Games for the Road

Many families are making plans for summertime road trips this season, and this is a perfect time for some parent/child bonding and sneaking in some brain-stretching exercises as well! Road games are a great way to not only pass the time while you’re on the road, they’re a fun distraction, an escape from the “road wearies”, a great way to connect, and a fantastic time to sneak in some summertime learning.  Here are some proven winners for you and your kids to play while on your journeys—no bits and pieces to lose in the seat cushions and all free!


The Picnic Game
The first player names a food or item you’d normally pack for a picnic that begins with the letter A. The person in the next seat repeats the “A” item and adds an item that starts with the letter “B”. The person in the next seat repeats the A and B words and adds to the list an item that begins with the letter “C.” Continue around the car with each person repeating and adding to the list until you’ve reached the end of the alphabet. There are sure to be big laughs during this game! If your family is a bit competitive then you can add the rule that if a person misses one of the items on the list then they are out and the player with the best memory wins.


Geography Alphabet
This game might be better for slightly older kids. In this game, the first player picks the name of a state (or mountain, river, capital, country…whatever category is chosen for this trip). The player in the next seat has to come up with a state that begins with the last letter of his seatmate’s pick. For example, if the first player chooses Iowa, then the next person can correctly choose Alaska….and so on and so on, around the car. This game can be a real brain stretcher!


Counting Game
Even the youngest in your clan can join in on this one. Pick a subject. It can be cows, VW Beetles, red trucks, etc. While traveling the byways everyone counts the number of (whatever subject you picked) and shouts out when it’s been spotted. You can further include the little ones by giving them a pad of paper and letting them keep tally and reporting the totals when you’re ready to choose your next subject. Easy peasy!


The Humming Game
One person, usually the driver in our family, begins to hum a song. Everyone in the car tries to come up with the name of the song. The winner is the one that correctly identifies the song title and is then the one to be the “hummer” for the next round. Whether it’s a popular song, an old classic, or a TV theme song, it’s best to choose a song that you think everyone knows or has a good chance of guessing correctly. 


The Alphabet Game
This is a great game when you’re traveling through an area with plenty of road signs, store fronts, billboards, and license plates. The idea is to look outside the windows and look for each letter of the alphabet, from A-Z. For example, the A on the “Apple Orchard” sign, the B on the “George Washington Bridge” sign, the C on the “Welcome to Cape Cod” sign, etc.


20 Questions
One person is chosen to silently pick something for the others to guess. The person in the next seat will ask “animal, vegetable, or mineral.” You then go around the car with each person asking a question to which the answer can only be “yes” or “no.” Each person has the opportunity to guess at the answer during their turn.  You reach the end of the round when 20 questions have been asked, or earlier if a correct answer was guessed. Each person in the car gets a chance to pick the subject for a new round. 


Let’s Build a Story
The first person will start your fantabulous family story with a simple line.  Something like: “One day I was walking through the woods when an elf jumped out from behind a tree.” The next person in line continues the story by adding another line and around the car, each person taking a turn. It’s really fun  to see the twists and turns that such creative, team storytelling can take.


Yes, But…
Here’s a great and often silly game that will not only get the creative juices going but also encourage kids to think positively. One person makes a gloomy statement like “We drove all the way to Grandma’s house for our 4th of July cook-out but when we got there we found out her refrigerator broke and the special holiday food was all going bad.” The next player can then flip the situation around into something fun and positive like “Yes, but...happily, we got to eat up ALL the ice cream Grandma had stored in her freezer!” Gloomy statement: “Mom screamed when a monkey leapt into our car window at the stop light.”  Next player flips it to “Yes, but...luckily, we just bought a bunch of bananas at the grocery store so the monkey buckled up next to me and we ate all of the bananas on our way to the zoo.” The sillier the statements, the better the game will be. Giggles all around with this one!