Five screen-free games for hotel rooms, team dinners, and those really long breaks between games
There are a few things we’ve learned to expect from tournament weekends: early alarms, a car full of gear, unpredictable schedules, and a surprising amount of waiting.
That’s why a good game has earned a permanent spot on our tournament packing list.
Pull one out during a three-hour break, at a team dinner, or when six kids are sprawled across a hotel lobby staring at their phones. The best tournament games don’t require an hour of setup or 47 tiny pieces. They’re easy to learn, work with a group, and are entertaining enough that the adults actually want to play, too.
Want to skip straight to the games? Visit our Amazon storefront to shop our Tournament Games collection and find all of our favorites in one place.
Here are five we’re packing.
1. Super Skills
Part game, part collection of ridiculous challenges, Super Skills gets everyone up and doing something. Players compete in a series of physical challenges that test things like aim, coordination, balance, speed, and dexterity, earning points as they successfully complete them.
Why we love it: This one is made for competitive kids. Athletes can challenge their teammates, siblings can go head-to-head, and parents quickly discover that being a grown-up does not necessarily make you better at bouncing, balancing, stacking, or tossing things. It’s particularly fun when you have a little more room to spread out.
Best for: Hotel common areas, team hangouts, and long afternoon breaks.
2. Catch Phrase
Catch Phrase is wonderfully simple: get your team to guess the word or phrase on the screen without actually saying it. Pass the device as quickly as possible because you don’t want to be the person holding it when the timer goes off.
Why we love it: It gets loud very quickly, in the best possible way. Older kids and parents can play together without anyone having a major age advantage, and teammates naturally start developing their own inside jokes and terrible clues. It’s also easy to pull out for 15 minutes and put away when it’s time to leave for the next game.
Best for: Team dinners, hotel lobbies, and groups of teammates.
3. Sussed?
How well do your kids actually know you? More importantly, how well do they think they know you?
Sussed? is a conversation-based guessing game built around questions about what another player would choose, do, or prefer. Pick the answer you think that person chose and score when you get it right.
Why we love it: The questions are almost secondary to the conversations they start. Kids learn unexpected things about their teammates, parents discover what their children think they would do in bizarre situations, and everybody ends up defending answers nobody expected.
This is also one of the quieter choices on the list, making it great for a hotel room at night.
Best for: Families, smaller groups, and winding down after the last game.
4. Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition
This is not the original Cards Against Humanity. The Family Edition was created specifically for kids and adults to play together.
Players pair question or fill-in-the-blank cards with the funniest answer card in their hand. One player judges the round and chooses the response they find funniest. Win enough rounds and you earn ultimate family bragging rights.
Why we love it: Middle school humor finally gets its moment. It’s silly, weird, occasionally gross, and designed to make both kids and grown-ups laugh. It’s especially good with a group of teammates because there isn’t much strategy involved. Kids can join in immediately.
Fair warning: if your family does not find bathroom humor remotely amusing, this probably isn’t your game.
Best for: Older elementary kids through teens, families, and teammates who are ready to laugh.
5. What Do You Meme? Family Edition
If your kids communicate primarily through memes and reaction GIFs, you’ve found their game.
Players match caption cards to a photo card, trying to create the funniest combination. A rotating judge picks the winner of each round, so knowing exactly what will make your teammates or family laugh is part of the strategy.
Why we love it: Older kids usually understand the assignment immediately, while parents trying to create the perfect meme can be half the entertainment. Rounds move quickly, there isn’t much setup, and bigger groups can easily play together.
Look specifically for the Family Edition if younger kids will be playing. The original version contains adult content.
Best for: Middle schoolers, teens, parents, and larger groups.
Pack a Game With the Gear
Tournament weekends are busy, but they’re also filled with these odd little pockets of time together: the hour before dinner, the rain delay, the hotel lobby after the last game, or the evening when nobody has enough energy to go anywhere.
Those can end up being some of the best parts of the weekend.
Throwing a game in the tournament bag gives everyone something to do besides retreating to separate screens, and you may be surprised by how quickly a few teammates around a table turns into half the team joining in.
Visit our Amazon storefront to shop these games and more of our favorite Tournament Town finds for hotel rooms, road trips, sidelines, and all those hours between games.
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