SuperTrouper

I'm curious: do many people bring along games on tour? It definitely falls under the "luxury item" category, but even a simply deck of cards makes for a fun way to pass the time after you've set up camp for the evening.

I've done the cards thing before, but I've been thinking about taking a board game along on future tours. Nothing complicated like Risk or Monopoly, but maybe something like Carcassone, which just needs some cardboard tiles and little wooden game pieces.

fietsbob

Solo tour = solitare.. there are half sized cards.. but handling them is a PIA, But,
maybe a cloth with pockets,

will be almost as good as the game on the computer..

Booger1

Let's see....if you get a noose,a candle and a bag,you could go hunting for Rocky Mountain Spotted Snipe! Go around camp and ask the kids if their parents have a lefthanded bacon stretcher or a righthanded smoke sifter...


You don't need the whole deck of cards to have fun,just 3.......can you say 3 card monty? You can support your trip at the same time.....

There's another little game you can play that uses 2 dice.....

You don't HAVE to play for money you know.

Myself,I just watch nature and people,they can't make a game that fun.

Rob_E

I've been known to bring a deck of cards, just in case, but then I usually travel alone, and haven't actually used the cards. Now I take my iPad with me, which has several board games loaded in, so it's an option if I ever find any takers. Side benefit being that the computer will play against me even if there are no other takers.

staehpj1

I carried a deck of cards once. Three of us were on the Trans America and the cards got mailed home with a bunch of other stuff in a weight reducing purge. We never used them and I never took them again.

AbundantChoice

Get the game "Hive". There's a full-size version and a travel version; both use hexagonal bakelite tiles with no board, so the whole thing fits into a (very) small bag. The game is great, but only works for 2 players. If you want something heavier (gameplay wise, not weight-wise), Race For The Galaxy is very, very good, nearly infinitely replayable, and is only a few decks of cards.

mtnbud

Cribbage works well if there's only two.

There's also 3 way and 4 way cribbage, although I prefer hearts or spades if there are 4 people.

Machka 

There's solitaire on my computer.

jurjan

We always take a deck of Fluxx (just a 'normal' deck, no zombies or anything else).
Not difficult, often frustrating, and since it's mostly simple, easy rules etc. with pictures also playable with people who are not (very) fluent in English.
If we go to a predominantly Spanish speaking country we take our Spanish language version along, otherwise we take the English version.

andrewclaus

No.

keenancook

I took a deck on a year-long tour, and used them once, on day #2. And then carried them the whole rest of the way, just in case...

indyfabz

Being from a major northeastern city, that gave me a hearty chuckle. I remember the days when you would routinely see it being played on on 42nd Street in NYC. Turn a trash can upside down, put a piece of cardboard on top and scam the tourists.

OP: If you try this, it works much better if you have a companion to act as a shill.

mr,grumpy 

It goes in my back pack, I'll bet it fits on the bike too!

https://cosmicwimpout.com/

Newspaperguy

I haven't ever thought about taking a game with me on tour, but then I tend to tour alone. If I'm in need of a diversion, I'll use the solitaire game on my computer, but when I'm on tour, I don't even need that. Most of the time, I'm just too busy experiencing the places along the way and then writing about what I've seen and where I've gone.

If I were to take a trip with a friend, I might consider taking either a deck of cards or a travel-sized backgammon set. Either one would add little in the way of extra weight.

konakola

A deck of cards is the most important piece of survival gear. If you ever get lost, start a game of solitaire, it won't be long until someone shows up to tell you how to play.

djb

Im not a card game player, but that made even me chuckle....

back to not being a card player, Ive never had neither the urge nor the oomph at the end of a cycling day to want to sit and play anything. Throw in some wine or beer with supper and its lights out Bonzo for me, hard enough to get the dishes and clothing washed before dark and beddie bye.

acantor

Get to know parlour games. These games are a dying tradition, but there are books and web sites that describe hundreds of examples, many of which require no props, and can be played by groups of all sizes. But someone has got to know the games and how to play them. Be that person!

For groups of three to twelve (ish), one of my favourites is "Two Truths And A Lie." Each person takes turns making three statements about themselves: two must be true, one must be a lie. After saying their statements, the person falls silent, and the rest of the group discusses until they reach consensus about which is the lie. It's a good icebreaker, even for people who know each another well.

There are word games galore that require no or few props, including "Oh, no, no, no" and "Mime Rhyme." You need a dictionary to play "Fictionary" plus pens and paper. It's one of my all time favourites.

"Music Magic" is hard to categorize, but unbelievably surprising and fun:

1. Someone volunteers to be "It," and leaves the room or the area.
2. The group decides on a complex action they want "It" to perform, e.g., Enter the circle of people at this point, touch the bridge of your nose with your left baby finger, skip across the circle backwards, turn around to face the opposite direction, and start doing jumping jacks while meowing.
3. The group chooses a song everybody knows, e.g., Happy Birthday; and invites It to return.
4. The group sings the song more loudly when It is getting closer to performing the desired action, and more softly when It is doing the "wrong" thing. Guided by the song, It must discover every move, in the right sequence.

Witnessing someone figure out the target actions, guided only by a song, is hilarious. When the game is introduced, many may not believe it's possible. Yet some people figure out the steps very quickly. When the end is reached, people are singing so loudly they are almost hoarse!

A variation: the group members clap (loudly or softly) instead of sing.

robow

Much too verbose

djb

Yet succinct!

juggleaddict

Try a set of 7 juggling balls and 3-5 clubs. :sigh: hobbies die hard.

SuperTrouper

Wow, what a diversity of games! There are a whole bunch I'm not familiar with (Hive, Fuxx), so I'll have to try those out. I like the idea of parlour games, too. It reminds me of playing "Murder" when I was a kid. Music Magic sounds like tons of fun and Fictionary would give me a chance to up my nerd cred by bringing a dictionary on tour.

Rob_E

I believe it's "Fluxx." The loss of the "L" might lead to some misunderstandings on the road.

corvuscorvax

maxine

I have a small, light cloth bag that contains tiny chess and checkers pieces -- the bag itself has a fold-out flap that is the "board."

And then, there's this:

https://www.rei.com/product/716320/wi...pigs-dice-game

Saw it at REI, had instant flashbacks to many hilarious games of what we back in the day used to call "Pigmania," and just had to buy it!! (And, yes, I brought it along on a long-weekend tour, and my traveling companion and I did actually play it.)

rhm

Pass the Pigs!

The game typically comes with pigs, pencil and scoresheets, but if you are carrying pen and paper anyway then all you need is the pigs.

Or you could carry a couple dice and play countless games, including Pig.