Today has been a really long day. It actually started yesterday when, after working a full day, we drove down to Stansted Airport on the other side of London. From there, we took a 5.40am flight to Ciampino Airport in Italy before then taking a hour long coach journey to Roma Termini in Rome. There we proceeded to walk 20 minutes to our hotel, had an hour nap, and began a 20km walk around the city. Now, we are back at the hotel, and are both collapsing fast into the realms of sleep. Before I do rest my weary head, however, let me very quickly tell you about four small games we brought travelling with us for airport entertainment purposes.

This won’t be a very long article, for obvious reasons in regards to exhaustion. That being said, let’s explore these games anyway.

#1. Arkham Noir

So, recently I haven’t been able to play as many games due to general life things getting in the way. As a partial solution to this, I’ve been in the market for good solo games to play whilst other things have been going on. When browsing the Forbidden Planet store near Covent Garden, I came across this curious little game – a story based, decksploration game that is, I believe, replayable.

Arkham Noir

I haven’t played it yet, and it is still in my bag, but I can tell you a couple of things about it. The first is it offers a slightly different take on the traditional Cthulhu themed game, putting HP Lovecraft in the role of detective. The second is that, I am genuinely really excited to play this game. It isn’t overly well known, but it has good reviews and I’m gutted I haven’t got around to it as of yet.

#2. Oddball Aeronauts

So, I first game across Oddball Aeronauts at the UK Games Expo in 2015, only to later buy the game specifically with travelling in mind.

Oddball Aeronauts

Oddball Aeronauts is a zaney, fun little Top Trumps style game that can be played entirely in the hand. It has been designed so you can hold your deck, whilst deciding how you want to defeat your opponents. Oddball Aeronauts is a two player game, in which the players take control of two well thought through factions. Each has its own abilities that can make it a really simple and really fun little game.

So, since my partner has never really played Oddball Aeronauts I thought, what better an opportunity to teach her than in an airport departure lounge?

#3. Love Letter

Love Letter doesn’t really need an introduction on a blog about board games. It is one of the most played small card games of all time, based around the idea of eliminating players until there is only one left. Those players are removed from the game by successfully ousting their hand for all to see.

Love Letter

Although not the best two player game, as you only need to eliminate one player to win, Love Letter is a great little travelling game because, unlike other games, it is quick, easy to pick up, and comes in a pouch that makes it ideal for moving around.

Due to how small and compact it is, Love Letter was easy to throw in my rucksack. If I were brutally honest, it’s not my favourite game ever, but, that being said, it is a good mix of deduction and luck – and it does keep you entertained when waiting for a flight.

#4. Romans Go Home

I’m in Rome, right? I mean, I had to bring Romans Go Home if only to take this picture –

Romans are home.

Romans Go Home is a probability game based around the idea of banishing the Romans back to whence they came. You play as the Scots, who want to get rid of the Romans from their land, and stop them from building Hadrian’s Wall. It’s a fairly quick game, that uses probability and randomness a lot, and is actually one I want to explore from a mathematical perspective relatively soon.

Romans Go Home in the light.

I’m not going to lie, the game needs a fair amount of table space, but I mean – come on. We’re in Rome. I’ve been carrying it around all day just for that photo!

Because…you know…when in Rome, amiright?

So, there we have it – four games we packed to bring with us on holiday. We’re only in Rome for the weekend, so there will be a return to normal articles next week – less phone based rambling and more coherent thought.

With that in mind, let me ask you a question – what are your favourite games to take travelling and why? Let me know in the comments below.

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke