Packing RPGs for a Trip the Minimalist Way

We're about to head off on a little family excursion for a few days. There's a distinct (slight, but distinct) chance that we could play a game along the way. In consideration of this I studied my voluminous collection of RPGs with the idea that I'd try to find one (or two) that worked within the minimalist packing standards I had set for myself.

It was no surprise that any of the White Box games fit the bill, of course....there's a plethora of S&W/OD&D RPGs out there which you can fit in your back pocket (if you wear cargo pants, anyway). I was more surprised to realize that some systems, such as Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls, were officially off the table for this option now, unless I opted for an older edition (the Corgi version of T&T 5th edition, for example). T&T really does need a slim, portable edition to compliment  the Deluxe version....a basic edition, if you will.

Beyond that, I had Savage Worlds ready to go. But otherwise? Not so many. I'd probably have more choices if I was in to FATE and -World games, but alas, I am not.

Of course, this is all a moot point when I consider that my Nexus 7 alone has about 8 GB of gaming PDFs loaded on it, and my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 has a 64GB card loaded to the gills. But, as any proper gamer of my age knows, you just can't pull a game off (easily) with a PDF. Nothing like a physical copy of the book to lure people in....

I do lament that there appears to be no easily portable horror games out right now, other than Savage Worlds with a copy of the Horror Companion in tow. I think Don't Rest Your Head could count, although now we're having to dive in to the realm of minimalist rules mechanics that are gimmicky at best and mildly entertaining for a beer and pretzels night at worst. Still....it's a good game so I'll count it. The entire Void Core line and Shadows over Sol is also highly portable, and both are great systems blending SF and horror.

Remnants, too. That one's pretty cool, actually.

I think I'll pack Warriors of the Lost Planet, Shadows over Sol and White Box Swords & Wizardry with the Companion. That's not really as minimalist as I'd like, but it's plenty to keep me occupied with and all three are easy sells right now. Especially since I'll definitely include my Galaxy Tab and Nexus in the bag.

....Or I could just fill it full of stuff like Mutant Year Zero, Fragged Empire, Chill 3rd and Runequest (Mythras) stuff and lug along an extra 60 lbs. That sounds more like my style, anyway....

Yeah....I totally do not know how to do minimalist living well, at all.

(ADDENDUM: as we plan for an early AM leave I managed to stick only White Box S&W in my main travel bag. Then I crammed my backup book bag full of 13th Age, WOIN, and Fragged Empire  ...well...a lot of Savage Worlds because you can get a lot of those books in one bag. Go figure. My wife, in a surprise move, is reading Amethyst: Quintessence for D&D 5E and will start running it next week for her Thursday group. Wow! And so you can tell this runs in the family, my son has filled his travel bag with Slug Terra stuff and his Planst vs. Zombies action figure collection.)