If you’re going on vacation soon and want something to really dig your teeth into while you’re away, clear some space in your suitcase for the best travel board games. No matter whether you’re taking a break with family, friends, or your partner, these will brighten up the trip. Personally speaking, my family and I adore trying to outdo each others’ high scores over the course of a holiday.
Where should you start, though? I’ve been covering and reviewing the best board games on GamesRadar+ for years now, and that means I’ve got plenty of recommendations. These are the travel board games our experts and I make a beeline for when we head on vacation, so they’ll hopefully add a little sunshine to your trip as well.
Quick list
As a lauded award-winner, Scout is one of the easiest recommendations on this list. A compact box and tight gameplay involving just a few cards and tokens make it oh-so transportable, too.
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It’s hard to find a more charming and replayable travel board game than this. Because it’s so fast-paced yet easy to get the hang of, it’s an ideal choice to bring on vacation with your kids.
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This might be my new favorite two-player game on the go. Hive is basically “weird chess,” because you have to surround your opponent’s queen using tiles that can only move in certain ways. It’s a tense yet accessible (and compact) battle of bugs.
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Going on vacation with friends? Coup is a superb choice. It’s a fast-paced bluffing game in a small package, so can be easily slung into a backpack yet still provides more than enough tactical depth to keep you coming back.
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Of everything in my collection, Jaipur is the one I’ve taken on vacation most. This 2-player card game is easy-going enough that you can pick up ‘n’ play without much effort, and it’s quick too – not to mention portable.
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Like so many of the options here, Bananagrams is a great vacation board game thanks to its portable nature – but the crossword-style gameplay is very aPEELing too.
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Best for families: Scout
Countless fans (and our own writers, no less) swear by Scout, and honestly? I can’t argue with them. It walked away with the industry’s most prestigious game of the year award in 2022, and it continues to be highly recommended by the community now.
For starters, it travels exceptionally well due to coming in a small box while only using a few cards and tokens. That means you’ve got a lot of entertainment crammed into one small space.
Secondly, it’s dead easy to learn but has a hidden depth that should keep you coming back. Your aim is to create sets of the same number or sequences of a higher value than the last one laid down, but you can’t change the order of the cards in your hand. That means you’ve got to be clever in the way you gather and play new cards, giving plenty to think about. As our Scout review notes, “its emphasis on speed and uncertainty makes for an addictive ‘just one more match’ feeling that’s hard to beat.”
Best for kids: Sushi Go
Even though it isn’t just for kids (everyone can have a great time with this vacation board game), Sushi Go is particularly good when travelling with younger family members. On top of an inviting cartoon style, it’s very easy to get the hang of and only lasts 15 minutes or so per session. It also comes in a hard-wearing metal tin, so can be taken pretty much anywhere.
Your aim is to create the most delicious sushi menu around, and you do that by choosing cards from a deck that’s being passed between players. Each card scores differently, so you’ve got to choose wisely; they either provide points straight away or can be combined for a more powerful combo if you collect enough of an item. That gives plenty of options, but it also risks you winding up with nothing if you (literally) don’t play your cards right. When multipliers, sets, and ‘puddings’ that only count at the end of the game are added to the mix, this straightforward game shows that it’s got more than enough to chew on.
Honestly, Sushi Go is one of my ride-or-dies in terms of travel games; it goes with me everywhere.
Best for couples: Hive
It’s impossible to discuss the best 2-player board games without Hive being mentioned. This is an utterly stone-cold classic that’s been going strong since 2001, and there’s a good reason for that. Despite being very accessible and portable enough to be used anywhere (be it a plane tray or a beer garden table), there’s enough strategy powering it to keep you coming back.
Basically, Hive is like an easier-to-understand version of chess. Your aim is to surround and trap your opponent’s queen, but all your tiles have to be connected to something else – you can’t have bugs out on their own. Because they all move in different ways, you have to cleverly outmanoeuvre your foe whilst keeping you queen safe, all as they try to do the exact same thing. It’s a shame only two people can play at once, but hey; it’s good enough to make up for that shortcoming.
Enjoy more competitive games or head-to-head challenges? Make sure this is in your collection.
Best with friends: Coup
Coup is a game I only discovered recently, but I’m already obsessed. It feels like a cross between Dune and Game of Thrones, with all the political backstabbing that goes along with it.
Set in a dystopian future where you’re trying to get ahead of your rivals at court by any means necessary, you must eliminate a foe’s supporters using special powers or build up enough money to launch an outright attack against them. Because most abilities can be blocked or counteracted by cards in your hand, cunning is order of the day… particularly because those cards are face down, so you can absolutely lie about what you have.
Seeing as opponents can always call you out if they think you’re bluffing, there’s a sense of tension that runs throughout every game. If they were right, you lose a card. If you were right, though? They lose a card. That means clever players will act untrustworthy even if they’re being genuine, all to keep rivals on their toes. It’s deliciously wicked.
Best card game: Jaipur
This is one of those games that I’ve been recommending to anyone who’ll listen for literal years. I gave it a full five stars in my Jaipur review, and I still stand by that verdict; this is a brilliant little masterpiece with the awards to prove it.
Your aim is to become the most successful businessperson in the land and earn the favor of the Maharaja. That means it’s all about taking goods from the market and selling them at just the right moment to earn maximum points, but without your rival scooping up what you want before you get there.
Because every kind of item in the game has a different quantity and resell value, you have plenty of avenues to go down. Do you collect cheap items and sell them fast? Or should you hold off and collect more expensive goods to sell at a major profit? There’s no right answer, and that makes Jaipur one of the best card games around.
Best word game: Bananagrams
Here’s another game that always gets put into my suitcase when I’m looking for vacation board games that travel well. For one thing, it’s all stored in a single soft case that’s easy to find room for. Next, it can be played anywhere with a flat surface. Oh, and it’s bloody excellent.
The idea here is to use up all the letter tiles in front of you to create your own crossword, with words that all connect to one another. Each time you use up the supply, you shout “peel” and everyone must grab a new tile. Play then continues until every single tile is gone. It can become incredibly speedy once everyone gets the hang of things, and what may have sounded like a dry word game becomes a frantic race to the finish.
Enjoy competitive challenges? This will very much be your jam. It’s a test of speed, skill, and flexibility, because rearranging your crossword when progression becomes impossible is key. There’s no better feeling than outsmarting your rivals either, so you’ll be dining out on that high for a while if you win.
For more recommendations, don’t miss the best 2-player board games or the best adult board games.
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