Long-Haul Travel: Games To Pass The Time

If you follow along on social media you will know that we have recently travelled long-haul to Thailand. We have been over to southeast Asia a few times now, with the kids being a variety of different ages. And I get the same questions from a lot of people; how was the flight?

There are very few questions about how it is with kids out there (totally fine, by the way), but most people are always wondering how flights of around 12 hours go with little ones. I have got a horror story that I have talked about before (our one year old did not do well last time we flew to Thailand), but as long as you are prepared enough, and use what you have on offer on the flight like the movies, then you can pass the tim quite easily. Even better if you can get the kids to have a nap at some point too!

I tend to pack the children’s hand luggage for them, just so I can fill it with surprises and new things for them to discover on the flight. This time around, we had some new games sent to play with and discover. The great thing is that they are all quick and easy to learn how to play, fun to play, but they are perfect for travel because they are compact, fit in hand luggage, and the seat back tray is all the space that you need.

The children (and all of us as a family, to be fair), have enjoyed these games and learning to play them. We have been using them on the plane, as well as out by the beach, pool, and hotel of an evening.

Dobble – £9.44

In a compact tin, the card game of Dobble is a bestselling game in the UK. It works a little like snap, but is a matching game, testing your skills and reactions. We have all enjoyed this game and testing our eyesight as the colours and pictures are all similar, so you have to see if something on your card matches the main pile before someone else does. It is quick to play, so you can do as many or as few rounds as you’d like.

Rory’s Story Cubes – £9.58

This set of Rory’s Story Cubes is basically a pocket sized story generator. There are nine dice in a pack, and you start rolling each one and then begin a story. There are various images on each dice, so you can tell a story based on what each image means to you. There are no right or wrong things to say or create a story about, which makes it great for families of all ages; we’ve come up with some weird and wonderful stories. I like the set as it is a great way to think creatively, improve vocabulary, and promote problem solving.

The box is magnetic too, so it makes is work fro travel and throwing in a handbag to take with you, as the dice won’t fall out.

Who Did It? – £9.99

If you’ve got children, then I think I can firmly say that the conversation can often go to talking about poop, so why not have a game around that? My two found it very funny that we were playing a game that was all about which animal had pooped. It s all about trusting your memory and using quick reflexes to blame other pets, so that yours are left unblamed. It doesn’t take too long for a round of the game, so you can spend as long or as little as you want doing to; it brings lots of giggles with it!

Bananagrams – £11.99

Bananagrams is a fast word game, but the good news is that you don’t need to have a pencil or a pen, making it a good choice for travel. All you need is a table, which you’ll find on the plane, as well as at your destination. It is a good game for school aged children and over, and we found it fun as well as educational. The travel pouch means that it fits in luggage well.