Sometimes size matters when it comes to a game’s footprint: playing out at a restaurant/bar/cafe, limited luggage space when packing for vacation, playing with younger kiddos who get distracted by lots of pieces, only having a small coffee table at home to use for game space… Which games make your list in these situations?
The focus of my list is games with a small footprint that span various age groups and can be played in 45 minutes or less. The games on this list do not take up much table space and come in small boxes or can be placed into a smaller bag/box if the retail box has a lot of air space in it. Of course, there is the entire Tiny Epic series of games, which are great (Galaxies is my favorite so far), but what other games make the cut?
25 Travel-sized Games in order of designer/publisher minimum recommended age:
(my favorites are the eight box cover images below)
| Title | Age Range | # Players | Play Time |
| Dragon Rapid Fire | 3+ | 2 to 4 | 10-15 mins |
| Rhino Hero | 5+ | 2 to 5 | 5-15 mins |
| Cat Tower | 6+ | 2 to 6 | 15-20 mins |
| Flashlights & Fireflies | 6+ | 2 to 5 | 20 mins |
| Get Bit! | 7+ | 3 to 6 | 20 mins |
| Bang! The Dice Game | 8+ | 3 to 8 | 15 mins |
| Hanabi | 8+ | 2 to 5 | 25 mins |
| King of Tokyo | 8+ | 2 to 6 | 30 mins |
| Lanterns: Harvest Festival | 8+ | 2 to 4 | 30 mins |
| Roll for It! | 8+ | 2 to 4 | 30 mins |
| Hive | 9+ | 2 | 20 mins |
| 7 Wonders Duel | 10+ | 2 | 30 mins |
| Anomia | 10+ | 3 to 6 | 30 mins |
| Fairy Tale | 10+ | 2 to 5 | 30 mins |
| Holmes: Sherlock & Mycroft | 10+ | 2 | 20-30 mins |
| Love Letter | 10+ | 2 to 4 | 20 mins |
| Morels | 10+ | 2 | 30 mins |
| Splendor | 10+ | 2 to 4 | 30 mins |
| Jaipur | 12+ | 2 | 30 mins |
| Beyond Baker Street | 13+ | 2 to 4 | 20 mins |
| Bohnanza | 13+ | 2 to 7 | 45 mins |
| Fairytale Gloom | 13+ | 2 to 5 | 30-60 mins |
| Kodama: The Tree Spirits | 14+ | 2 to 5 | 40 mins |
| Pixel Glory | 14+ | 2 to 4 | 25 mins |
I found out the hard way that Betrayal at House on the Hill is a game that can’t be played on a coffee table. Our first couple of games were very cramped. Nothing spoils the atmosphere more than having to say “wait a minute, we need to shift everything so we can explore the basement”.
Oh, no! Yeah, that game tends to sprawl a lot. Even if you’re playing on a big table, there’s usual some adjusting because you can never really guess how big each level be or what direction they take. Great fun, though! Have you played Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate? Also lots of fun! I like there D&D setting.
I have. I think they patched up a few problems with the base game with Baldur’s Gate. Namely, it is now impossible for a haunt to go off the first time an omen comes out. Some people don’t like it as much, but personally I think it’s a good game.
Yeah, our group enjoys it, too. I get why done don’t like it, but tastes vary and that’s okay!
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