Road Trip Games…
Here are some old classics with a few new ones sprinkled in that might help you get through long roadtrips with the kids entertained.
1. Name the Artist
For the musically inclined, crank that Spotify playlist and whoever names the artist first (and correctly) gets a point! (Extra points for the full song title) Whoever has the most points by the time you reach your destination wins.
2. Guess the Rule Games
What Color is It?
Adults list items of the same color, for example: limes, leaves, grass…” Keep going until the kids call out “Green!” The longer the list, the more time between guesses, the longer the game.
What’s on My Island
What’s the secret rule? Adults of the family choose a theme and kids then guess different items that they would take to a deserted island to guess the rule. So for example, a rule could be: “Things that are yellow.” Parents start by saying “On my island I’m bringing a banana.”
3. Road Trip Scavenger Hunts
This requires some extra prep, but create a scavenger hunt for kids to keep their eyes out for as you go. Some possible items for the list: a personalized license plate, a different province’s license plate, a uniquely colored car, and specific restaurant signs. You can personalize them for your route!
4. Alphabet Games
Road Sign Alphabet
The name of the game is to find a word on each sign that you pass in alphabetical order. Call them out as you drive, first to Z or whoever gets the furthest by the time you reach your destination is the winner!
Categories
A game so simple we play at all ages (with different penalties depending on whether you’re 18 or not). The first player of each round chooses a category (for example: Brand names) then states an answer starting with A (“Apple”). THe next player does the same with the letter B, and so on.
The Movie Game
This one could also be played by genre, but the idea is the first player chooses a letter, then everyone must name a movie title that begins with that letter. For example, ‘K’ could be ‘Kangaroo Jack’.
5. Guessing Games
The Grocery Game
Each round you have your first player think of an item you can get at the grocery store. Everyone else takes turns guessing what it is by asking a question: “Can it be found in the frozen aisle?” Whoever finally guesses correctly gets to be the next to choose an item to guess.
20 Questions
Games of “I Spy” can get boring fast, particularly in the prairies. 20 Questions is a classic game, similar to The Grocery Game, but with a border spectrum of topics to choose. Pick a person, place, or thing and everyone else can only ask yes or no questions. If your ‘thing’ can’t be guessed in 20 questions or less, you win a point and you rotate to a new person or the winning guesser goes next. (Don’t choose the same thing more than once).
6. List Games
In My Suitcase
You can play this a few ways: alphabetical order, ‘vacation’ location, or any other chosen rule. The idea is you go around and say “I’m going on vacation and I packed…” the chosen item must follow the rule. The next person then repeats the sentence and adds their own to the list. For example, person one says: “I packed snorkels.” The second person says, “I packed snorkels and flippers,” person three “I packed snorkels, flippers, and my bathing suit.” Continue going around until someone messes up.
Name the Most…
Similar to Categories, try and list as many related things as you can. So that could be Marvel movies, video game characters, etc. Do it as fast as possible, if you stutter, say ‘um,’ or can’t think of an answer that hasn’t already been said in under 10 seconds you lose.
7. Triple Threat
Our final game has one person choose three nouns, like “tractor,” “beach,” and “dog,” with everyone else then attempting to create a story that includes all three things (in a way that makes some kinda sense). Be prepared for things to get silly!