5 holiday travel games for a savvy self-catering getaway
Holiday travel games are an essential for any self-catering getaway, particularly if you have young kids. Be a savvy holidaymaker, load up the suitcase with a few portable games and bring some extra fun to your rental accommodation.
These five holiday travel games are guaranteed to keep the spirits high and laughter flowing. Not only that, they’re all easily portable, so they won’t take up too much room in your suitcase!
Monopoly Deal
As good as the traditional version of Monopoly is, it’s a little big to travel with. With the more compact Monopoly Deal, this isn’t an issue. It retains the original’s much-loved qualities and packs them all into a thrilling card game.
Image by Ceres B, used under CC License (CC by 2.0)
Monopoly Deal is fast paced, putting you in the role of a property developer juggling cash reserves and trying to dominate the board. Go from nothing to an entrepreneur and make sure you don’t slip up along the way! Charge rent, swap cards or make tactical deals and trades. Play this game with anywhere between two and five people.
Bananagrams
Similar to Scrabble but without the board, Bananagrams sets you up for hours of holiday fun. Race your opponents to build word-filled crossword grids and get rid of all your pieces. It’s simple, frenetic and all about forming words quickly.
When the game’s finished, look back over your creations for any misspellings. Whoever has the most correctly spelt words, wins!
Uno
No family holiday is complete without a few rounds of Uno. This addictive card game is for two or more players and isn’t hard to pick up, so most people can join in.
The objective of Uno is easy enough – get rid of your cards first and you win. Every player starts with seven cards (dealt face down). Match numbers, colours and sets with the card on the designated ‘discard pile’ to lose the hand you’ve been dealt.
Yahtzee
Yahtzee works well with anywhere between two and six players. The game balances luck with daring nerves of steel. With five dice, take turns to roll combos and try to get the highest score possible. Its brilliance comes into play by the fact you have three turns each – do you risk your three sixes for a full house, or your full house for five sixes?
As far as villa holiday games go, Yahtzee is a must, and will keep everyone entertained until long after the sun sets.
Checkers
Image by Ciara McDonnell, used under CC License (CC by 2.0)
Small, easily-packed checkers travel sets were made for beach and villa holidays. Checkers, also known as draughts, is a strategic board game which brings out a competitive edge in most players.
Advance in diagonals to take your opponent’s pieces, but beware – one wrong move can seriously ruin you. If you strike lucky you’ll be able to jump, or take, more than one of your opponent’s pieces in a row. The winner is the first person to eliminate the other player’s pieces.
Taking at least a few travel games should be an essential on any holiday packing list. With all that in mind, which beguiling country would you like to take them to first?
By Isabella Perkins, a freelance travel writer best known for writing about self-catering holidays. Her writing tends to have a family focus, and she is in the middle of writing a new travel guide due to be published next year.