Whether it’s camping, on a road trip, on a cruise, or even during our honeymoon, my wife and I always pack a board game with us when we travel.
But, there is one key constraint when deciding which board game (or games) to bring – transportability.
Depending on your pack or luggage size, space is limited so only the most compact and portable board games are desirable.
In most instances, the original board game box is quite large compared to the game contents. If that’s indeed the case, I usually remove all the game components and place them in either a zip-lock bag or a Tupperware container. It’s a great hack that saves a LOT of space.
So, here are 5 board games perfect for couples who travel, and still want to keep things spicy with a little competition on the road.
Article Contents:
- Monopoly Deal · 15 – 20 mins · 2 to 5 player
- Citadels · 20 – 60 mins · 2 to 8 player
- Splendor · 25 – 35 mins · 2 to 4 player
- 7 Wonders Duel · 30 – 40 mins · 2 player
- Hive Pocket · 15 – 20 mins · 2 player
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2 to 5
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 1 minute
Expansions: No
Price: $10 – $15
Monopoly deal is a card-based board game that is just as competitive as its older brother but neatly fits in your pocket. Seriously! And it’s a traveler’s best friend.
Because of its relatively compact form-factor, Monopoly Deal is a fantastic game to toss into a backpack or tuck into your suit case to take on the road.
Quick Rules
The goal of the game is to collect 3 complete sets of properties of different colors. Each player starts with 5 cards. On your turn, you draw two cards and play up to three cards.
Cards played can be either added as money to your bank, properties, enhancements to your properties (increased rent) or actions (collect rent, birthday money or steal/swap property cards). It’s just that simple!
Why it’s Great
I’ve played Monopoly Deal while backcountry camping, in airport waiting areas, and taken it half way around the world!
The low setup time, simple rules and high re-playability makes Monopoly Deal one of our favourite games to bring absolutely everywhere.
Looking for the complete rules to play Monopoly Deal? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 20 to 60 minutes
Players: 2 to 8
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 5 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $20 – $25
Citadels is one of those board games that is stupid-simple to play, loads of fun for couples, and better with more players.
It’s also ultra portable since it consists of just a deck of cards and a fist-full of button-sized tokens.
Quick Rules
Citadels is a fun, dynamic board game that only gets better when more people are playing. The premise is to strategically switch characters between each round to help yourself amass the most points.
During the game, players take turns selecting 1 of 8 character cards in secret. Each character has their own unique ability, which becomes evident during the action phase of gameplay.
Some characters give you more points, others let you chose your next character first, and others all-together block rival characters from maneuvering during the action phase.
The goal is to systematically choose characters that help increase your income so that you can build district cards (which earn you points). Once any player builds their 8th district card, the game ends, and the player with the most points (see scoring rules) wins!
Why it’s Great
Truthfully, my wife is incredibly good at changing and leveraging her character cards against me throughout the game. I think her win percentage is well above 90% – what a beast!
But, because the game is very competitive and portable, (and since I’m not a sore loser), we play Citadels more often than not, even while we travel. We ditch the original box and toss everything into a zip-lock bag for better pack-ability.
Looking for the complete rules to play Citadels? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 25 to 35 minutes
Players: 2 to 4
Transportability: Medium
Difficulty to Learn: Medium
Setup Time: 5 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $35 – $40
Splendor relies on patience, persistence and perseverance – three things my wife sometimes lacks [sorry honey!].
However, one way or another, she finds a way to squeak out a victory, leaving me more-or-less shell-shocked nearly every time we play.
Quick Rules
Splendor is a mad dash to collect gem tokens and gem cards to ultimately gain prestige points. The first player to reach or exceed 15 prestige points wins.
To get prestige points, you need to purchase prestige gem cards. To purchase prestige gem cards, you need to have either enough tokens (chips) and/or gem cards. To get gem cards, you need to purchase them with tokens. And to get tokens, you can pick them up 3 (or two) at a time on your turn.
Phew! That’s the game in a nutshell.
There are 5 standard colours of tokens to choose from. There are also 3 tiers of gem cards (green, yellow and blue), each progressively more expensive to purchase, but each more rewarding than the previous tier.
On your turn, you have three options. You can:
(1) Pick up two of the same tokens (if all tokens of that colour are available) or three tokens (each of a different colour) and add them to your stack from the bank.
(2) Purchase a gem card with the corresponding number of tokens/gem cards, and add the purchased card to your stack.
(3) Reserve a card for yourself for purchase at a later time, collecting a gold token in the process, which counts as a universal colour token.
Why it’s Great
Splendor is a chess-like battle for prestige points supremacy. When played with two players, you are constantly anticipating your opponents next move while planning your own. It hurts my brain just thinking about it.
The board game expansions also offer alternative ways of playing so it never gets repetitive. It’s one of our favourite two player games which we never forget to travel without… just in case!
Looking for the complete rules to play Splendor? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 30 to 40 minutes
Players: 2
Transportability: Medium
Difficulty to Learn: Medium
Setup Time: 5 minute
Expansions: No
Price: $40 – $45
I’m not sure about you, but I’m a big fan of adventure travel – snorkeling, hiking, zip-lining, that’s my cup of tea. But when my wife suggested we head down to Delray Beach, Florida for a “beach vacation” I had my reservations.
Yes, the sand and surf was nice, but where was the action, the adventure, the excitement!?!
Thankfully, I had secretly packed 7 Wonders Duel in my suitcase in a large zip-lock bag; a delightfully competitive two player board game that was just what I needed…
Quick Rules
The name of the game is to collect resources, advance your military and/or scientific development, and establish a winning civilization complete with ancient wonders.
During the game, there are three ages (or rounds) of cards that are set up. Cards are positioned in a specific pattern, face up and face down during each round. Players take turns selecting available cards to be either added to their stack, discarded for coins, or used towards constructing a wonder.
With enough resources you can build a wonder which results in some sort of bonus. Coins can also be used to purchase resources in-lieu of resource cards.
Military conquest, scientific achievement and victory points cards are also available to be selected. Players can win by military conquest (selecting military cards and advancing towards your opponent’s capital), scientific supremacy (collecting 7 different scientific development cards) or, if neither of this occurs, by total victory points at the end of the game.
Why it’s Great
I fondly remember sitting outside of our hotel playing 7 Wonders Duel with the Florida air blowing past and I couldn’t be happier. Don’t get me wrong, traveling is such a privilege but beach vacations aren’t appealing to me in the slightest.
So, if it wasn’t for 7 Wonders Duel (and Monopoly Deal), that trip would have been incredibly forgettable. I’m so glad I brought those board games!
Looking for the complete rules to play 7 Wonders Duel? Check them out here.
Gameplay: 15 to 20 minutes
Players: 2
Transportability: High
Difficulty to Learn: Low
Setup Time: 1 minutes
Expansions: Yes
Price: $20 – $25
The objective of Hive is simple: be the first to completely surround your opponents queen bee to win.
Seem easy, right? Wrong! It’s an intense board game that feels a lot like chess but nowhere near as boring (sorry chess fans).
Quick Rules
Hive doesn’t rely on a game board. Instead, each player has 11 hexagonal tiles, each representing a different insect. There is the queen bee (1), spiders (2), beetles (2), grasshoppers, (3) and ants (3). Each insect has a distinct movement ability.
To start, one player places an insect tile. The second player then places a tile, connected to one side of the first player.
When placing new tiles from this point forward, new tiles can only touch your own insect tiles. Within the first four tiles placed per player, the queen bee must be placed.
Once the queen bee is placed, already placed insect tiles can move according to their movement ability. Some insect tiles can move one edge spot at a time, while others must move 3 spots. Some insects have the ability to move in the vertical direction and “climb” over other tiles.
One key rule is that all pieces in play must remain connected, also known as the “One-Hive” rule. That means you cannot move an insect tile if it results in another tile or tiles being left broken from the rest.
This simple but crucial rule makes this game incredibly competitive. You can essentially trap your opponent pieces with your own so that they won’t be able to move those tiles without breaking this rule.
The goal is to add and move insect tiles until your opponent’s queen bee is completely surrounded on all 6 sides by either player’s tiles.
Why it’s Great
If you’re like me, you’ll regularly play multiple rounds because you won’t get enough of this quick, yet competitive low-cost board game you can take anywhere.
Looking for the complete rules to play Hive? Check them out here.
What board games do you take with you when you travel? Let me know your favourites in the comments below!
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