Your long-awaited family vacation is almost here! Months of planning have gone into your 2-week long summer RV trip that includes stays in the Redwood National Park, Boston, Cape Cod, and Niagara Falls. It’s just days away now, and you’ve started packing your essentials, like clothes, toiletries, RV accessories, camping equipment, and munchies for the car. In just a few days you’ll be starting your 1,200 mile journey and you think you’ve covered all the bases, until you realize that you don’t have anything to keep your kids entertained in the backseat (other than snacks!). Yikes! Those 1,200 miles could feel like 12,000 miles if you don’t come up with something fast! Well you’ve come to the right place because we have road trip car games for the family that are fun and easy! With little to no supplies needed, it couldn’t be more of a cinch to get your road trip off on the right foot with these fun family road trip games! And since most of these games can be adjusted depending on the ages of your little campers, everyone will be included!
The Letter Game:
This one is my favorite! To start, choose a theme, such as food, animals, cities, cars, etc. The first person names something in the category, such as DOG (for the animal theme). The next person has to name something in the same category that starts with the last letter of the previous word, such as GIRAFFE. Play continues in this manner. For example: DOG, GIRAFFE, ELEPHANT, TURTLE, EMU, etc. There are no winners. Play just continues until you’ve all run out of words for your theme.
The License Plate Game:
To get your kids looking out the window (and not down at their devices!), play the License Plate Game. Give each child a copy of our License Plate printable and a pencil or crayon. Each time they see a new state’s license plate, they cross off that state on their sheet. The goal is to cross off as many as you can during your trip. If you visit a big city or a popular destination, it’ll be easy to cross off a lot of different states. But if you’re going somewhere more remote, this could be a challenge.
The Restaurant Game:
We’re all familiar with fast food restaurants along all the highways of America! Use them in a fun road trip game! Players each choose a different fast food restaurant (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway, etc.). Each time they see their restaurant or a sign for it along the road, they get a point. They also get a point if they hear it mentioned on the radio. You can determine how many points are awarded. The winner at the end of a set amount of time (15-30 minutes) is the one with the most points.
Road Trip Scavenger Hunt:
Make a list of random things you’ll probably see as you head down the open road. This list could include a cow, a blue pickup truck, a lady wearing a sun hat, a white picket fence, a baby with a pacifier, a dog hanging its head out the car window, etc. Throw some obscure ones in there to make it a little challenging so your game isn’t over before you need to make your first pit stop. How about a little boy playing with a dinosaur? Or a woman putting on nail polish in the passenger seat? The first one to find everything on the list and cross it off is the winner!
Tic-Tac-Toe:
Get out those white board markers and start X-ing and O-ing your way to your destination! On a white board, make tic-tac-toe boards and start strategizing! This game never gets old! Use an old sock to wipe it clean.
Hangman:
See who can stump everyone else with a cleverly chosen word or phrase in Hangman! In this classic game, one person secretly chooses a word or short phrase, draws dashes for each letter that is included, and has everyone else try to figure it out by guessing it one letter at a time. Everybody gets turns at guessing letters and trying to solve the puzzle. As correct letters are guessed, the word starts getting filled in with these letters. As letters are guessed incorrectly, pieces of the hangman start getting filled in until he’s completely whole and eventually “hanged!”
Connect the Dots:
This strategy game is fun for all ages! Using different-colored pencils or markers, players take turns connecting two dots at a time. When a line is drawn that completes a square, the person who drew that last line puts his/her initials inside the square to claim it! The winner is the person with the most squares at the end of the game (when all the dots have been connected).
Your Secret Place Game:
Get out your old-school road map for this game. One person secretly chooses a location on the map, such as a state, city, lake, river, etc., and everyone else has to try and guess their secret place. Clues can be given to help with this game, such as directional words (east of the Mississippi), whether you’ve all been there or not, popular attractions nearby, etc. The first person to guess it is the winner!
The Find-That-Car Game:
As cars zoom by you on the highway, take notice of what model they are. Print off our list of cars and cross each one off as you see them. The first to cross all of them off is the winner! Included on this list: Fiesta, Accent, Rio, Versa, Cruze, Focus, Civic, Malibu, Outback, Accord, Maxima, Camry, Acadia, Suburban, Tahoe, Sienna, Enclave, Wrangler, Town & Country, Tucson, Sportage, CR-V, RAV-4, Sierra, F-250, Passat, Forester, Rogue, Mazda6, Durango, Charger, Caravan, Rendezvous, Silverado, Corvette, Hummer, Escalade, Cherokee, Grand Am, and Impala. What games do you and your family play while road tripping? Tell us in the comments!
