Whether played as a family or among friends, board games are a fun way to bring people together. Depending on which ones you’re playing, board games can also inspire a little wanderlust. There are also other benefits to travel-inspired games: they’re educational. They can teach us about other cultures, other customs, other cities and counties, and help improve geography skills.
If you love to travel and you’re looking for a few new games for your collection, here are a few that are not only fun to play, they might make you want to book a trip.
Passport to culture
Passport to culture is an educational travel-focused game for two to six players that tests your knowledge of local customs and cultures from around the world. You’ll answer questions that cover everything from food and drink to traditions as you travel the globe collecting passport stamps as you go. The first player to complete their passport wins. There are more than 600 questions meant to test your “CQ” (cultural intelligence).
Where in the World by Talicor
Known as one of the most comprehensive world geography games, Where in the World by Talicor is a great way to either learn about or brush up on your geography. The game was first introduced 20 years ago, but has been updated to ensure players are getting the latest facts about countries around the world from capital cities to languages to major imports and exports. The game includes six levels of play to accommodate various age groups, so you’re getting six travel games in one.
Canadian Trivia Family Edition
Get to know Canada better with the help of Canadian Trivia Family Edition that takes players all over the country via trivia questions about all the provinces and territories. The family edition takes things one step further by having two-sided question cards. On one side is an easier question and on the other a more difficult question making it ideal for various age groups.
Ticket to Ride Europe
Go back in time and explore turn-of-the-century Europe with Ticket to Ride Europe that combines travel and history. The cross country train adventure involves collecting and playing train cards in order to get your pieces on the board and score as many points as you can while traversing a board game version of Europe. If you didn’t already have an itch to travel Europe you may after playing this game. The original version of the game focuses on North America.
Road Trip Word Game
Go on a virtual family road trip across the United States with Road Trip Word Game. The game, packaged in a retro travel trailer, is for two to four players and involves answering questions or solving challenges related to road trips and cross country travel. It’s marketed as a children’s game, but is also entertaining for adults. And it might just make you want to plan a road trip.
Expedite Board Game
This route building game puts players in the role of shipping magnates. The challenge is to figure out which city hubs are worth buying to further your business and how to best connect them. The goals is to control the hubs, which in turn means you control more of the game.
Where’s Waldo
Played via a book rather than on a board, the goal of this iconic game is to locate its namesake: Waldo. Each page features detailed illustrations that hides the bespectacled and stripe-wearing Waldo. The goal is to locate him on each page as well as his trusty dog and a few other key characters. How does this relate to travel? Waldo is often on the move and many of the books have him hiding in various landscapes and different worlds.
Brainbox: The World
This memory recall game has players study a card for 10 seconds, remember as many details as they can and then get asked a question about the card based on a roll of the dice. The cards all relate to geography so the game is educational as well as fun. A correct answer means you get to keep the card and at the end of the game the person with the most cards wins.
Flags of the World Educational Game
How well do you know the flags of other countries? Could you identify more than a few? You’ll have no trouble knowing your flags after a few rounds of Flags of the World. The game contains 200 cards and a world map and also helps teach players about geography.
Featured image: Junpei Abe
