Are you preparing for a long dreadful road trip? If you are looking to spice it up, then I’ve got some of the best games for you! Look no further for a list of the best road trip games you can find. If you’ve ever been on a long road trip, then you know they can drag on.
My family and I were always big gamers. We love all sorts of games from board games to sporting games. Games make drives go faster and they make drives more social. Here is a list of the 10 best road trip games that you can play on any car ride. Once you’ve learned a few of these, you’ll never go back to boring long drives again!
Table of Contents
10 Great Road Trip Games
#1. Ghost
Ghost is a verbal word-spelling game and we loved to play it when I was growing up.
Objective: Continue spelling a word, without being the one to complete it.
Game Play: Play starts with one person who says a letter like “P”, then play continues in a circle, where each person adds a letter.If you end up spelling a word, then you get a letter of the word “Ghost” just like in the basketball game “horse.” Any word that is four letters or more counts. The first one to get “Ghost” loses.
Important rules: You must always have a word in mind, if you give a letter that doesn’t make sense (for example if the letters were “Lik” and you said “z”) someone can challenge you. If you successfully give a real word, then the person who challenged you gets a letter. If you don’t have a real word, then you get the letter.
#2 Contact
This is another verbal word game. This game can end up with a lot of yelling, so make sure that the driver doesn’t mind.
Objective: To guess the word that the person who’s “it” has in their mind.
Game Play: Let’s start by naming the person who’s “it” as the Captain and all the other players as the Guessers. Choose someone to be Captain and think of a word in their mind (like blanket). When ready, the Captain gives the Guessers the first letter of their word (in this case it would be “B”). The Guessers try to think of the word that person chose.
In no specific order, they ask questions out loud like “Is it a fruit you eat?” If another Guesser knows the word that answers that question, they shout out “Contact!” and then count down from three. The two players try to say the same word at the same time and the end of the countdown (3-2-1-[banana]). If they both say the word (in this case banana), then the Captain gives the Guessers the next letter. However, the Captain can block these “contacts” if they correctly say the word that answers the question before the two players do. In this example, “No, it’s not banana” said before the players say banana, then they do not get the letter.
#3. Boom
If you know a lot about movies, then you’ll like this game.
Objective: Win the game by naming actors in a movie or movies with that actor/actress.
Game Play: One person starts and says a movie. The game moves in a circle and the next person has to say an actor/actress in that movie. Then, the next person has to say another movie that the actor/actress was in and the game continues with that pattern. If you can’t name a movie or an actor/actress then you lose that round and gain a letter in the word “Boom.” If you get to “Boom” you are out.
Important Rules: You cannot repeat an actor/actress or movie that was already said in the same round.
#4. The Movie Game
So my family made this game up, but we think it’s really fun and you might like it too.
Objective: Guess the movie that one person has chosen.
Game Play: One person thinks of a movie that everyone has hopefully seen. They then give a hard clue for everyone to guess the movie. For example, if the movie was The Wizard of Oz, they could say there are four main characters. The players try to guess and if they can’t get it the person gives another clue. Players make guesses again and if they can’t get it the person gives one last easy clue. Players try to get the movie, but if they don’t they lose.
#5. Twenty Questions
A classic guessing game that I’ve been playing my whole life and I play with my kindergarten students. It’s one of the best road trip games, because it’s great for all ages!
Objective: Guess the person that the “it” person has in their mind.
Game Play: One person thinks of another person, it can be a famous person or someone they know. The other players ask yes or no questions about that person. They only get 20 questions to guess that person. If they get it in 20 questions, they win and if they don’t they lose.
#6 Bingo
A silly game that you can play the whole car ride or trip.
Objective: Spot the most yellow cars on the road.
Game Play: When you see a yellow car yell out “Bingo!” If you are the first to say it, then you get a point. Each car is one point and you keep track of your points. The person with the most points at the end of the car ride wins.
Important rules: Taxis and any car with writing on it does not count as a yellow car. For example, a moving truck with the company logo would not count.
#7. Alphabet Game
Another great game to play with kids on any short or long car ride you go on.
Objective: Spot signs that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Game Play: Everyone starts by looking out the car for signs or logos that start with “A.” Once someone spots something they yell it out. If everyone agrees, then they get a point. Everyone then looks for things that start with the letter “B” and you continue down the alphabet. The person with the most points wins.
#8 License Plate Game
This one is fun and I often play it in my head even when I’m just driving around town.
Objective: Spot license plates from all of the states in the US.
Game Play: As you’re driving look for license plates on cars around you. Note any states that you see and write it down. Keep going on your road trip and once you get all 50 states, then you win.
#9 Collaborative Storytelling
A great game for anyone who is a bit more creative.
Objective: Make up a fun story as a car.
Game Play: One person starts with one sentence. Then, you go in a circle and each person adds a sentence to the story. The game ends whenever you think the story is resolved or ended.
#10 I Spy
You can’t have a list of best road trip games without this classic.
Objective: Guess what the person spies outside the car.
Game Play: One person says “I spy something (*color*). The others have to guess things they see outside the car that are the same color. Once the people get the object right, then someone else gets a turn.
Did you find 10 Best Road Trip Games helpful? Don’t forget to pin it to save for later!
Leave a Reply