You looking for strictly board games or do card based games count? “Set” is great and any number of people can play at the same time. Battle line is two player and very portable (cards plus a few small figurines). A cribbage board and cards are very portable. I also have a small magnetic chess set I take a lot of places. And banangrams is another good option

I tend to take Qwirkle and Sushi-Go on trips. Sometimes Kluster as well, though while it is small to pack, it’s heavier than you’d expect, due to the magnets.

A lot of the classic table games, the ones that have survived through the centuries, are often quite durable and adaptive to play. Think Checkers, Chess, Go/Weiqi, backgammon, Pachisi, gungi (😉), etc. Often time pieces for these games can be improvised or fashioned from nearby materials. Boards are often simple to draw on the ground or build. This also means that these games often have very compact and durable portable boards.

Plastic waterproof standard cards are actually something I always carry around with me, as are a few packs of standard dice. You can do a lot with those two. I use them to play Poker, or President, or certain tabletop roleplaying games. A really good portable card game I’ve found that’s surprisingly fun was called Don’t L.L.A.M.A. which is a lot like Uno with more strategy and interesting decisions. It’s accessible and it fits into a small box.

I’m not sure I’m exactly answering the question, but these are what come to mind when I think about games that can survive and be played during natural disasters, when far from civilization or amenities, etc

I would personally also love to know more about people’s portable travel games. I hear Bananagrams is a good one. And Sushi Go was mentioned and I play that on the go too.

We’ve had fun playing Elevenses, Odin’s Ravens, and Silver and Gold. Small, mostly card games but beautiful art and engaging gameplay.