Travel games/board games for 2 week holiday with 7 year old.

[TooTiredToArgue]

We're off to France last 2 weeks of August, and while we're going to bite the bullet and buy a DVD player for the car to help with the long journey, I'd like to take some small games (travel) with us to help keep my 7 year old DS happy. He's terrible at amusing himself, but loves things like scrabble, number games etc. Does anyone have any recommendations? I realise I've never really played card games with him before, so maybe now is a good time to start.

Anything fairly cheap and small is what I'm after. Thanks.

Uno - you follow colour or number and have special cards which reverse the order of play or make you miss aturn or pick up extra cards. is good fun.

ordinary pack of cards for sevens or rummy

top trumps

draughts or even chess - can often get a magneticversion that is 2 in 1

if he likes scrabble what about boggle - you shake the cube which has 16 dice with letters on, tehn make as many words as you can with the resulting letters till the timer runs out. could easily do a handicap system to even it out a bit say adults can only have words with 4 letters and above, but child can have 3 letter words

thanks panda. Good ideas, though I have to admit I don't know how to paly sevens.

Has anyone heard of Rummikub? Someone told me it's a brilliant number game, a bit like a number version of Scrabble?

play even .

yes, rummikub is good and you can get a travel version. Is a bit like a more complicated version of the card game rummy

can get travel scrabble too

what about shut the box? is quite a good game which practises addition too
www.ehow.com/way_5166805_sevens-card-game-rules.html sevens rules

gah, link didn't work. sevens rules

For games that take up little space - Fluxx is a pack of cards where you follow whatever rules have been played.

A couple packs of cards and a book of rules of card games might be most useful - he's old enough to understand Go Fish, Old Maid, Rummy 500, basic Whist, Switch (essentially Uno with your own rules) etc.

Bohnanza (aka The Bean Game) is a great trading game where you have to grow different types of beans, but you need at least 3 people to play.

Pass the Pigs is another fun one that comes in a tiny box - you throw two rubber pigs and get points for how they land.

Also some rules for pencil and paper games - you can spend hours playing Boxes, Sprouts or Consequences!

Rummikub is fantastic - my best ever game !

What about some 'I Spy' books for the journey - they have been relaunched fairly recently.

Would second UNO, we have taken it on holiday for years and never get (really) bored of it. We also like Downfall (turning gogs type of game) and lots of paper,pens etc.

I recommend frustration, i'm sure I've seen a travel version of it. there is such a large element of chance involved in it which means literally anyone can win it adult or child with no "cheating" involved.

Love Frustration too, still have my old set from the 70's and we still play it. (meant COGS not GOGS!)

Thanks everyone. Some great ideas. I feel a spend on Amazon coming on. I used to love Downfall - brilliant game.

notcitrus I'm familiar with consequences, but not the other two (sheltered upbringing, moi?) If not too much of a pain, can you explain/point me in right direction. Thanks.

Boxes - draw dots so you have a 10x10 grid (or bigger if not bored yet). Or use squared paper...
Take turns (2 or more players). Draw a line connecting any 2 adjacent dots.
If your line makes the last line of a square, put your initial in the box.
WHoever has the most boxes at the end wins.
Alternatively Snake - take turns to draw a line on the end of the snake, last person who can draw a line without the snake touching itself wins.

Sprouts - draw about 6 random large dots. Each turn, you have to connect two dots, and put another dot in the middle of your line. But any dot can only have 3 'arms' coming out of it (so a dot in the middle of your line has 2 arms already), and lines can't cross. Last person to make a line wins.

Have a look on the HappyPuzzle site (sorry no good at links), they did a workshop at my school and had some great puzzles etc for dc and parents. Like the look of Tantrix for my own dc on holiday. (Just don't do what I did and googled tantric)

that's really helpful. Thanks notcitrus and friskymare.

We've just borrowed a copy of this book from the library and there's loads of ideas in there, most needing things like dice/paper etc.

Another favourite paper game is categories. Decide on say, 8 (eg football team, river, food, author etc etc) and write them at the top. Agree a time limit and then pick a letter at random. All players have to come up with something in each category beginning with the initial letter before time's up. Points are scored for anything you have that the other people don't. Can play over and over
I also love Boggle.
I think you can get travle pictionary.
Also try spillikins, jacks, other simple old fashioned games

We play Yahtzee on holiday: game with dice and easy to take out of box and travel with. Good fun for all the family