Be it in the depths of a dark, cold winter or when the sun finally shows its face… There’s always time to plan for a holiday. Maybe you are visiting a city with a nice board game cafe or two… (hint) or, if not, you are looking to take a game or two (several?) along with you?
If it’s the former then check out our blog posts for ideas of what to play in your friendly cafe and if it’s the latter… well, this post is for you! Here are a few ideas for great games that travel well as they don’t take up a lot of room, but also carry a lot of punch.
For 2 who like a think… you’ll be buzzing…
This is the excellent Hive from 2001. An abstract tile based duel where you aim to surround your opponents Queen Bee before they surround yours.
Think chess but board-less and you’re not far off. There are only 5 types of tile in the base game and, for those who fall in love with it, another 3 that can be added.
On your turn you are either adding a new tile or moving a tile that is already part of the hive. There are clear and simple rules for placement and each tile type has its own movement rules, depending on what bug is on it. The grasshopper jumps, the ant scurries, the beetle climbs… you get the idea.
It’s a real brain burner and the more you play with an individual the more meta your thought process becomes… if the normal version is too heavy for your bag then the pocket version is perfect, you just need a small flat area to play on. Try to bee-hive yourself though, else your honey may buzz off.
For 2-6 who love a modern twist on a classic… Take 5?…
No box? Rules on a QR code? Carabiner clip included so you can just attach it to your bag/belt/whatever and just go? This is OK Play!
Place a square of your colour next to any other square… Do you have 5 in a row? If so, you win! That’s the basics of OK Play, sounds like a 2-player game you know? Well, this game can be bought as a 2-player version or a 4-player version and you can add them together (pictured) to make a 6-player version! Wow.
What happens if you run out of pieces as you only have 15 tiles each? Well… here’s the smart bit, you can move tiles already out (within reason).
So simple to understand and when you realise you can start playing mind games with people it’s elevated. I’ve sat there in a 6-player game with a move that will win the game on my next go… nobody has said anything and as the player before me has gone to go somewhere else then another player has just tapped on my almost line and gone ‘ahem’. The tension is great.
Not everyone realises this but, did you know you can poke the holder for your pieces into the hole of a played piece and it will lift the piece up without disturbing the others? Great design and you’ll feel connected when you win!
For 2-10 who want a fast paced interactive time… Knock them for 6…
6 nimmt! What a game, it has been around for over 30 years! Now, for a modern game, that’s staying power.
There are 104 cards in this game, numbered from 1 to, yeah, you guessed it, 104. Each is worth a number of bulls and the idea is to have the least bulls when the game ends!
Every turn each player puts a card face-down in front of them and then they all reveal them at the same time and, from lowest to highest, places them against an existing row. If you’re the 6th in the row you take the other five as penalties. That’s basically it.
Sounds simple and maybe a bit boring? Well. The tension mounts as the rows fill… will you be forced to pick up that row with lots of bulls in? Argh!
No Bull, there is a reason it has stayed in print for so long. Take it from us.. This is a 6 out of 6 game!
For 2-6 who love to bluff and play mind games… be enamoured…
21 cards, some tokens, a bag. That’s your lot. Love Letter is a genius bit of design and even with so few pieces has a great amount of replayability. There are also dozens of versions of the game, some that switch it around drastically, others that are re-themed.
So, what’s the idea? Well, you’re trying to use your contacts to get a love letter to the princess. The person who gets closest wins a favor from the Princess and get to a certain amount and you win!
The card in your hand represents who currently holds your love letter and at the start of your turn you draw another character and choose which one to keep, the other is discarded and activates its special power. If you have the highest numbered character at the end of the round then your love letter is closest to the princess and gain her favor!
It’s the special powers that make the game, I won’t go into them here but there is bluffing and guessing going on and even a bit of deck manipulation…
You’ll be ‘envelope’-d by the intricacies of this in no time.
For 2-8 who think quickly… on the double!…
Yeah, Dobble is a play on words of the word double. Some countries call it Spot it! As, let’s face it.. That’s what you have to do!
With 5 mini-games all you are really doing is locating the picture which is on both of a pair of cards, fast!
There are almost 200 versions of Dobble these days including a waterproof beach version and for something that is based on geometric mathematics (finite projective planes, dontcha know!). That’s pretty impressive.
Useless fact, there are 57 shapes in the classic Dobble and that means there should also be 57 cards but there are only 55! Shock! Or should that be a double take??
For 2-6 who love a targeted bluff… don’t be skittish!
Critters… cards… a simple statement… overthinking… this is Cockroach Poker.
Pass one of your cards to an opponent, tell them which critter is on it… are you lying or being honest? They can either accept the challenge of peek and pass it on. If you accept, it’s true or false time, if they were wrong in their judgement then the card is their penalty and goes face up in front of them and it’s their go next, if they were right it’s a penalty for the player who passed it to them and their go again. If they decide to peek at the card, they now pass it on and the same choice is made by the next target player.
Beware, if you have no cards and it’s your go you are the sole loser. Also, if you end up with 4 critters from the same category then it’s also your loss.
With more winners than losers, it’s a great game of bluff. Best round I ever saw? A bloke passing cards to his partner and them calling it correctly straight away, every time. The look of confusion on the poor chap’s face. After 6 goes he had to target another player with a look of shame on his face as he just couldn’t get one past her! Lesson learnt.
It’s not poker but it does have cockroaches and other nasty things in it. Don’t let it bug you if you keep losing!
For 2-4 who read minds… ‘Medium’ difficulty?
Is it a game? Is it an experiment? Is it a journey? It’s an experience. The Mind.
Place the whole team’s cards in ascending order. No communicating of any kind. Just ‘feel’ the moment. Round 1, a card each from 1 to 100. More cards each round. Any mistake and it’s one life lost. Shurikens give you a special move to help. Defeat the number of levels for your player count and you win!
This cooperative game has to be played to be believed. It’s stunning how such a simple premise is so addictive.
I once had someone ask me for ‘that card game with the ghost bunny’, #iykyk I do love that game of poor description and name the game. I must be psychic to get it right so often.
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So, there’s a few ideas to pack in your bag when you go away next. There are so many we’ll probably do another post real soon with a few more ideas, or why not check out our previous post on the wonderful world of the small boxed Oink Games?