Summer time means it’s peak camping season! Whether you’re avid campers or you’re setting out on your very first family camping adventure, board games should be on your packing list! Even if you won’t be bringing the kids on this trip, tabletop games are a great way to bring everyone together. There is nothing better than gathering around camp with friends and family, the fire crackling in the background, a frothy beverage in your hand, and an engaging board game on the table. No matter the ages, skills or abilities of the players, HABA has got you covered with this list of our 10 favorite games to bring camping.
These best-sellers check all the boxes when it comes to choosing a game for a fun night under the stars!
✅ Easy to set-up & learn
✅ Quality pieces
✅ Replayability
✅ Quick rounds
✅ Fun for ALL ages - not just for kids!
For Everyone:
Animal Upon Animal (ages 5-99) - It's no surprise this classic HABA dexterity game has been a best-seller for more than a decade. It's easy to learn and set up and appeals to a wide range of ages, skills and abilities. Play is quick, but can get quite tense depending on how competitive your group wants to get! In Animal Upon Animal, players race each other to be the first to stack all of their wooden animals. A roll of the die tells the players how many animals can be placed or whether they can add to the alligator base. This game fosters hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Rhino Hero (ages 5-99) - Don’t let the age range fool you - this game is a must-have for every family game collection! All ages enjoy the excitement of strategically stacking cards, moving the rhino, and keeping a steady hand. Many describe this game as “uno” with a stacking mechanism. First player to get rid of all of their cards without knocking down the growing tower is the winner!
Color It! (ages 4-99) - Who doesn't love some coloring? But with a competitive twist! Color it! is for 2-4 players ages 4+, with everyone trying to complete their own coloring page. In addition to being competitive, Color It! teaches the concept of probability and even requires some strategic thinking. As a bonus, the coloring aspect helps kids to strengthen their pincer grip, which will improve handwriting skills!
Monza (ages 5-99) - A clever but simple game that combines color recognition and "thinking ahead" skills, Monza takes its name from the Italian city known for its Formula One Grand Prix racing circuit. A good strategy, and a bit of luck is what it takes to win this racing game for 2-4 players ages 5 and up. The colored dice indicate the spaces on the track that you can to drive on, but which lane should you take and when should you start trying to passing the competition? The player who crosses the finish line first wins!
For the Older Crowd:
Karuba the Card Game (ages 8-99) - In this one, the players carefully select two path cards from their hand and try to outwit the other players. The person with the lowest sum loses a card. They then use the cards to create a network of pathways to connect their adventurers with the temples. Who will best guide their adventurers through the jungle? At the end the winner is the player who collects the most points with valuable treasure and temples. Just like the original Spiel des Jahres nominee, except there's more player interaction and room for up to 6 players as opposed to 4.
King of the Dice (ages 8-99) - This game hits the mark! Not only is it is a simple, quick game to learn, but it also has broad appeal to gamers and non gamers alike! On their turn, players are rolling dice yahtzee-style, while trying to collect citizen & village cards in order to build up their kingdom and score the most points! Features eye catching artwork and a compact sized box for easy transport.
For the Littles:
First Orchard (ages 2+) - This beginner board game teaches color, turn taking and co-operation so that pesky ole crow doesn't get the fruit in the orchard before it's all harvested! It also doubles as an open-ended toy set. So whether your toddler is up for playing by the rules or would prefer to carry the chunky wood fruit around - it's the perfect thing to bring along to camp!
Critter Cruise (ages 3-7) - This one is a cooperative memory matching game for 2-4 players where players are trying to help the little boy gather all the animals before all the land floods. But they need their luggage! It's scattered all over the place and we don't know who each belongs to! So it's our job to work together to figure it out in time before the land floods. Teaches kids to retain information for future use - a valuable skill for child development! Surprisingly challenging - even parents and grandparents will be into it!
Snail Sprint (ages 5-99) - Racing snails may not be something one would ever expect to see, but in this one, players are doing just that! Lucky dice rolls and skillful moves will get your snails to the podium to receive the most points and win! Snail Sprint uses color matching and dice, and even utilizes the magnetic tin as part of the game! Designed to be easy to learn for young kids, but introduces a small amount of choice to get kids thinking about strategy. It can also be silly fun for adults who enjoy lighter games, making this the perfect choice to bring camping with you!
Have limited space? Try this travel game!
Floaty Fight (ages 5-99) - A fun clash of floaties! Both players secretly distribute the 5 floaty tiles over their 'swimming pool'. Players take turns guessing a square (color of the umbrella + number of the starting block) to try to find the other player’s floaties. The other player has to answer whether or not there is a (part of a) floaty in the square: With the dry-erase pen, hits are marked as an X on the small swimming pool, non-hits are marked as a circle. A player must announce when one of their floaties has been completely discovered and remove the tile from the game board. The game ends as soon as a player has discovered all of the other player’s floaties!
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