I love travelling – who doesn’t? Anyone who has ever been to a brand new location will understand the value of meeting new people, getting to know different cultures, and taking in all the delights that your destination has to offer.
When I was in Thailand, something clicked, and I found the one thing that was missing from almost all my travels – fun travel games.
People in Thailand love to play games at the beach, at bars, and even outdoors – it’s very popular around Asia, and I think they’re onto something.
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That’s why I’ll give you ten of the best travel games for your next trip. Five are for you and your adult friends, and five are best suited for kids when you’re out with the family.
Top five travel games for adults
Travelling as an adult is fun, especially if you’re travelling with your friends. If you’re travelling with the kids, you might want to pack a couple of kids’ games to make their time a little more fun – but why should you be missing out on all the fun games while travelling?
If you want to have some fun while travelling, here are my top five travel games for adults.
Yahtzee
Yahtzee is one of the most popular games in the world, and it requires nothing but plain old dice, a piece of paper, and some friends. It’s the ideal travel game – it promotes some healthy competition between friends and is very easy to carry.
Cards Against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity are the perfect game for those with a dirtier mind. The dirtier the mind, the better the game! All you need is a deck of cards and a wild imagination. The rules are pretty simple, and if someone pops a top combination of cards, laughs are all but guaranteed.
Poker
Have you ever played poker? If not, you’re missing out. Poker has been around for almost as long as card games in general. It has persisted in its many incarnations because it’s exciting, fun, and not that hard to play. All you need is to pack a deck of cards and follow some basic rules.
Another great thing about poker is that it’s played all around the world, so you might even get to enjoy it with some locals as well.
Truth or Dare
Young adults and older adults will appreciate the sheer creativity of truth or dare. It’s a game we’ve been playing since we were kids, and just like fine wine, it gets better with age. Playing truth or dare as an adult is quite the experience, and the only thing you have to pack is your imagination.
Shot Top Up
When I started writing this article, I wanted to avoid drinking games as much as possible, but this one has become incredibly popular recently. All you need is some liquor, a couple of friends, and a shot glass.
Everyone fills the glass little by little, and the person whose pour overspills the shot glass has to down it! It’s rowdy, it’s fun, and it’s adults-only. It’s even better if you do it with local drinks because you never know what to expect.
Top five travel games for kids
If you’ve ever travelled with kids, you’ll know how hard it can be to keep them occupied and animated. Sure, screen time might take some weight off your shoulders, but if you want your kids to interact with each other, you’ll have to go old-school and bring some fun games on your trip.
Here are the top five games my kids and my friend’s kids love playing together on our trips.
Uno
Uno is a game that has always been popular with kids. It’s easy to carry around, the rules are simple, and the colours are bright – but once you get the +4 card, the game becomes much more serious – and kids love it. If you’re looking for a fun way to entertain your kids for hours on end, Uno is a must.
Battleship
Battleship is one of the best travel board games. It has been around for decades, thanks to its unique yet simple game mechanics and the thrill of what your opponent will do next.
Even if you forgot all the pieces and the board, you can make it in minutes using a couple of pieces of paper and some pens. A few minutes of work to keep kids occupied for hours – now that’s a good tradeoff.
Squeeze Bubbles
These games have been blowing up on Tik-Tok, and my kids are in love with them. They’re the fidget spinners that never really go out of style. Squeeze bubbles are like the infinite bubble wrap, and if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll be busy with this for a long while.
Puzzles
Puzzles are always fun, especially if they depict your kids’ favourite characters. Puzzles have never fallen out of fashion and you can get hundreds of custom puzzle designs. It’s a guaranteed pleaser and will keep kids occupied for hours on end.
Bananagrams
Bananagrams isn’t simply a kids game – it’s one of the most popular kids games in existence. It’s kind of like scrabble, as it’s easy to play for people of all ages, but it’s best suited to younger audiences. The game is also super easy to carry around, as it comes with a neat little banana-shaped carrier.
In conclusion
Travelling is always an exciting experience, but you’ll need some fun activities to spice things up a bit.
If you’re travelling with your friends, we’ve given you five adult games that you’ll love.
If you’re taking the kids with you, each of the five travel games for kids on this list will keep them occupied for hours.
Games and travelling are a match made in heaven, and I refuse to board a plane or start the car without at least a couple of games in my bag.
