My love of Ultimate Frisbee is really only eclipsed by my love for board games and tabletop games. I wanted to give a quick list of the top 5 board games for travel tournaments! These are games that are easy to setup, quick to play, and take up very little space on a table, or in your Ultimate bag. There is one thing all these games have in common – they are all very fun!
Check out the top 5 board games for travel below!
The Crew: Quest for Planet 9
For many people, The Crew: Quest for Planet 9 was the the best board game to be released in 2019. It certainly is one of the great board games for travel. The Crew: Quest for Planet 9 is a trick taking game (like hearts or spades) that is cooperative! In teams of 3-5, you work together to accomplish goals in the form of collecting certain cards, at certain times, when playing the trick taking game.
The Crew is a great fun game that can be as intense or low key as you want. It comes in a small box, can be played from your lap, and has incredible depth for something that is really easy to learn. If you at all enjoy trick taking games, I highly suggest checking this one out.
Qwixx
Qwixx is a fast paced dice game where you mark numbers off a score sheet, hoping to reach the high score by the end of the game. If you’ve played Yahtzee before, you may think it sounds similar…but it’s not! Qwixx is more fast paced, involves more strategy, and has almost no down time!
In Qwixx, you’ll roll several dice on your turn. Then, you’ll use a combination of these dice to mark numbers off a scoring sheet. The more numbers in a color you mark off, the more points you score at the end of the game. The best part about this game is that you still play when it’s not your turn! On the other player’s turns, you still choose a combination of dice, and decide if you want to use those dice to mark off numbers on your score sheet. It keeps you engaged and playing every time the dice are rolled.
Qwixx is a game that can be played quickly, with a small surface, some dice, pencil, and paper. It’s perfect for airplane or car rides, or cramped hotel rooms.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Have you ever wondered if one of your teammates is secretly a werewolf? You don’t have to wonder anymore, because you can play that exact scenario out! In One Night Ultimate Werewolf, you’ll be assuming one of several secret roles (villager, werewolf, etc.) – and so will everyone else. Then, during the course of a very short game, each player will have to find out who the werewolf might be, and exile someone out of town. If the werewolf was exiled, the townspeople win! If not…the werewolf gets a tasty treat.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is what’s called a social deduction game. It doesn’t require a board or dice (though it does use an app with verbal cues), so it can be played in cramped situations. It’s great during long car rides and cramped hotel rooms. You can find out which of your teammates is…the best liar?
Love Letter
Love Letter is an incredible card game that is about sending a secret love letter to a secret love…and sabotaging your opponent’s love letters in the process! In Love Letter, you’ll play cards with powers to try and have the most powerful card in front of you. The winner of the round will either be the last player in the round, or the player with the highest card in front of them. Rounds are quick, taking only a few minutes, and the player who wins 3 rounds wins the game!
Love letter comes in a very small package, and has fewer cards than a regular deck of cards. It’s great for plane rides, car rides, and cramped hotel rooms. I also happen to love the theme – how many other games have you seen that involve secret love letters being sent to a forbidden love?
Deck of Cards
I’d be silly to ignore the most flexible board game tool anyone can buy – a regular deck of cards! There are so many fun games you can play with a deck of cards. Hearts and Euchre can be played with four, Sheepshead is best with 3 or 5, Oh Heck can be played with up to 7, or even more if you have two decks of cards!
There are too many games to list here, but most Ultimate Frisbee players I’ve run into during my years playing have at least one favorite game they love to play with a deck of cards – even if it’s something as simple as Ring of Fire, or Presidents and A$$holes.
Bonus – Dungeons and Dragons
It would be remiss of me not to suggest Dungeons and Dragons! It’s not one of the board games for travel, but it is a great role playing game for travel. I absolutely adore role playing games, and have several role playing campaigns going with teammates! If you aren’t sure what Dungeons and Dragons is, it’s a role playing game where you take the place of a hero in an epic story. Through rolling dice and making decisions, your character will fight, leap, hide, and use magic to find their way to the end of the story!
Dungeons and Dragons is great for long car rides and hotel rooms. Not only does it provide flexible gameplay for people who enjoy different games, but it really is a bonding experience. Nothing brings a teammate closer together than surviving a horde of orcs together!