If you know us, then you’ll know we love our games! We have an ever-growing collection, so it was tricky for us to choose which ones to take travelling. Some sadly had to be ruled out as they were just too big and a bit unrealistic to fit in a backpack. So for our travels we stuck with our favourite card games, as these are the most compact and portable. In this blog post, we’ll dive into a list of our top travel card games that will help make your journeys and even mornings, afternoons and evenings more enjoyable. We for sure have killed a lot of time playing these games!
1. Monopoly Deal
This has to be number one on our list! Our Monopoly Deal deck has travelled to countless countries with us and we have introduced lots of people to the game over the years. It is an exciting and fast-paced card game that offers a unique twist on the classic board game, Monopoly. The aim of the game is to collect sets of properties and build your property empire while using the action cards to sabotage opponents and protect your own assets. The goal is to be the first player to complete three full property sets. We can’t decide on who’s taken the most victories so far, it most probably has to be James as he is usually the games champ! With its compact size and portability, Monopoly Deal is a great choice for travel adventures, but be warned it may become addictive.
2. Uno Flip
We discovered UNO Flip whilst at a hostel on our travels around the Philippines. Everyone’s heard of UNO right, but if you’re like us then you may be unaware of the Flip version. It introduces an exciting new dynamic, featuring a double-sided deck, with one side containing the familiar classic UNO cards and the other displaying “Flip” cards with darker, more punishing actions. It introduces special action cards, such as the “Draw Five,” which can quickly change the course of the game. Super easy to learn with its strategic gameplay and the element of surprise, UNO Flip is again a great compact card game that you should take on your travels.
3. Dutch Blitz
Dutch Blitz is an energetic and fast-paced card game, just make sure you’ve got a bit of space to play this one! Each player has their own deck of cards, consisting of numbers 1 to 10 in four different colours. The objective is to empty your Blitz pile by playing cards onto one of the central Dutch piles in ascending order, with the number of central piles increasing with the number of players and as the game goes on. The catch is that players can play cards simultaneously, leading to chaos as everyone tries to beat their opponents to the finish line. Be prepared, this one can get a bit feisty!
4. Goat Lords
Goat Lords is a hilarious card game, where the goal is to beat out your opponents and gather the biggest herd of goats. The game has rules that are super easy-to-understand and is quick to setup, with players taking it in turns to ‘birth’ new goats, steal goats from opponents, or use the various action cards to stir things up. Strategies are vital in this game, you could think you’re winning until right at the end when “Ka-Boom,” someone blows up your goats, or steals them with the ‘Russian Goatlette’ action card.
5. Rivals of Catan
This Catan card game is a 2 player game based on the popular Catan board game. We love playing the board game when home, especially the Game of Thrones edition with all its extra features. Unfortunately its a bit too big to take travelling though! We found this card version while travelling around New Zealand and have to say it’s pretty awesome. Compared to all the games listed above, this one is the trickiest to learn, with a hefty 28 page instruction booklet! Once you have learnt the rules and how to setup the game, each player must cleverly manage their resources and compete to build the most impressive principality. Whether you’re a fan of the original board game or seeking a great 2 player card game, the Rivals for Catan promises hours of strategic enjoyment and friendly rivalry.
6. Playing cards
The classic deck of playing cards, this one is self explanatory. With so many different games to play, a deck of cards should really be in every traveller’s backpack!
7. Escape Rooms
Not a travel game as such but thought we’d mention it anyway. Something we love to do on our travels are Escape Rooms. If you haven’t tried one before then we would highly recommend you give it a go. Each room is designed with its own theme, some of which you’ll find are more unique than others. The aim is to solve puzzles and challenges to escape the room within a set time frame (usually 1 hour). We discovered the Morty app, which lets you search for nearby rooms, see the latest reviews and ratings and also keep a track of your completed rooms. We are up to 34 rooms and counting. Our favourite definitely has to be Pinball Machine at Escape! Whistler.
Which game will you be packing for your travels? We would love to hear in the comments if you have any other recommendations.