Life & Family | Toys

At the peak of the family road trip season, all things portable are big hits with kids and parents alike. A set of miniature games may be small in size, but big on fun. Budding builders will keep busy with a construction-themed playset, while a fashionable notecard set makes old fashioned correspondence cool again.

To-Go Games ($24, patchproducts.com) packs a lot in one pouch. Among the six pint-sized games are traditional favorites like checkers, tic tac toe and backgammon, along with Chinese checkers, snakes & ladders and mancala. Don’t fret over all those pieces; everything zips up neatly in a carrying bag.

No need to tote all those tools for your Bob the Builder in tow. The Take Along Construction set ($60, playmobil.com) features a garage fit for a construction king—tons of room for all his tools and then some. This playset comes with two construction play figures, traffic cones, hand cart and lots of other accessories, and closes up for easy transport.

Get a change of scenery and go low-tech. The Handy Notecard Set ($29.50, thepiggystory.com) has everything kids need to keep in touch with their best buds when they’re on the road. One dozen notecards, postcards and an assortment of stamper markers in whimsical designs—all packaged in a vintage miniature suitcase—beckon “Wish you were here.”