- Set-up
- Under a minute
- Reading
- None
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for Two children, or a child and a grown-up, who enjoy carrom-style aiming and bank shots
Think twice if You want a game for three or four: the travel box has six pucks, three each for two players
How we rate it
Learning curve. Slide, bounce, add up the points. It sits at 1 on our scale with UNO, Connect 4 and Jenga.
Luck & skill. Aim and a feel for how hard to push matter most, but a bounce can still send a good shot into the pit, and a rival's last puck can undo your best one.
Interaction. You can knock your rival's pucks into the pit or off the board, and nothing is safe until the round ends.
Set-up. Unfold the board, take out the six pucks, clip on the bumper and find a pencil and paper.
Reading. Nothing to read during play, but someone has to add up scores to 500 on paper.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
Is Travel Rebound right for you?
Great if
- Two children, or a child and a grown-up, who enjoy carrom-style aiming and bank shots
- Holidays and weekends away: the board folds up with the pucks stored inside
- Practising addition, since every round's points are totted up on paper on the way to 500
- A small gift for a 5 to 8-year-old who likes action games more than board games
Skip it if
- You want a game for three or four: the travel box has six pucks, three each for two players
- You'd rather not keep score with pencil and paper, which aren't in the box; Mattel's full-size Rebound has score pointers on the board
- Children under 3 are around: Mattel warns that the game has small parts
How Travel Rebound plays
Set-up: open the board and lay it on a flat surface, take the six pucks out of the storage space in the middle, and fix the bumper onto the posts at the far end of the playing field. Each player takes three pucks of one colour. Keep a pencil and paper handy for the scores; they don't come in the box.
- Time to teach: about 3 minutes.
- Reading and language: Nothing to read while playing. Someone adds up each round's points on paper, which is good sums practice for a 6 or 7-year-old; the instruction sheet is in English and French.
A turn, step by step
- 1Slide
From behind the foul line, slide one puck up the alley so it bounces off the bumper.
- 2Knock
Aim for the high zones, or knock your rival's pucks into the pit or off the board.
- 3Score
After six pucks, add up the zones your pucks sit in; a puck on a line scores the lower value.
- 4Win
Keep a running total on paper; the first player to 500 points wins.
The full explanation: how a game of Travel Rebound goes
A turn: players take turns, one puck at a time. Start below the foul line and slide your puck up the alley; it hits the bumper and bounces back down towards the scoring area. You must let go before your hand reaches the foul line, or you lose that shot. A puck that slides off the field or lands in the pit is out of play until the round ends, and nobody touches any puck until all six have been played. Knocking your rival's pucks into the pit is allowed, and it is the main tactic.
Scoring and winning: when all six pucks are down, each player adds up the values of their pucks in the scoring area: 10, 20, 50, 100 or 200 points. A puck touching the line between two zones scores the lower value, and pucks in the pit score nothing. Write the scores down and clear the board; the player with the higher score goes first in the next round. The first player to reach 500 points wins.
How it differs from the full-size game: Mattel's full-size Rebound (item FLK85, 2017) has a two-piece field that snaps together, two bumpers, eight pucks (four of each colour) and score pointers on the board, and it adds a jump and a ditch; its sheet is marked for 2 to 4 players, with a team version. Travel Rebound (item GKF42) folds in half with the pucks stored inside and has one bumper and six pucks, three for each of two players, and you keep score on paper. Its sheet doesn't mention a jump or a ditch. The 500-point target and the 'lower value on a line' rule are the same.
Tip: try different strengths of push, because a fast puck can bounce straight past the scoring zones and into the pit. If you play second in a round, your last puck can knock away your rival's best-placed one.
What's in the box
- 1Game base / storage unit (playing field)
folds in half, with a storage space in the middle for the pucks - 6Pucks
three matching pucks for each player - 1Bumper
fits onto the posts at the far end of the field
From the contents list on Mattel's English and French instruction sheet for item GKF42 (©2020). Pencil and paper for scoring are needed but not included. Mattel's full-size Rebound (item FLK85) has a two-piece field, eight pucks and two bumpers.
Where to buy
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
We found no reviews of Travel Rebound, so this rests on a history of the game and on Mattel's rules. Toy Tales' look back at Rebound, first made by Ideal in 1971, sees it as a mix of luck and finesse: the fun is in bank shots, trick shots and knocking a rival's puck out of the scoring zones, while the pit that scores nothing is the cruel part. Mattel's travel box keeps that core for two players on a folding board, with fewer pucks and one bumper, and leaves the score-keeping to pencil and paper.
What people love
- Bank and trick shots that feel clever when they land
- Knocking a rival's puck into the pit
- Short rounds of three pucks each
- On the travel box, a board that folds up with the pucks inside
Common complaints
- Luck: one bad bounce sends a good shot into the pit
- Scores have to be kept on paper, which isn't included
- Only two can play
Based on 4 reviews and discussions
- Reference Then & Now: Rebound (Todd Coopee, March 2020) · Toy Tales
- Reference Travel Rebound instruction sheet, item GKF42 (Mattel, 2020) · Mattel
- Reference Rebound instruction sheet, full-size item FLK85 (Mattel, 2017) · Mattel
- Reference Travel Rebound (GKF42) consumer-service record (read October 2026) · Mattel
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
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Travel Rebound
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game Slide, bounce and score: Rebound's puck game on a folding board | A different fit Another fast two-player puck game for children, flicking pucks through a gap | A different fit India's own board of aiming, bank shots and knocking pieces away | A different fit Another travel box for two young children, with quick action rounds |
| Players | 2 | 2 | 2–4 | 2 |
| Best with | 2 | 2 | 2 or 4 | 2 |
| Play time | 10–20 min | 2–10 min | 15–60 min | 2–5 min |
| Age | 5+ | 5+ | 8+ | 4+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Imported | Available | Available | Available |
| On this page | Explore Sling Puck | Explore Carrom | Explore Hungry Hungry Hippos Grab and Go |
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Questions people ask about Travel Rebound
What is the difference between Travel Rebound and Rebound?
The aim is the same: bounce pucks off a bumper onto scoring zones and be first to 500 points. Travel Rebound folds in half with the pucks inside, has one bumper and six pucks for two players, and you keep score on paper. Mattel's full-size Rebound has two bumpers, eight pucks, score pointers on the board and an extra jump and ditch.
How many players can play Travel Rebound?
Two. Mattel's sheet is marked for 2 players aged 5 and up, and the box has six pucks, three of one colour for each player.
How do you score in Travel Rebound?
After both players have slid all three pucks, each puck in a scoring zone earns 10, 20, 50, 100 or 200 points; a puck on a line takes the lower value, and pucks in the pit score nothing. Add the round's points to your total on paper. The first to 500 wins.
Is Travel Rebound made in India?
We can't confirm it. The Amazon.in listing gives India as the country of origin, but Mattel's instruction sheet doesn't say where the game is made and we haven't seen the back of the box sold here.
What age is Travel Rebound for?
Mattel says 5 and up, and the sheet warns that it has small parts, so it is not for children under 3. A 5-year-old can slide the pucks happily; an adult or older child may need to add up the scores.
Game facts
- Publisher
- Mattel (Mattel Games)
- In India
- Micro Plastics Pvt Ltd (named as maker on the Amazon.in listing)
- First published
- 2020
- Players
- 2
- Language
- No reading – Nothing to read while playing. Someone adds up each round's points on paper, which is good sums practice for a 6 or 7-year-old; the instruction sheet is in English and French.
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.