8 Best Games to Bring on a Cabin Trip
We have been to the cabin twice in the last few months. Once with friends, once with the whole family. Both times it rained, but nobody cared.
The difference is having the right games with you. Not the ones that take 45 minutes to explain the rules, and not the ones that only work with exactly four people. The ones you can pull out after dinner or when the rain hits at 2 p.m. and everyone is suddenly very interested in being entertained.
Here are the games we actually played, plus a few we always pack just in case.
Skyjo
This is the one we played both trips and it was a hit every single time. The goal is to end the round with the lowest score. You are each working with a grid of cards you flip over one at a time, trying to swap out high cards for low ones before someone ends the round.
Low concentration, just enough strategy to make it interesting, and almost anyone can pick it up in one round. It plays 2 to 8 people, which is rare for a game this easy to learn. Kids as young as 6 or 7 can play with a little help. Adults who do not love complicated games will love this one.
It became the game we played after dinner both trips. At this point it lives in my car.
Nertz
Nertz should come with a warning label. It is a fast, competitive card game where everyone is playing at the same time. There are no turns. You are racing to get rid of your own pile while everyone else is doing the same thing, all playing onto shared piles in the middle of the table.
It works with any number of players as long as everyone has their own deck. Two people, eight people, doesn't matter. It is chaotic and genuinely fun in a way most card games are not. Once you learn it, you will want to play it every time.
Shop Nertz multi-deck set on Amazon
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Fast to learn, impossible not to laugh during, works for a wide age range. Players flip cards and say "taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza" in order. When the word matches the card, everyone slaps the pile. The last one to slap picks up the cards. You are trying to get rid of all yours.
It sounds too simple. It is genuinely fun. Kids from about 5 or 6 can play, and adults will get weirdly competitive about it.
Bananagrams
Think Scrabble but faster and without the board. Everyone gets tiles and builds their own crossword grid as fast as they can. When someone runs out, they yell "peel" and everyone takes a new tile. It moves quickly, there is no waiting for your turn, and the game ends when the pile is empty.
Good for people who like words. Great for a rainy afternoon when you want something that takes a little longer than a card game without committing to a two-hour board game.
Werewolf
This one needs a group but it is worth it. Some players are werewolves, some are villagers. At night, everyone closes their eyes and the werewolves silently eliminate a villager. During the day, everyone debates and votes to eliminate someone they think is a werewolf. The werewolves are trying to stay hidden. The villagers are trying to figure out who is lying.
It plays best with 8 or more people and needs someone to run the game as the narrator, which sounds like more work than it is. The rounds are short, the accusations are loud, and someone always slips up faster than they expected. Great for a big cabin crew or any night when you have a full house.
Shop One Night Ultimate Werewolf on Amazon
Exploding Kittens
Short rounds, funny cards, just enough strategy to feel like skill is involved. The goal is simple: do not draw the Exploding Kitten. You use action cards to avoid it, move it around, or make other players more likely to draw it.
Plays 2 to 5 people, takes about 15 minutes per round, and is easy to pick up. Good for mixed ages. Kids tend to beat adults at this one, which they love.
Shop Exploding Kittens on Amazon
Coup
For the group that wants to bluff. Everyone gets two hidden character cards, each with different abilities. You take actions based on those characters, except you can lie about which ones you have. Other players can challenge you. If they are right, you lose an influence. If they are wrong, they do.
Plays 2 to 6, takes about 15 minutes, and gets genuinely tense once people start playing aggressively. Better for adults or older kids who can hold a poker face and enjoy a little competition after dinner.
Phase 10
The long game for when you have the whole afternoon. Phase 10 is a card game where everyone works through 10 different phases in order: sets, runs, specific combinations. You can only move to the next phase once you complete the current one, so players end up at different points in the game, which is part of what keeps it interesting.
Takes longer than everything else on this list. That is the point. Perfect for a full rainy day or a slow cabin evening when nobody is going anywhere.
What to Pack
A few things that make all of this easier:
Extra decks of regular playing cards. Nertz requires one per person, and a standard deck is always useful for games not on this list.
A small bag or box to keep everything together so you are not hunting for games when the rain starts.
Skyjo is worth having in the car year round, not just for cabins. We have played it at restaurants and hotel rooms at this point.
The Verdict
The two games that actually stayed on the table both trips were Skyjo and Nertz. Both are easy enough to hand to someone who has never played and have them going in five minutes. Both are fun enough that you will want to play again before bed.
Start with those two. Add Taco Cat if you have kids coming. Add Werewolf if you have a big enough group and want something that gets loud. Add Coup if the adults want something with a little more edge.
And if you are planning a road trip to get to the cabin, check out screen-free options for the drive so the games can wait until you actually arrive.
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