Gear & Gadgets : Travel Games for Fun and Fantasy

OK, so maybe travel isn’t all fun and games, but when vacationing with children, having some of the latter along often helps parents enjoy some of the former. Puzzle books, flash cards and sing-along tapes all help fight the fidgets on long car and plane trips. Back home, older kids and adults can vicariously experience the joys and tribulations of international travel with a board game that tests geographical savvy. All items below make good holiday gifts, with several widely available for last-minute stocking stuffers. Prices do not include shipping or handling.

“Travel Games for the Family” is a nifty little paperback with more than 100 entries, from brain twisters to just-for-fun stuff. Beyond connecting dots and coloring pictures, the games are divided into categories ranging from imagination games to alphabet games to music and strategy games. Each entry describes the number of players needed and appropriate age range, from tots to preteens. Some games work best with adult assistance; others are great for solo play. Some can be done quietly, such as drawing mazes and exchanging them with opponents to see who can get from start to finish first. Old traditionals--Hangman, I Spy, License Plate--are included. A page at the beginning of the book lists suggested supplies for each game; be sure to read up before the trip if you want the kids to be able to tackle the entire book. After all, you’re unlikely to take along the recommended “bag of marshmallows” (for making marshmallow sculptures) just on a hunch.

“Travel Games for the Family” by Marie Boatness (Canyon Creek Press, $9.95) is available at bookstores or from Magellan’s; telephone (800) 962-4943.

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Travelin’ along, singin’ a song . . . it may not be the quietest way to go, but it’ll keep the kids from biting each others’ heads off, since their mouths will be otherwise engaged. Two sing-along tapes with travel themes are Joanie Bartels’ “Travelin’ Magic” and Joe Scruggs’ “Traffic Jams.” The former will appeal to traditionalists (kids, that is) who want to chime in with “Little Red Caboose,” “Side by Side” and “Wheels on the Bus.” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” and other classics, are sung by Bartels in a sweet, kiddie-show soprano. Funkier little folks will go for Scruggs, whose snappier tunes--a mix of original recordings and adaptations of traditional ones--have a fun, stage-show quality. Be forewarned, however; some of the lyrics may wear on adult listeners. To wit: “Are we there yet? How much further to go? Are we there yet? That’s what I want to know.” Each tape comes with written lyrics. “Travelin’ Magic” by Joanie Bartels (Discovery Music) and “Traffic Jams” by Joe Scruggs (Shadow Play Records) are $10 at record stores, or from Children’s Book World, 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90064; tel. (310) 559-2665.

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History, math, science and geography come out of the classroom and onto the road in Workman Publishing’s educational game Brain Quest. Kind of a nouveau flash-card system available in separate editions for grades one through seven, the 7-inch by 2 1/2-inch “decks” of question-and-answer cards are keyed into the school curriculum at specific grade levels. Each set comes in its own plastic box and includes two different packs of cards that are held together by a plastic hinge. The cards fan out from the hinge, with 10 questions on each card and the answers on the card immediately following it. A first-grader might be asked questions such as: “How many colors are in the American flag?” or “Can you buy a 30-cent baseball card with 3 dimes?” A seventh-grader might encounter: “Which has the most gravity: a supernova, a white dwarf or a black hole?” Kids can play with a partner or alone. If junior complains that it’s too much like schoolwork, crank up the competitive juices by awarding points for correct answers and little prizes for the winner.

Brain Quest (Workman Publishing, $9.95) is available at bookstores.

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Billing itself as “a very ‘90s product,” Travel Buff has entered the board-game market, betting that people will be keen on experiencing the challenges of overseas travel as a competitive sport at home. Thankfully, it’s not all hassles as up to six players roll the dice, draw cards and answer geographical trivia questions as they move their little playing pieces (airplanes, of course) through six continents, three island groups and 50 countries. The world is divided into nine color-coded travel areas. Players must master five of the areas. Opportunity Cards (similar to Monopoly’s Chance cards) may mean bonus points (“You’ve won a dream vacation”) or debits (“Lose your luggage”). Also, like Monopoly, there’s play money, but instead of a banker, players designate--what else?--a travel agent.

Travel Buff is $30 at Rand McNally map and travel stores or from the manufacturer, Atlanta’s Intellectual Technologies; tel. (800) 241-7600.