30 Best Travel Games for Kids Reviewed to Play in Cars, Planes & Hotels [2026]

These best travel games for kids are portable, magnetic, easy to play, cheap and fun for road trips, airplanes, & hotels. Loved by all ages.

Katie Dillon
Last updated July 4, 2026
A list of the best travel games for kids that we use and love.
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Finding the best travel games for kids can make a real difference on road trips, flights, and those quiet stretches in hotel rooms when everyone needs something engaging to do.

We personally own most of these fun travel games and have played ALL of them. I’ve included our travel board games, dice games, magnetic games, strategy games, tabletop games, and classic favorites in portable versions that are popular and favorably reviewed best-sellers.

Whether you’re traveling with toddlers, teens, or a mix of both, these games help keep kids entertained, connected, and off their screens. They’re all easy to pack and simple to pick up before your next family vacation.

Our quick picks

Car Travel Games for Road Trips

Long drives feel shorter when kids have something fun to focus on. These are some of the best travel games for kids in the car because they use minimal pieces, work well in tight spaces, and stay manageable even when the road gets bumpy.

1. Rory’s Story Cubes

Ages 6+Dice · storytellingCar · Plane

Rory’s Story Cubes is one of the hottest travel games for kids. These games, which have multiple themes (including Harry Potter), are thankfully very convenient to travel with and easy to learn how to play. The cubes for this dice game also fit neatly into a small pouch that you can tuck into a handbag or backpack.

Players roll the dice and tell a story based on the pictures facing upward on the dice after being rolled. While it’s fun with multiple players, I’ve seen kids play it independently, too. Since storytelling is the main feature, it can be one of the perfect travel games for the car, especially if you have a small tray to roll the dice on.

Pros: The icons are high-quality and engraved rather than printed, so they won’t rub off even after years of use. We like this game because there are no wrong answers. It encourages creativity, language development, and collaborative play. Compact storage takes up almost no space.
Cons: It can be a little tough to come up with stories if your creative juices aren’t flowing, but remember that’s part of the fun!

2. Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game

Ages 7+CardsCar · Road trip

Scavenger Hunt is a perfect family road trip game for kids. They will love keeping an eye out for items on these cards, ranging from stop signs to license plates with certain letters.

The deck of cards also includes some fun “feel it” style cards designed for road bumps and unexpected things one might experience during car rides.

You can play these card games with two or more players, and the 2026 edition features a variety of cards that keep the game fresh even on 20-hour hauls.

Pros: It’s the size of a typical deck of cards. Kids can play on their own.
Cons: Cards can get lost or be a little messy if scattered.

3. Pass the Pigs

Ages 7+DiceCar · Plane

It’s wildly popular and very portable. Basically, you roll pigs instead of dice and score them by how the pigs land. It sounds crazy, but in this case, the stellar reviews also don’t lie. Also, beware that there are lots of pig puns ahead in Pass the Pigs.

The current 2026 selection features a redesigned, sleek case that slides open, rather than the older hinged style, which makes it more secure for travel in a pocket or bag.

Pros: Quick rounds keep energy high. Works well for siblings playing together in the back seat with a stable surface.
Cons: The pigs are lightweight and can disappear into seat crevices if you are not careful.

4. Travel Spirograph

Ages 5–12DrawingCar · Plane

The travel version of Spirograph includes a built-in drawing surface, six wheels, and pens, all in a self-contained case. It provides hours of quiet entertainment even during long-haul drives.

Pros: Excellent for fine motor development and creative focus. The case doubles as a sturdy workspace. Many of us remember Spirograph from our own childhoods, and it’s super cool to share making designs with kids and grandkids.
Cons: The drawing disc may slip if pressed too hard, especially by younger children.

5. Skillmatics Card Games

Ages 6+CardsCar · Plane

the junior version is ages 3-6

These are the ones I reach for when I want the kids learning without realizing it. You get up to 10 questions to guess the animal or object on a card, so there’s a lot of clever back-and-forth, and it never feels like homework.

Pros: The game is highly portable and comes in multiple themes, including Animal Planet, Marvel, and States & Capitals, allowing you to tailor the challenge to your child’s interests.
Cons: Less silly than some party-style card games, which may not appeal to every child.

Magnetic Travel Games

Magnetic games are some of the best travel games for kids because the pieces stay put during bumpy rides, turns, and sudden stops. Many of these games do not come with extras, so there goes your game if one goes missing.

6. Take N Play Bingo (And Other Games)

Ages 4-8MagneticCar · Plane

This two-player bingo magnetic travel game means that the pieces are tough to lose. The weight of the tin is just over six ounces, and it is 7″ square in size. It stores the pieces, serves as the game board, and can easily slip into a handbag or travel gear.

We have many Take N Play games, ranging from dominoes to checkers, and consider them one of the best travel games for kids.

Pros: Love these because they don’t weigh much and come in a variety of games.
Cons: We’ve found that if you drop the tin too many times, it dents and then can be hard to open and close.

7. Quadpro Magnetic Chess

Ages 6+Magnetic · strategyCar · Plane

If you have a chess kid, this folding magnetic set travels beautifully. The pieces grip the board, so a bump or a sharp turn won’t scatter your game, and they store right inside the board when you’re done.

Opened up, it’s about ten inches square and weighs less than a pound, so it slides easily into a carry-on.

Pros: Strong magnetic hold, so the pieces are stable.
Cons: Chess matches can run long, which may not suit short travel windows.

8. The Purple Cow Magnetic Travel Games

Ages 5–15MagneticCar · Plane

We also own many magnetic travel games by The Purple Cow, including dominoes, checkers, sudoku shapes, puzzles, and more. These travel games for kids are very, very lightweight. Items are stored inside the tin.

Pros: Extremely lightweight with a wide range of game styles. “Magic Word” and “Sudoku” are especially good for screen-free focus.
Cons: Depending on the game, some of the magnetic pieces can be small and easy to lose or hard to pick up. We’ve dropped ours many times, denting the tin and making it hard to open and close.

9. Kollide

Ages 8+MagneticCar · Plane

Kollide turns a lull into a standoff. You take turns setting magnets inside a rope ring and try not to be the one who lets them snap together. The tension climbs quickly, and the grown-ups end up just as invested as the kids.

Pros: It provides instant excitement and high-stakes tension that engages both kids and adults. The magnets have a weight and feel comparable to premium fidget toys, which can be very grounding for anxious travelers.
Cons: Magnets are extremely strong. Keep away from electronics and supervise younger players to avoid pinched fingers.

10. IQ Fit

Ages 6+Puzzle · soloPlane · Solo

IQ Fit is a puzzle strategy game where players have to figure out how to fit the 3D pieces flat on the game board, without holes exposed. Believe it or not, there are over 100 different challenges in this highly-rated game.

Pros: Easy to pick up pieces with a lot of puzzle options. Excellent for problem-solving and spatial reasoning.
Cons: The pieces are small and not magnetic, so while the lid keeps them secure for storage, you really need a flat, stable tray table for active play.

Travel Games for Toddlers

Toddlers need travel games with larger pieces, simple objectives, and quiet play. These options work well for airplanes, cars, hotel rooms, and restaurants when short attention spans require flexible activities. (Also, The Purple Cow magnetic games mentioned above are very popular for supervised traveling toddlers who can handle the pieces.)

11. Travel Tangram

Ages 3+PuzzleToddler · Plane

This is a calm, no-fuss pick for younger kids. It comes with seven magnetic shapes and a booklet of 360 designs to copy, so there’s always a new puzzle to work through and little hands stay busy figuring out how the pieces fit.

Pros: Because the pieces are magnetic, they won’t slide off a tray table when the plane maneuvers. It’s a quiet, focused activity that builds early math skills without the clatter of traditional blocks.
Cons: We haven’t experienced this with our game, but some people report that the magnets don’t stick as well as they should as time goes on.

12. Wikki Stix

Ages 3+CraftToddler · Plane

My daughter started playing with them while supervised at age 2

If there’s a travel toy or game I could not have lived without during the toddler years, it’s Wikki Stix. I always kept a pack or two in my handbag for spontaneous use.

Kids can play with these bendable sticks anywhere, on airplane tray tables, in the car, at restaurants, and more.

The individual packs come with a puzzle or shape for the kids to make with the Wikki Stix. You can also buy kits, such as the Wikki Stix Traveler playset, which comes with even more activities.

Pros: The travel set typically includes 144 Wikki Stix, providing endless “unplugged” creativity. You’ll find they are perfect for building anything from letters to 3D glasses your child can actually wear.
Cons: If you reuse the sticks too many times, they can pick up dirt and fuzz and get a little gross.

13. Water Wow!

Ages 3-6Reusable · mess-freeToddler · Plane

Melissa & Doug’s Water Wow! pads use refillable water pens to reveal colors and images on reusable pages. When dry, the pages return to white, ready for another round.

Pros: You’ll find the 2026 Ms. Rachel and Bluey versions are particularly effective for long stretches of quiet play. They are completely reusable once the pages dry white again in about 10–15 minutes.
Cons: I recommend emptying the water pen and allowing the brush to air-dry between uses to prevent mold, especially when traveling in humid tropical destinations.

Travel Board Games

Many classic board games now come in compact formats designed specifically for travel. These are some of the best travel games for kids when you want familiar favorites that fit easily on airplane tray tables, hotel desks, or picnic tables.

14. Hasbro Family Travel Board Games Bundle

Ages 8+Board gamesHotel · Table

The Hasbro “Grab & Go” series provides compact versions of Clue, Monopoly, Connect 4, and Trouble. These are often sold in a bundle, making it easy to stock up for a long holiday.

Pros: You’ll appreciate the specialized engineering of the Connect 4 Grab & Go as it features an all-in-one storage top that fits over the grid, allowing you to pause a game for meal service and pick it back up later without losing the discs.
Cons: Carrying all four games at once may be bulky; selecting one or two for a trip works best.

15. Travel Scrabble

Ages 8+Board · wordHotel · Table

Scrabble To-Go is a must-have for word lovers. This version features a zippered case and a board with a “snap-in” grid to hold tiles in place.

Parents, grandparents, teens, tweens, and elementary school kids can earn points for creating creative words from whatever alphabet letters they pull randomly from a pouch.

Pros: Tiles stay secure even if the board is jostled. Suitable for multi-generational play.
Cons: Scrabble can be a time commitment, and it’s heavier to carry around than other travel games for kids mentioned above. Sometimes, you have to look up the rules, as even seasoned players forget what’s allowed.

Travel Games for Hotels and Airport Lounges: Best Played on Tables

These games work best when you have access to a flat surface, whether in a hotel room, airport lounge, vacation rental, or campground. They’re ideal for evenings, delays, and downtime between activities.

16. Bananagrams

Ages 7+Word · tilesHotel · Table

Bananagrams is an awesome word game and comes in a small banana-shaped pouch for easy transport. It’s similar to Scrabble but played without a board. We play it as a family, and even my 95-year-old grandma enjoys it.

Gather 1–8 players around a table to make a word grid with the tiles that grows until someone runs out of tiles. I promise it’s awesome for family game night on the road, and even teens enjoy it.

Pros: It’s more compact than Scrabble.
Cons: Because there is no board, you really need a flat table to manage your crossword grid effectively.

17. Spot It!

Ages 3-7+Cards · fastAny · Table

Spot It! is our go-to when we have five minutes to fill. Any two cards share exactly one matching symbol, and the whole game is racing to spot it first. It lives in a tiny metal tin that’s easy to toss in a bag.

Pros: Compact storage and short rounds make it easy to pick up and play.
Cons: Not great for road trips or planes because you need to use so many cards to play. We’ve lost a few cards in airport lounges.

18. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Ages 7+CardsAny · Table

This one gets loud in the best way. Everyone chants “taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza” as they flip cards, and the moment the word matches the card, hands go flying to slap the pile. It’s happy chaos, and kids beg for another round.

Pros: Extremely quick to learn and highly engaging for kids and teens.
Cons: It involves a significant amount of shouting and hand-slapping, so I recommend reserving this for road trips or private hotel rooms.

19. Kanoodle

Ages 7+Puzzle · soloPlane · Solo

Kanoodle keeps one kid quietly absorbed for a surprisingly long stretch, which is exactly what you want at 35,000 feet. There are more than 200 puzzles, and you fit the little bead pieces into the board until everything clicks into place.

Pros: Offers substantial mental stimulation in a case smaller than a smartphone. Quiet and focused play.
Cons: The small beads can be fiddly for children under seven.

20. Scattergories Card Game

Ages 8+CardsHotel · Table

The classic 1980s favorite comes in a card version that makes it one of the easy travel games to carry around. You’ll play Scattergories with two decks of cards: a category deck and a letter deck.

The first player to slap the “I Know” card and give an appropriate answer to the displayed category and letter gets the cards (like “dog” for the letter “d” and category “pets”). The player with the most cards wins.

Pros: Excellent for critical thinking. It is exceptionally lightweight and provides the same high-energy word-matching fun.
Cons: It’s a lot of cards. It involves shouting out answers quickly, so it’s not airplane-friendly if you’re trying to be mindful of your neighbors.

21. Travel Boggle

Ages 8+WordHotel · Table

All you need to do is grab a pen and paper (or LCD writing tablet like the Boogie Board), shake up the letters, let them fall into each slot, set the timer, and then find as many words as you can.

Pros: It’s a multigenerational travel game beloved by parents and grandparents and also good for critical thinking.
Cons: Not suitable for younger kids who can’t yet read or spell.

Printable Travel Games for Kids

Printable games are an easy, low-cost way to build a strong collection of best travel games for kids without adding weight to your luggage.

Etsy is a fantastic place to source professionally-designed printable travel games that you can purchase once for a small fee and use them again in future travels.

22. Printable Travel Bingo

All agesPrintableCar · Free

You can find a ton of really neat travel bingo cards on Etsy where passengers can look for certain road signs, cows, motorcycles, and more until the winner gets five (or whatever the amount is) across for bingo.

Pros: Reusable, lightweight, and screen-free.
Cons: These require forward planning as you’ll need to print them before you depart.

23. Printable Scavenger Hunt

All agesPrintableCar · Free

Here’s another inexpensive printable travel game with colorful illustrations that appeal to all ages. The first person to find all of the scavenger hunt items wins.

Pros: It’s an excellent tool for developing observation skills.
Cons: You’ll need to ensure you have a reliable set of pens that won’t leak in your bag.

24. Printable Camping Scavenger Hunt

All agesPrintableCamping · Free

What is neat about this printable camping scavenger hunt is that some fonts, text, and colors can be customized. So, if you wanted to title it “The Jones Family Scavenger Hunt” or “Mike’s Birthday Scavenger Hunt” you can.

You’ll receive a printable scavenger hunt bag cover, a clue sheet with directions, and a sheet for participants to mark off what they’ve found.

Pros: It creates a “one-of-a-kind” experience for your family that feels special and curated.
Cons: These often have a small cost associated with the digital download and require custom input.

Travel Games for Airplanes

The one thing we try to avoid on airplanes is dropping things on the floor and in between the seats. No one, especially in today’s world, wants to dig into these crevices. And, we all know what happens when a child finds out that something is irretrievable. The friendly skies become a little less so.

So, travel games for airplanes need most pieces attached, large pieces that are easy to find. These are some of the best travel games for kids when flying, keeping hands busy and frustration low.

25. Mad Libs

Ages 5+Word · bookPlane · Quiet

depending on the version

So many Mad Libs, so little time! Make sure the ones you buy for younger kids are Mad Libs Junior because the stories are more relatable to little ones.

Regular Mad Libs (Dog Ate My Mad Libs, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs, and more) are geared to the 8–12-year-old range.

Just be mindful that there are adult Mad Libs versions that you will want to stay clear of for kids. Mad Libs for kids are a great way to kill time on the tarmac, while waiting for food in a restaurant, and in many more family vacation scenarios. Also, check your app store for a new Mad Libs app so that you always have something funny to play!

Pros: They are funny! Exceptionally lightweight and help build vocabulary and processing speed.
Cons: The books are hard to reuse (we very rarely reuse them).

26. Boogie Board

All agesReusable · drawingPlane · Quiet

Basically, if you can hold a pen, you’re good.

This isn’t really an organized game, but I’m such a fan of using LCD writing tablets for travel games that I have to mention it. The Boogie Board comes with a stylus you use to write on the LCD screen. The stylus is kept secured on the tablet, but I recommend buying extra in case you lose it. The entire screen clears with the touch of a button.

This reusable digital writing tablet allows for endless games like Hangman, Tic-Tac-Toe, and doodling.

There are a bunch of different versions. I like the basic one pictured above, but there is one specifically for younger kids.

Pros: You can even use it for homework. I keep one near my computer for random notes.
Cons: Be careful not to scratch the screen. Stylus can be lost if not monitored.

27. Sleeping Queens

Ages 7+CardsPlane · Table

A six-year-old invented Sleeping Queens, which tells you a lot about why it lands so well with younger players. They wake up queens, dodge sleeping potions, and sneak in a little addition along the way without ever feeling like they’re doing math.

Pros: Short, engaging rounds that parents also enjoy.
Cons: The original cards are standard cardstock and may show wear; I recommend keeping them in a plastic deck protector.

Free Travel Games for Kids and Adults

Fun on a family vacation doesn’t have to cost money, and this also applies to family travel games that are easy to learn. Aside from being fun road trip games that don’t involve pieces to juggle in the car, you can play them at home or at your next party.

28. I Spy

All agesNo suppliesAny · Free

I Spy can be played with two or more people anywhere. The game’s premise is that one person spies something everyone can see and keeps it secret, with the other players guessing based on little revealed clues or tips.

It is a classic observation game for any age.

Pros: Requires zero supplies and can be started at any moment.
Cons: In high-speed car travel, objects move out of sight quickly.

29. 20 Questions

All agesNo suppliesAny · Free

You can play 20 Questions with two or more players, but it’s best in a small group. The person who is “It” thinks of a person, place, or thing that is familiar to all players.

The rest of the players ask the “It” person up to 20 yes or no questions to figure out what the secret object is. If someone guesses the secret object correctly prior to 20 questions being asked, that person is the next “It.” Then, the game repeats itself.

Pros: This is a fantastic “whisper-quiet” game for airplane cabins or quiet hotel lounges.
Cons: It requires a bit of focus from the “thinker.”

30. Would You Rather and The Alphabet Game

All agesNo suppliesAny · Free

Would You Rather can be played with two or more people and is a fun way to get to know someone. One player thinks of a question that has two possible outcomes.

Younger kids, older kids, and adults can also play the Alphabet Game together on car trips. All players need to do is look out the window to spot things that start with each alphabet letter in sequence from A to Z.

These games lead to hilarious conversations or keep kids looking out the window for road signs.

Pros: There is zero setup and it can be played with any number of people. It’s an elite icebreaker for families.
Cons: They can get a little tiring when you’re not in the mood. Finding the letters “Q” or “Z” in the Alphabet Game can test the patience of younger travelers.

Final Thoughts

The best travel games for kids are the ones that fit your family’s travel style: easy to pack, simple to learn, and fun enough that kids ask to play them again.

Over time, many of these games become part of your family’s travel traditions, creating memories that last far longer than the trip itself.

Finally, don’t forget to arm yourself with a huge arsenal of knock-knock jokes for kids and car games for kids that are also very handy for lightening the mood on the go.

What are your favorite fun travel games for kids?

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2 thoughts on “30 Best Travel Games for Kids Reviewed to Play in Cars, Planes & Hotels [2026]”

  1. Lyla Gleason

    Great list. We have a lot of these and love them all.

    Reply
  2. Nichola - Globalmouse

    Love your roundup! My oldest son is really in to puzzles so I’m going to look into IQ Fit. We’re big fans of story cubes too.

    Reply

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