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I spent many of my childhood summers going on road trips with my family and we never left the house without games to keep everyone entertained. With limited room in the family mini van, our road trip games were always compact and easy to play. Fast forward to today, Joe and I live out of a pop-up truck camper, which means we have very limited room for RV games. So this is a list of our favorite camping games that don’t take up much room in your RV. That means full size cornhole and ladder golf not included.
Get ready to have a great time on your next camping trip! Oh, and these games make for a great gift for the camping and RV enthusiasts in your life.
You might be wondering “why do I need games when I’m enjoying the great outdoors?” Well, there’s the long drive to and from where you’re going, the weather could take a turn and you’re rained in for the day, or maybe you just want to kick back and play a fun game after a long hike.
RV Games For Everyone
Table of Contents
1. Mini Cornhole
Cornhole is one of the most popular RV camping games, but not everyone has room for the full size version. Luckily, we were introduced to mini cornhole while camping with friends at Redwood State and National Park in California. Weighing in at 2 pounds and measuring 10 inches by 5 inches, you can play tabletop cornhole outside or inside your RV.
For the serious cornhole enthusiast, you can even get an official American Cornhole Association version.
2. Monopoly Deal Card Game
Monopoly was one of my favorite games growing up and I still love to play when we have a group of people together. When we first started RVing, I decided to donate our full size Monopoly set. Then we met up with our friend in Tucson, Arizona and discovered Monopoly Deal Card Game. It’s just as fun and takes up a fraction of the room of the original Monopoly game. Plus, you don’t have to worry about loosing all the extra pieces like the hotels and finding a surface large enough to setup the game.
3. Catan Dice Game
Friends of ours in Colorado recently introduced us to several strategy games and one of them was Catan Dice, which is based on the popular board game Settlers of Catan. The dice version of the game takes up very little room and can be played with up to four people.
4. Frisbee Golf Starter Kit
So far, we’ve traveled to 46 states in the U.S. and have come across more frisbee golf courses than we ever expected to. Most recently, we found ourselves dispersed camping near a frisbee golf basket in Bend, Oregon. People camp in their RVs at golf courses, why not camp at a frisbee golf course too? You can get a Frisbee Golf Starter Kit which won’t take up much room. Plus you can count this towards your exercise equipment as it does involve walking.
5. Fake Artist
Unleash your artistic side with this hilarious game that’s perfect for 5-10 people. We discovered Fake Artist at a game night with a group of people we had never met before. It was a fun way to get to know everyone and have some really good laughs. This game and the next one the list were two of our favorites camping games that night.
6. Trash Pandas
Are you ready to become a raucous raccoon? This fast paced two to four player game allow players to push their luck with each roll. The goal is to have the most points by the time the cards run out. We really enjoyed playing this game with Kris and Steph of Trail Drifters and look forward to a rematch the next time we camp together.
7. Throw Throw Burrito
This dodgeball card game with flying burritos was recommended to us by fellow full time RVers with three children. Exploding Kittens is the creators of this high energy game and there’s even an extreme version with a 3 foot tall inflatable burrito ideal for playing outdoors. Now, who’s up for a burrito duel?
8. Mini Jenga
Jenga comes in all sizes these days. From giant Jenga found at bars and campgrounds to mini Jenga that you can easily pack for an RV road trip. Each set comes with 18 small blocks, which means you can buy two sets for a more challenging game.
9. Deck of Cards
There’s a lot you can do with a simple deck of cards and you can always dress it up with a special set like the National Park Edition. There are many camper games you can play by yourself or with others using one deck of cards. Joe and I love to play euchre when we’re camping with his friends from Indiana and Illinois.
10. Road Trip Kit
The time it takes to get to your next travel destination can be short or long depending on where you’re going, but it’s part of the adventure. Sometimes playing music, movies, video games and shows just doesn’t cut it. The Road Trip Kit has a variety of games that the whole family can play in the RV including Battleship.
11. 50 Games You Can Play Anywhere
The name of the game says it all and it’s very compact, which gets an extra point in my books. These 50 Games On the Go include memory challenges, word games which should keep you and your fellow travelers entertained for hours.
Got Your Number makes for a fun driving game where everyone takes a turn at finding numbers outside the camper. This is a great RV game for me because I love to read billboards, road signs and bumper stickers when Joe’s in the driver’s seat.
12. Voltage
This fast-paced two player game was a gift from my family who camp out of an Alto, a very popular lightweight travel trailer. Voltage is a fun two-person strategy game created by Mattel Games and takes us up very little RV storage space if you’re willing to part ways with the box and put all the game pieces in a small bag. Joe and I usually play best out of three.
13. Rack-O
This game was first introduced to us at a game night hosted by our friends in Wisconsin. First released in 1956, Rack-O is a four player game played by taking turns until the first play arranges all their cards in ascending order. Although I haven’t figured out how to win this game against our friend Shirlee, it’s still a lot of fun to play.
14. GPS Based Games
It’s rare to travel without a GPS enabled smartphone these days and games like Geocaching have become very popular as a result. We learned about GPS based scavenger hunts from readers of this blog and have met many kids and adults who love to play. All you have to do is download the app and sign up for an account to start playing.
Bonus. Online Group Games
It would be difficult to make a list of fun RV games without mentioning the option for online group games. Traditional games such as Scrabble, Uno and Yahtzee have apps that you can download to play with friends and family.
I like online group games because we have many RV friends that travel all over the U.S. and the world. These games give us a fun way to connect even though we’re not in the same area. When we have access to good WiFi or cellular data, we can schedule a game of Call of Duty Mobile with friends or play a round of Jackbox games via Zoom.