6 Fun Games to Play in the Car
Stuck in the backseat on a long drive? Here are some classic (and free!) games to help travel time go by faster.
Already a seasoned traveler? Take our Summer Vacation Hot Spot quiz
LICENSE PLATE GAME
For long trips, the License Plate Game might be the thing. In this version, call out letters from the license plates you see, then make as many ridiculous phrases as possible. For example, AST = Aardvarks Singling Tenderly or After-School Trampolining. You get the idea.
ALPHABET GAME
The Alphabet Game is good along roads with a lot of signs. Find a word with an “A,” call it out, then look for a word with “B” and so on. First one to the end of the alphabet wins. You might want to skip trying to find “Q” and “Z.” Or not.
LINES AND DOTS
Use graph paper for a couple of travel games. With Lines and Dots, draw lines on the paper. Take turns drawing one side of a square at a time, trying to make boxes. When you complete a box, put your initials in it. Whoever makes the most boxes in 15 minutes or so wins.
INFINITE TIC-TAC-TOE
Another game with graph paper is Infinite Tic-Tac-Toe. In this game, the first person to get five in a row wins, and there are no borders except for the edge of the page.
Share these summer vacation jokes for a break between games
I SPY
In I Spy, pick out something you see nearby (that other players can also see), but keep what it is to yourself. Say, “I spy with my little eye …” and then provide one description of the object. For instance, with the windshield wipers you might say, “I spy something long” or “something black.” After each hint, players take a turn guessing what the object is.
ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS AND 20 QUESTIONS
Rock-Paper-Scissors and 20 Questions hardly need explaining. There are variations of these games, such as Foot-Cockroach-Nuclear Bomb, and 20 Questions about movies you’ve seen or books you’ve read, instead of some random object.
i like the license plate game and we are driving from Missouri to Chicago. i know its only a boardering state but it takes 6hours to get there. and with my mom her friend my sister and her friend so i am pretty much gonna have to be a loner. so i need to find some good games to play 😛
I like the sound of I spy.
name evry car that goes past with a suitable name
The car game is good too. You get points for different types of cars
Yellow car 1
Convetible with top down 1
PT Cruiser 1
Hummer 1
Lemo 10
Thanks – I forgot about lines & dots.
My family & I are driving to Florida from New Jersey.
It’s one long drive.
You can try “Escape Animals”.Here’s how you play,when you spot something that looks like an animal, you say it’s name.It helps to have a book about animals.
I LOVE THE UNLIMITED TIC-TAC-TOE AND THE ALPHABET GAME.
or you coul play C e y. It is a fun rock paper sisers game except letters and lower lettrs win
We play “Roadside Cribbage” where each type of animal (cows, horses, buffalo, deer, birds, etc) have a point value. Your score depends on the animals you pass that are on your side of the road. You count them and figure out your score from there. An example would be: cows are 5 points each and deer are 50 points (they are more rare). You automatically lose all your points if there is a cemetary on your side.
You can’t play i spy in the car because your moving and it would get boring spying stuff inside the car 🙁
ya thats right
no kidding!!!!!
dtlux says you can’t play i spy in the car, but what if you are in traffic? duh! 😉