Games to play in the car | huge downloadable collection

Fun games to play while traveling

If you’re traveling any kind of distance (especially with kids) then it can really help to have some fun games to play in the car.

I’ve put together a list of our favorites…some from my own childhood and others that we’ve learnt from friends and fellow travelers.

I’ve compiled them all in a handy downloadable e-booklet that you can take with you on your journey too…

I keep my Games To Play In The Car e-booklet on my phone along with the most amazing invention for finding playgrounds anywhere in the world…both are essential when traveling with kids!

Games to play in the car, train, plane or ferry!

21 Questions

• One passenger to pick a well-know person.
• Other passengers have to guess who it is using only 20 questions!

I Spy

• One passenger to say “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…[insert letter]”
• Other passengers have to guess what they have seen.
• If younger passengers are playing then you could use colours instead of letters.

The Alphabet Game

• Think of a topic and players like countries,  animals or celebrities.
• Players have to name something in that category following the letters of the alphabet.
• So, if you choose animals it might go something like “Ardvark, Bat, Cat…”
• Keep going for as long as you can.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

• Both players close their hands into fists in front of them and count “1,2,3”
• After “3” they choose a rock, paper or scissors.
• Rock – closed fist
• Paper – flat hand
• Scissors – open fingers to gesture cutting.
• Working out the winner: rock blunts scissors/ paper covers rock but is cut by scissors.

The Yes No Game

• Player one can’t  say “yes” or “no”.
• Player two has to question Player one until they say “yes” or “no”!

License Plate Game

• Give every passenger a piece of paper and pen.
• They need to note down all the different countries/ states/ departments they see on number plates.
• The person who has the most wins the game.

Another License Plate Game

• In this game passengers have to come up with sentences for number plates.
• For example, GFS could be Green Frog Sandwich…

I Went To The Shop 

• A player starts “I went to the shop and a bought…a banana”.
• Each person repeats the sentence and adds an item on their turn.
• So, the next player would say “I went to the shop and I bought a banana and a toothbrush”.
• Get it wrong and you’re eliminated.
• See how long you can keep it going for
• Alternative “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…”

Categories

• Choose a categories, for example Countries, Celebrities…
• Take turns naming something in that category in alphabetical order.

Guess The Song

• Put together a soundtrack for your journey.
• Passengers need to shout out the name of the songs as quickly aa possible.
• First to guess correctly wins a point.

Truth or Dare

• Passengers take turns to answer the truth or complete a dare.
• Dares must be something that can be completed safely in the car or during service stops.

Story Time

• One passenger says a word to begin the story.
• The next passenger adds one more word to continue the story.
• Keep going and see what happens!

Would You Rather

• One player to think of a question…
• For example, Would you rather have to laugh all day or never laugh again?
• Passengers to answer.

6 Degrees of Separation

• Pick two people and try to connect them in 6 people.

Scavenger Hunt

•  Prepare a quick scavenger list of things you’d expect to see.
• For example, tractor, wind turbine, church, sun flower field.
• Tick off as many as you can.

It Rhymes With…

• One passenger chooses a word.
• Everyone else has to think of a word that rhymes with it.
• Get it wrong or can’t think of one and you’re out!

Never Miss A Beat

• Turn on your cat stereo and sing along together.
• Once you’ve been singing a while, turn the volume down for 10 seconds.
• Carry on singing without the music to guide you.
• When you turn the volume back up, you’ll see how good you were at keeping  the rhythm.

People Watching

• This game works best on motorways as you can watch a vehicle more easily.
• Choose a vehicle that and observe it for a few minutes (try not to look creepy!)
• Now make up a back story about the passengers in the car.
• What are their names? Where are they going?
• The funnier the better!

The Compliment Game.

• Give your passengers an ego-boost by choosing a compliment for each letter of the alphabet.
• For example, “A is for Rachel’ asymmetrical haircut” “B is for how beautiful Laura is”.

Choose a color

• Agree on a color and passengers win a point for every vehicle they spot of that color.
• For example, yellow could be diggers, taxis,  dump trucks, lorries, cars etc.

Spelling Bee

• One passenger to challenge others to spell difficult words.

The Movie Game

• One passenger to choose a famous actor.
• Next passenger to name a movie they’ve been in.
• Next passenger to name an actor who starred with them in the movie.
• Continue for as long as possible.

Hot Seat

• One passenger to choose a well-known character.
• Other passengers question them in an attempt to guess who they are.

Take a look at our full list of fun games to play here.

Download our e-booklet full of games to play in the car here.