Have Games Will Travel: Top Travel Games for Kids

Who doesn’t love going on vacation? Did you know that taking vacations can boost physical and mental health? Even merely planning a holiday trip can produce positive effects!

Vacations are a great way for families to bond and create memories that parents and children will have for the rest of their lives.

But, getting to the final destination is often the most tedious part. It’s the “Are we there?” refrain. Every parent knows that the key to a peaceful ride in the car or on an airplane flight is keeping  young hands and minds occupied. That’s where a good travel game can help.

Here are 3 tips to consider when choosing a travel game for kids:  

KEEPING IT QUIET

Long-distance travel means sitting in a confined space for an extended period of time, usually with other people. For the sake of your travel mates, keeping things at whisper level (or at best, completely silent) is a good idea.

Our best-selling Mathable board game has been reduced  to a handy game book with five sections of unconventional math challenges.

For more creative pursuits, pick up a portable art easel like the double-sided chick easel from our Little Moppet® brand of kids products. You don’t even need to pack any paper, you can just draw on the whiteboard or the chalkboard. The kit includes chalk and erasers. 

The Kumon series of books bridges the gap between fun and learning to help your little one learn how to read, color, and draw. By the way, Kumon books have a very interesting history. Click here to find out about it.

KEEPING IT NEAT

Packing for a trip is a challenge in  itself. What goes and what stays? Does it go in the checked luggage or the carry-on? In the trunk or the backseat?

So when space is limited, choose  games that aren’t messy, can be conveniently stored, and don’t have too many bits and pieces that can break or get lost.

Mathable and Cathedral have re-invented their board games into travel versions. Cathedral’s travel-sized counterpart has magnetized, solid wood pieces and the game board does double-duty as the carrying case.

Many trivia card games come with their own sturdy cardboard or tin boxes. Check out I.Q., Rational Thinking, or Epic Entertainment for Kidz. Or, if you’re looking to keep it really simple, grab a few sliding tile puzzles or a multicube!

KEEPING IT FRESH

The more ways you can play a game the more value you get from it. Several levels of  difficulty also opens a game to include players of different abilities and ages.

Get a gigglefest going with Mad Libs. Fill in the blanks with the wildest nouns, verbs, and adjectives you can think of.

The award-winning Tantrix strategy games are an excellent example. There are several different versions and no game looks exactly the same as you build out loops of color with the puzzle tiles. Try Match, Gobble, or the mesh edition. 

And, a really popular one, Are We There Yet? is a game that hones observation skills, and works much like ‘eye spy’ of yesteryear. 

For more ideas from our store, take a look at our Pinterest board or browse our site!