Who isn’t desperate for a holiday right now?
In an effort to bring the holiday spirit home, Carnival Cruises has partnered with Monopoly on a cruise ship themed version of the game – which may or may not make your hankering for a holiday worse. Either way, we’re also willing to bet you’ve now played all your favourite pre-pandemic games a million and one times (including the wanderlust-friendly World Monopoly) and could probably do with some new blood.
Here are a few classic games that could help your four walls feel a little larger.
1. Catan
A world-building strategy game in which players traverse a world of their own making, Catan is one of those games that can be played at any level – up to and including semi-pro. The goal is to earn points by building settlements, a process mired in as many layers of strategy as your mind is willing to entertain. Catan has achieved near-messianic status in some board game playing circles, and its pop culture empire includes a biennial world championship.
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2. Who Knows Where?
A bit like Trivial Pursuit with only geography cards, Who Knows Where? features a map of the world, and players must race around by guessing famous locations, answering questions about capitals, and recognising iconic landmarks. Perfect for pub quiz nerds and novice globetrotters alike, if you don’t know much about world geography, you will soon.
3. Ticket To Ride
If you’ve ever been interrailing, Ticket To Ride is basically that with counters and cards. A pleasingly simple game, players assume the roles of railroad magnates attempting to dominate the routes between major cities on a map. Editions range from the steam locomotives of the Industrial Revolution and the sprawling railways of India, to the ultra-modern bullet trains of Japan.
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4. Terraforming Mars
Definitely the most aspirational entry on our list, this multi-award-winning strategy game released in 2016 may not simulate travel as we know it, but will still transport you to a land far, far away from lockdown. Visually similar to Catan and nearly as popular, Terraforming Mars players compete to colonise the red planet by establishing settlements with liveable water levels, oxygen levels, and temperature. Otherwise, expect the usual mechanics of tabletop strategy: rounds, cards, and counters.
5. GeoGuessr
It’s not technically a board game, but it plays quite like one and no list of travel games is complete without it. An online game played alone or with friends, GeoGuessr plonks you down at a semi-random location in Google Street View, and tasks you with working out where in the world you are. The tiniest details can yield clues – from different species of vegetation to markings on the roads. Oddly addictive, it’s procrastination perfection.
Read more: Why board games are booming
Do you play board games? Why not share your favourite travel-themed board game in the comments section below?
– With PA
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