5 Road Trip Games You Completely Forgot About

Going on a road trip? Who doesn’t love the beauty unfolding outside the car window? Everyone whose face is plastered to his or her electronic’s screen. While electronics are fun for them, it leaves the driver bored and disconnected from his or her traveling companions. That’s no way to spend a vacation. Put those electronics away! It’s time for some good, old-fashioned competition. Make those miles fly by, and keep the driver awake with this list of fun road trip games.

I Spy

One of the easiest games to master, and one kids especially enjoy, is I Spy. One person selects an item in sight. This can get tricky when the item was five miles back by the time you begin guessing, but it’s still great fun. After they choose an item, they give a hint, such as a color or the letter of the alphabet it begins with. Everyone else then takes turns guessing. The person who guesses correctly picks out the next I Spy object.

License Plates

This game is best for readers because they’ll have to identify license plates from other states. Before you leave, you can print off a simple map of the United States. When someone sees a vehicle from a state, he or she can shade that state in on the map. The person with the most shaded states at the end of the trip wins. There are also License Plate Bingo versions of this game, with states arranged on Bingo cards. When you see a car from that state, you mark that spot. The first person to complete a row wins.

Alphabet Game

This game is ideal for anyone who knows his or her alphabet. Players look around themselves and try to find an object that begins with the letter A. Once they do, they move to B, then C, and so forth. The first person to find objects for all the letters wins.

Padiddle

Driving at night is especially boring, since most car games involve looking out the window. Padiddle is different. It’s all about the lights. Any age can play. Every time you see a car with only one headlight, you yell “Padiddle.” The first one to yell it wins. There are many variations to this game, including slugging someone instead of yelling. However, this erupts quickly into something no driver wants to deal with, the “stay on your side” punching fight. Some people also play this game with Volkswagen Bugs.

Categories and the Memory Game

There are a couple of variations on this one and they’re perfect for all ages. Using the alphabet as a guide, the first person names an item that begins with “A.” The next person repeats that item and names one that begins with “B.” And so on. You can use a category such as “things on a grocery list” or “favorite foods.” The first person to get it wrong or not able to think of one is eliminated.

Show your friends or family some good old-fashioned, no screen-time entertainment with games that will have everyone laughing.