Travel board games
Last checked 2 November 2026
Quick answer: Rush Hour is the one for the car: one player, and the pieces live in a drawer in the grid. Qwixx is six dice and a score pad, and Love Letter is just 21 cards. For a holiday cottage, Hanabi and The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine are small co-op card games, Sushi Go! takes up to 5, and Codenames: Duet is built for two.
A good travel game is small, has few bits to lose and doesn't need a big table. That rules out most of the shelf. These seven are card and dice games plus one puzzle, and we've given box sizes where the publisher lists them. Most still want some kind of surface, so think holiday cottage, train table or tray table, but Rush Hour works on your lap. They'd make a decent present before a trip too.
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1. Rush Hour
A one-player sliding puzzle. Set up a traffic jam from a challenge card, then slide the cars and lorries back and forth until the red car can drive out. Challenges run from beginner to expert.
- Players
- 1 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- about 10 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Very easy to teach
Why it suits this: The pick for car journeys, because it's a one-player puzzle and nothing goes missing. Slide the cars and trucks around the traffic grid to get the red car out. The pieces store in a drawer in the grid, and there are 40 challenges from beginner to expert. Ravensburger files it under travel games. It's 8 and up, about 10 minutes a puzzle.
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Details last checked 2 November 2026.
2. Qwixx
Six dice and a score pad in a pocket-sized box. Everyone can use every roll to cross off numbers, so there's no downtime, just lots of nervous little decisions about what to skip.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- about 15 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Very easy to teach
Why it suits this: Six dice and a score pad, and Gamewright lists the box at about 13 by 10 cm (5.25 by 3.75 inches). Someone rolls and everyone can use the roll to cross off numbers on their own sheet, so nobody's waiting for a turn. You'll want something flat to roll on. It's 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, about 15 minutes.
Details last checked 2 November 2026.
3. Love Letter
A pocket-sized game of risk and deduction with just 21 character cards. Play one a turn, use its power and get your letter to the Princess.
- Players
- 2 to 6 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 20 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Very easy to teach
Why it suits this: Just 21 cards, which is about as small as a proper game gets. Seiji Kanai's game has you draw a card and play one, using its power to knock someone out of the round or peek at their hand. Rounds are quick enough to play between stations. It's 2 to 6 players, 10 and up, about 20 minutes.
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Details last checked 19 October 2026.
4. Hanabi
Hold your cards facing outwards so everyone can see them except you, then trade careful hints to build a firework display together.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- about 30 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: A co-op (everyone wins or loses together) card game, and it won the Spiel des Jahres (Germany's big game of the year award) in 2013. You hold your cards facing outwards, so everyone can see your hand except you, and you give each other careful hints to build fireworks in order. It's 60 cards and 12 tokens, 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, about 30 minutes. It takes a little explaining.
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Details last checked 2 November 2026.
5. The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine
Co-op trick-taking (everyone plays a card and the highest takes the lot) across 50 missions. The team wins or loses together and can barely talk about their hands.
- Players
- 3 to 5 players
- Age
- 10+
- Play time
- about 20 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Takes a little explaining
Why it suits this: Another co-op card game, and the one with the most to get through: 50 missions, so it lasts a whole holiday. It's trick-taking (everyone plays a card and the highest takes the lot), but you're working together while barely being allowed to talk about your cards. Thames & Kosmos lists the box at 18 by 13 by 4 cm. It's 3 to 5 players, with a two-player variant in the rules, 10 and up, about 20 minutes.
Check price on Amazon for The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 2 November 2026.
6. Sushi Go!
Pick a card, pass the rest. Phil Walker-Harding's quick drafting game: chase maki rolls, finish sashimi sets, dip nigiri in wasabi to triple it and save room for pudding.
- Players
- 2 to 5 players
- Age
- 8+
- Play time
- about 15 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Very easy to teach
Why it suits this: Phil Walker-Harding's pick-a-card, pass-the-rest game. Everyone chooses at the same time, so there's no waiting, and you're chasing maki rolls, sashimi sets and pudding. It's 108 cards, and Gamewright lists the box at about 10 by 14 cm (4 by 5.63 inches). It's 2 to 5 players, 8 and up, about 15 minutes.
Check price on Amazon for Sushi Go! (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 2 November 2026.
7. Codenames: Duet
Work together, giving each other one-word clues, to find 15 secret agents hidden in a grid of 25 words.
- Players
- 2+ players
- Age
- 11+
- Play time
- about 15 minutes
- Our teaching rating
- Easy to teach
Why it suits this: The one for couples on holiday. It's the two-player co-op version of Codenames: lay out 25 word cards and give each other one-word clues to find 15 agents before time runs out. It does need a table for the grid. The 2025 edition has 400 new words, from Vlaada Chvátil and Scot Eaton. It's 2 or more players, 11 and up, about 15 minutes.
Check price on Amazon for Codenames: Duet (opens in a new tab)
Details last checked 9 November 2026.
Want more small games? See stocking filler games, quick board games and our pick of the best card games. Off to the pub? See pub board games, and for pocket-sized rolling, dice games. Travelling as a pair? Try two-player board games. Going solo? See solo board games.
Heading to the beach? Dobble Waterproof is in the best Dobble versions.
How we choose and check
We pick games for the situation, and ignore hobby rankings and hype. Player counts, ages and play times come from the publisher's own page or the box. If we can't confirm a detail there, we leave it off the card. The teaching rating is our own view from reading the rules, not a publisher figure. Nobody pays us to include a game. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. See how we make money.