10 Great Car Games To Keep The Kids Occupied On A Long Journey

23 April 2017

There isn’t much that can compare to a road trip and quality family holiday, and done right, they can create memories to last everyone a lifetime. The promise of a great family holiday upon arrival is always enough to bring out anyone’s inner child, no matter how daunting the journey. However, with children, particularly younger ones, road trips can be a little more complex, but they don’t have to be! Often issues arise out of boredom and restlessness, so here are 10 different ways of keeping the kids occupied on your road trip, with great car games.

You may also want to consider taking the scenic route, as picnics and stops for photos are often a welcome break for all, make sure to check out our article on a quick look at the UK’s most scenic roads.

I Spy

“I Spy, with my little eye, something beginning with…”

A timeless game, able to be played almost anywhere, where somebody chooses an item visible to all players, names the first letter, and everybody else takes turns guessing the item. The winner, who guesses the item correctly, starts the next round.

Twenty Questions/Yes or No

A chosen person is to think of an animal, mineral or vegetable. The other players take turns to ask closed (Yes/No) questions that will help figure out the item. The winner begins the next round.

Word Tennis/Word Association

One person chooses a word, the next people take turns in order to choose a word that is associated with it. For example; tennis, court, net.

Counting to Twenty

Aim of the game is to collectively count to twenty, with no agreed order.

If two people count at the same time, start again.

If there is more than a five second pause, start again.

Who’s Next Door?

As you pass houses, take turns creating different parts of a backstory to the people/person that lives in each house. For more competitiveness, there can be a judge who deems a winner of the funniest/best story at the end.

The Theme Song Game

One person hums the tune to a popular TV programme, and everyone else tries to name the programme as fast as possible. The first person to guess correctly hums the next song.

To make this even more exciting, perhaps don’t limit yourself to TV, branch out into any amount of iconic songs or theme tunes.

Battle of the Bands

Someone gives a theme such as “love songs” or “songs about countries”. Two teams/people each take turns playing a selected song, the judge picks a winner based on relevance or preference.

Banana Car!

A classic car game, to be the first to call out whenever there is a yellow car. For more interesting experiences, add other unusual colours to the mix, such as pink, and see who can tally up the most cars in a certain time frame.

Spot the Car

Similar to Banana Car, Spot the Car is based on identifying a car, although this isn’t by colour. This can be either by model or manufacturer. Players take turns to choose a model or make of car, and see how many they can tally up in a time frame.

Lifesaver

No lengthy car journey with kids can ever guarantee that there won’t be any form of squabbling, so here is a way to make a reward system into a game!

Each child starts with a set amount of treats, due to be received at the end of the journey. If there are any arguments, every child involved loses a reward. To add even more incentive, offer to double the reward if no rewards are lost by the end of the journey.

No matter how long the journey may last, the best games are the ones that don’t lose momentum. Keeping the kids entertained can be a difficult task for all, so why not check out our ultimate guide to holidaying with the whole family for even more ways to make your holiday the best experience it can be.