Planning a road trip?
It doesn't have to be a monumental ordeal punctuated by endless renditions of "Are we there yet?"
Keep your crew busy with these 15 addictive (free) Road trip car games.
Playing games during your road trip keeps children engaged and provides cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. It's a real win-win for all involved.
1. Car Seat Bingo
Before you hit the road, print out our Car Seat bingo cards below.
Each player should take a careful look at their cards and keep their eyes on the road to spot items along the way.
The first player to cross out a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line on their bingo sheet wins!
DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OUT BEFOREHAND
2. What Colour am I?
Have the adults in the family list a bunch of things that are the same colour. For example, they may say “Fire engines, apples, stop signs…” They should keep going until the little ones yell out, “Red!” Remember, road trips are long. The more items you list, the better!
3. Counting to Twenty
Each player takes turns in saying numbers, aiming to be the first player to reach 20. Players may only say one to three numbers at a time in chronological order. Player one starts and says “1,2,3” The second player has to start from “4” but could just stop there. There next player starts with “5” and could say “5,6,7” – it’s all strategic to see who gets to say “20”.
4. Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt involves working through a list of things to do while en route to your destination. Print off our Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Sheet, or open them up on your phone and work through them with your family!
5. Triple Threat
Triple Threat is the ultimate imaginative road trip game. Let the driver start by naming three random things off the top of their head; the remaining players must use those words to create a story.
6. Broken Telephone
Designate a storyteller. The storyteller whispers a story to someone else in the car. That person whispers the same story—getting as close as they can to recreating it word-for-word—to a third person, and so on. The last person to hear the story repeats it out loud so everyone can hear it. Invariably, some of the stories will have been lost in the translation, and the resulting garbled message usually inspires a good laugh.
7. Counting Animals
This game is surprisingly simple. Whenever you pass a cow, yell out "Cow!" or "Moo!" The first person to spot the cow and say the word gets a point. You can choose any number of things, from cows to road signs to yellow cars and more.
8. In My Suitcase
Why not sprinkle a fun memory game into your road trip experience? The first player states “I’m going on holiday to Ballito and I’m taking …” followed by an item (toothbrush, suitcase, etc). The next person must state the same phrase, including the previous person’s item, then add another item of their own. The game continues and you are out if you cannot remember all of the previous items listed! Keep going and see how many letters you can get through before someone forgets!
9. Car Colour Search
A perfect game for younger kids. Print our Car Colour Search game card (one per child) and let them circle the car colors as they spot them.
10. Rule
Everyone in the car gets to make one nonsense rule, like “every time we go under a bridge everyone needs to bark like a dog” or “whenever I put my hat on everyone has to touch the roof of the car”. Every time a rule is enforced everyone but the last person to catch on gains a point. Whoever has the least points when you get to your destination loses.
11. Family Story Time
This game begins with an adult saying a sentence to begin an imaginary story. You could say something like “There was once a friendly walrus named Fred”. The next person then continues with their sentence, and the story continues. This is a great way to let the kid’s imaginations run wild and see what they come up with!
12. The Compliment Game
Go through the alphabet and use each letter to say a compliment about someone else in the car. For example, “A is for Rachel’s asymmetrical haircut” and “B is for how beautiful Laura is”.
13. Rock, Paper, Scissors
Bounce your fist on your hand three times then choose your attack. Make a fist for rock, a flat hand for paper, and extend your index plus middle finger to make the sign for scissors.
Remember…
1. Rock beats scissors.
2. Paper beats rock
3. Scissors beat paper.
14. The Quiet Game
Everyone sees how long they can be quiet, whoever speaks the first loses. (This is an especially fun game to play with kids when you need a little downtime).
15. Road Trip Olympics
Kids (and adults) can get restless after spending hours in the car. So, make your rest stops more fun by turning them into the Road Trip Olympics! Select a challenge to try playing at each stop, whether push-ups, jumping jacks, or something else. Tally up who got the most wins to award the gold!
We hope you enjoyed our list of road trip games to play in the car! Don’t forget to take photos along the way and share them on social media. Tag us in the fun!
Once you have arrived, be sure to visit our swimming beaches and tidal pools while enjoying beach activities and other local attractions.
North Coast Holiday Homes is a leading luxury holiday let company specialising in the Dolphin Coast area, including Ballito, Simbithi, and Zimbali.
Their expertise is second to none, and you can rest assured that your luxury holiday on the Dolphin Coast will be a memory to last a lifetime.
Are you considering marketing your property? Get in touch today for more information on how we can help you get the bookings your property deserves!