Nothing beats a good, old-fashioned car game to kill time on long car rides. Here are a few fun ones I recently discovered:
1. All-State Roundup
To play this game, you will need one laminated map of the united States and one marker per player. Players look for license plates from the fifty states and record the state name by marking off that state on their map. For a variation, you can also note each license plate on a piece of paper (but the map adds the additional challenge of learning where it is!). The player with the most states marked off by the end of the day or trip wins.
2. A,B,C I Spy
For young kids, searching for letters of the alphabet is very compelling. Have them call out, in order, each time they find a letter in a road sign or on a passing license plate. You end up looking for an A, then a B, continuing through Z. You must find them in order.
3. On Sale
One player owns a store of his choosing and all the players have to guess what it is her is selling there. Whoever guess the correct answer gets to open his own store. For example, one child starts by saying, “I own a camping store and I sell something that starts with the letter T.” Each of the players get 3 chances to guess what he is selling. If a player guesses correctly (tents, for example and he is right, he gets to open his store next. If the item is not guessed correctly, the owner of the store gets to sell something else.
4. Car Lot
The object of this game is to spot and count different kinds of cars – trucks, buses, convertibles, vans, motorcycles, four-wheeled drive vehicles, or others. You can keep a tally playing alone or against an opponent.
5. A B Cities
The first player names a city. In turn, each player names another city that starts with the same letter of the alphabet as the first city named. For instance, if the first player says, “San Antonio,” the next player can say, “Santa Fe,” and the third, “Sacramento.” If a player can’t name one, he is out and the last player wins and choose another city to play again.
Have a fun car game? Let us know in the comments below or send us an email at rebecca@rwethereyetmom.com. You may be featured in a upcoming Tuesday Travel Tips.
We play a long term version of All-State roundup where only license plates with triple digits count. They also can’t be from the same state/province that you are in. We once rented a mini-van that had triple 7’s in the license, just because we knew we would be driving out of state.
We’ve played A B Cities before too. I never win that game.
I just love these games!
We’re going on an 8 hour road trip this weekend and I think we’ll play a few of these. It’s just me, Match and the pup, but we’ll make it work. 🙂 I’ve never played the store game before.