Lists

Best Games and Puzzles for Travel

Believe me, with seven kids, we know the power a travel game or puzzle can have for making a car trip go from unbearably loud to blissfully quiet. They can also help make a hotel stay more enjoyable — put the baby to bed and then bust out a card game together!

I’ve rounded up some of our favorite, tried and true games and puzzles for travel. Many of these has saved us during our travels. On long drives, I like to keep them in a bag and slowly reveal them throughout the drive. Never giveaway all the tricks you have up your sleeve at the beginning. Keep each one hidden away until they really need it!

I find that these games keep our kids happier than screens do and I hope they’ll work just as well for you!

Best Games and Puzzles for Travel

Hands down, FlipSlide is the kids’ favorite travel game / toy– they’ll play for hours in the car or at home!
Hive Pocket is a cutie mini version of the larger game. This is perfect for two players to enjoy on the road, in the hotel, or even out at the beach!
I love the Rush Hour Magnetic Travel Puzzle. It’s thin enough I can fit it in my purse and bring it along for doctors visits, restaurants, and car trips.
Similarly the Minecraft Travel Puzzle is also great! This is a logic puzzle that really gets their brains working.
Pocket Master Builder surprises you with how sprawling the game is when set up and played. It all fits perfectly inside the cutest little tuck boxes and is great to toss into a travel bag!
If you’ve got a puzzle lover, Katamino Pocket will keep them busy for a long time!
I love bringing quick and clever card games to enjoy on trips and Deduckto is a must!
If you’ve got a small space, Quoridor mini will fit right in! I’ve heard from many who love it for their RV adventures!
Similo is a long time, no fail travel game MVP. We have multiple physical card sets in addition to the digital app!
These spin puzzles are part fidget, part puzzle, and all things addicting. The kids love the sound the tiles make and I love that there seems to be no sound in the car with them!
I love to toss a packet of these Scratch n Play games into my purse for whenever I find a need for them. They’re like bandaids, but for long waits.
Brave Rats consists of only 16 cards and is a two player must! The perfect game to play on a plane!
We’ve had a glove box game of Qwixx for years. It lives in the glove box of our van just in case we ever find it — it’s come in handy SO MANY times!
Qwinto will forever be remembered by me as the game we played in the hospital after our son was born. Small plane trays, hotel tables, or hospital visits — Qwinto fits the bill!
No travel games list would be complete without Spot It! There are a bunch of versions so you can pick whichever fits your group best! We love the marvel one!
I use our Travel Game case to store tons of small box games in a compact, easy to carry way! I love to swap games in and out depending on what we might need for each trip. You can read all about our travel case here and find a list of all the games we’ve currently fit into the cases!