Long road trips via car can be boring, especially for kids. So, how to best kill the boredom? Staring at the road, fields, and even scenic locations can be done only for a while. Kids can often get jittery and start fighting or nagging, which can further irritate you and spoil your mood. It can also cause distractions and make driving difficult.
The best solution is to find some interesting games to play in the car. Games can keep the mind occupied and the heart happy till you reach your final destination. Besides entertainment, the games can help children develop life-saving skills like thinking skills, improved ability to focus, and enhanced listening ability.
Therefore, we have compiled a list of 30 games to play in the car with your children to lighten the mood and have some fun. Most of these games can be played by adult companions, as games can help adults de-stress and keep their cognitive abilities sharp in the elderly.
Games to Play in The Car to Entertain Kids on Long Road Trips
1. Wordle
Looking for games to play in the car? This article offers a compilation of 30 games that you can play in the car with your kids to have fun on long road trips.
So, here is the analog version of the famous online game Wordle by Hasbro Gaming Store. You can enjoy playing this party game while traveling a long distance in the car.
It features the same gameplay but in the analog version. One group will need to write down a 5-letter secret word, and other players have to try and guess it. In the fast mode, players have to beat other players by solving the game faster than others.
2. Crossword Puzzle
Wondering what other games to play in the car? How about crosswords? The first crossword puzzle made its way into the word game world in 1913. But they haven’t lost their enigma to date. The 101 “Just Right” Crossword Puzzle’s paperback version can be found on Amazon.
Well, they are easy to play. All you have to do is find the right word for the description and puzzle given and start filling them in horizontally and vertically as per the cues given.
3. Ransom Notes
Ransom Notes is a game of hilariously terrible sentences. Have you ever imagined playing such a game? If not, you could try it out while traveling somewhere in a car. The game is available on Amazon and is easy to play.
You just need one minute to respond to hilarious prompts using a limited pool of word magnets. For example, you get a prompt like “What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?” And you have to respond with a limited pool of words and your sense of humor.
4. Word Searches
If you are looking for some games to play in the car, here is another suggestion – Word Searches. Well, this game never gets boring, no matter how many times you have played them over and over again. You can order this game in paperback from Amazon.
This 2023 Word Search Puzzle Book can sharpen your focus and improve your observation as well as your vocabulary skills. So, get this book today and begin your word-hunting journey.
5. Snippets
Made by Evermade, Snippets is a creative and educational family game that you can get from Amazon. It is the winner of several awards, from the TillyWig Top Fun Award to the Parent’s Choice Gold Award.
It’s easy to play. Just flip over the snippet card and write down as many words as you can in a minute with the snippet in it. You are even free to use slang or words from other languages.
6. Upwords
Using Upwords, you can create words through the proper placement of tiles. You can also create puzzles using these tiles. Not only can you play word puzzles with them, but you can also play by creating stacks one above the other.
It is branded under the Spin Master Games and can help you play a lot of other games like the rotating game board, strategic word play, spin master games, and even create board games for a family night.
7. Super Big Boggle
Winning Moves is the one behind the creation of the Super Big Boggle game. Each player will have a sheet of paper and a pen. They will need to drop the letter cubes in the dome. After placing them in the grid, you must open them side down and then go over the dome.
Take the grid right side up and shake it rapidly. After a player pulls out the dome, another player needs to begin the timer. Players will need to search for 5 letters or more words as soon as the timer starts. After you find a word, you will need to write it down. Words that you can only form are words from the English dictionary.
8. Bananagrams
Do your kids love anagrams? Then, this could be another interesting game to play in the car. You can get Bananagrams at Amazon. This award-winning game is for people who love to solve anagrams. This game can turn people into bananas while playing it, hence the name Bananagrams.
Well, all you have to do is ask the participants to race against each other to build crossword grids. It can teach kids to spell words correctly while having fun.
9. USAOPOLY Mish Match
USAOPOLY is a fast-paced party game that is on Amazon. Suited for all age groups, this Mish match fast-paced game can not only be played at parties but also during your trips.
All cards are handed down to the participants. The first player chooses the category to match and flips their cards. Subsequent players keep flipping their cards until a match is found and the card pile is slapped.
10. Last Word
You can find this game on Amazon. Last Word is presented by the Buffalo Games Store and originated in the USA, and is one of the most interesting games to play in the car.
Players are given a subject and an alphabet with which they have to yell out as many words as they can within the time range before the buzzer goes off. Players have fun competing with each other to think and say the last word before the buzzer marks the end of the session.
11. I Spy With My Little Eye
Well, here is another lovely game to play in the car, which is called I Spy. This game is great to play with preschool kids. It helps them learn to focus and enhance their listening and thinking skills. It can also be used to practice shapes and colors and build sound awareness. You can play this game in five minutes and then repeat it several times.
Some examples of I Spy with my little eyes are:
- “I spy with my little eyes to keep a watch on the cars behind us.”
- “I spy with little eyes to spot something odd in the car.”
12. Same OR Different
If you want to help your kids develop sound awareness and help them with their pre-reading skills, then this game is absolutely right for them to play. So, the game is easy and will prevent them from getting bored over long journeys.
For example, utter a pair of similar-sounding words to them and ask them to differentiate between them quickly.
- Pear and pair
- Accept and except
- Hug and bug
13. Odd One Out
If you are looking for more games to play in the car with your kids, you can go for the Odd One Out. This game will help your kids learn grouping and sorting skills.
For example, tell them a list of items and the rules like;
- “Pen, Book, Notebook, Cake”
- “Car, Cats, Dogs, Rabbit”
The rules must include the following instructions.
14. Holiday Memory Game
Now the Holiday Memory game looks simple but is tricky because it tests your memory. In this game, each player has to turn wise to remember items from a list and keep adding a new item to the list. A player is considered out when they fail to remember an item from a long list. It can be fun when you have a big group of family and friends.
For example, one player would say I am going on a vacation and packing a pair of pajamas with me. The next player will repeat the words of the former player and add a new item, like a torch, to it. The game continues this way.
15. Kiss Marry Kill
Here’s another effective way to pass the time while in the car. Play Kiss, Mary, Kill. The rules of this game are simple. You need to pick three people, out of which one you would like to kill, one you would like to marry, and one who you would want to kiss.
For example, take the Jonas brothers (naming them casually with the purpose of explaining the game to the readers). So, you may want to marry Joe, kill Kevin, and kiss Nick. The same you could imply upon your group, the only thing you need is a large group to have more fun.
16. The License Plate Game
So, this is another funny game to play in the car while traveling a long distance with your kids. The License Plate Game requires the players to notice each vehicle that is passing them on the road and take note of their license plate number. After this, they have to interpret what the letter on the license plate could mean. Making funny interpretations is the key to playing and having fun with this game.
For example, if you put the letters CSB on a number plate, it could be interpreted as “Cassandra smells bad,” and so on.
17. Simon Says
Simon says it is more of a game of following commands. Here are some examples to teach your kids patience, obedience, and discipline. It can also help them with developing gross motor skills, listening skills, and cognitive skills. The commands can include funny, simple, or activity-oriented commands.
The game goes with one child who is chosen as Simon to give other children the command with the orders beginning with “Simon Says.” If any command doesn’t initiate with Simon Tells, and any child follows it, they will be considered out of the game.
- Simon says to open the car doors for your sister.
- Simon says blink your eyes.
18. Name the Sounds
This is yet another game of focusing and improving concentration. It teaches them the basics of meditation along with helping them become aware of their surroundings through their listening abilities.
The game goes like this – you have to ask your child to identify the sounds they hear while traveling in the car in the order they hear them. For example, car honking, engine revving up, truck horn, bird chirping, airplane overhead, etc.
19. Color Clap
Among hilarious games to play in the car, Color Clap is easy and fun to play. This game will also improve the observation skills of kids and help them hone their eye and hand coordination without involving in a sporting activity.
Just pick a common color and ask the kids to spot vehicles that have the same color and clap whenever they spot one. This will be funny when kids try to keep up with the claps along with the frequency of spotting the same colored vehicles and cars. You can also pick a rare color occasionally to give them a break from clapping.
20. Count the Trucks
The next game that you can play with your kids in the car is Count the Trucks. This involves counting the trucks, cars, bikes, lorries, or buses that you cross on the road.
You can also ask your kids to sort them according to the state these different kinds of vehicles belong to further making it a bit more complex so that they have to pay more attention and they don’t get consumed by boredom. It is an excellent way to help them sharpen their memory, observation, and analytical skills.
21. What’s the Word
This game is basically an easy game for those kids who are just learning new words. So, to test their vocabulary growth and jog their memory, you can give them some riddles and ask them to get the right word.
For example, you can ask them:
- “What’s the word that starts with T and ends with St?”
- “What’s a four-letter word that ends with CK?”
- “What’s a five-letter word that starts with T and ends with K.”
22. Word Memory
When you want to track your kids to build their auditory sequential memory, this game or exercise is undoubtedly the best one to help them do so. You just need to say a short phrase or say some rhyming words sequentially and ask them to repeat the words in the same order quickly.
You can start with short phrases and then slowly increase the complexity to keep them challenged. You can also ask them to remember some important historical events and repeat them in chronological order.
23. Scavenger Hunt
So, you can plan to play this game before you set foot on your long drive. You will have to prepare a list of items before you set foot on your journey. This list will contain things that you anticipate to come across on your journey. These could include items like cows, trucks, lorries, red-colored cars, palm trees, police vans, a barn, windmills, bicycles, etc.
Hand over the list of all the passengers who need to check off their personal lists for so many things they spot en route and then compare the lists to declare the winner.
24. Name, Place, Animal, Thing
This is another interesting game to play in the car while traveling somewhere on a road trip. This game is for older kids, where you can choose an alphabet and ask them to remember four words with the associated letter. If you want, you can add more categories to make the game complex and competitive.
For example, you pick the letter Z and ask them to recall a name, place, animal, and thing with it, like – Zendaya, Zurich, Zebra, or Ziplock.
25. What Does It Do
What does an animal do? Well, you just have to name an animal and ask them to list the things that it can do. It will help them understand logical reasoning and also be used to train them to use verbs and tenses efficiently.
For example, ask them what a giraffe does and ask them to list down phrases without repeating them like this:
- A giraffe grazes fields.
- A giraffe eats grass.
- A giraffe runs fast.
26. Finish the Story
This game could teach your kids to become storytellers in the future. Even if it doesn’t hone their storytelling skills, it will help them have fun in the car.
So, you can start by telling the kids a famous story like Rapunzel’s story and then twist something in the central part and leave it up to the kids to make turns to complete it from where you left the twisted part. This will impart improvisation skills and imagination skills to your children.
27. The Letter Swap Game
A truly funny and hilarious game, the Letter Swap Game will make everyone giggle in the car while traveling over a long distance. This is one of the most enjoyable games to play in the car. So, you have to choose a letter and then swap every word of a sentence with the chosen letter.
For example, swap the letter A with the alphabet I in a sentence.
“Make kids laugh” will become “Mike kids laugh” and so on.
28. The Compound Word Game
When you have got nothing to do in a car and are tired of watching fields, mountains, or forests, listening to music, and are even done sleeping, you can wake up everyone to play The Compound Word Game.
In this game, players have to keep finding compound words. According to the rule of the game, the second part of the word must be used to create the next word. If anyone is unable to think of the next word, they will be out of the game.
29. Deep Questions
Deep questions can be quite fun and interesting to play with all your fellow travelers if you want to know them in detail. This game is both for adults and kids and is a selective version of Truth or Dare.
Each player can take turns to ask relevant and interesting questions about a wide variety of subjects starting from life, the universe, and everything. It’s a great game to introspect, reflect, and confront your deepest self while trying to answer their questions.
30. Alphabet
This game is good for teaching your kids the alphabet easily, helping them memorize and recognize the alphabet while having fun. Each player needs to spot the next alphabet from a passing car’s license plate or road signs. So, players can take turns going through the alphabet.
Concluding Lines
Games are often the best way to beat stress and boredom and improve cognitive skills. Games of all sorts teach us mindfulness and sports-person attitude, both of which are essential survival skills in modern times. Games also help us nurture our people skills besides helping us follow instructions and respond to them accordingly. They help us see our inner flaws and help us hone our strengths.
Word games are easy to pick up but difficult to master. From crossword puzzles to scrambles to the modern-day internet sensation Wordle, word games have come a long way.
Our suggestions for 30 games to play in the car can help your kids enjoy the road trip to your favorite destination. Do let us know which ones are your favorites and why you like them by leaving your thoughts in the comments section. Also, do not forget to subscribe to our blog to learn about interesting things you can find on Amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are 5 Indoor Games?
Indoor games largely comprise board games or card games. There are many indoor games, including I-Spy, Chess, Ludo, Hide and Seek, Uno, Carom, and many more, that can keep your spirits and interests up while allowing you to have fun.
What Is the Popular 5-Letter Word Game?
Wordle is an online puzzle game where players are required to guess a valid five-letter word in six or fewer attempts. This game can be played on any device for free. This game has become quite an internet sensation.
What Are Games to Play on a Road Trip?
The options you have in front of you are endless. You can play word games, board games, and other kinds of indoor games if you have multiple participants. Some popular games to play in the car are Car Bingo, The Alphabet Game, The License Plate Game, I-Spy, and many more.
What Is the First-Word Game in History?
Word games have existed long in the history of human civilization because speaking and writing have been in practice ever since modern humans evolved from prehistoric forms. So, Sator Square or Rotas Square is perhaps the first game of words that excited around 79 AD or earlier. Then came the Windsor Enigma of the Victorian era. The first crossword puzzle came in 1913.
