Abroad - Travel Journal
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FroGames — Moments You'll Remember
Four weeks, ten regions, a suitcase full of bad choices. Some plan everything, some improvise, some end up in Prague with no energy. In the end, only the journal remains. And the postcards.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A month in Europe to land the job of your dreams
Designed by Rodrigo Rego and Danilo Valente, Abroad: Travel Journal puts you in the shoes of an aspiring travel writer who must prove their worth in four weeks of travel across Europe. With a deck of 240 unique location cards and a postcard system that tracks your objectives, the game transforms travel planning into a management challenge where every choice counts. Illustrated by Christian Schupp, it captures the aesthetic of modern travel with a clean and recognizable style.
On your turn, you manage a hand of seven location cards, decide where to travel by spending money (plane) or energy (train), and choose from four activities: write about the current location, rest to regain energy, plan by drawing new cards, or perform a special activity of the region you are in. Each round represents a week of travel, each turn a day. Postcards with primary and secondary objectives guide your choices, but time is short: four rounds, seven days each, then points are tallied.
What they say abroad
A planning puzzle that feels like backpacking and missed trains
— FroGames
240 location cards turn every game into a different itinerary
— FroGames
Abroad - Travel Journal
The bot manages three locations in a row and moves automatically; you can spend resources to discard them and redirect it. The experience is complete and well-balanced, only losing out on direct area comparison but maintaining the planning challenge intact. Designed to work on its own, it's not a fallback.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and game sessionsYour travel journal
What you'll find in the box
240 Location Cards
Each card is a unique destination in one of the ten European regions, with specific activities that cost days but unlock points, resources, or combos. The variety is real: you won't see the same setup twice.
Objective Postcards
Each player starts with a postcard showing a primary objective (more points) and a secondary one (fewer points). Attracting famous people, festivals, bucket lists: they guide your choices without forcing you down a single path.
Money and Energy
Two resources, two ways to travel. The plane costs money but takes you anywhere in a day. The train costs energy but is slower. Managing them poorly means getting stuck in the wrong region.
Four-activity system
Write (gain points from the location), Rest (recover energy), Plan (draw cards), Activity (play a location card by paying days). Simple, but every choice closes a door.
Recommended Sleeves 291 cards in 1 size ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting the cards with transparent sleeves to make them last a long time.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 56 × 87 mm | 291 |
| Total cards | 291 |
In the end, you'll have a map full of marks and a scoreboard that doesn't tell the whole story. But the journey remains.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Choose where to start
Ten European regions, a free choice. Some go where they have more cards in hand, some follow the postcard's objective, some choose randomly because "they wanted to visit Scandinavia." The first three cards played often dictate the flow of the week.
The first energy crisis
You've traveled too much by train, your energy is at zero, and the activity you wanted to do costs three days you don't have. You start to understand that Resting is not a weak option, it's a necessity. Those who ignore it pay later.
The postcard starts to speak
Someone completes their postcard's secondary objective, someone else is still far from both. At the table, itineraries are compared, visited locations are counted, and it becomes clear who planned and who improvised. Area majority becomes a secondary but present theme.
The last week is a race
Seven days, ten decisions. Some burn all their cards to write everywhere and accumulate points, others desperately chase the postcard's primary objective. Those who managed money and energy best move freely, the others struggle.
Counting the postcards
Points from visited locations, completed postcards, and area majorities. Someone discovers they lost by three points because they spent an extra day resting. The ranking is close, but no one complains: the journey was theirs.
How to play
The flow of each turn
Each turn represents a day of travel. Move, choose an activity, advance. Simple until you realize that days run out.
You can stay in the current region (free) or travel to a new one. Flying costs money, train costs energy. Both cost a day. If you don't have resources, you're stuck.
Four options: Write at the current location (gain points), Rest (discard three cards, gain 2 energy), Plan (draw three cards), Activity (play a location card from your region, pay the indicated days, perform the effect).
If you have performed an activity that generates money, energy, or points, update your trackers. If you have completed postcard conditions, mark it. There are no instant end-of-turn effects.
Turns continue until everyone has spent their seven days of the week. Then you move to the next round, fill your hand to seven cards, and start again. After four rounds, the game ends.
Why it's different from others
Six elements that make a difference
240 locations, zero repetitions
It's not a deck of 40 cards you see three times a game. There are 240 unique destinations, each with a different name, activity, and day cost. Every game takes you to a different Europe, literally. Replayability is structural, not a promise.
Money vs. Energy: two philosophies
The plane takes you anywhere quickly but empties your wallet. The train is free in energy but ties you to connections and consumes days. Those who optimize poorly pay: they get stuck in Scandinavia while others accumulate points in the South.
Double-sided postcards: two paths to victory
Each postcard has a primary objective (difficult, many points) and a secondary one (accessible, few points). You can aim for the primary and take risks, or settle for the secondary and compensate with locations. The choice is yours, and it's worth points.
Area majority without conflict
Majorities in the ten regions give points at the end of the game, but there is no direct attack. You mark your presence by writing or performing activities. It's indirect competition; whoever expands best wins even without clashes.
Seven days, seven turns: time is visible
There's no hidden countdown or surprise ending deck. You know exactly how many turns you have: seven per round, four rounds total. The pressure is transparent, planning is possible, regrets are your own.
Credible automa, not a fallback
The bot isn't a random score tracker. It has three visible location cards, moves logically, and you can spend resources to sabotage it by discarding its cards. It's an opponent that occupies space, not a simulacrum. The solo mode truly works.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
At the end of the fourth round, points are counted. There are no alternative victory conditions or early eliminations. The player with the highest total score from locations, postcards, and majorities wins.
Victory
- Points from locations: you wrote on many different destinations, accumulating consistent points
- Points from postcards: you completed the primary objective (or at least the secondary), earning a significant bonus
- Points from majorities: you are first or second in at least two or three regions, thanks to distributed presence
Defeat
- You traveled too much: spent days on planes/trains instead of performing point-giving activities
- You chased the wrong postcard: aimed for the primary, failed, and the secondary wasn't enough to compensate
- You ignored energy: stuck in a distant region in the last turns, unable to move or write
Abroad: A Travel Journal gives you the freedom to travel as you wish, but makes you pay for every wrong choice. It's not the journey that counts, it's the points. And the journal.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Abroad: A Travel Journal
Is it a pure planning game or is there luck?
The initial draw of seven cards influences it: if you get all locations from two distant regions, you lose time traveling. But you have the Plan action to draw, so luck can be mitigated. It's not a deterministic puzzle, but not a dice game either: those who plan better win, even with average cards.
Does it make sense to play it with five players?
It works, but downtime increases: everyone plays their turn without depending on others. In 3-4 players, the pace is better. Solo is excellent. With five players, it's only suitable if the group tolerates downtime and enjoys simultaneous planning in their own corner.
Do the 240 locations really make a difference?
Yes, because you never see the same deck again. Each game offers you a subset of destinations, activities, and different costs. Variety is not cosmetic: it changes the available strategies. It's not infinite replayability, but it's at least 15-20 games before you see repeated patterns.
Is it suitable for those who don't like thematic travel games?
Paradoxically, yes. The theme is applied (city names, location illustrations), but the core is hand management and resource optimization. If you appreciate games like Lost Ruins of Arnak or Concordia, Abroad has similar mechanics under a different guise. You don't need to love travel to appreciate it.
Is it available in Italian?
Yes, this is the Italian edition Abroad: Diario di Viaggio published by Ghenos Games. Rules, cards, and components are entirely in Italian. The 240 locations have names of real European cities, so they are recognizable even for those who don't speak English.
Abroad: A Travel Journal is a hand management and planning game for 1-5 players designed by Rodrigo Rego and Danilo Valente, published in Italian by Ghenos Games. In 90 minutes, players compete to become professional travel writers by visiting locations across Europe, managing money and energy to travel by plane or train, and completing objectives on double-sided postcards. With 240 unique location cards and an activity system that balances writing, resting, planning, and special actions, each game offers a different itinerary. The solo mode with a dedicated automa is complete and well-balanced. Suitable for players aged 12 and up, fixed duration 90 minutes, medium complexity (BGG weight 2.74). Available on FroGames.it.
Abroad - Travel Journal
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