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Viewing The Best 21 Travel Games for Car Trips - Part 1The Best 21 Travel Games for Car Trips - Part 1
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We all have memories of long, boring road trips when we were kids. There have been improvements with products like portable DVD players. However, nothing beats old-fashioned car games. This article is the first of two with fun games for car trips. By Jenny Brewer We all have memories of long road trips when we were kids, having to put up with our parents' choice of music, and staring out the window for hours waiting for the next toilet stop. Thankfully, there have been improvements since those days (i.e. portable DVD players). The old days... that's when all we had were a few sheets of paper, notebooks, and the faithful walkman. However, nothing beats old-fashioned preparation. With five children, I still don't go anywhere without a pencil case, paper, and snacks to overcome back seat mayhem. Keeping the kids (and adults) entertained is still one of the keys to a successful trip. If you have a list of games you can play, you will be a step ahead when the inevitable whining and 'are we there yet?' questions begin. Below is a list of our favorite travel games and activities that are easy to explain, as short or as long as you want them to be. They will undoubtedly be topics of conversation years from now. 1. I Spy There is no such thing as a lengthy road trip without a game of I Spy, even if it only lasts a minute (in my car). This game can go on and on until a parent has enough of guessing an abstract object that you passed ten minutes ago. It will keep the kids entertained for a long time if you are clever. For those who were deprived of this great travel game, just say, 'I spy with my little eye, something beginning with' (letter of the alphabet)' and your companion will have to look around and guess the object. You can make rules as you go, like only outside the car, or not guessing the same object twice. 2. Who am I? This game is simple. You think of someone famous, and you can only answer 'yes' or 'no' to questions that everyone else in the car asks you (one at a time). To vary it a little, you can move to cartoon characters only, movie stars, or someone who is not famous at all. It helps if everyone knows who it is. Whoever guesses the correct answer gets the next turn. You can also guess animals, or things, and change the question to 'What am I?' 3. Scavenger Hunt Get the kids to prepare these cards before the trip begins. This will add to the fun of playing. Draw or simply write down the names of items such as a yellow car, a stop sign, a service station. etc., and hand out five cards each during the trip. As soon as the item is spotted, you move on to the next one. The first to finish five cards wins. You can vary this game to just spotting types or colors of cars, or more or less cards per game played. 4. Scramble This is always a fun game to play, with paper and pencil the only requirements. Someone calls out a street name (preferably longer than four letters), and everyone has two minutes to write down as many words as they can, using the letters of that street name. After the time is up, everyone adds up the scores to find the winner. To score, you get two points for every word, but only one point if someone else has already used a word. It is so much fun, that you will want to keep playing every time you see a lengthy street name. 5. Alphabet Game This is a lot of fun, especially if you are passing through a number of towns, not for the long, lonely stretches. Everyone has to find words beginning with letters of the alphabet, beginning at A and ending at Z. The words can be on street or shop signs, and whoever spots a word first must claim it so that the others know it has been taken. The first one to get to Z wins. 6. Bingo This game must be prepared before you leave, but is very easy to play. Just draw up grids for each person (apart from the driver) with objects on the squares that you would normally see on a long trip, i.e. truck, cow, stop sign, etc. Use stickers to cover the squares when each object has been spotted. It won't be long before someone will be able to shout BINGO. 7. Animalia We played this game on nearly every family holiday. A designated person would start by saying an animal of their choice, i.e. DOG. Then the next would have to say an animal starting with the last letter of that animal, i.e. GOAT. The next would have to start with the letter T (like TIGER). It goes on until someone cannot think of an animal and he or she is out. There are a number of variations of this game. You can start the same way, but you have to repeat the animals that have already been called out, i.e. DOG, GOAT, TIGER, etc. Whoever forgets an animal is out of the game. 8. Game Bags Every child loves to have a special bag with surprises in it. This is a great idea if you have time before the trip begins. Just fill it up with a new pack of pencils, small coloring book, chocolate bar or lollipop, small games, torch, wad of paper... Just use your imagination and choose your time carefully when you hand it out, as it will be received well, especially if the kids are bored and starting to fight. 9. License Plates This is lots of fun for the imaginative. Every license plate that you are driving behind has three letters. Every passenger has to think up a different meaning for the three letters. There are so many combinations that you could keep going for a while, until someone gets tired of thinking. This is one of those travel games that starts and stops when you least expect it. It's fun trying to beat each other to think up the meanings, as some of them can be tricky, especially the V's and Q's. About the Author: Jenny Brewer is a travel agent whose passion is writing. After spending her leisure time writing children's stories, she now enjoys writing about travel destinations. For more of her articles visit Car Hire Australia. Article source: 111 Travel Directory: Triple1.com (triple one dot com) More free articles: 1st Rate Articles - 1stRateArticles.com |
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