Best Pocket-Sized Board Games for Travel

It’s very simple, but the tension, and the potential for deduction, make it feel like far more than the sum of its parts. I’ve rarely laughed so much playing a card game. The second edition adds a couple more cards and expands the maximum player count to six, without wrecking the formula.

Wonder Tales

I could have picked any of a dozen titles from small publisher Button Shy, who produce charming eighteen-card games in wafer-thin vinyl wallets, but Wonder Tales has proven itself over play after play as a game that’s easy to teach, fun, and packed with character – literally.

Each card depicts a fairy tale character – Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, the Wicked Witch – and two players take turns laying them in a grid formation on the table. You score points for placing them next to someone they like – Hansel wants to be next to Gretel, for example – and take penalties if, for example, your Little Pig ends up next to the Big Bad Wolf. Making each card double-sided is a genius piece of design, and the spatial puzzle is – like a child lured into a hungry witch’s cottage – simple yet deliciously crunchy.

Bang! The Dice Game

The original Bang! came out over twenty-five years ago. It’s a card-based Wild West shoot-out with a hidden role twist. Aside from the sheriff, everyone’s identity is a secret. Only you know if you are a loyal deputy or an outlaw. The outlaws want to kill the sheriff. The sheriff and deputies want to kill the outlaws. Oh, and one player – the ‘renegade’ – not only wants to be the last one standing but has to kill the sheriff last.

Bang! The Dice Game compresses the more complex original into a quick ‘n dirty push-your-luck melee. Chuck some dice, shoot someone, hope they’re not on your side, pass the turn. Each player has a unique power, you can heal yourself or others with beer, and while it loses some of the original’s tactical depth, it’s easier to pick up and play, and all the components fit in a pocket-sized deck box.

Sea Salt & Paper

This unassuming little title borrows from the classic Korean card game Go-Stop, yet feels as fresh as sea spray and is sure to leave you salty. Each turn, you’re going to draw a card, either from the deck or from one of the two face-up discard piles. You’re looking to collect sets or play pairs for their special bonus powers. Fish let you draw an extra card, crabs let you dive into a discard pile to retrieve a card long-buried, and sharks and swimmers let you pluck a card straight of your opponent’s sweaty, helpless grasp.