Card games for travelling: which one to take on holiday?

What makes a game good for travelling?

Small and light. A card game in a sturdy box or tin survives a backpack better than a loose deck. 999 Games' Tiny Tins series, for example, comes in a small tin.

Little space needed. Games where you lay cards out in rows need more room than games where you keep everything in your hand. On a train or in a car, a game played from the hand is easier.

Quick to explain. On holiday nobody wants to read rules for half an hour first. The games below have short rules.

Language. If there is text on the cards, everyone has to be able to read it. Games with only numbers, colours or pictures also work with friends who speak another language.

With children at the table

• Skyjo: you try to have as few points in front of you as possible by turning over and swapping cards. Magilano lists 2 to 8 players and age 8 and up. For younger children there is Skyjo Junior, from age 4 according to Magilano.
• LAMA: a short shedding game by Reiner Knizia in which you try to get rid of your cards. LAMA was on the Spiel des Jahres shortlist in 2019.
• UNO and Phase 10 from Mattel Games: classics many children already know, so there is nothing to explain.
• Tiny Tins: Regenwormen: the dice game known in English as Heckmeck or Pickomino, in a small tin. Not a card game, but just as easy to take along.

With adults and teenagers

• Flip 7: you turn cards over and keep deciding whether to go on or stop. Draw the same number twice and you lose that round's points. A game of gambling and laughing.
• Sushi Go: you keep one card and pass the rest on, building a sushi meal that scores points. White Goblin Games lists 2 to 5 players, age 8 and up and 15 minutes.
• Love Letter: a game with only a handful of cards in which you guess what the other player is holding. The box is small and quick to set up.
• Coloretto: collecting cards in colours, but too many colours cost you points. By the same designer as the board game Zooloretto.

With a big group on the campsite

With six or more people you need a game in which everyone plays at once. In Saboteur the players are dwarves digging a tunnel to the gold together, but some of them may secretly be saboteurs, and nobody knows for sure how many. 999 Games lists 3 to 10 players. There is also Saboteur: The Expansion and, for two players, Saboteur: The Duel.

Magilano lists Skyjo for up to 8 players. For bigger groups that want more talking and guessing, read our guide to party games for a group.

Travelling as a pair

If you travel as two, choose a game made for two. Saboteur: The Duel is the two-player version of Saboteur. The travel edition of Qwirkle plays two to four in a small box. To play together against the game, try Hanabi, in which you see everyone's cards except your own. Our guide to games for two players has more.

How to choose

• Plane or train: a game played from the hand in a small box, such as Love Letter or LAMA.
• Campsite with the family: Skyjo, UNO or Tiny Tins: Regenwormen.
• Holiday home with friends: Flip 7, Sushi Go or Saboteur.
• As a pair: Saboteur: The Duel or the travel edition of Qwirkle.

Browse all card games and the games that take under 30 minutes. If you want to work together, our guide to co-operative games covers card games where you co-operate in silence.