Road Trip Tips: Car Games for Everyone
June 23, 2016

It's that time of year - road trip season! And the two biggest stressors of road trips? Packing and keeping the kids (big or small) happy in the back seat.
Not to sound all curmudgeonly, but it was a lot different when I was a kid on a road trip with my family. These days we all just make sure our devices are charged and infinite entertainment is at our fingertips. Back then, I had a single book, maybe two - and once I finished those, that was it. To keep sane, we had to turn to the friendly road trip game. Punch buggy, of course, was a staple with my brother and I, but inevitably it led to tears. Here are a few of our favourite (and less-violent) alternatives that hopefully everyone in the car can enjoy.
Game: Cows on My Side!
How to Play:
- When you see a cow on your side of the road, shout out "Cows on my side!"
- Every time you call out "Cows on my side", you get a point (you may want to make a house rule that it's one point per field of cows rather than EVERY cow).
- If you see cows on the other side, call out "Cows on your side!" and if you do so before the other person sees them, you get a point.
- If anyone sees a cemetery, shout out "Ghost Cow!". You steal all the other person's points.
Game: Coloured Cars
How to Play:
- Everyone in the car chooses an out-of-the-ordinary car colour (think yellow, orange, bright blue NOT black, white or silver).
- Shout out when you see a car in your colour; you get a point.
- Play to 17 points, then switch colours.
- Optional rule: If you see a car in someone else's colour, shout it out and you steal a point.
Game: Actors Connect
How to Play:
- You're trying to connect actors through the movies they starred in (a variant on 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon).
- The first person names an actor.
- The next person has to name a movie they were in.
- The next person names ANOTHER actor in that movie.
- The next person names a movie THAT ACTOR was in.
- If someone can't think of an actor or movie, they are "out" til the next round. Current round continues until one person remains. They get a point. Start again.
- Example: - Actor - Colin Firth - Movie - Love, Actually - Actor - Emma Thompson - Movie - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Game: Songs by Category
How to Play:
- You're trying to sing songs in a particular category.
- One person chooses a category like "Songs about cars" or "Songs with a girl's name".
- First person sings a lyric from a song in the category.
- Keep going from person to person until someone can't think of one. They are "out" til next round. Current round continues until one person remains. They get a point and get to choose the new category. Start again.
Game: Alphabetical Categories
How to Play:
- You're trying to name things, in alphabetical order, from a particular category. Kind of like a paperless version of Scattergories.
- One person chooses a category - it can be general or specific, e.g. cars, potato chip flavours, superheroes.
- First person names something in that category that starts with the letter "A".
- Keep going from person to person until someone can't think of one. They are "out" until the next round. Current round continues until one person remains. They get a point and get to choose the new category. Start again.
What are your favourite non-electronic car games on a road trip? Let us know in the comments!
- Rose R.
I love these ideas! I think having children play in this way, instead of relying on electronics so much, increases appreciation for one another and for whatever landscape/cityscape your roadtrip takes you by.
Posted by: Alexandra LeMay | July 02, 2016 at 02:06 PM
Quite interesting games there. With all the gadgets people carry, road trips are boring as they are glued to the devices. Will try out the games next time am on a road trip with pals
Posted by: Mart Bandee | July 15, 2016 at 07:21 AM