As the summer season approaches, so does the season of road trips. When you’re on that next long car drive with your children and are looking for fun and easy ways to pass the time, check out the simple games:
Punch Bug: Look out for Volkswagen Beetles. When you see one, say what color it is (“Punch bug ____!”) and gently punch the person next to you in the arm.
I Spy: Focus on a particular object or person and say “I spy ____”
Name That Tune: In this game, one player thinks of a song that everybody knows and hums its first few notes. The other players try to guess the name of the song.
Woodchuck: Be on the lookout for cars with wood paneling on them. Keep a tally of who finds the most.
Cheezy Squeezy: Look for yellow cars and squeeze a co-passenger’s arm until they see the car too.
Counting Cows: Look out for cows along the sides of the highway, and see how many you can count as you pass by.
I’m Thinking of an Animal: Have the kids think of an animal and then provide clues to everyone else about the animal they are thinking about. Have the others try to guess which animal it is.
Play Rock, Paper and Scissors: A true classic!
Find a….: One player says, “Find a _____.” The others must find whatever the player is looking for: cows, red signs, etc.
Rainbow Game: Call out a color. Each person must then find something that color. For example, when you call out, “green,” one person might point to grass.
Silly Sound Game: Make up a silly sound effect for each thing you see, and say it each time you pass the corresponding thing. For example, you might decide that the sound for red cars is “beep beep” and the sound for yellow trucks is “honk honk.” You can add animal sounds for animals, “splish splash” for rivers or ponds, “ring ring” (doorbells) for houses, etc. This one is lots of fun!
Tell Tall Tales: One person starts off telling a story. He or she talks for about a minute and stops at an exciting moment. At this point, another person picks up where the last person left off. The game continues with the tale twisting and turning with each new storyteller.
License Plate Math: Have older kids add up all of the numbers in different license plates to find the sum. Or, have the kids write down the numbers from the license plate and read their total aloud.
Guess the Number: One player thinks of a number between a range of numbers, (such as 1–100), and everyone else tries to guess the number by asking questions.
Are We There Yet?: Ask the kids questions about how far you’re traveling. Yards? Miles? Kilometers? How fast are we going? If it’s 3:15 now, and it takes us two hours to get there, what time will we arrive? How far have we driven?
Happy road tripping!














