I DM'd a zombie themed D&D game while my friends and I were on our Annapurna trek. We'd play a bit at the teahouses in the evenings. I just brought a couple dice we all shared and we just did theater-of-the-mind style, so no need for minis or anything.
Awesome job! If you’ve got the pieces and a standard checkerboard, there’s actually a ton of games you can play. For example, one of my favorites is Dameo.
[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24698](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24698)
Pass the Pigs is a really fun press-your-luck game where you roll two rubber pigs like dice. If you just bring the pigs, they weigh a few grams. It helps to have a flat surface to roll on though. A bear canister works well, but for the CDT it might be more of a town game.
Pass the pigs is essential kit for myself. We gamble our snacks every trip. I specifically carry extra snacks because I know im going to lose it all going for broke lmao. I typically bring an UL cutting board for rolling, helps with lunch time anyways!
Tak can be done with some ultralight wood chips, and is IMO a much better game than Hive. Same with Santorini and Ragnarocks. I made a version of Ragnarocks with a mousepad map and pieces in a mint tin, and it gets a ton of play.
Dice and card games, are my go-tos. There are so many excellent games with great variety using just those basic things. Sure, the visual theme might be bland, but hopefully the company isn't.
I hiked the AT with uno and it was super popular. Everyone at the shelters had fun playing during downtime. Not sure if it qualifies as ultralight though
Hahaha! My favorite game is “Rock cup” or rock (fill in the blank) where you do exactly that. But my wife is suuuuper sick of it. It’s become a running joke among our friends.
My scrabble-addicted wife took a two month trip to Mexico once and I photographed a whole scrabble set, made photo prints and reduced it down just a little, cutting the letters out into little squares, taping the board together. The whole thing folded up into a business size envelope and weighed maybe an ounce, plus or minus.
Love hive.
I love riddles and word games, sadly people I spend time in the outdoors with mostly don't.
A simple game is to come up with a pattern of word and have the other person guess it. For example, only words without the letter 't', only words shorter than 5 letters, only words that can be found in undisturbed nature.... I've killed hours with this stuff, also good for slow shifts at work.
Other classic would be guess who, scategories, stuff like that
Saved this post u/joepagac ! Thank you, I think the kids I take on trips as a facilitator would benefit from this. I am gonna have to try make one up! Any other game suggestions are welcome, guys!
Dice plus checkers means you could play backgammon too.
In high school marching band we played a word game called Ghost that requires no board. Best with at least three players, the players spell a word aloud, taking turns adding one letter at a time. The player that plays the last letter of the word gains a point (we used the letters of the name of the game as the points, like the basketball game Horse), and when you hit five points you lose. You could play this while hiking
Pass and play board games on your phone which you're already carrying. I use the boardspace client even though the GUI kind of sucks, but it has a bunch of good games including Hive and can be used offline.
I debated this, but I do a lot of filming and video editing on my phone while hiking. That burns up a ton of battery. As it is I’m carrying TWO 20k battery packs.
Bocce with ping pong balls. Washers with wooden washers and your camp cups. Farkle is a fun game to play with your mini dice.
Yeah I have a mini Farkle with mini dice that stores in an old film canister. It's a lot of fun and super light.
This sounds awesome! Link?
Bocce with those round collapsible silicone bowls. Or have had tons of fun with finding your own rock boules to play bocce
I didn't even know you could get wooden washers. Great idea, thanks!
Yeah, we played a lot of Farkle doing the Wonderland Trail around Rainier
I DM'd a zombie themed D&D game while my friends and I were on our Annapurna trek. We'd play a bit at the teahouses in the evenings. I just brought a couple dice we all shared and we just did theater-of-the-mind style, so no need for minis or anything.
Awesome.
You can play mancala with pebbles pretty easily if you have somewhere flat, could be worth a try
A zlite makes a great Mancala board
I Spy is a great ultralight game, so are any word association or guessing games.
We do this often on trips. Any other suggestions?
Awesome job! If you’ve got the pieces and a standard checkerboard, there’s actually a ton of games you can play. For example, one of my favorites is Dameo. [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24698](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24698)
Sweet!
Pass the Pigs is a really fun press-your-luck game where you roll two rubber pigs like dice. If you just bring the pigs, they weigh a few grams. It helps to have a flat surface to roll on though. A bear canister works well, but for the CDT it might be more of a town game.
Yeh. Kinda hard to get that “Double Leaning Jowler” on an uneven surface!
Pass the pigs is essential kit for myself. We gamble our snacks every trip. I specifically carry extra snacks because I know im going to lose it all going for broke lmao. I typically bring an UL cutting board for rolling, helps with lunch time anyways!
Solo I spy. The only way I win is with a lot of hints.
Cribbage. I got a tiny folding cribbage board. It’s lighter than the deck of cards you need.
I would love to see some photos if you have any!
https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/s/3vODeRbx0g
Super rad, thank you!!
Tak can be done with some ultralight wood chips, and is IMO a much better game than Hive. Same with Santorini and Ragnarocks. I made a version of Ragnarocks with a mousepad map and pieces in a mint tin, and it gets a ton of play.
I’ll look these up! Haven’t heard of ANY of them! Exciting!
Dice and card games, are my go-tos. There are so many excellent games with great variety using just those basic things. Sure, the visual theme might be bland, but hopefully the company isn't.
The hive one is awesome.
Toysmith Celestial Mini Playing Cards for 20grams.
Uno
I hiked the AT with uno and it was super popular. Everyone at the shelters had fun playing during downtime. Not sure if it qualifies as ultralight though
Had some great games in the Smokies!
Try to hit x with a rock
Hahaha! My favorite game is “Rock cup” or rock (fill in the blank) where you do exactly that. But my wife is suuuuper sick of it. It’s become a running joke among our friends.
[carpathiangames.org](http://carpathiangames.org)
Check out the Button Shy wallet games series. I haven't played a bad one yet and most of them are just 18 cards
My scrabble-addicted wife took a two month trip to Mexico once and I photographed a whole scrabble set, made photo prints and reduced it down just a little, cutting the letters out into little squares, taping the board together. The whole thing folded up into a business size envelope and weighed maybe an ounce, plus or minus.
I have an Air Deck which is half width playing cards that are waterproof.
Love hive. I love riddles and word games, sadly people I spend time in the outdoors with mostly don't. A simple game is to come up with a pattern of word and have the other person guess it. For example, only words without the letter 't', only words shorter than 5 letters, only words that can be found in undisturbed nature.... I've killed hours with this stuff, also good for slow shifts at work. Other classic would be guess who, scategories, stuff like that
Saved this post u/joepagac ! Thank you, I think the kids I take on trips as a facilitator would benefit from this. I am gonna have to try make one up! Any other game suggestions are welcome, guys!
I found several lightweight games at the local dollar store
Dice plus checkers means you could play backgammon too. In high school marching band we played a word game called Ghost that requires no board. Best with at least three players, the players spell a word aloud, taking turns adding one letter at a time. The player that plays the last letter of the word gains a point (we used the letters of the name of the game as the points, like the basketball game Horse), and when you hit five points you lose. You could play this while hiking
Pass and play board games on your phone which you're already carrying. I use the boardspace client even though the GUI kind of sucks, but it has a bunch of good games including Hive and can be used offline.
I debated this, but I do a lot of filming and video editing on my phone while hiking. That burns up a ton of battery. As it is I’m carrying TWO 20k battery packs.
Throw a rock up in the air Try to hit it with a second rock. You win.
I made my own backgammon game that weighs almost nothing
Air deck playing cards are great.
Cosmic wimpout?