The Best Card Games to Play While Travelling
A standard deck of 52 cards weighs almost nothing, fits in any bag, costs under £3, and unlocks thousands of games. There is no travel accessory with a better power-to-weight ratio. No batteries, no app, no setup beyond shuffling. Just deal and go.
These are the games I’d actually play, organised by how many people you have. Rules included so you don’t need to look anything up.
If you want games that go beyond a standard deck, my guide to best travel board games has you covered. The last 3 games are actually board games which you can play fully with a pack of cards. Enjoy!
Two Players
Gin Rummy
Players: 2 | Time: 20 to 40 minutes
The classic two-player card game. Fast enough for a coffee stop, deep enough for an evening.
The goal: Reduce the deadwood (unmatched cards) in your hand to a low enough value to knock, or eliminate it entirely to go Gin.
Sets and runs: Cards form into sets (three or four cards of the same rank) or runs (three or more consecutive cards of the same suit). Face cards are worth 10 points each, Aces are worth 1, numbered cards their face value.
How to play: Deal 10 cards each. Place the remaining deck face down and flip the top card face up to start the discard pile. The non-dealer can take the face-up card or pass. If they pass, the dealer can take it, then if the dealer also passes the non-dealer draws from the deck and play begins. On your turn, draw from either the deck or the discard pile, then discard one card face up.
Knocking: When your unmatched cards total 10 points or fewer, you can knock on your turn after drawing. Lay your hand down, separating matched sets from deadwood. Your opponent then lays their hand down and can lay off their unmatched cards onto your sets or runs to reduce their deadwood.
Scoring: If you knock, you score the difference between your deadwood and your opponent’s after they’ve laid off. If your opponent’s deadwood is equal to or lower after laying off, they score the difference plus a 10-point undercut bonus. If you go Gin, you score your opponent’s full deadwood plus a 25-point bonus. First to 100 wins.
Three Players
Knaves
Players: 3 | Time: 20 to 40 minutes
A trick-taking game designed specifically for three players. The goal is to win as many tricks as possible, but Jacks cost you dearly.
Setup: Deal all 52 cards to three players as evenly as possible. Flip the last card dealt to determine the trump suit.
How to play: The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick. Players must follow suit if they can. If they cannot, they may play any card. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a trump is played, in which case the highest trump wins. The winner of each trick leads the next.
Scoring: Players score 1 point per trick won. Each Jack taken costs penalty points based on suit: Jack of Spades is minus 1, Jack of Clubs is minus 2, Jack of Diamonds is minus 3, Jack of Hearts is minus 4. Play an agreed number of hands and the highest score wins.
Four Players
500
Players: 4 (in partnerships) | Time: 45 to 90 minutes
A full trick-taking game with bidding for exactly four players in two partnerships. One of the best four-player card games in existence, widely played in Australia and New Zealand and strangely overlooked everywhere else.
Setup: Remove the 2s, 3s, and black 4s from a standard deck, leaving 42 cards. Add one Joker. Partners sit opposite each other.
Card rankings in trumps: The Joker is always highest. The Jack of the trump suit (Right Bower) is second. The Jack of the other suit of the same colour (Left Bower) is third and counts as a trump, not as a card of its original suit. Then Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 of trumps descending. In no-trump contracts, the Joker may only be played when its holder cannot follow suit.
The Kitty: Deal 10 cards to each player and 3 face down to a central kitty.
Bidding: Starting left of the dealer, players bid the number of tricks (6 to 10) their partnership will take and the trump suit: Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, or No Trumps. Higher trick counts outrank lower ones. For equal trick counts, suit rank from lowest to highest is Spades, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, No Trumps. Players may pass. Bidding ends after three consecutive passes.
The Kitty: The winning bidder picks up the 3 kitty cards and discards any 3 face down.
Play: The winning bidder leads first. Follow suit if you can. Joker, Right Bower, and Left Bower are all trumps regardless of their printed suit.
Scoring: Making the contract scores points by bid level (6 Spades is 40, up to 10 No Trumps which is 520). Failing loses the bid value. The opposing team scores 10 points per trick taken regardless. First team to 500 wins. Any team reaching minus 500 loses immediately.
Big Two
Players: 4 | Time: 30 to 45 minutes
Card ranking (lowest to highest): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2. Suits lowest to highest: Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts, Spades. The 2 of Spades is the highest single card.
Play: The holder of the 3 of Diamonds leads first and must include it in their opening play. Each player must beat the previous play with a higher combination (based on the suits) of the same type and card count, or pass. When all but one player passes, the last player to play leads the next round with any legal combination. Play any poker hand: high card, pair two pair, 3 of a kind. Five-card hands rank: straight, flush, full house, four of a kind plus one, straight flush.
Goal: First to shed all cards wins.
Larger Groups
Dutch
Players: 3 to 8 | Time: 20 to 40 minutes
A four-card game about having the lowest total. Deceptively good.
The goal: Have the lowest total points across your four cards when someone calls Dutch.
Setup: Each player is dealt four cards face down. Before play begins, each player may look at exactly two of their four cards. They may not look at those cards again during the game unless a card power allows it.
Card values: Numbered cards are face value. Face cards are worth 10 points, except red Kings which are worth 0 and black Kings which are worth 25. Aces are worth 1.
How to play: On your turn, draw a card from the deck or the top of the discard pile. You may swap it with any of your four face-down cards, placing the replaced card face up on the discard pile, or simply discard the drawn card without swapping. When you discard certain cards, their power activates.
Card powers on discard: Jack lets you swap any two cards between any players without looking at them. Queen lets you look at any one card including one of your own unknown positions. King lets you give any one of your cards to another player who must accept it without looking.
The matching flip: Whenever a card appears face up on the discard pile, any player can immediately flip one of their own face-down cards onto the top of the discard pile, believing it matches the discarded rank. This must be done before the next player picks up their drawn card, otherwise a penalty applies. If it matches, the card is removed from their hand and they continue with fewer cards. If it does not match, the flipped card is returned face down and they draw one penalty card from the deck.
Calling Dutch: At any point on your turn instead of drawing, you may call Dutch if you believe you have the lowest total. Every other player takes one final turn, then all players reveal. The player with the lowest total scores zero. Everyone else scores their total. If the player who called Dutch does not have the lowest total, they draw the top two cards from the deck and add them to their score for that round.
Game end: Agree a target before you start. 50 for a short game, 100 for a longer one. Once any player reaches the target, the player with the lowest accumulated total wins.
Hearts
Players: 3 to 5 (4 is best) | Time: 30 to 60 minutes
The goal: Avoid taking Hearts (1 penalty point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 penalty points). Lowest score when someone reaches 100 wins.
Setup: Deal all 52 cards with four players. With three, remove the 2 of Diamonds first. With five, remove the 2 of Diamonds and 2 of Clubs.
Passing: Before each hand, pass 3 cards face down simultaneously. Rotate direction: left, right, across, no passing.
Play: Holder of the 2 of Clubs leads it first. Follow suit if you can. Highest card of the led suit wins. Hearts cannot be led until a Heart has been discarded in a previous trick.
Shooting the Moon: Take all 13 Hearts and the Queen of Spades and score zero while all others score 26.
Up the River, Down the River
Players: 3 to 8 | Time: 30 to 60 minutes
One of the best prediction games, excellent with larger groups.
The goal: Correctly predict exactly how many tricks you will win in each hand.
Setup: Everyone starts with the maximum number of cards possible while leaving at least one card remaining to flip for trump. Go down one card each round until everyone has one card, then back up to the maximum. For a shorter game, just go down to one card and stop there.
How to play: Flip the top remaining card on the deck for the trump of each hand. Starting left of the dealer, each player declares how many tricks they intend to win. The dealer goes last and cannot declare a number that makes total predictions equal the number of tricks available. Standard trick-taking: lead a card, follow suit if you can, highest card of the led suit wins unless a trump is played.
The forehead round: In the final round of the downward run, players without looking at their card will place their single card face out against their forehead simultaneously so everyone can see everyone else’s card but not their own. Bids must be made using only what you can see from other players’ cards.
Scoring: Make your exact prediction and score 1 point. Miss in either direction and score 0. Highest score after all rounds wins.
Commune
Players: 3 to 8 | Time: 20 to 40 minutes
A bluffing game that scales brilliantly with group size.
The goal: Be the last one standing by not accumulating cards.
Setup: Each player starts with one card face down. They may look at their own card. Include one Joker (two for more chaos, one is recommended).
Hand ranking in this game: Straight beats flush. Among flushes, a lower high card beats a higher one, so an 8-high flush beats a King-high flush. Otherwise standard poker rankings apply: high card, pair, two pair, three of a kind, flush, straight,, full house, four of a kind, straight flush.
How to play: The first player declares any poker hand they like, truthfully or not. The starting call must be equal or higher than a high card 7. Each subsequent player must either declare a higher hand or call Bullshit on the previous claim. When a player calls Bullshit, all players reveal simultaneously and determine together whether the claimed hand exists across all cards in play. If it exists, the caller receives an extra card. If it doesn’t, the claimant receives an extra card. The Joker is wild for any rank and suit.
Declaring out: Any player who reaches five cards can declare themselves out rather than continue. Last player remaining wins. You can change the max number of cards someone can have before they get out depending on the number of players and how long you want to play.
Skull
Players: 3 to 6 | Time: 20 to 30 minutes
A bluffing game stripped down to its absolute simplest form. Each player has four cards: three flowers (red cards) and one skull (any black card). The goal is to win two rounds before anyone else does.
Setup: Each player takes three red cards as flowers and one black card as their skull. Remove all other cards from the deck. Everyone keeps their four cards face down in a personal pile in front of them.
How to play: Each round starts with every player placing one card face down from their hand onto their pile. After everyone has placed, players can either continue adding cards face down to their pile one at a time, or make a bid.
Bidding: A bid is a number representing how many cards you believe you can flip face up without revealing a skull. You must flip your own pile first before touching anyone else’s. Bids go around the table, with each subsequent player either raising the bid or passing. Bidding continues until everyone but one player has passed. That player must now attempt their bid.
Flipping: The bidder flips cards face up, starting from the top of their own pile. Once their pile is exhausted they can flip the top card of any other player’s pile, choosing the order. If they reveal the target number of cards without hitting a skull, they win the round and flip their chosen card face down as a victory token.
Hitting a skull: If the bidder flips a skull at any point, the round ends immediately. They shuffle all their cards face down and another player randomly removes one from the pile without looking at it. That card is gone for the rest of the game. If the removed card was their skull, they now only have flowers left, which becomes increasingly powerful.
Winning: Win two rounds and you win the game. Lose all your cards through skull penalties and you’re eliminated.
The strategy: The skill is in reading whether other players have placed their skulls or are loading their piles with flowers, and bidding accordingly. Placing your skull early as bait is a legitimate play. So is loading purely with flowers and encouraging an overbid from someone else. The skull card carries enormous power precisely because it’s the only one.
For the Right Group
These next games revolve around all players being comfortable (and good at) lying which I’ve found not everyone is comfortable with. However, with the right group these next games will be an absolute blast.
Resistance: Avalon
Players: 5 to 10 | Time: 30 to 45 minutes
Use any red and black cards as roles. Red cards are the good team, black cards are the bad team. Assign specific roles as follows: one red King is Merlin, one red Jack is Percival, one red Queen is Morgana (appears to Percival as a possible Merlin), one black Ace is the Assassin, one black Jack is Mordred (hidden from Merlin). All other red cards are loyal servants, all other black cards are Minions of Mordred. You can play any combination of roles to make things interesting or balance the game out. However, always play with at least Merlin and Assassin.
Deal one role card face down to each player. One person conducts the night phase with everyone’s eyes closed: bad players open eyes to identify each other. Merlin opens eyes to see bad players except Mordred. Percival opens eyes to see both Merlin and Morgana but not which is which. Everyone opens their eyes.
Quests: Check your phone for the number of players needed per quest and whether any quest requires two fail cards for your player count (boardgamegeek.com/game/128882). The team leader proposes players to go on a quest. All players vote simultaneously using thumbs up to approve or thumbs down to reject. Majority decides. Five consecutive rejections means the bad team automatically fails that quest. If rejected, the team leader moves clockwise to the next person who then again proposes players.
Approved quest players secretly submit a red card for success or black card for fail, shuffled and revealed. Any fail causes the quest to fail (or two fails on the specific quest that requires it).
Track results with face-up red cards for successful quests and black cards for failed quests. Three successful quests wins for good, but the Assassin then gets one guess at Merlin. Correct guess and bad team wins. Three failed quests wins for bad outright.
Tip for bad players: Get involved in the discussion and appear as helpful as possible. Try not nominate another bad player to go on a quest with you as it can create confusion. Failing one or two quests to appear loyal is worth doing, but fail too many and the good team wins before you have caused enough damage.
Coup
Players: 3 to 6 | Time: 15 minutes
Use the following card assignments: Kings are Dukes, Jacks are Captains, Queens are Contessas, Aces are Assassins, 10s are Ambassadors. Use three of each and remove all other cards. Use the backs of unwanted cards as coins, giving each player two to start.
How to play: Each player is dealt two role cards face down. These are your influence. On your turn, take one action:
Income: Take 1 coin from the bank. Cannot be blocked or challenged.
Foreign Aid: Take 2 coins. Can be blocked by the Duke.
Coup: Pay 7 coins, choose a player, they lose one card. Cannot be blocked or challenged. Mandatory if you have 10 or more coins.
Duke: Take 3 coins. Can be challenged.
Assassin: Pay 3 coins to assassinate a player’s card. They may block with Contessa. Can be challenged.
Captain: Steal 2 coins from another player. Blocked by Captain or Ambassador. Can be challenged.
Ambassador: Draw 2 cards from the deck, keep any combination of 2, return the rest. Blocked by Captain. Can be challenged.
Challenging: Any player can challenge any claim at any time. If challenged, the accused reveals the relevant card. If they have it, the challenger loses a card and the accused reshuffles and draws a replacement. If they don’t have it, the accused loses a card.
Losing influence: Each time you lose a card, flip one face up. Lose both and you’re eliminated. Last player remaining wins.
Tip: You can claim to be any role on any turn whether you hold that card or not. Lying about your role to use other effects keeps opponents guessing what you actually hold and forces them to decide whether to challenge and risk losing a card. Catching someone in a lie costs them an influence. The tension between bluffing and the fear of being called out is the whole game.
Give It A Chance
A flat surface, people willing to actually learn the rules before complaining, and patience to give each game a second play before judging it. Every game on this list is better the second time when you’ve got the rules under your belt. Once it clicks you’ll be thanking me for unlocking these fantastically solid games you can pull out of your pocket when the time’s right.