Pocket Sized Play, here’s our Top Travel Games for the Summer

The Great British Summer is here… and it’s hot, hot, hot! From long car and train journeys, or ways to entertain the family during an inevitable downpour of rain, the Chaos Cards team have come up with our favourite travel sized games to help keep everyone entertained! Each game will hopefully provide hours of laughter and friendly competition; no matter where your summer holiday adventures take you. Turn travel time or rainy days into play time with our fun selection of portable games.

Read on to find out more about our top summer travel games

Worlds Smallest Games

The perfect travel sized games for on the go fun; each game is a fully functional, scaled down version of its bigger counterpart. Some people like to collect the various games in the series, since they look really good and fit into the palm of your hand (squeee!)

The Worlds Smallest Game series features world wide popular games such as Dobble, Bananagrams, Bop it, Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Connect 4, Rubiks Cube, Boggle, and Cluedo. These cute, miniature size games are sure to be a delight for the whole family. Each game is perfectly portable and endlessly entertaining for your on the go needs, but we would say they are most suitable for players aged 6 and up due to the smaller components included.

Catan Traveller

Catan is a great game. We all love it and I think its pretty much the entry game for most tabletop gamers. The only downside is the large box and all the components needed to play- it is quite a hefty box to take on holiday! Luckily Catan have bought out a travel edition of the game which is set to solve those problems. Catan Traveller is perfect for two players, smaller tables, or to play at the beach.

Catan Traveller has the same rules as the Catan- to begin with players build 2 settlements on the island of Catan. You receive resources and use resources such as ore, brick, grain, lumber, and wool to build roads. Roads are important as they mean you can reach new settlement sites, and upgrade your settlements to cities, and buy development cards. You can even trade particular resource types with your opponent. Players win the game by trading cleverly and having luck on their side.

Herd Mentality Mini

If it’s a fun party game you are looking for to occupy friends or family, then we suggest you look no further then Herd Mentality Mini. Herd Mentality Mini is perfect for ages 10 and above and each game lasts about 30 minutes, making it perfect for otherwise boring journeys, or when you're visiting friends and family over the holidays. It is also a perfect party game as you can have up to 20 players.

The game has a simple mission… all players have to get the same answer to the random question! You can expect a LOT of fun with the 200 questions included with Herd Mentality, meaning you can play it time and time again. Players win cows by getting the same answer as the others, but beware of the pink cow which makes your herd worthless. Herd Mentality Mini is an entertaining little game which is perfect for the upcoming holiday season, and is sure to provide many laughs for everyone playing.

Azul Mini/ Azul Summer Pavilion

Welcome back to the Royal Palace of Évora! After more than 2 million copies sold, the ever popular game Azul returns in a mini format. With this new edition you can take this classic wherever you want! The Mini versions of Azul have been designed with absolute portability in mind and this attention to detail really shows! Essentially Azul and Azul Mini are tile placement games and focus on drafting and scoring. Players must artistically tile the walls of the beautiful Portuguese palace for the Royal family. Both versions (miniature and standard size) are perfect for between 2 and 4 players and can last between 30-45 minutes, and are perfect for players aged 8 and above.

In Azul: Summer Pavilion, players return to Portugal to accomplish the task that never began. Players must create a beautiful summer pavilion to honour members of the royal family. As a master artisan, players have the finest materials at their disposal to create the summer pavilion while carefully avoiding wasting supplies. Only the best will rise to the challenge and win!

The travel sized editions of the games come with a handy tray to keep your tiles and creations safe and sound- this really helps when taking the game out and about as you don’t have to worry about the tiles getting messed up. We also really like the addition of the score tracker on the board, it takes away the worry of knocking things over and losing pieces.

Pitch Car Mini

Pitch Car is one of those popular games that everyone loves. It looks simple but it can get competitive and chaotic very quickly! In Pitchcar, players must build a track using the wooden pieces, they then compete with others by flicking their ‘car’ around the track. There is a certain amount of skill and dexterity needed to play the game successfully, but sometimes the fun lies in the innaccuracy and rivalry that can occur during play!

The goal of both games is to be the first player to finish 3 laps on the track. In the standard version of the game, players must move around the track when it is on a table. The mini version of Pitchcar has smaller track pieces and as such is better for playing on a smaller surface. Pitch Car Mini contains 6 straight and 10 curve track pieces that allow the construction of more than 10 different racing circuits. The game is for between 2 to 8 players, and the mini version includes 8 wooden cars. We would say Pitch Car Mini is a great family game and is perfect for players aged 6 and up.

Button Shy Games

Button Shy is a small board games publisher that creates affordable and fun pocket-sized games. The Chaos Cards team are BIG fans of their wallet games. Not only are they great fun to play, but they are absolutely perfect for gaming on the go. The majority of Button Shy games come with 18 cards in a pocket-sized wallet for storage. Each game is easy to learn and is suitable for ages 8 plus, so perfect games for young families as well as couples and friends. Each games lasts about 20 minutes meaning they are great for sneaking in a cheeky game between tasks. Check out this post dedicated to the Button Shy range of games if you want to find out more!

Make Summertime Memories, One Game at a Time

Hopefully these games will help make holiday journeys as fun as the holiday itself. So, as you pack your bags and prepare for your great British summer adventure or staycation, don't forget to make room for some compact fun. And don’t forget, these games are just as fun played at home as they are out in the wild! From the quick rounds of Herd Mentality Mini to the deeper dives of Catan Traveller and Azul, each game is perfect for making friendly connections, fighting boredom, and creating lasting memories.

This summer we also have lots of fun events on at the Chaos Cards Tabletop Store in Folkestone, Kent this year. So don't forget to pop in if you are passing! There's everything from TCG tournaments, Summer Holiday workshops and Miniature Painting to name just a few of the fun things we have planned.

Here's to a summer filled with sunshine, smiles, and plenty of brilliant game nights or journeys!

Do let us know if you have any other travel games you would recommend over on our socials. We love to hear from you! :)