Road Trip Family Games

Please add yours to our list:

The License Plate Game: Print a U.S. map off the computer and color in the states as you see license plates from each one. See if you can get all 50 states between Memorial Day and Labor Day. You might even record the time and date and the state where you saw it. This can be a family project as you build your “collection” of license plates together.

Road Signs, A to Z: Take turns looking for road signs beginning with each letter of the alphabet. A – Arizona, E – Exit, N – Nashville, R – Railroad . . . all the way to Z. The game can also be expanded beyond road signs. C – Cow, L – Lake, T – Truck, and so on.

A IS FOR ARMADILLO: Starting with A, each person tries to be the first to spot and name three items beginning with that letter. For example, the first to see and announce “armadillo, auto and apple” gets to choose the next letter.

Geography: Somebody starts by naming a place, such as Illinois. The next person has to come up with a place starting with the last letter of Illinois, in this case the letter s.
“Illinois!”
“Spain!”
“New Orleans!”
“South Dakota!”
And off you go. If somebody gets stuck thinking of a place or mentions a place that has already been named, the game starts over.

COUNTING COWS: Play as individuals or teams. First, decide on a destination where you will stop counting. Then, count the cows on your side of the road. The goal is to have the highest number when the destination is reached. Pass a cemetery on your side and you have to start over again. If there aren’t any cows on your route, try counting red cars, mailboxes or phone booths.
Mystery Writing One child holds out his hand and closes his eyes while the other child “writes” on his hand with her finger. The first child has to guess what the second person is writing. Start with just letters, and if it gets too easy, play with 2 or 3 letter words, pausing between letters. There’s no winner

Fortunately-Unfortunately : This game helps teach kids to look at the bright side of things in a silly way. For example, you say, “Unfortunately, there’s a tiger in the car.” Your son says, “Fortunately, he doesn’t eat boys.” Your daughter says, “Unfortunately, he’s looking at me and licking his lips.” You say, “Fortunately, I brought along my tiger-jaw-clamper.” And so on, alternating between fortunate and unfortunate things. An added bonus – it’s a real hoot to hear a 2-year-old use the word “unfortunately”!

Twenty Questions: The designated leader thinks of a well-known person, animal, place or thing. Everyone else takes turns asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” in order to figure out who or what the leader has in mind. Whoever guesses correctly gets to be the new leader. If nobody guesses correctly after 20 questions, the leader reveals the answer and gets to select the next leader.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
People: Presidents, favorite sports heroes, musicians, movie stars, important historical figures.
Animals: From apes to zebras, the possibilities are endless!
Places: Distinctive cities such as New Orleans and Cairo, natural wonders such as Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, and architectural wonders such as the Golden Gate Bridge or Hoover Dam.
Things: Common household objects, foods, articles of clothing, and familiar landmarks from wherever you’ve been or wherever you’re going.

Scavenger Hunt in the Car
Test your skills of observation. Compete against each other or work together as a team to spot all the items below. Look for one or two at a time and work your way down the list. Each time your team finds something, everyone gets a treat, such as a coin. When you’re finished spotting as many items as you can, make up your own list. Make sure the items are challenging, but not too difficult to find.
•Dog in a car•Light-blue pickup truck•Sign with the word “welcome” on it•Ambulance•Statue•Flag without stripes•Crane•Sign with the word “no” on it•Somebody wearing a hat•Car with big dice hanging from the rearview mirror•Somebody singing in a car•Boat•Bus stop•Car pulling a trailer•Motor home•Truck pulling two trailers•Baseball diamond•Tennis court•Farm animal•Skyscraper•Bridge•Swimming pool•School•Mountain•Water tower•Tractor•Bird of prey•Cemetery•Detour sign

Who Am I?:Twenty questions in reverse! Jot down famous people, places and things on individual scraps of paper, and mix them all up in a mason jar or paper sack. The designated Guesser chooses one of the scraps of paper but is not allowed to read it. Everyone else gets to see it. The Guesser asks 20 questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no,” with the other players taking turns answering them. If the Guesser figures out the answer, he or she gets to select the next Guesser. If not, the Guesser can ask 5 more questions or ask for the answer to be revealed. In addition to the ideas from Twenty Questions, expand your game by including imaginary people and animals from favorite cartoons, TV shows, movies or books.

Slug Bug: Every time a VW Bug comes into view, the first one to see it shouts “Slug Bug!” and slugs the person sitting next to you (Not too hard though!). Of course, these days in the politically correct atmosphere, we like to teach “non-violence”, so instead of actual slugging, we do a symbolic slug and just say “Slug Bug! — Gotcha!” You could also play “Hug Bug” and give someone a hug instead of a slug!

Rock-Paper-Scissors: The classic game. Players each have one palm face up and lay their fist on it. As they count to three, they pound their fist into their hand. On “three”, they turn the fist into the object of their choice. There are three to choose from: rock (a closed fist), paper (an open palm), or scissors (two fingers in a sideways V shape). A rock wins by crushing scissors, paper wins by covering the rock, and scissors win by cutting paper. If they both come up with the same shape, they go again.

My Pet Monster: Each participant has a pad of paper and a set of colored pens, pencils or crayons. Choose a leader, who will describe his or her pet monster in vivid detail. The more outlandish, the better!
“My pet monster’s name is Noodles. He is blue with yellow spots. He has a long neck and two heads – one huge head and one tiny head. He is fat around the middle but has skinny legs and stands like a flamingo with one leg in the air . . .”
Meanwhile, the other game players are busy sketching the monster. No peeking at other people’s drawings! When the leader has finished the description, everyone gets a chance to compare drawings. A new leader is appointed, the game continues, and a kooky menagerie comes to life!

I Spy: Look around and pick an object you can see either in the car or along the road. Then give others a clue such as, “I spy with my little eye… something green.”, or “I spy with my little eye .. something brown and furry” Continue to give more clues until they can guess what it is.

Drive-in Theater: Bring out the hams in the family and indulge in a little high drama. Check your local library for plays for children of all ages, or compose your own as a group. Choose one full of action and adventure, with a part for each family member. Make photocopies for all the participants and highlight their parts. Read the play completely and fill some of those long travel hours rehearsing lines and discussing the characters. After settling in at a campground, sit in a circle, pass around a tape recorder, and it’s on with the show! Send the tape to grandparents or hold opening night for friends and family when you return home.
“Guess how far away that is” Pick an object and have everyone guess how far away it is, then clock it on your odometer. Take turns picking the object or let the winner pick.
Spelling BeeTo make the competition fair, each child spells words drawn from a list geared toward his or her abilities. Each day, tackle words that were previously misspelled. For extra fun, prepare a challenging list of words for the adults in the car and let the children quiz them.

Guess how far away that is: Pick an object and have everyone guess how far away it is, then clock it on your odometer. Take turns picking the object or let the winner pick.
Spelling BeeTo make the competition fair, each child spells words drawn from a list geared toward his or her abilities. Each day, tackle words that were previously misspelled. For extra fun, prepare a challenging list of words for the adults in the car and let the children quiz them.

Spelling Bee: To make the competition fair, each child spells words drawn from a list geared toward his or her abilities. Each day, tackle words that were previously misspelled. For extra fun, prepare a challenging list of words for the adults in the car and let the children quiz them.