Board games night on your motorhome holiday

Board games provide a great opportunity to unwind, so they’re the perfect way to spend quality time with family or friends. They’re particularly great for bonding in the evenings during a motorhome holiday, with everyone gathered at close quarters in the vehicle’s social space. Chelston has many top quality motorhomes for sale, all of which will provide you with an excellent venue for your family games on holiday evenings.

In this edition of our blog, we’ll highlight the ten best board games you can take on holiday, including some familiar and enduring classics and some modern hits. All of them come tidily boxed and can be easily packed into any travel kit, and all of them are guaranteed to increase the fun of any motorhome holiday.

Monopoly

This timeless board game is based on 20th-century capitalism and has entertained families for almost 100 years since it originally launched in 1930s boomtime. It involves buying, selling, developing and trading properties to accumulate wealth (and to hopefully bankrupt your opponent’s so that you win). Monopoly requires strategic thinking, negotiation skills and a little bit of luck, and can be great fun when there are several of you playing. In the last couple of decades there have been various limited edition themed versions made available to tie in to certain film or pop culture franchises (Star Wars edition, Jaws edition, David Bowie edition, Harry Potter edition etc). This makes for an extra twist to playing, though the principle and gameplay remain the same.

Cluedo

Murder-mystery game Cluedo has been entertaining families since 1949. Players take on the roles of suspects in a murder case, with the objective of the game to deduce the details of the crime. By moving around the board and collecting clues, players eliminate possibilities until they work out who committed the murder, with what weapon and in which room. The names of the Cluedo characters that players play as have become iconic over the years: Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Reverend Green, Professor Plum etc. This popular game’s combination of strategy, deduction and crime storytelling makes it an engaging choice for motorhome nights in.

Scrabble

Word games have always been incredibly popular (just think about the buzz around Wordle during the last couple of years). Scrabble is the King of the lot, the quintessential word game that challenges players to create high-scoring words using a series of tiles, each of which has a letter of the alphabet on it. This game really tests your vocabulary – and expands it. You’ll definitely come across words you’d not previously known, whether they’re short three or four letter words or longer words of six, seven, eight letters or beyond. If you’re unsure a word even exists there are Scrabble dictionaries available to buy or online sites where you can check. Scrabble is great for motorhome holidays when a relatively quiet evening is required as it encourages thoughtful play.

Risk

Of the four classic board games mentioned here, Risk is perhaps the most challenging. Developed in 1957, a decade or so after the end of the Second World War, Risk is a strategy game where players aim to conquer the whole of the world by capturing territories and eliminating opponents. It involves careful planning to outmanoeuvre rivals, strategic placement of troops and the rolling of dice to determine the outcomes of battles. A game of both luck and tactical skill Risk’s enduring popularity stems from its dynamic gameplay, which offers intense, competitive fun. Games can be long and involving, so it is possibly even one that could run throughout a motorhome holiday, with players reconvening each evening for a couple of hours of gameplay.

Trivial Pursuit

This early 1980s knowledge-based game – nicknamed Triv – became an instant classic. Players must navigate their way around a board, with the sections they land on determining a question they’re asked. There are several topics in the familiar standard edition of Triv, including Geography, Entertainment, History, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature and Sport. The questions are updated each subsequent edition of the game, and there are also less common special versions available with completely different topics. Whichever edition you play, a correct answer when a player’s piece is located in a special section of the board will gain them a cheese – or should that be pie, wedge or piece? Once enough of these have been collected that particular player is in with a chance of winning the game. Trivial Pursuit is a great way for families to pit grey matter against grey matter – but be sure to take a more recent edition along on holiday with you or the older generation will steamroller all comers every single time!

Cranium

Cranium is an all-encompassing party game combining elements of trivia, charades, drawing and word play. This ‘bit of everything’ is great fun, with teams competing to move around a board by completing various tasks that test different skills. These include activities such as sculpting with clay to acting out clues, as well as answering general knowledge questions. Almost a self-contained ‘greatest hits’ of board games, Cranium never feels like a mash-up and has an appealing identity all of its own, with its diverse challenges making sure everyone can get involved, contribute their talents and enjoy the fun. The variety keeps Cranium fresh, colourful and exciting. The ideal game for family motorhome holiday gatherings.

Pictionary

Pictionary is perfect for lively evenings in the motorhome, being a drawing game which involves players sketching out clues for their teammates to guess a specific word or phrase, within a time limit. Points are awarded for correct guesses, and the team with the most points at the end wins. It’s a great game for motorhome groups to play, as it encourages creativity and quick thinking – and there is always the potential for complete misunderstandings and total hilarity. Think of the film When Harry Met Sally, and the classic “baby fish mouth”…

Articulate!

This is a team game where players have to use as many words as possible within a time limit, without saying the actual one they’ve been given to describe. Articulate! is a fast-paced game of quick thinking which truly tests the ability to communicate clearly. It’s suitable for groups on motorhome holidays as it’s both challenging and a lot of fun and gets everyone involved and laughing.

Catan

Formerly known as The Settlers Of Catan, this a strategic board game where players aim to build and develop settlements, cities and roads on the fictional island of Catan. Collecting resources like wood, brick, grain, ore and wool, based on dice rolls and the placement of settlements, players can build and trade, using negotiation and planning to achieve their goals. The first player to reach 10 victory points through building and development wins. The blend of strategy, luck and social interaction in Catan makes for a more involving type of motorhome board game than some of the others featured here (with the exception of Risk). There are also other editions of Catan available – including a space-based version.

Ticket To Ride

Ticket To Ride is a railway-themed game which combines strategy and luck. Players collect cards featuring various types of train carriages and use them to claim railway routes on a map. The goal is to complete the most extensive and valuable routes on the map, depicted on a beautifully illustrated board. Ticket To Ride’s straightforward rules and depth of strategy make it an excellent choice for those more involved motorhome evenings, like Risk and Catan (also mentioned here). There are multiple editions of Ticket To Ride available, so if it becomes a firm family favourite you can explore several different regions of the world… Now that is travel!

With so many great board games to play, and so many great motorhomes available at Chelston including new and used models, you have some fantastic evenings of fun ahead!