You don’t want your kids to constantly pester you, asking, “are we there yet?” every 10 minutes for hours. Fortunately, you have many ways to keep your little ones entertained while you drive, such as through classic car games!
Ahead is a list of car games that will make your next road trip a lot more exciting. After all, it’s about the journey, not the destination!
1. Punch Buggy
Also known as “slug bug,” the punch buggy game is a perfect way to keep your kids occupied during a long road trip.
The game is based on the Volkswagen Beetle. One kid identifies a VW Beetle and punches the other kids.
You are expected to shout when you see the car and mention its color. For instance, if it’s a red VW Beetle, you should shout “red punch buggy.”
Players are allowed to add more rules to make the game more exciting. For instance, you can limit the game to specific Volkswagen Beetle colors. This will ensure your little ones don’t punch each other twice for the same color.
The winner of this game is the one who identifies the most cars.
Of course, the kids should avoid punching each other so hard that the game isn’t fun anymore. You don’t want to have crying passengers ruin your trip.
2. The Alphabet Game
The alphabet game involves identifying the things you see on the road using the letters of the alphabet.
You start looking for something that begins with the letter A, followed by B, then C, and onwards to the letter Z.
The kids can look for signs, billboards, or cars. They can play as a team or individually, and the winner is the one who finds the most letters.
3. I Spy
Kids usually love guessing games, and I Spy is one of the best guessing games around.
A player selects something in the car or on the road and keeps it a secret from the other passengers.
They then announce to the riders that “I spy with my little eye something that begins with…” and state the first letter of the item.
The other riders will start guessing what the hidden object could be until someone gets the right answer.
The first person to guess right wins the next turn to pick another item and have the others guess.
You can simplify the game if your kids are young by giving them a clue. For instance, you could say, “I spy with my little eye something you can drink.”
4. Fortunately or Unfortunately
Fortunately or Unfortunately is a storytelling game that requires two or more players.
One player tells a story and then leaves it to the second player to continue the story. The second player then allows the third player to proceed.
However, there’s a catch. Each sentence must start with fortunately or unfortunately!
5. 20 Questions
When driving for a long time, the 20 Questions game is a classic for kids.
This is a guessing game where a player chooses a person, place, or thing and then gives a clue of the category where their choice belongs.
The category could be a tribe, vegetable, animal, or village. After mentioning the category, the other person proceeds to guess.
They can ask up to 20 questions as they narrow down to the option they feel has winning potential.
The player doesn’t have to ask all the 20 questions because they can make their guess whenever they feel confident.
This game is easy to learn and ideal for all age groups.
6. Would You Rather
The Would You Rather car game will get your kids thinking!
It involves coming up with a list of many questions and asking each other while staving off the boredom of a long drive.
The kids can ask each other questions such as “would you rather swim or hike?”, “would you rather be rich or happy?” and questions along those lines.
Every question introduces a discussion that will last several minutes at least.
7. The Name Game
If you’re traveling with tweens or teens, the Name Game ought to entertain them.
One player mentions the name of a person. It could be a boy or girl. The next player takes the first letter of the named person to begin their turn and name another person. It keeps going from there!
8. Open-Ended Questions
This car game allows the kids to learn more about each other.
Just like its name implies, the participants ask any question they like. The questions could be like, “what’s your favorite movie?” or “Who is your best friend?”
9. Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
You needn’t do much to prepare for a road trip scavenger hunt since all you have to do is print a hunt list.
A scavenger hunt involves each person spotting a thing in the list and being credited for it. However, the item has to be confirmed by another person first.
You can also play the game as a team to mark all the listed items before arriving.
10. Don’t Say It
Before setting out for your trip, list all off-limits phrases and words.
They could be trip-related words such as “are we there yet?” or “how much longer?”
Also, you can pick random words such as “food,” “shoes,” or “house.”
The idea of this car game is to choose a word that will be difficult for your child to avoid during the trip. Keep a record of how many times each kid says the words, and the one whose tally is the lowest is the winner.
11. Staring Contest
A staring contest is one of the simplest games for kids to play in the car.
Two or more players in the backseat stare at each other for as long as their eyes can withstand, and the loser is the one who blinks first.
12. Spot The Car Model
If your family or kids love cars, this game will suit them.
Spot at least one car per model and make a list of all the cars you can think of. Let each person spot a car they like and mark it on the list.
The one who finds the highest number of cars gets the most points and becomes the winner.
You can make the game more exciting by deciding to give more points to a unique car
model.
13. Name That Song
The Name That Song game is a seriously entertaining kids’ car game.
Before starting your trip, make a playlist of songs you know your child likes on your phone or tablet.
Once you start the journey, play the song for a few seconds and let the kids guess the song’s name. Bonus points if they get the artist and album name correct too!
Conclusion
These 13 car games for children stimulate kids’ minds and help your trip go smoothly since you don’t need to pull over whenever a kid gets uneasy or impatient. Better yet is that this collection of games is suitable for all age groups, and you can keep changing them until you end your trip!