Paper games for travel

Build the folder before you leave

A paper game folder weighs almost nothing, and it works when batteries and signal do not. Build it a few days before the trip, not on the morning you leave.

1. Check the paper size your printer uses. A4 is the usual size in most countries outside North America, and US Letter is common in the United States and Canada. Choose the size that matches the paper you will carry.
2. Print one test sheet at 100% scale and check it at real size.
3. Print one copy of each game for each traveller, plus a spare of any sheet you cannot easily reprint.
4. Keep the sheets in a clear plastic wallet or document folder, with a pencil and an eraser in a pocket.
5. Download the PDFs of the games you plan to use, so you can open and print them without a signal.

Write down the seed of any set you like. A seed recreates the same set later, so you can print a fresh copy at home.

Pencil-only games

Pencil-only games need no cards, dice or counters, so the bag stays light. These four work well with one pencil between two people.

• Battleship: each player marks a grid, places a hidden fleet, and takes turns calling squares. Pencil-and-paper battleship is often said to date from the early twentieth century, before printed pads and board versions appeared.
• Hangman: one player picks a word, perhaps a town name from the trip, and the other guesses letters. It fits into a few spare minutes.
• Tic-tac-toe: two players, a three-by-three grid and nothing else. It goes by noughts and crosses in the UK, jogo da velha in Brazil and morpion in France.
• Word search: choose easy for a bumpy road and hard for a long wait. Easy words run right and down, medium adds diagonals, and hard allows all eight directions.

Dots and boxes also works with only a pencil. Édouard Lucas published it in 1889 as La Pipopipette, and a grid of dots on the back of any sheet is enough to start.

Clipboards and keeping pieces together

A clipboard or stiff folder gives you a flat writing surface on a lap or a fold-down table. Clip the sheets to it with a bulldog clip, so a gust of wind or a turned page does not separate them from the pencil.

Keep anything with loose parts in a small zip bag labelled with the game name. Put the bag in the front pocket of the folder, not at the bottom of a rucksack. Check the bag before you leave the table or the gate, because a single lost counter can stop a game.

Trains, planes, waiting rooms and campsites

Trains. Table tops are often small, so choose games that fit on one side of a sheet, such as tic-tac-toe. Sit facing the table if you can, and keep the second player's sheet on the clipboard.

Planes. Tray tables are small and seat backs move, so use the clipboard on your knee. Carry only a few sheets, and keep the pencil within reach of the window seat. Printing before the flight means you never need a printer at the airport.

Waiting rooms. Choose quiet games. Word searches and hangman can be played in a whisper, and battleship works well with someone sitting beside you. Let each child choose one game from the folder, so the waiting is shared out fairly.

Campsites. Wind and damp can lift or soften paper. Hold sheets down with a stone or a clipboard, close the folder when you are not using it, and bring a lamp for the evenings. A hard word search suits a long evening by the lantern.

Use the site offline

Paperoom works offline once it has been installed or visited, and the games are generated on your device. Plan the offline part before you leave:

1. Open the site on a connection and install it as an app if your browser offers that option.
2. Visit each game you plan to use while you are still online, so it is ready when you need it.
3. Generate each set, download the PDF, and keep a copy on your phone as a backup.

Once a set is printed, you do not need the site at all. Paperoom is free and needs no account, so there is nothing to sign in to on the road.