Keep your little ones occupied on a road trip with these fun games. We have selected our top 10 favorite games that we love playing with our kids.
1. Alphabet I-Spy
I-Spy is an old classic that most of us played as kids.
If it’s been a while and you need a quick reminder of the rules, here’s the rundown:
- The player who is “it” has to spot something that other players can also see but won’t be able to easily guess
- This player will then start the game by saying “I spy with my little eye something that’s…” (This is when they give a clue about what they are spying)
- The clue can be a color, direction, letter, etc.
- Using this clue, the other players take turns trying to guess the item
Alphabet I-Spy modifies this rule set to help kids learn basic reading skills. Give children a card with the letters of the alphabet and have them check the letters off as they spy items that start with them.
You can help younger kids out by providing detailed hints and clues (“You need something that starts with a ‘C’? Look in the sky for something white. Its name starts with a ‘ck’ sound.”)
To add another fun element for older players, see how many letters they can get checked off in a set amount of time.
2. License Plate Game
In this game, players must spot as many license plates from different states as possible.
You can start it as soon as you pull out of your driveway. Every time the kids see a new state on a license plate, they will need to mark it down on paper.
This game can continue for however long you want it to (e.g., until your first stop for gas). When you’re ready to end the game, simply count how many states each player has spotted, and whoever has the highest wins.
This game is best for early readers who can start to learn the names of the states as they read them off plates. But if you print off images of state license plates before the trip, younger kids can match by colors and patterns as well. The game works well on long road trips, but you’ll also see a surprising number of license plates in airport parking lots, especially if you rent a car!
3. Animal Alphabet Game
he animal alphabet game is another great activity for the whole family.
To get started, one person names an animal of their choosing. The next player then has to name an animal that begins with the last letter of the animal named before, and so on.
For example: dog, goat, tiger, rabbit, etc.
This is an excellent activity when you need to quiet the kids down, as each player will need to pay attention to what the previous player said. It also allows kids to work on their phonological awareness and letter-sound recognition.
This road trip game may be a bit challenging for younger kids, like toddlers. That’s OK! You can help them out by offering clues.
4. The Name Game
To start this game, choose one person’s name and then pick a category (e.g., food, animals, sports). Then take turns coming up with words for each category, letter-by-letter, in the name.
For example, if the name you pick is “Pam” and you decide that your category is “food,” you might come up with pie, pasta, pizza, pickles, pears, peaches, potatoes, etc. See how many you can get for each letter.
This is a fun opportunity for children to practice the alphabet and expand their vocabulary.
5. Grandmother’s Trunk
Grandmother’s trunk is a popular game for road trips. You may have played it as a child yourself!
Here are the rules for the game:
- The first player will say, “I went to grandmother’s trunk, and I found… (some item that would fit in a trunk, e.g., a hat)”
- The next player will then need to say, “I went to grandmother’s trunk, and I found … (the first item, then a new one, e.g., a hat and gloves)
- Players continue, taking turns. On each turn, they repeat what was said before and then add a new word
To dig a little deeper into reinforcing the alphabet for this game, you can have grandmother only pack items in alphabetical order (e.g., applesauce, book, coat, etc.). But even if you don’t do the alphabet version, this game will help strengthen kids’ ability to remember important information.
6. 20 Questions
We love this one because no supplies are necessary so you can break it out whenever you need it, even if you can’t find the road trip bag! Here’s how to play 20 questions:
To play, one player secretly chooses a person, place, or thing. The other players then take turns asking yes-or-no questions to try to figure out what that person is thinking about. As soon as a player thinks they know the answer, they can use their turn to guess.
This game helps kids develop Critical Thinking, as over time kids learn which kinds of information are important to narrow down the possibilities for what the secret person, place, or thing might be.
Whoever guesses the secret first becomes the secret chooser for the next round. If no one guesses, have whoever came closest choose instead.
7. I’m Thinking of a Song
f you’re going on a road trip, there’s a good chance you’ve also prepared a few songs to play along the way. So why not have some fun with the tunes while you’re at it?
When you’re ready to play a song, give the kids a clue like, “I’m thinking of a song that starts with ‘B’.” If the kids struggle, you can add more hints like, “It’s about an underwater animal.” Let whoever guesses it first (“Baby Shark!”) pick the next song and start the clues.
This is another way to reinforce phonological awareness and let kids practice sorting things into categories (e.g., songs about animals, songs about people, songs about places). For younger kids, you can have them pick any song that starts with a particular letter or fits a given category, which makes the game easier.
8. Car Cricket
Each child in the car gets to bat/bowl. Oncoming cars/vehicles count as a ball, with regular cars that go past counting for one run (a single), utes are 4 runs and trucks and buses are 6 runs. The batting child records their cumulative score as each on-coming vehicle goes past. Pick any vehicle type to count as a wicket, something that isn’t too common (not a Toyota Corolla for example) but that will definitely come along now and again. Perhaps a campervan of some sort. These are wickets, so you “bat” counting up your score until a campervan comes along at which time you are out. The next batsman is in and “bats’ until the next campervan comes along, at which time they are out. For extended fun, play multi-innings matches!
9. Scavenger Hunt
Write a list of things that your kids need to find on the road trip and give them the list. This can be done as individuals or in groups. For younger kids you can draw pictures or pictures and words. Either agree on a time limit or everyone has to stop when the first one has found all the items on the list. Award points or prizes for crossing everything off the list, plus spot-prizes for finding unusual items. Make sure you’ve got a combination of easy and more difficult items to hold your kids interest. Some example items are: flashing red light, bus, police officer, person talking on a cell phone, school, food store, someone on a bike, church, playground, cows and railroad tracks. Another version of this game could be to look for specific car brands or models.
10. Disposable Cameras
Give each kid a cheap disposable camera so they can document the road trip themselves. They could then also put these photos into their trip journal, where they can make notes of where they took the photos or what they took the photos of.
If you’re going on a road trip, there’s a good chance you’ve also prepared a few songs to play along the way. So why not have some fun with the tunes while you’re at it?
When you’re ready to play a song, give the kids a clue like, “I’m thinking of a song that starts with ‘B’.” If the kids struggle, you can add more hints like, “It’s about an underwater animal.” Let whoever guesses it first (“Baby Shark!”) pick the next song and start the clues.
This is another way to reinforce phonological awareness and let kids practice sorting things into categories (e.g., songs about animals, songs about people, songs about places). For younger kids, you can have them pick any song that starts with a particular letter or fits a given category, which makes the game easier.
No matter what the game is, there’s almost always a way to tie it back to the 5 C’s. Ask questions that make your kids think, focus on Core Skills like literacy and math, and pick games that will be fun for the adults on the trip too. You’ve got this!