fun

Which travel game comes out on top?

Long journeys often need a bit of livening up, and what better way to do it than with a travel-sized game?

If you’re on a plane there are only so many miniature bottles of wine you can ask for before getting bashful, while train tables are ideal playing surfaces for a battle of luck or wits. Of course cards is a favourite standby to while away a few hours, but there are also plenty of popular games that you can buy in a scaled-down travel version. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular travel games on the market to help you decide what makes the best boredom buster for long journeys.

Chess
Luck factor: 0
Skill factor: 10
Complexity: 7
Playing time: 60 minutes
What’s it like?: The daddy of all games, a test of pure skill, chess takes a lifetime to master yada yada yada.
Advantages: makes you look clever
Disadvantages: needs lots of concentration, lots of loosable fiddly pieces
Verdict: isn’t chess a bit serious for playing on holiday?

Backgammon
Luck factor: 7
Skill factor: 7
Complexity: 8
Playing time: 15-30 minutes
What’s it like?: Almost as venerable as chess. Get your men round the board without getting them hit by your opponent, block their men to annoy them, and get your counters off the board to win. Surprisingly tactical.
Advantages: nice blend of luck and skill
Disadvantages: remembering the rules and how to set the pieces up, lots of bits to loose, small dice tend to fall on the floor
Verdict: excellent game, but a bit fiddly in travel versions. Arguments over how to set it up can become tedious if you don’t play often.

Othello
Luck factor: 0
Skill factor: 8
Complexity: 4
Playing time: 30 minutes
What’s it like?: Place your counters either side of your opponents and you win them, but watch out, your enemy can do the same.
Advantages: quick to learn, not as serious as chess or backgammon.
Disadvantages: fiddly, keep turning counters over all the time is a bit annoying.
Verdict: quite addictive, definite staying power.

Draughts
Luck factor: 0
Skill factor: 7
Complexity: 5
Playing time: 30 minutes
What’s it like?: The poor man’s chess, draughts might seem a tad old fashioned, but still packs enough tactics and gameplay to make it worth considering, and is easy for kids to learn.
Advantages: easy to learn.
Disadvantages: lots of small bits.
Verdict: not sure this would sustain your interest for a whole holiday or long journey.

Cluedo
Luck factor: 5
Skill factor: 4
Complexity: 5
Playing time: 45 minutes
What’s it like?: Move your counter round the board and try to work out whodunit. Was it Colonel Mustard with the lead piping in the kitchen – or someone else…
Advantages: I’ve always had a soft spot for Miss Scarlet.
Disadvantages: each game is much like the last, tons of pieces and cards to loose.
Verdict: more a family table top game than a travel companion. Not the sort of game you’d want to play over and over again.

Monopoly
Luck factor: 6
Skill factor: 6
Complexity: 6
Playing time: two to three hours zzzzz
What’s it like?: Surely everyone’s played Monopoly? Completely unrealistic property trading game with ill-thought out ending.
Advantages: appeals to competitive types, satisfying when you make your siblings bankrupt.
Disadvantages: ending drags on with some players being knocked out early, lots of bits and pieces to fiddle with.
Verdict: Should be confined to Christmas duties only.

Scrabble
Luck factor: 4
Skill factor: 9
Complexity: 5
Playing time: 90 minutes
What’s it like?: Make up words from letters picked randomly from a little bag and score points for bigger or better-placed words – you know the form.
Advantages: absorbing, no two games are the same, educational (sort of).
Disadvantages: games are long, needs a lot of concentration, lots of fiddly bits (potential for loosing the letter Q quite high), not great for kids (unless they are particularly precocious).
Verdict: a bit too much concentration required for some, but still a classic. Whiles away long journeys and creates amusing arguments over made-up words. Good for boffins.

Yahtzee
Luck factor 5
Skill factor 6
Complexity 6
Playing time: 30 minutes
What’s it like?: You’ve got three throws to make the best ‘hand’ from five dice. It’s a bit like poker dice but easier to follow.
Advantages: good blend of luck and skill, you get to shout ‘YAHTZEE’ if you’re doing particularly well, not much equipment.
Disadvantages: dice tend to fall on the floor, the different hands are a bit hard to remember the first couple of times you play, once you run out of the special Yahtzee scoring sheets you need to buy some more.
Verdict: very addictive, tons of fun.

Pass the Pigs
Luck factor: 10
Skill factor: 0
Complexity: 2
Playing time: 30 minutes
What’s it like?: Throw a couple of plastic pigs and see which way they fall. Score different points for humourously-named combinations – a ‘double leaning jowler’ is worth 60, for example.
Advantages: simple to learn, pig-based humour, no set up time.
Disadvantages: need a flat surface, pigs fall on the floor all the time, repetitive.
Verdict: Five minute wonder - soon becomes tedious due to lack of skill. One for easily pleased kids.

Top Trumps
Luck factor: 9
Skill factor: 1/2 (possibly)
Complexity: 1
Playing time: about 30 minutes.
What’s it like?: A playground favourite, also played ‘ironically’ by adults. Choose from a huge range of subjects; it’s no longer just Formula 1 cars and jet fighters, packs range from Doctor Who Series Three and Harry Potter Top Trumps packs to The Simpsons and even Jacqueline Wilson books.
Advantages: ridiculously simple to learn, kids are on an even footing with adults, compact, no set up time.
Disadvantages: repetitive, games can drag on a bit.
Verdict: Surprisingly fun, but doesn’t have real staying power for adults. Somehow manages to keep kids occupied for hours, however.

Uno
Luck factor: 5
Skill factor: 6
Complexity: 4
Playing time: 30 minutes
What’s it like?: It’s a bit like gin rummy, but with colours for suits and a few jazzed up rules. Get rid of all your cards first to win.
Advantages: absorbing game play, easier for kids to understand than regular cards.
Disadvantages: cards could blow away.
Verdict: something of a cult classic, and very addictive.

Connect Four
Luck factor: 0
Skill factor: 7
Complexity: 4
Playing time: 10 minutes
What’s it like?: Some people claim they love Connect 4, and it’s certainly quite fun. Make a line of four counters and block your opponent’s attempts to do the same. It’s the sort of game that your older brother would have always frustratingly won when you were a kid.
Advantages: quite absorbing, quick to play.
Disadvantages: cheap-feeling plastic, fiddly small bits in the travel version, potential for loosing counters.
Verdict: Could keep you satisfied if you’re a bit of a nerd, but not enough staying power for most.

Overall winner

It has to be Yahtzee. Easy enough for anyone to learn and enjoy, enough skill to satisfy the tactical types, but plenty of chance too, so if you loose you can blame lady luck. Five dice, a couple of pens and a scoring pad. Simple. And if you can’t stand dice games, then plump for Uno. The colours are bright and cheerful.

Amazon, The Board Game Company and Hamleys are just three of the places where you can get hold of many of the listed travel games along with plenty of others -  travel Happy Hippos anyone, or maybe a game of Family Fortunes on the go? Woodcarvers of the Shambles also make some rather natty handmade travel games sets. 

If you are still not sure which game is for you, or don’t believe our recommendations, then play the online Yahtzee, plus many other classic games, at Your Turn My Turn. You need to register but the service is free.

Know a fantastic travel-sized game that’s not on the list and are bursting to tell the world about it? Let us know first, and we’ll add it to the list. Or maybe you disagree with our verdicts – get in touch.