ButtonShy Games is a company that specializes in creating small, portable, tiny games that can be played anywhere. Button Shy calls these tiny games “Wallet Games”. These tiny games are known for their high quality, innovative gameplay, beautiful artwork, and great games for travel. In this article, we will highlight five of ButtonShy’s most popular and critically acclaimed wallet games.
So whether you are short on storage space or your board game collection is getting a little out of hand, check out these tiny games, as they can easily fit into any cupboard or your handbag or suitcase for that next holiday. Some of these games can be played in as little as 15 minutes so they are great for a break in your day, destressing after a busy day at work, or help fill in time during travel periods.
Tiny games also make for great stocking fillers, as they can be played solo and in a short time frame, with easy-to-learn rules. And with this in mind, it is also easier to play with smaller groups.
Sprawlopolis - A Cooperative Tiny Game
A cooperative tiny travel game where you and your family build a city together using just 18 cards. With over 800 scoring combinations, it’s endlessly replayable, portable, and one of the best travel games to pack for road trips or holidays.
- 15-20 mins
- 1-4 Players
- Age Rating 8+
Sprawlopolis – Tiny Games with Big City-Building Fun
When I ask, “What is your favourite travel game or cooperative game?” – Sprawlopolis is a game that comes up time and time again. And while it doesn’t surprise me, I am surprised by how just 18 cards can make it such a cool travel game with lots of replayability.
This is a cooperative city-building card game, where players work together (without revealing their cards) to build the most efficient city possible. As mentioned, you are using just 18 cards where every turn is a new opportunity to connect zones, expand parks, or manage roads across four colored districts. You aim to claim the perfect score based on three randomly chosen goals at the start of each game.
Please don’t let the size fool you. With so many possible scoring combinations (over 800) and clever expansions available, this tiny travel game punches way above its weight for strategic fun and replay value.
I found this quick to learn, endlessly replayable, and small enough to slip into any bag — Sprawlopolis is a must-pack family game for your next adventure. I’ve asked numerous groups about their best travel games, and this game constantly comes up.
Food Chain Island
A pocket-sized card drafting game where animals eat each other in a silly food chain battle. Quick to learn, easy to carry, and fun for both kids and adults on the go.
- 15 mins
- Single Person Game
- Age Rating 8+
How to Play Food Chain Island
Whenever I’m packing for a trip, I always look for tiny games that don’t take up space but still pack a punch. Again, like all these other games, Food Chain Island is easy to learn, super compact, and gives my brain a fun challenge wherever I go.
The idea is simple but brilliant: you lay out 16 animal cards in a 4×4 grid. Each turn, a stronger animal “eats” a weaker one next to it, and the goal is to keep going until there’s only one animal left on the island. If you run out of legal moves, the game ends. It sounds lighthearted (and it is), but finding the perfect sequence to win is a clever little puzzle that keeps me coming back for more.
What makes Food Chain Island one of the best travel games in my bag is not just its size, but also its replayability. The base game is fun on its own, but there are four tiny expansions that make it even better:
Friendly Waters – adds sea animals
Tough Skies – brings in air animals
Lost Beasts – rare creatures from land, sea, and air
Legendary Creatures – fantasy animals for advanced play
All of them fit neatly into the same compact wallet, making it easy to toss in a backpack or even a jacket pocket. Whether I’m waiting in an airport, relaxing at a campsite, or sneaking in a quick game over coffee, Food Chain Island is quick, clever, and endlessly portable — exactly what I look for in a tiny travel game.
Skulls of Sedlec
Skulls of Sedlec is a tiny wallet-sized card game where you stack skulls into pyramids for points. It’s quick, clever, and small enough to take on any family adventure.
- 10-15 mins
- Players 2-3 or (1-4 with expansion)
- Age Rating 8+
Our family loves discovering tiny games we can slip into a backpack or even a pocket, and Skulls of Sedlec has quickly become one of our go-to travel games. Part of the clever Button Shy wallet game collection, this little card game packs a surprising amount of history, strategy, and fun into just a handful of cards. We’ve taken it on road trips, tucked it into a camping bag, and even played it at the kitchen table on rainy afternoons.
The theme might sound a bit spooky at first — you play as a monk helping a near-blind bone collector arrange skulls in a medieval catacomb after the Black Plague and Hussite Wars — but in reality, it’s light, quirky, and surprisingly thoughtful. My kids find the backstory fascinating, while we grown-ups appreciate the puzzle-like gameplay.
How to Play Skulls of Sedlec (and Why It Travels So Well)
On each turn, you draw two skull cards and carefully decide how to build your pyramid. Every type of skull has its own rules for scoring: nobles want to sit with nobles, peasants shy away from clergy, and criminals actually score better in groups. It’s a quick-thinking, spatial puzzle that keeps everyone engaged, and because the deck is so small, no two games ever feel the same.
What I love most is how easy it is to set up and play anywhere — whether we’re waiting for food at a café, winding down at the campsite, or squeezed into an airplane row. For such a small package, Skulls of Sedlec delivers endless replayability, and it’s become one of our favorite tiny games for travel.
Tussie Mussie - Flower Arranging Tiny Games
Tussie Mussie by Button Shy is a quick, portable card game where players use flower cards to create beautiful bouquets, aiming to score points based on matching and pairing flowers. It’s a light, strategic game perfect for casual play and on-the-go fun.
- 15 mins
- Players 1-4
- Age Rating 8+
When we first opened Tussie Mussie, we were instantly charmed by the delicate artwork on the cards. This little game is all about arranging flowers into tiny bouquets, but there’s a sweet twist: each flower carries a hidden message, inspired by a Victorian tradition where blossoms were given special meanings.
Playing it feels like you’re passing secret notes between friends and family. On your turn, you draw two flower cards—one you share face-up, the other you place face-down with your neighbor. Everyone does the same until you’ve collected four flowers for your bouquet. Then, with a bit of surprise and laughter, the face-down flowers are revealed! After three short rounds, you count your points to see who crafted the most meaningful bouquet.
It’s quick, easy to learn, and perfect for playing with kids or adults. And for those evenings when no one else is free, the game even comes with expansions that turn it into a relaxing solo challenge.
It’s one of those little gems that slips easily into a bag for holidays or camping trips, and always sparks smiles when it comes to the table.
SpaceShipped - A Space Exploration Tiny Game
A compact solo wallet game where you play as a space trader, balancing cargo, credits, and contacts to earn your way across the galaxy. Tiny in size, but big on strategy — perfect for travel play.
- 10-30 mins
- Single Player Game
- Age Rating 8+
In SpaceShipped, you’re a lone captain navigating the galaxy, trying to outwit space marauders while building up your ship, crew, and gear. The ultimate goal? Earn enough credits to buy two rare exotic crystals before the pirates beat you to them. Sounds easy, but the journey is full of tough choices.
Each turn feels like an adventure — do I push ahead and risk damage from solar winds and pirate attacks, or take time to repair my ship and fall behind in the race for the crystals? It’s a clever balance of resource management, risk-taking, and strategy, all wrapped up in a tiny card game I can play at the café, on a plane, or even at a campsite.
What makes SpaceShipped shine as a travel game is its incredible replayability. With 4 ship types, 4 unique crews, 8 pieces of equipment, and over 30 random encounters, no two games feel the same. And if that wasn’t enough, there are expansions that add even more variety, making it a wallet game I never get tired of packing for a trip.
Tiny Games for Travel – A Family Favorite
When our family is on the go—either a road trip, camping weekend, or long flight—we’ve discovered that tiny travel games can make all the difference. Button Shy’s Wallet Games have become one of our favorites. They’re small enough to slip into a pocket or backpack, but still packed with clever gameplay that keeps everyone engaged. Each little wallet-sized game has its own theme, and many even come with expansions, which means you can keep adding variety without taking up extra space.
What makes these tiny games perfect for travel is how easy they are to learn and play anywhere—at an airport, in a campervan, or around a picnic table. We especially love that you can collect a whole set of wallet games in one case, giving you a ready-to-go library of fun no matter where your adventures take you.
I highly recommend you pop over to Button Shy page as they have a huge range of games and even some exciting new ones out on Kickstarter which I think my kids are going to love.
We still take some classic card games too, since standard decks are naturally compact and always work well as family travel games.
Here are some card games worth exploring for your next trip:
