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Thanks to the huge range of board games that are now released every year, there are plenty of great games available that are designed to be played in a limited space without limiting the quality of entertainment.
7 Spot it!
Players: 2-8 Playing Time: 15 minutes
Spot it! (also known as Dobble) comes in a small circular tin and consists of nothing more than a stack of round cards. Various games can be played with the cards, though the main one simply tasks players with spotting matching symbols on two cards faster than any opponent.
This may sound simple, though the symbols are constantly changing in size, and each card is packed with colorful icons - making it far tougher than it looks - especially with the pressure of other people searching for matches at the same time.
6 Sushi Go!
Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 15 minutes
Sushi Go! was released in 2013 and is a card drafting game that features adorable sushi characters. Players shouldn’t let the cute and colorful aesthetics fool them, however, as Sushi Go! has a surprisingly high level of strategy.
The goal of the game is simply to get the highest score possible, though knowing what score to aim for is a challenge as there are cards that require precise combinations to be beneficial. Consequently, players need to think carefully about when to go for a combo and when to play it safe, as narrowly missing out on a high-scoring combo can have devastating effects on a player’s score.
5 Rummikub Travel
Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 45 minutes
As the name suggests, Rummikub Travel is a compact version of the classic tile-based game Rummikub. Rummikub was created by Ephraim Hertzano and became a household name in the ‘70s, which was an incredible achievement considering that Hertzano began by selling his game door-to-door.
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The game consists of 106 tiles with various colored numbers on them. The game’s goal is for each player to get rid of all their tiles, which is done by placing them in a communal space. However, tiles can only be placed if they fit into one of two groups of at least three tiles. Either the group of tiles must be a run of numbers of the same color (for example three red tiles numbered 7, 8, and 9) or the same number but different colors (for example a red 3, black 3, orange 3, and blue 3).
The game is simple at first but soon gets complicated as more tiles fill the communal area and players search for ways to move tiles around to fit theirs in.
4 Monopoly Deal
Players: 2-5 Playing Time: 15 minutes
Like Rummikub Travel, Monopoly Deal is a pocket-sized version of a classic game. Monopoly Deal removes the board and pieces from the original Monopoly to offer a card game that can be played almost anywhere.
Instead of trying to bankrupt opponents, the goal of Monopoly Deal is to collect three property sets. Each player starts with five cards and on their turn can either add properties to their collection, play an Action card, or add money to their bank.
The simplified version of the classic game removes many of its notorious issues, such as the marathon length of a single game and leaving players with nothing to do if they’re eliminated early in games with large groups.
3 Boggle
Players: 2-8 Playing Time: 5 minutes
Boggle is another household name that is perfect for traveling. The game simply requires the enclosed letter dice, a timer, a pen and paper, and an observant eye.
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The game begins after players have shaken the boxed letters to randomly assort them and players collectively try to find as many words as they can among the scrambled letters. This may sound easy, though the pressure of the clock and other opponents can make it deceivingly tricky.
Players must write down any words that they see, then read them out at the end. A top tip is to look for longer, harder-to-find words, as players only score points if they’re the sole player to have written down the word, and the more letters it has, the more points it earns.
2 Love Letter
Players: 2-4 Playing Time: 20 minutes
Love Letter comes in a small, pocket-sized bag and consists of little more than a handful of cards and some tokens. The goal of the game is to deliver a love letter to the Princess while doing everything possible to stop other players from achieving the same goal first.
The game takes place over a series of rounds, where players compete for Favor tokens. These tokens are won by the player who holds the highest value card at the end of the round unless all other players are eliminated. Holding the highest-value card is easier said than done, however, as each card has an effect, like the Priest card that lets the holder privately see another player’s hand or the King card that lets the holder trade hands with an opponent.
1 Chess
Players: 1-2 Playing Time: Various
While many games have tried over the decades and centuries, few have been able to come anywhere near Chess in terms of its level of strategy, variety in play, and staying power.
The game is a classic example of “easy to learn, difficult to master” thanks to its straightforward rules but incredible range of possible moves, which equate to a number so high that no one has even been able to accurately calculate it.
While most standard boards are too big to play on a plane or in a car, there are plenty of travel-sized chess boards with magnetic pieces to avoid them flying everywhere on a sharp turn.
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