Scrabble: Road Trip Series
One of the best Scrabble games for travel is the appropriately named Road Trip Edition from Hasbro. Raised edges keep your letter tiles in place. Even better, you can close the plastic case in the middle of a game and pick up where you left off later on. The letters will stay in place within the portable case! The integrated tile racks for up to four players are super convenient too.
As an added road trip twist, players score bonus points if they spot objects in real life that are spelled out on the board. Scrabble: Road Trip Series sells for about $20 to $30.
Scrabble to Go
When you’re looking for a travel Scrabble game, Scrabble to Go can feel like an obvious contender for several reasons. Just like the Road Trip Series, Scrabble to Go also features a folding folio style where the letter tiles can “lock” into place. The handy, zippered case makes for easy storage too.
Unlike the integrated tile racks of the Road Trip Series, Scrabble to Go offers separate tile racks like the regular game. What’s different is the racks have lids you can flip closed to lock the tiles in place. Then, the travel case has designated spots to keep these racks for when you want to pick up the game again. Scrabble to Go retails for about $36.
Tile Lock Scrabble Travel Edition
The first two Scrabble editions described above have raised edges to help keep the letter tiles in place. Tile Lock Scrabble is different in that it features “posts” on the corners of each space instead. This makes it easier to remove tiles while still being just as effective at preventing the tiles from sliding around. This YouTube video gives you a closer look.
Unlike the above two options, the game board for Tile Lock Scrabble does not fold up. It does, however, feature soft pads on the bottom so you can slide or rotate the board more easily. You also get four plastic tile racks and a drawstring bag for the letter tiles. Tile Lock Scrabble lists for about $20.
Word Master
What if you’d rather avoid the potential problems of misplaced tiles and moving pieces altogether? Mobile games like Scrabble GO and Words With Friends are designed for asynchronous online play. How can you tap into the convenience of digital when playing face-to-face while traveling?
Check out the “pass n’ play” feature in Word Master for iOS. Also available for Android, Word Master empowers you to play Scrabble with friends on a single device. Make your move, then pass your phone or tablet to your friend so they can take their turn. Each player only sees their own letter rack on their turn. And when you don’t have a human opponent around, you can challenge AI bots in Word Master too. The game is a free download.
A Slamming Scrabble Travel Game
Just because you’re heading out of the town doesn’t mean the word gaming has to stop. Beyond the Scrabble travel options described above, maybe you’re looking for something a little different too? Scrabble Slam is a card game based on the classic, but it’s faster-paced and certainly easier to take with you on the road.
Michael Kwan is a professional writer and editor with over 14 years of experience. Fueled by caffeine and WiFi, he's no stranger to word games and dad jokes.
