Top 10 Car Games to Make Your Road Trips fun and exciting
These driving games are perfect for kids and a surefire way to banish boredom. Road trips are a blast, but those long car journeys can sometimes drag on.
To make the time fly by, we've gathered some of our favorite car games that are ideal for keeping kids entertained on long drives.
1. The Picnic Game
This memory-based alphabet game requires players to pay close attention to what everyone says. One player begins with, "I went to a picnic and brought..." followed by an item starting with the letter "A". The next player repeats the sentence with the "A" item and adds an item beginning with "B". The game continues through the alphabet, testing and improving memory skills.
A fun variation is the shopping list game: "I went shopping and bought...". This version allows for even more imaginative and creative items to be included.
2. The Word Association Game
Kick off this game by saying a word, and the next person responds with a related word, continuing the chain. For example, if one player says "sun," the next might say "light," followed by "bulb." Quick thinking is key—the faster the pace, the more exciting the game!
3. Name That Tune
One player hums or whistles a tune, and the others try to guess the song and artist. Correct guesses earn a point. For added competition, award bonus points for naming the song's year and album.
4. Pub Cricket
Best for A- and B-roads, this game involves spotting pubs and counting the number of arms and legs in their names. For example, "The Horse and Jockey" has 6 legs and 2 arms, totaling 8 points. "The King George" scores 4 points (2 arms and 2 legs), and "The Coach and Horses" scores 12 points (10 legs and 2 arms). If you spot a pub name with no arms or legs, you're out, and the next player takes their turn.
5. The Banana Game
In this game, players earn points by spotting yellow vehicles. Different types of vehicles can be worth different points—cars, trucks, lorries, motorcycles, and taxis. The player with the most points wins!
6. The Number Plate Game
Perfect for long journeys, this game sparks kids' imaginations. Each player picks a passing car and memorizes the last three letters of its number plate. Create a story using the letters: the first letter for the main character's name, the second for an item or animal, and the third for the character's activity.
7. Car Colour Race
A simple yet fun game for the whole family, each person picks a car color and counts the cars of that color as they pass by. The first to spot 10 cars of their color and shout out wins!
8. 20 Questions
A classic car journey game, perfect for passing the time. One player thinks of a person, place, or thing, and the others take turns asking yes-or-no questions to figure out what it is. The first person to guess correctly wins!
9. Never Miss a Beat
All you need for this game is some music. Choose a song everyone knows and start singing along. Then, turn the volume down for 10 seconds while continuing to sing. Turn the volume back up to see how well everyone kept time. The winner is the person who stays perfectly in sync with the music when it resumes.
10.Car Bingo
This game requires a bit of preparation before your journey. Create a list or picture card of things you might see on the road, such as sheep, horses, cows, or an AA van. As the children spot each item, they cross it off their scorecards. The first person to mark off every item and shout "Bingo" wins!