Summer Days Out
BEST CAR GAMES FOR ROAD TRIPS School holidays and car trips go hand in hand, so we’ve dug deep and found the best car games for kids to play on long journeys. For these travel games you will not need any chargers, batteries, or materials. You just need your imagination, patience, and voices.
SPOTTO
CHEESE PLEASE!
Whenever you spot a yellow vehicle, you shout “Spotto”. You can make up your own rules in terms of what vehicles count (e.g. bus, taxi, car, motorbike etc.) and how much yellow paintwork needs to be visible. The winner can be the first person to get to 10, or the one to make the most “Spottos” in a specific time period. Once the rules are agreed you proceed to call out “Spotto” every time you see an appropriate vehicle.
This one is going to give you a case of the giggles. The person who is ‘up’ must close their eyes. Someone else in the car then has to say “CHEESE PLEASE” in the funniest, weirdest voice they can muster! The player who had their eyes closed has to correctly guess who said CHEESE PLEASE otherwise it’s their turn to be up again. Definitely one of the silliest, kids’ car games!
NUMBER PLATE GAME
Animal? Mineral? Vegetable? If it’s your turn you choose ‘something’ to be. You can only answer yes or no to any questions. If you receive 20 questions before someone has correctly guessed what you are then you win!
Each player takes turns to make a clever phrase out of the letters of a numberplate. This could involve the driver or front seat passenger being the judge and nominating a number plate for the challenge. The number plate 123-ABC, for example, could be Astronauts Bouncing Carefully, or something as silly as Aardvarks Burp Cheese.
I’M GOING ON A PICNIC I’m going on a picnic is often played in schools as it enhances memory, concentration and communication skills. The first person starts off with “I’m going on a picnic and I’m taking …” and fills in an item (let’s say ‘bread’ for this example). The second person adds their element but has to remember what the first person said as well. “I’m going on a picnic and I’m taking jam and bread”. The game continues with each person having to remember all the items that came beforehand. See how many your family can get to in this really challenging game!
20 QUESTIONS
Our tip: Maybe try playing this one closer to the start of the trip. The last thing you want is more questions if you’re already hearing a lot of “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
INITIAL ANSWERS Radio stations often play this with contestants which makes it a really great car game for kids. Keep your eye on the clock. Give a player a letter (for example – A). They get ten questions in one minute and each of their answers has to correspond with that letter. You can ask questions like – Animal? Antelope. City? Adelaide. Job? Accountant. Watch the time tick down and the excitement build as the kids do their best to beat the clock!
NAME GAME This car game for kids is similar to Scattergories and is a really great car game for kids who need a little help focusing and calming down.
HAPPY TRAVELS WITH THE BEST CAR GAMES FOR KIDS! 18
Decide on a category (for example – boys’ names). Cycle through the car one at a time and everyone has to say a boy’s name corresponding with the next letter in the alphabet. Allan, Bill, Cooper, Dale and so on. This can get tricky and heated the further up the scales you go!
TELL A STORY WORD BY WORD Once. Upon. A. Time. There. Was. A. Car. Ask everyone in your family to listen to the story and add their own contribution word by word. Invariably, this can turn quite silly and funny very quickly. You’ll quickly see why this is one of the best car games for kids the further your tribe gets into the story.
TRAVELLER’S ALPHABET The last of our literacy games, Traveller’s Alphabet is in a similar vein to Name Game. Each player will cycle through the alphabet and tell everyone where they are going and what they are doing there. “I’m going to Adelaide to do acrobatics” “I’m going to Bali to bellydance” See what your crew comes up with for X!
THE QUIET GAME Depending on your level of exhaustion, this may be the best car game for kids of them all. The rules are simple – the winner is the person who can be quietest for longest. My kids actually love this game and ASK to play it!!)
The thing we like most about our list is the involvement and enjoyment that everyone in the family will get out of them. Even your reluctant too-cool teen will come around and start giggling along with the rest of them. www.familiesmagazine.com.au/best-car-games-for-kids
Your Local Families Magazine December 2021 / January 2022 www.familiesmagazine.com.au
