If you’re off on your travels and have some time to kill, a portable board game could become your new best friend. Whether you’re at the airport, a restaurant, or a hotel room, a board game can turn your whole mood around and create a fun experience for the whole family. We’ve compiled a list of some great games that are compact, engaging, and simple to set up. perfect for passing the time.

Anarchy Pancakes

Anarchy Pancakes is a wild reimagining of the classic Dobble game, but this time the theme is (you guessed it) pancakes. Each card has a bunch of random toppings on a pancake, and your aim is to match your toppings with another player. Once you’ve found a match, you can force the player to take your pancake. It’s harder than it sounds, as every player is frantically trying to find matches at the same time! The first player to dump all their pancakes wins.

Anarchy Pancakes is compact and portable, making it easy to throw in your bag. The short rounds and simple rules make it perfect for playing anywhere, anytime during your travels. 

Love Letter 

If you’re interested in a quick and suspenseful game that's easy to learn, Love Letter might be a great choice for your trip away. Designed for 2-6 players, the game involves risk, deduction, and luck as everyone aims to reach Princess Annette first to hand her a love letter. 

Love Letter is a great travel companion since it is compact in size - only 27 cards and a small rulebook fit inside the handy pouch bag. The simple rules mean that everyone can pick up the game quickly and easily, and you can play it in as little as 20 minutes.

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Get ready for laughter and a fast-paced battle of reflexes! Designed for 2-8 players, this fun game involves taking turns saying "Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza" in turn while placing a card on the deck. If the word you say aloud matches the card you’ve placed, it’s a race to put your hand down on the centre pile. The last player to put their hand in loses the round and must take all of the cards from the middle pile. The player who gets rid of all of their cards and then is the first to slap their hand on the deck, wins.  

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is the perfect game to ease boredom while you’re travelling since it’s so easy to learn, you can play anywhere, and it’s small enough to fit perfectly in your bag. 

Jaipur

Become a savvy trader in Jaipur, the 2-player strategic card game. In the bustling markets of Jaipur, you’ll take on the role of merchants to collect and exchange goods, then sell them for rupees. Camels have no sale value but they’re helpful for trading. Once 3 of the 6 sets of Goods Tokens have been used, players add up their tokens to see who wins a seal of excellence with the highest total. The overall winner is the player who wins two seals of excellence over the rounds. 

Considering Jaipur is a pack of cards with some tokens, this makes the game fantastic for when you’re on your travels. Rounds are quick and engaging, with players constantly making choices about which cards to collect and trade. This keeps everyone involved and makes it a perfect game for passing the time on the go.

The Number 

Are you more cunning or daring than your opponents? The Number is a bluffing and gambling game all about choosing numbers. A game lasts 2 rounds which are 5 turns each, and everyone plays at the same time. To play The Number, each player writes a 3-digit number on their board between 000 and 999. Once all players have written their number, it’s time to check if your number is approved or eliminated. Your number is approved if it doesn’t share any digits with smaller numbers. The first digit of your approved number is your score, and any digits you used in this number are now unavailable for the rest of the round. 

The Number is a wonderful choice for groups of 3-5 who enjoy strategising and competing with each other. 

Splendor Duel

If you’re travelling as a pair, getting your hands on a great two-player game is a fantastic investment. Splendor Duel is a 2-player version of Splendor, where players must race against each other for victory. Described as being slightly more complex and rich than the original, the game involves taking tokens or using these tokens to buy Jewel cards which award you with Prestige points and Crowns. The game ends when a player reaches any of the three winning conditions: earning 20 victory points, 10 crowns, or 10 victory points collected on jew cards of the same colour. 

This game can be found on many people’s lists of favourite 2 player games, and that’s for a reason! The strategic depth of this game makes it an engaging choice to keep both players entertained. 

Board Games Advice from Asmodee