Portable Family Games That Pack Tons of Fun in a Tiny Box

Camping season is upon us and for our family that means figuring out just how many games we can fit into the car to take to camp!

So I thought it might be fun to share with you what favorite games are in our travel case. (We actually have two cases, one really cool bag for the bigger games and this case for all our super small games.)

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This case is actually a photo organizer box. But it is a perfect fit for 17 of our favorite portable family games!

These 17 games are all tried and true favorites of our family and extended family. Camp is a chatter when this box comes out! So in no particular order here is what makes the cut for the Family Box of Fun!

First up is Fluxx. We have a version for Fantasy lovers and for Nature lovers. Fluxx is a fun game of ever changing rules. It keeps folks on their toes and just when you think you are losing, the rules might just change in your favor.

Nomids is almost always pulled out of the box immediately. It is quick to learn and quick to play. It has all the fun of a luck driven dice game with a bit of strategy thrown in… And there are cool 3-D pyramids to play with!

PUSH is a beloved favorite (see tattered box above). PUSH is a press your luck set collection game. You are trying to collect and bank as many points as possible. But be careful… if you have to roll you might lose your points before you can bank them. This is another quick to teach game that has everyone pushing their luck down to the last card.

Sunny Day Sardines is another set collection game where you are collecting sardines to fill fish orders. On your turn, you can either collect sardines or fill orders with the sardines you previously collected. At the end of the game, the person with the highest points in orders wins. It is simple to learn, but definitely has a bit more strategy to it than it appears.

Ouch! is a great game to play with kiddos. You are trying to collect flowers for your garden to earn points, but be careful where you grab the card. If you flip it over and your hand is on a cactus- OUCH!- you lose the card.

Boom Goes the Dynamite is a math test in the form of fun… I kid, I kid. But in all seriousness, if you have a kiddo that loves math, this is the game. Also, if you have a kiddo that hates math, this might still be the game. I haven’t really seen too many people that don’t enjoy it. It is like the game Memory, but with math and a little explosion or two.

PILES! makes me laugh. It is literally a game about sorting laundry. You are sorting and switching and racing everyone else to get your nice little stacks of clothes. If real laundry was this fun and hilarious, it would no longer be considered a chore.

Scout is one of my personal favorites. This trick taking game has one catch, your cards cannot be rearranged in your hand, however, the tricks are won with sets and runs in your hand. Play your cards right and you might just set yourself up for the next play. This game is great for people who love to think ahead.

Love Letter is by far our most played game in our entire collection. We have worn out a deck to shreds and now keep a travel deck (pardon the dog hair) and home deck (both in protective sleeves). Love Letter is easy to teach because all the actions are written on the cards themselves. The game play is super simple. You have a card, then draw a card and then you must play a card. Your goal is to survive until the end of the game. But the royal court is brutal and you could be taken out any moment. Love Letter is one of those addictive games that has you wanting to play again immediately.

GAP is another set collection game with a twist. Your most collected colors count for you while your least collected colors count against you! Too many little piles will knock out your score fast. This one is fun to learn and quick to play. The best kind.

Blink is a fast paced matching game where you are racing everyone at the table to get rid of all your cards first. This game goes SO fast, we play with two decks to keep game play going just a bit longer. This game is addictive and immediately repeatable.

Roll for It! is a dice rolling game where you earn cards for point. You roll the dice to complete the card objectives and earn the points. Higher point cards require a lot more dice and a lot more luck, so you gotta play your dice right. The last time we played this one, we played round after round for hours.

Oh Fruck! Is a hilarious card game where the rules keep changing and you have to keep up. I have never played this game where it did not result in total laughter. This is a blast with a group.

Tussie Mussie is a flower game where the cards you don’t collect are just as important as the ones you do. This little game is beloved by Addie and me. We never turn down a chance to play it together.

Bandido is a cooperative game where everyone works together to stop the Bandido from tunneling out and escaping.

Last but not least is Loonacy. I’ve mentioned this quick matching game before, but it truly is one of our favorites. It is super easy to teach and everyone wants to play it over and over.

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