Blog - Luggage Guru

by Daniel | Last Updated January 5th, 2022 Are you taking the kids on their summer vacation in the car? Or perhaps you’re heading off on an epic road trip with your best friends? Whomever you’re hitting the road with, we can all agree that long journeys in the car can get very boring and it’s easy to become restless and irritated. That’s why you need to get creative and enjoy some road trip games! With a bit of fun and imagination, you can turn an arduous drive into one that’s exciting and memorable. With all that spare time stuck in the car together, it’s a great excuse to build some memories and become closer to one another, after all. You’ll ensure your vacation is off to the best start possible, with lots of laughter and excitement. No longer will you have to put up with backseat squabbling and choruses of ‘Are we there yet?’. When the going gets cranky, simply suggest some travel road trip games to play. Not sure which game to choose? Lucky for you, we’ve listed 10 of our favorites that are bound to delight. Enjoy! 1. I Spy We had to start the list with this classic game for long car rides! We’ve all played this one as a kid so let’s take a trip down memory lane with this nostalgic road trip game. The great thing about this game is that anyone and everyone knows of it so it’s super easy to play. If you’re traveling with preschoolers and young school-age kids, they’re sure to know it too. The rules for this oldie guessing game are simple. Players simply choose an object either inside or outside a car. They’ll then announce to the group what letter the object starts with, using the famous saying “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…” The rest of the players will then have to guess what they have in mind. The trick is to choose an object of such obscurity that the remaining players must really think and stretch their minds! 2. Name That Tune We all love a good road trip playlist, and now we can play along with it! Before embarking on your long journey, compile a couple of playlists on an app such as Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music. Make sure there’s a big mix of genres so everyone can get involved: old and new, rock and pop, show tunes, and movie music. Bear in mind that if kids are playing, you may have to stick to more recent songs though! To play, start the first opening seconds of each song and ask your car buddies to guess the tune. You can gain one point for guessing the song title, and another for guessing the artist. The person who wins the most points after each playlist gets to choose a selection of songs to play next! Rinse and repeat as desired. 3. Rock, Paper, Scissors This classic hand game is one of the easiest games to play in the car. It’s one that all ages can enjoy too! While it’s great to play in the car, it can actually keep family members entertained pretty much anywhere – on a train, bus, or airplane for example. To play, the group must agree upon three primes that will launch each round. On the count of three, each player must decide whether to throw their hand down as either rock, paper, or scissors. Rock is represented as a closed fist with the knuckles facing upwards. Scissors is mainly a closed fist, except the index and middle fingers are extended outwards. Paper is delivered as a hand positioned horizontally with all fingers fully extended. Each throw wins against one other throw and loses against the third throw. Rock breaks scissors. Scissors cuts paper. Paper coats rock. If players decide on the same throw, that round is a stalemate. 4. The Name Game This fun and easy category game suits all ages, and especially for younger school-age children who have learned to read and can spell a range of words. To play, decide on a category. For example, animals, countries, cities, states, TV shows, food, or any other topic of your choice. Let’s say the topic is animals. The first player will name an animal, for example ‘giraffe’. The other players will need to think of an animal that begins with the last letter of the previous word, so in this case, E. The next player could then suggest ‘elephant’, for example. The game then continues back and forth between players. Remember, no answer can be repeated! Feel free to change categories as you wish. The game can also be made easier or harder by choosing different categories – the choice is all yours! 5. Story Time If you prefer car ride games that are more creative, then storytime may be a good option as it’s catered towards imaginative individuals. The premise of the game is simple – travelers kill time in the car by making up their own stories. One person starts off by saying a word that begins a story, and one by one the rest of the car takes turns adding on one more word to complete the sentences. Usually, you end up with a hilarious story that doesn’t make much sense! 6. The Alphabet Game This simple and non-competitive road trip game allows you to have a bit of fun with the outside scenery! To play, passengers must take it in turns to find a billboard or sign containing each letter of the alphabet. Sounds easy, no? Just wait until you get to X, Y, and Z! A good trick to finding tricky letters like these is to spy license plates that might contain the letters. This one suits really long road trips, as you can imagine it takes up a fair amount of time to find every letter! It’s also great for young kids that have learned their ABCs – it’s good practice, after all. 7. 20 Questions This is a simple guessing game that requires deductive reasoning. How to play? One traveler must think of an object that can be classified in a category – for example, an animal, vegetable, or celebrity. The rest of the group must take it in turns to guess what the object is by asking questions that can be answered with either a yes or a no. This goes on until 20 questions have been asked and answered. However, at any point in the game, confident players can guess what the object is. The player that guesses correctly will then become the next person to think of an object for the next round. If after 20 questions nobody can guess correctly, the player who thought of the object wins and gets to choose another one for the next round. 8. The License Plate Game Looking for really fun road trip games? The License Plate Game may be your best bet. This game is a road trip classic and works really well for groups that are traveling across the country. To play, all travelers must write down every license plate they notice from a different state on a piece of paper. At the end of the journey, the individual who has the most wins! Go one step further with the game and award extra points to the players that can name the capital city of that state, or the most iconic food or tourist spot that state is known for. 9. I'm Going On a Picnic This road trip game is great for young children who have learned their ABCs and is perfect for long car journeys. To play, someone must start by announcing "I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing..." followed by a food item that starts with the letter A. The next player must repeat what the first player is bringing and must add a food item that starts with the letter B. The game continues on like this and the last person to recite every food item correctly wins. As you can imagine, it’s easy to become forgetful. If you have a bad memory, it’s fair to say you won’t do well in this car game! If younger kids struggle, it might be worth partnering them with an adult. Alternatively, you can just make it an alphabet game and eliminate the memory part. 10. Who Am I? This guessing game is a great option to play with older kids and adults, as it requires some knowledge of famous people. The group must decide a category of people – for example, celebrities, athletes, literary characters, or any other types. The first player will think of the name of a famous person who fits in the chosen category and will ask the group ‘Who am I?’ The rest of the car must then take it in turns to ask yes or no questions to narrow down the options and figure out who the person is. The person that guesses correctly gets to play next! Ready to Play Some Road Trip Games? Whether you’re traveling with family or friends, these road trip games are sure to bring some excitement and creativity to your long journey! Still, feeling bored in the car? Why not check out our list of 2019’s best travel apps so you can plan your trip while you drive? Talk about productivity!