Vacations don’t have to start once you arrive at your final destination. For us, it starts once we’re all in the car, all bucked up and on the open road. Most memorable trips have started with the drive itself. With a little bit of planning you can have an enjoyable ride with minimal screen time and the dreaded question “Are we there yet?” Buckle up and find joy in the journey.
Our list of road trip games below has been organized into some unconventional categories. Enjoy!
Pro Tip: Look for our printable road trip games throughout this article. Place printed off worksheets and games and place them in sheet protectors and use dry erase markers so you can re-use them over and over.
Road Games that Require a Little Prep Time Before You Leave
The following games could fit into other categories, but NONE of the games in this section would be very much fun if you didn’t prepare ahead of time.
License Plate Game
Make a list of all the different state license plates you see while traveling. The person that spots the most unique license plates “wins”, OR you can work on the list together and compare your list for the last trip you went on. One of my favorite memories as a kid was a booklet I got from one of those school book drives. It had license plate stickers, one for every state in the United States of America, and an empty spot for each license plate sticker. I loved the challenge each time I got into the car to try to add to my “collection” of license plates I’d seen on the highways and byways. Sure to be a crowd pleaser.
“Categories” Game
Come up with 10 different categories (EG: animals, girls name, occupation, etc.). Make multiple copies. Announce the beginning letter for the round and set a timer for one minute. Before the time runs out, everyone secretly writes an item for each category that starts with the correct letter announced when you started the round. Or for younger kids, call out the letter and then name the category and the first one to name an item that starts with letter wins. Remember to grab the pens and paper before leaving.
Highway Scavenger Hunt Game
Make a list or collect clipart pictures of things you are expecting to see or pass along the way. Make a copy for each person. The person that crosses off the most pictures wins. (Or for younger kids get some small stickers that they can place on each item as they see it.)
Riddle Games
Before you leave, look up some age appropriate riddles online. Find some riddles that will take them time to really think about. This is great at helping to establish better critical thinking skills. Set a timer and see who comes closest to answering a riddle in the given amount. Available Riddle Games Download available here.
War (a face card game)
This is a two person card game. Deal out the deck evenly between the two of you. Each player turns up a card at the same time and the player with the higher card (Aces are high) takes both cards and puts them in their stack. If the cards are the same, it is “War”. Each player repeats turning over one card, face up. The player with the higher cards takes all cards from that round. Object of “War” is to end up with the most cards after going through the deck, or if you’re hard core, you keep playing until someone has taken all cards from the other player… this version will really chew up the clock on a road trip! 😉
Travel Size Board Games
I LOVED playing Connect 4 or Battleship while on long drives. So many other travel size board game options to choose from, but those two were / are my favorites. I could literally play with my brothers and sisters for hours while on the road. Crack these and other classic board games out and watch the time fly by.
Eye Found It Card Game
Buy a set of Eye Found It cards online or from your local store. Players try to find items in the pictures on the cards in front of them. Each time an item is found, that player discards a card. First player to get rid of all their cards wins. Simple and straightforward – you’ll be able to play multiple rounds.
Aluminum Foil / Ball Game
Ball up a bunch of tin foil and let the kids mold and shape it however they want. Each takes a turn guessing what the others have created or what it could be. Or, if you’re a little bit twisted like me, you create a huge ball of aluminum foil (packed tightly) and tell your kids that whoever gets their tin foil balls unravelled the fastest gets a treat that has been placed in the center. Feel free to put whatever non-perishable treat or toy in the middle… or don’t and get a kick out of seeing their looks of disappointment after spending hours unravelling tin foil. I’m the worst!
Magnetic Cookie Sheet Games
Get a small cookie sheet and stock up on cheap magnets such as alphabets, numbers, shapes, animals, and characters. Give spelling challenges, have them do patterns, or just let them run wild with their imagination. Great game for the youngsters… not so much with our teenagers.
Mad Lib Games
Print off some age appropriate Mad Libs or go to your local book store and pick up a booklet or two. Ask the group the questions and then read out loud the funny passage you’ve created together with the group. Maybe after a few rounds someone can come up with there own story about your trip…?
Car Bingo Game
Make a list of vehicle types. The first person to cross every car off their list wins! Great for the children that are completely addicted to Forza on XBOX in your group – as they’ll be your likely winners. See, all that time playing Forza is finally going to pay off.
Answer the Question Jar Road Game
Before you leave on the trip, come up with a list of questions that everyone will have to verbally answer. Print or write the list of questions down. Cut them into slips, placed in a ziplock bag or some kind of container. Have someone draw and read the question out loud. Everyone takes a turn answering the questions read aloud. Then discuss the answers. Examples of questions you could write down: “If you won a million dollars, what would you buy?” “If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?” “What was your favorite memory of a 4th of July celebrations?” There really isn’t a traditional winner with this game, just a great way to foster conversation and get everyone contributing to the conversation.
Memory / Brain Road Games
Rhyme Time Game
You start the game with someone coming up with an age appropriate word. Go around the car with everyone attempting to rhyme with the initial word with no repeats and no nonsense word. When no one can come up with a word then the turn goes to the last player that made up a rhyme. They now get to start the next round and come up with a new word.
“I’m going to Grandma’s and I’m bringing __________”… Game
The ultimate memory game. The first person starts off by saying, “I’m going to Grandma’s and I’m bringing ____________. The next player repeats what the first person is bringing and adds an item beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. Keep going until players can no longer remember the order or forget an item. The forgetful player is now eliminated and you continue on to the next person or you can just end that round and start a new one. See how many times you can make it around the alphabet.
Memory Add-On Game
Someone starts with a noise or some type of hand gesture. The next player repeats what the first play did and adds on. 3rd player then repeats the first two and adds on. The process keeps going until someone messes up the order or missed a noise or action.
Rules Game
Everyone in the car gets to make one nonsense rule, like “every time we go under a bridge everyone needs to bark like a dog” or “whenever I put my hat on everyone has to touch the roof of the car”. Every time a rule is enforced everyone but the last person to catch on gains a point. Whoever has the least points when you get to your destination loses (and should be publicly flogged or otherwise embarrassed).
Virtual / Mental Hide and Seek Game
Choose someone to think of a location to “hide” (ie: a room in your house, Hawaii, Disneyland etc.) Give clues and have them guess where you are “hiding”. Pro Tip – the more specific the location, the more fun it is to watch everyone get annoyed that they can’t guess where you are. OPTIONAL – Before you start the game you can enforce certain rules restricting where people can hide e.g.: You can only choose a place where all of us have been before.
Guess the Movie or TV Quote Game
Quote a line from a favorite or famous movie or TV show. You can keep saying quotes from the same movie as extra hints until someone guesses right. The one who guessed the correct movie or TV show from the several quotes gets to go next. “Go ahead, make my day.”
Don’t Say It! Game
Pick 5 common words that passengers are not allowed to say during the drive. They should be common words used when traveling like “arrive”, “look” or “car”. Whenever a person says one of the five words they are penalized in some way. Either they donate a coin to the “road trip snacks fund” or they have to perform an annoying or embarrassing task.
Traditional “Old-Timer” – “Back in my Day” Road Games
The Alphabet / ABC Game
In my opinion, the end all, be all Road Trip Game! I’m about to explain how to play this game. If this is the first time you’re hearing about how to play this game, then I feel sorry for your sad, pathetic little life. (JK – My life is just that boring that I get really juiced when we get to play the Alphabet Game in my family).
Start with the letter “A” and find that letter on any road or highway signs, billboards, etc. We have a rule that the letter can not be on cars or trucks (unless you’re in a super rural area where street signs and billboards are hard to come by). You can set up the rules however you would like. Continue with the entire alphabet until someone finds the last letter “Z”. You can play on teams, you can play individually, you can shout out each time you find the next letter or keep it quiet until you are finished. I like to keep it a mystery to the rest of my family as to what letter I’m on. But you must let everyone know WHEN and WHERE you found the letter “Z”. Don’t cheat with this one… don’t be “that guy / gal” – only count the letter if you ACTUALLY saw it, not just because you know where some of the letters are. Ya, this game has almost come to blows in the car with my family growing up as a kid.
20 Questions Game
The guessing game to end all guessing games! Have someone think of person, place or thing. Everyone else in the car takes a turn asking a yes or no questions to try to identify what that person is thinking. They have to guess it in 20 questions or less…. Dum, dum, dummmmm!
The Quiet Game
Who can be the most quiet, for the longest amount of time. Set a timer to see who can go the longest without saying anything or making any noises. As a parent of several children, this game is simply AMAZING! If only any of my kids could get past 1 minute though, haha! I highly recommend some incentive to help keep this game going as long as possible!
Rock Paper Scissors Game
Rock Paper Scissors is played with two people. Best out of 3. Place one hand flat in front of you. Your other hand will be used to make the shape of the object (Rock= a fist, Paper= hand held out flat or Scissors= the “peace sign” tipped over to the side). Start game by saying “rock, paper, scissors, shoot” on shoot make the hand gesture of a rock, paper or scissors. Paper beats / covers rock, rock beats / crushes scissors, scissors beats / cuts paper.
Would You Rather Game
Players take turns asking each other questions starting with “Would you rather…” and ending with two different scenarios. Like, “Would you rather swim in a river of mucus or drink a cup of vomit?” Play until you arrive at your next stop, set a timer, or until your scenarios and responses have gotten too bizarre! Trust me, if you’re anything like us… they will!
Hangman Game
Feel free to change the name of this game if you desire… understandable. Still, this is a fantastic game to keep everyone engaged and using their brains! The game starts with drawing the “hanging stage” (I don’t know what it is really called… the platform to resemble where bad people would get hung…?). Next, the person leading this round thinks up a word or phrase and makes blank marks representing each letter of each word (including spaces so we know when one word begins and the next word begins). Once all marks are placed under the “stage” you ask for each person to take turns guessing a letter they think could be in the unknown word or phrase. If it is a correct guess, the leader places the letter in all the appropriate empty letter spots. If the guess was wrong, then the letter gets written down and the man on the stage gets his head drawn. You continue with guesses until either all the correct letters have been guessed and the word / phrase has been successfully figured out, OR until every reasonable piece of the stick figure on the “stage” has been completed and the guessers have all lost.
Dots and Boxes Game (Free Printable Download Available)
Singing – Music – Song Road Games
This category of games requires you to put your vocal chords to the test. Don’t be bashful, belt out those favorite tunes every chance you get.
Finish the Song Game
Someone starts a known song and the next person tries to sing the correct lyrics – picking up where the first person left off. If they can’t guess the correct song or lyrics, then the next person gets a turn and so on. However, if you guess the correct song then it’s your chance to think up a new song and start the next round. Hope you sang your warm up chords 😉
Guess the Song Game
A variation of the “Finish the Song” game. Hum or whistle a known song and see who can guess it correctly. Whoever guesses correctly gets to choose the song and lead the next round. Simple, yet effective.
99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
I know… I KNOW! Not a game at all, but a classic road trip song if ever there was one. I also know that once you’ve hit 91 bottles, you’re probably already wishing you’d actually had “hit” 91 bottles. Kudos to anyone who has ever actually hit zero bottles of beer on the wall. By the way, what the heck are the origins of this song, and how do you get these bottles of beer on and off the wall? Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary and Reddit all have some interesting takes but hard to separate fact from fiction on this one.
Emoji Pop Game
Think freeze dance or freeze tag. Play some music and hit the pause button or turn off the music and everyone freezes into an emoji face until the music starts back up again. You could kick the last person to pull the face out of the game… kind of like musical chairs and freeze tag (with your face) all in one game. We played this game at my daughter’s 7th birthday party and she and her friends LOVED IT! Granted, they were running and dancing all over the basement and not strapped in on a long road trip.
Interacting with the Other Cars or Things on the Road… Games
Rainbow Quest Game
Name the colors of the rainbow in order.
The Counting Game
Set the timer and see how many red cars you can count in 1 minute. You can do the same for cows, buildings, trees, birds, or whatever object (or classification of objects – like things that are RED) you can think of. The person with the most points acquired in the minute gets to start the next round and choose the thing everyone will be looking for and counting.
License Plate Initials Game
Look at the letters on a license plate and make up what they might stand for, For Example: PSG could stand for “Pretty Silly Game!” Everyone in the car comes up with an answer before moving on to the next letter combination or the next license plate. Try and keep it PG-13 or lower people – there are kids in the car for crying out loud 😉
Sweet or Sassy Game
Have everyone in your vehicle wave as you pass a car or truck and if they wave back they are sweet. If the other cars don’t wave back then they are sassy. Keep track and when you get 10 Sweets then game over. And, it’s just plain fun to brighten someone’s day with a wave and a smile.
Funny Faces with Strangers Game – Who can get the most passengers of other motorists to make funny faces back at you or just break down and start laughing at you. Trust me, this version of the game is much more benign in comparison to what me and my brothers used to do way back when.. the phrase “pressed ham” comes to mind. SMH
The Perdiddle Game
Another game I’d love to know it’s origin but, alas, will likely never stumble upon a true / believable version. There are a couple of variations here to this game, but I’ll cover the most widely known, or at least the version mostly used in our part of the world. As you’re driving around and see cars with a burnt out headlight, well you, my friend, have just found a “Perdiddle”. What happens next is where most / several variations of this tradition start to branch off. I’ll cover a couple options here… Option 1– You blow a kiss and hit the roof after you yell out first “PERDIDDLE” . Option 2- You yell out “PERDIDDLE” and smack the dashboard and windshield in a certain way . Now, whoever performs Option 1 or 2 FIRST, has earned a “credit”. To keep this blog family friendly, we’ll let you decide what that “credit” can be cashed in for. Usually the reward is something that will keep you motivated to continue playing with any willing participants 😉
Gift of Gab Road Games
If you’re not willing to open your mouth and participate, then you will do very poorly with the following games. So stop being so coy and shy and get ready for some hilarious stories!
Finish the Sentence Game
Someone comes up with the start of sentences like “If a pig was in the car…”. Then, the next person would finish it with “we would be squished!”.. Or something else nonsensical. See, complete nonsense. The sillier the better.
Add on Story Game
One person starts a story, with just a line or two, then stops mid-sentence. The next person picks up the tale and keeps building. No one can change someone else’s idea, only build on it. One example of how to start off the game: “The other day as I was walking the streets of Cairo, I happened upon a …”. Then the next person gets to take the story wherever they want to. “One day, as I was swimming across the galaxy, I happened upon a man, just past Pluto, selling…” Good luck completing that one! This road trip game is one of my personal favorites.
Never, Ever, Have I Ever… Game
Each player holds up 5 fingers. First player says something they have never done before. “Never, ever, have I ever been to Mount Rushmore”. Everyone puts a finger down if that was something they have ever done before. Each person takes a turn saying something they have never done and the person with one finger still pointing up wins. Example, If I said, “Never, ever, have I ever kissed a girl on the first date”. Everyone that had kissed someone on the first date would put one of their 5 fingers down.
How Many Can you Name Game
One person picks a category (e.g.: fruit, cereal, cartoon characters, sports etc.). Everyone takes a turn naming something in that category without repeating a previous answer, until someone can’t name an item in that category.
Change the Movie Plot Game
Talk about a movie and say how the movie would play out if one thing was changed. E.G.: “If, in the movie Aladdin, he was able to wish for more wishes, then the movie would go like this…..” Everyone should take a turn to both start with a move that would change, as well as taking a turn to explain how that change would have affected everything.
Partner Up Road Trip Games
The following set of games require at least one other person to make it work and enjoyable. If you have many people in the car you can split up into groups to play amongst themselves.
“I Love you Baby, but you just can’t make me smile!” Game
Choose someone to be first. They look to another player and say “I Love you Baby” and the other player has to respond with “I Love you Baby, but you just can’t make me smile!” If they smile while replying, they lose and become it. If they manage to keep a straight face, “it” has to move onto another player. “It” isn’t allowed to touch anyone, but anything else is fair game.
Load – Block – Shot Game –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWhcuA7u7Xs
Give a Compliment Game
Go through the alphabet and use each letter to say a compliment about someone else in the car. Sounds simply, you say? Well, we’ll see. “You strike me as someone who is likely very accomplished at xerography.” Top that!
Thumb Wrestling Game
Turn slightly to face another person. Both extent the same arm (right or left). Clasp fingers with the thumbs sticking straight up in the air. Say to each other “One, two, three, four, I declare a ”Thumb-War!” You must pin your opponent’s thumb for 3 seconds in order to guarantee ultimate victory!
Tic Tac Toe Game (see printable)
You need two players, a pencil and paper to play. Draw a large “#” symbol (aka hashtag, pound or number sign) on a piece of paper. Player One places an X in an empty spot on the grid, Player Two plots an O. They continue to take turns until one player has three X’s or three O’s in a row (up, down or diagonal). Are you more of the defensive or offensive player when playing Tic-Tac-Toe?
In conclusion…
We know we’ve hit you with a ton of game options here for you next road trip. We’d love to hear back from you on your family’s favorite road games. Feel free to share any stories or new games with us!
Make Memories & Safe Travels!