Lifestyle

IT’S time to turn calls of “are we nearly there?” to “one more round?” with our pick of the best travel games. 

We’ve been sat in planes, trains and automobiles over the past few weeks testing a plethora of travel pastimes; these are the ones that kept the attention of our crew for the longest and entertained us the most. 

This collection has passed the teenager test, been mauled by Millennials and been approved by grandparents, grumpy dads, stressed mums and hard-to-please tweens.

Read on for our pick of the best travel games for 2023.

The best travel games at a glance:

  • Best overall: Ubongo To Go
  • Best travel card game: Dobble
  • Best travel game for adults: Good Face Bad Face
  • Best travel game for two players: Othello
  • Best travel game for lots of players: Sussed

Ubongo To Go

  • Ubongo To Go, £11.99 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Compact, easy to learn
Cons: Lots of pieces that could get lost

This puzzle-tastic play does strike a resemblance to Tetris at first glance.

All the bits fit in the tin, and the challenge cards ask you to lay out the coloured pieces to match what appears there. It sounds easy, and it is, to start with. However, it's challenging enough for a long-haul flight, as it gets more difficult as you progress.

You can play solo or against others. It's a great game, and we're big fans.

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For ages: 8+ Number of players: 1-4

Dobble

  • Dobble, £13.99 £10 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Several different ways to play with the deck, compact travel tin is an ideal travel companion
Cons: None

This is just about one of the best card games you can get your hands on.

It's a shout-out, symbol-matching game that has a number of ways for you to compete with others. It is a game for all ages and involves being quick with your eyes and with super-quick reaction skills.

Each card contains eight symbols, there are 55 cards in total, and somehow every single card matches another. It is quite superb.

For ages: 4+ Number of players: 2-8

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Exploding Kittens Good vs Evil Edition

  • Exploding Kittens Good vs Evil Edition, £21.99 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Superb game of deception, deceit and luck
Cons: Can get repetitive if played too much in one sitting

This is a reinvention of the soaraway successful game Exploding Kittens; in fact, the original game was so good they’ve barely changed the name.

This one is celebrating the arrival of the title onto Netflix sometime soon (a card game on Netflix, who knew?!).

There are some new rules, more kittens to explode and different gameplay, but the aim is still to keep your kitty alive until it is the last feline standing.

The only advice we can give for this Russian roulette-esque game is: try not to explode!

For ages: 7+ Number of players: 2-5

Hitster

  • Jumbo Hitster Music Card Game, £23 from Argos – buy here

Pros: Allows you to show off your encyclopaedic knowledge of music
Cons: Not one for younger audiences

Know your Bowie from your B52’s?

Play it in teams or all on your lonesome; this pop quiz game is brand new on the block and quite frankly puts others in this genre to shame.

Containing over 300 of the best hits from the past 100 years, this game brings laughs, dances and trips down memory lane.

Scan a song card and let the game commence; put music cards in the right timeline to win. This is one toe-tapping hip-shaking card game for all to enjoy.

For ages: 16+ Number of players: 1-8

Grabolo

  • Grabolo, £12.99 £9.99 from Amazon – buy here

So we might have broken one of our rules regarding too many playing pieces with this one, but it's well worth the risk and the pieces are big and colourful enough to find (eventually).

It is a fast and frantic game where you’ll roll two dice and then have to find the shape that matches both the symbol and colour that appears from the pile of miniature playthings in the collection heaped in front of you all.

For ages: 8+ Number of players: 2-4

Good Face Bad Face

  • Good Face Bad Face, £8 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: A great post-pub party game
Cons: Too many rounds (of cards, not drinks) can make it repetitive

This is very easy to learn and get involved in, but mastering it is another level.

The aim is to convince other players to flip over their Bad Face cards, while collecting the Good Faces for yourself.

Deceit, subterfuge, cunning and bare-faced cheek are all in play as you attempt to pull the virtual wool over the other players' eyes – you know you can do it. 

For ages: 8+ Number of players: 2-5

5 Second Rule

  • PlayMonster 5 Second Rule Mini Travel Card Game, £9.99 £8.49 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: A great game for all ages
Cons: Limited number of question cards

Complete with a mini five-second timer, this game asks you to turn over a card and reveal your task.

Can you name three things that are wet or three words rhyming with last? Of course you can — but can you do it in five seconds?

For ages: 4+ Number of players: 2-4

Colour Brain

  • Big Potato Mini Colourbrain, £9.99 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Really feels like it has a definite point of difference from the other games on this list
Cons: Limited number of question cards (but you could always create your own)

Packed with 120 question cards, this’ll keep the entire family amused for quite some time.

Each team holds several coloured cards and lays them down to answer random questions — the main colour of a 2nd class stamp, Superman’s underwear or a Strawberry split ice-lolly, for example

For ages: 6+ Number of players: 2-4

Othello On The Move

  • Othello On The Move Travel Game, £12.59 £10.94 – buy here

Pros: A game for all ages, easy to learn but getting the strategy right takes a while
Cons: The pieces are a little tricky to pick up and there are plenty of them to lose

This is a classic game — it's so very simple to learn, yet can get highly competitive (it has for many years at our place, at least).

The premise is simple: it's white versus black, and the player with the most coloured tiles facing up at the end wins.

There's loads of strategy and plenty of opportunities to take the lead towards the end of the game, making this a real standout.

For ages: 7+ Number of players: 2

Sussed

  • Sussed, £10.99 £9.79 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: One of our favourites for the whole family, no right or wrong answers
Cons: As with others, there are a limited number of questions in the box

Think of this as a more organised, family-inclusive version of “Would you rather”, that most tedious of games played by teenagers.

It gives you the opportunity to ask those know-it-alls some of their favourite likes and dislikes and get some of yours onto the table too.

It's a game for absolutely everyone to play together, all ages, all at the same time – would you eat Ketchup or Mayonnaise for the rest of your life if you could only choose one? Dilemma number one!

For ages: 8+ Number of players: 2-8

The Mind

  • NSV The Mind UK Version, £10.99 £9.98 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Even die-hard “I don’t like board games” types will enjoy this
Cons: There are rule cards the game asks you to use which really aren’t necessary

This game has one of the simplest premises: guessing numbers from 1-100. However, there's a twist.

You’re playing cooperatively to try and beat the game. Players start with three cards each and must try and lay them down in numerical order without communicating, using the power of their minds.

This game is so much fun — when you start building up to five or six cards each, somehow laying them in sequence, you’ll wonder if you do have mind-reading powers.

Where to buy travel games

Of course, you can leave it until the last minute and grab a game near the departure gate or at a service station.

However, there are some superb online deals now we’re into the tail end of the summer, so you can grab some great titles at decent discounts. Amazon has a range of discounted games, and Argos has a good selection, too.

Saying all that, WHSmith has always been good price-wise if you do decide to leave it late.

What is the best game for aeroplane travel?

If you’re playing at 32,000 feet we’d suggest any game that has a magnetic surface or a limited number of playing pieces.

You don’t want to depart your flight with a piece missing that’ll render your game useless, and having too many playing pieces can only end in tears if you encounter turbulence.

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How much are travel games?

A humble pack of playing cards will set you back just a few quid, all you need to do is learn some rules for a handful of classics.

If you’re looking at some of the branded travel games, then they're still not much, starting at about £5 and going up to £25 – a very decent investment.

Sun Vouchers is your one-stop shop for every deal and discount code currently available from your favourite online retailers. Don’t click ‘buy’ until you’ve checked Sun Vouchers for a discount code to apply to your basket.

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