When we enjoy a family game night at home, we trade off between games that the kids love and ones that we enjoy a little more. We take turns catering to everyone’s interest. But when we want to take travel games on the go to enjoy during our weeklong stay at the beach condo, we look for games that have a wider appeal. Our family reunion beach trips will find my kids sitting at the table with adults of varying ages: their grandparents, aunt, and my husband and myself. We’ve tested these games and found them to be the most fun for both the kids and the adults to enjoy playing together.
What Makes These the Best Travel Games?
There were several factors my family judged these travel games against: Easy to learn, quick to play, these games are perfect for kids playing alongside adults. This simple strategy game is perfect for playing with kids who don’t have strong reading skills yet but is fun enough for the adults to play along. Perfect for 2 - 5 players and only takes 15 - 20 minutes or so to play a round. We left this game out on the dining table of our beach condo and the kids would challenge me to a round throughout the day. I loved it enough I never said no. My husband does struggle a bit with the red-green cards in this set but with the right lighting is still able to play. Perfect for 2 - 5 players and each game is 20 minutes or less. The whimsical art features queens, knights, and dragons which my kids love. We’ve enjoyed this game enough we play it at home and on the road. This card game has a solitaire option so is great to keep on hand if one member of the family needs to be entertained alone during the trip. Perfect for up to 7 players, the whole family can play together. The game has a super fun pirate theme that worked perfectly for our Myrtle Beach trip. Perfect for 3 - 6 players, the game is easy to learn and another wonderful option for kids who don’t have strong reading skills yet. This quick strategy game is perfect for 2 - 5 players and each round only takes about 15 minutes to play. I loved that our youngest could frequently beat every adult at the table with her unique strategy to winning the game. There are Tenzi games to play for just one player but change up the rules and you can adjust it to almost any group size. Add on this 77 Ways to Play Tenzi card set if you want more ideas that what comes listed with the original dice. My kids were laughing so hard, they were gasping for air and had tears in their eyes. If you’ve got tweens or teens, this is a must-have card game for a fun family trip. You can play an entire round of the game, but it is just as fun to play a few cards and stop if you get interrupted by the main event (like dinner arriving at the table!) Spot It has dozens of fun themes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Camping, and Christmas, but here’s the link to the classic version: It took a little more effort for us to learn how to play as a family, but with repeated games the fun level definitely goes up. This would be a great game to learn how to play BEFORE your trip so that you can just enjoy it on the fly at your beach house. It definitely appeals to older adults but my kids enjoyed it, too. The reviews are so high for it and I’m intrigued. Perfect for 2 - 4 players, the game has a mix of cards, custom die, and tokens. Listed for ages 8 and up, it would be perfect for our family to test out. The cards do have a bit more writing on them than the other games listed on this post so that is something to consider for kids are still working on their reading skills. They fit easily into your travel bags and will help make game play a lot more relaxing for everyone at the table.
