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It’s always said that the worst part of traveling is the actual travel part. You’re more than happy once you arrive at your destination – and can spend weeks in one place with endless things to do. The problem is finding ways to make the long journey to your travel destination less boring.
We’re talking about flights that could take up to 24 hours, really long train journeys, and so on.
You need a way to pass the time and speed things along, and sometimes you also want to avoid falling asleep for jetlag purposes. What’s the best way to remain awake and pass the time? Gaming! Games give you something else to focus on, and you can easily melt hours away in what feels like a few minutes. There’s just one question to answer: what are the best games to play on long travel journeys?
You’ll find some suggestions in a moment – but let’s begin by breaking down what makes a great travel game.
The Key Features Of Amazing Travel Games
Some games are more suited to long journeys than others. As much as you may enjoy a game like Rainbow Six Siege or Call of Duty, neither is great for traveling because of one key element: they require constant internet connections.
You must take your travel conditions into account when finding the best games to play, and here are some of the must-have features:
- Offline Play: The game must be playable offline so you don’t need to connect to the internet. This makes it perfect when you’re on a plane or train and can’t get a good connection.
- Challenging: Games should challenge you in some way so you have to think hard while playing. Easy games get boring really quickly because you either complete them or don’t find them interesting after an hour or so.
- Some Type of Progression: This can either be competing to beat your high score or actually progressing through a story. Whatever the case, the best travel games encourage you to keep going because you want to progress in some way or another.
- Easy To Play Anywhere: What we mean by this is that they’re easy for you just to whip out and play. You don’t need loads of different things to play the game, and can simply either take out a portable console or use your phone/tablet.
- Single Player: Yes, the game needs to have a single player mode just in case you’re traveling alone. There’s no point trying to play multiplayer games if you’ve got no one else to play with.
Best Travel Games Revealed
Keeping all of the above in mind, here’s our list of the best games you can bring along to banish travel boredom on long journeys:
Solitaire
Let’s start with a simple one: mobile solitaire is a very easy game to occupy your time with on a long journey. It’s a puzzle-style game involving a deck of cards, and you have to sort them into different columns. The strategic element gets you thinking and can make hours speed by in an instant. You can also play it offline and use your smartphone, so it’s very accessible for travel journeys.
Some solitaire games let you adjust the difficulty levels or pick different types of solitaire to challenge you further. There’s always a sense of progression because you’re trying to win the round or beat your score. You can also add more progression internally by attempting to go on streaks where you see how many rounds of solitaire you win in a row.
Pokémon
You can consider many Nintendo Switch games for long travel journeys, though Pokémon fits our description of the ideal travel game perfectly. For one, it’s entirely offline and you can play through the campaign on your own. Progression is nailed down because you’re making your way through a story – and that encourages you to always keep playing. It won’t be surprising if you complete an entire Pokémon campaign during your flight or train journey. To be honest, the hardest part is putting the game down when you reach your destination.
The portability of the Nintendo Switch means you’ll have no trouble playing this game in any travel situation. It’s easy to play anywhere, and while some people find the games quite easy in general, there is an element of challenge involved. You still have to go out and catch Pokémon, battle other trainers, and make your way through a storyline.
Stray
Cat fans will love Stray because it combines all the elements of a great travel game with cute cats. You play as a cat in a dystopian world as it tries to find its way back home. You’ll have to solve various puzzles as you roam the streets and progress through a nice story. It’s visually beautiful, and the music is super relaxing, so it’s perfect for a long flight.
This is a single-player game that you can download to a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck – whichever one you may have. Once downloaded, it won’t require an internet connection, so you’re good to play while in the air or traveling through tunnels on a train. The fact that it’s a story-based game means it will always have an element of challenge and progression to keep you entertained.
Stardew Valley
Another game you can get on Switch and Steam Deck, but also on your smartphone. Stardew Valley is classified as a farm life simulation game where you live on a farm and try to build it up. It’s a very simple game to jump into, yet the challenge involves maintaining your crops and juggling loads of different things at once. Progression comes as you see your farm grow and get bigger and better.
If you like cozy games, then this is an absolute must for your long journey. It’s the type of title you can slip into and just play for hours on end. There’s no “end” to the game either, so you don’t have to worry about completing it halfway through your trip.
You’ve been given four great games to play on a long journey, so feel free to check them out. Or, use the key features listed earlier to find other games that fit the description and are more to your tastes.