And there’s something fun about taking a game based on a virtual world around the real world with you.
For us, that makes this much more than just another licensed kids’ game.
10. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not every family travelling with children has an 8-, 9- or 10-year-old.
If you’re travelling with a toddler or preschooler, you need a completely different kind of game.
Sneaky Snacky Squirrel is a lovely option for younger children. It’s simple, colourful and designed around matching colours and taking turns.
It’s also the sort of game that can actually hold a little one’s attention without requiring them to understand a complicated set of rules.
For very young children, games aren’t necessarily about strategy. They’re about:
- taking turns
- recognising colours
- following simple rules
- counting
- developing patience
- and, most importantly, having fun together.
It’s a great little game to have in an apartment, hotel room or while visiting family.
11. Ragnarök
Best for: A worldschooling souvenir you can actually play
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the worldschooling factor
This one is a little different. We bought our copy of Ragnarök, a card game based around Norse mythology, in a museum in Oslo. And we’ve only encountered it elsewhere in museum settings — including another museum in Denmark.
So this isn’t really a recommendation where I’m going to tell you to click a button and order it from Amazon. It’s more of a “keep your eyes open when you’re travelling” recommendation. And honestly, that’s part of why I love it.
Ragnarök is specifically designed around Norse mythology and Viking culture, making it a particularly nice combination of souvenir + game + learning resource. There are versions of the game sold through Scandinavian museum channels, although availability is limited.
For a worldschooling family, discovering something like this while actually visiting Scandinavia is much more memorable than buying a generic educational game online. You can play it, then visit a Viking museum, learn about Norse gods, look at Viking artefacts and connect the mythology in the game to the places you’re actually standing in.
That’s one of the things we love about worldschooling: learning doesn’t have to stay in a workbook.
Where to find it: We bought ours in Oslo, and we’ve seen it in museum settings in Scandinavia. If you come across it while travelling, grab it!
Our Favourite Travel Games at a Glance
If you don’t want to read through all the reviews, these are the ones we’d choose depending on what you’re looking for:
| If you want… | We’d choose… |
|---|---|
| 🎒 The easiest game to pack | Exploding Kittens |
| ⚔️ A game for D&D fans | Dungeon Mayhem |
| 🏰 A proper strategy game | Carcassonne |
| 💎 A more grown-up strategy game | Splendor |
| 🏛️ A mythology/worldschooling game | Horrified: Greek Monsters |
| 🌎 A geography game | Top Trumps: Wonders of the World |
| ⏱️ A quick game | Trash Pandas |
| 🤪 Something completely silly | Bears vs Babies |
| ⛏️ A Minecraft fan | Minecraft Explorers |
| 🐿️ A game for toddlers | Sneaky Snacky Squirrel |
| ⚔️ A unique travel discovery | Ragnarök |
Bonus Game: Play Nine
Best for: Families who like cards, numbers and a little strategy
Players: 2–6
Our verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you’re looking for something that’s small enough to disappear into your luggage but still fun for the whole family, Play Nine is a great option.
It’s essentially a card game with a golf theme, where the aim is to finish each round with the lowest score. You have a grid of cards in front of you and spend the game deciding which cards to keep, swap or replace as you try to improve your score.
It’s easy enough for kids to pick up, but there’s enough strategy involved to keep adults interested too.
We particularly like games like this for travelling because you don’t need much space to play. There’s no large board to unfold and the cards can easily be packed away in a small bag or pouch.
It also sneaks in a bit of maths without feeling like maths practice. Players are constantly adding and comparing numbers, weighing up whether to take a risk and trying to remember which cards are where. And because each round is relatively quick, it’s easy to fit in a game when you have a spare 20–30 minutes.
Travel verdict: A great little game for a hotel room, holiday apartment or anywhere you can find a small table. It’s the sort of game that earns its place in your luggage because it’s compact enough that you won’t resent packing it.
How We Pack Board Games When Travelling
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned from travelling long-term is that you don’t necessarily need the box.
Board-game boxes are often enormous compared with the components inside.
If we’re taking a game on a long trip, we’ll often:
- Remove the cardboard insert
- Put cards into a zip-lock bag or small card case
- Keep loose pieces together in a labelled bag
- Leave unnecessary packaging at home
- Keep rulebooks digitally on our phones
- Choose only a few favourites rather than trying to bring everything
The goal isn’t to create a portable board-game library.
It’s to bring a handful of games you’ll actually play.
And if you’re flying, think about the space you’ll realistically have. A game that works beautifully on a hotel table may be frustrating on an airplane tray.
Current travel-game guides make the same point: portability isn’t just about the size of the box; setup time, number of pieces and available playing space matter just as much.
Why We Think Board Games Belong in a Worldschooling Suitcase
One of the unexpected benefits of travelling with board games is that they become more than entertainment.
A game about geography can lead to a conversation about a country. A mythology game can lead to a museum visit. A strategy game teaches planning and decision-making without looking remotely like a lesson. A card game teaches probability, reading and following rules. And sometimes, a game simply gives you an hour around a table together instead of an hour staring at separate screens.
We’ve spent enough time travelling to know that not every moment needs to be educational. Sometimes you just need to sit down after a long day, eat some snacks and play a ridiculous card game. But when learning happens naturally along the way, that’s one of the things that makes worldschooling so much fun. So if you’re heading off on a family trip, don’t forget to leave a little room in the suitcase for a game or two.
You might be surprised by how often you reach for them.
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