Long drives and flights to vacation destinations can sometimes be the most challenging part of a trip, but they don’t have to be! Whether you’re cruising along scenic highways or embarking on a cross-country road trip, keeping everyone entertained ensures the journey is as enjoyable as the destination. To help the miles fly by, we’ve put together the ultimate road trip game guide with more than 40 road trip games which will keep your family entertained for hours, from young children to adults.
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Classic Car Games
20 Questions – A timeless favorite! One player thinks of a person, place, or thing, and everyone else has 20 yes-or-no questions to figure out what it is.
Alphabet Search – Start with the letter ‘A’ and find words on signs, license plates, or billboards. The goal is to reach ‘Z’ before anyone else!
Roadside Stories – Get creative! Look at the passengers in nearby cars and invent funny or outrageous backstories about them. The more imaginative, the better.
Categories – Pick a category (see the list below). Players take turns naming items in the category until someone can’t think of one. Want to up the ante? Make it harder by requiring each answer to begin with a specific letter or use the ABC method for added difficulty.
- Animals
- Car Models
- Drinks
- Famous People
- Food
- Movies
- Movie Characters
- Professional Sports Teams (can even specify the sport)
Depending on the age of the participants, there are a couple of fun variations which can increase the difficulty:
- Pick a letter – everything in the category must begin with the same letter
- Cadillac
- Corvette
- Caprice
- Colorado
- Chevy
- ABC – The person who start names something from the category that begins with ‘A’, then the next person’s answer must begin with ‘B’ and so on.
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- Apple
- Banana
- Cherry
- Dragon Fruit
- Beginning & End – One person starts with any item in that category then the next person must answer with an item that begins with the letter the first answer ended with.
- Horse
- Eel
- Llama
- Aardvark
- Kangaroo
Celebrity Charades – Act out famous characters or celebrities while others guess who you’re pretending to be. The first one to guess correctly wins.
Compliment Challenge – Go around the car, giving each other compliments based on the letters of the alphabet. For example, “A is for Amy’s adventurous spirit,” “B is for Bobby’s brilliant ideas.”
The Counting Game – One person starts counting something (like passing red cars), but they don’t tell anyone what it is. The others try to guess what they’re counting.
Fruity Patooty – One player picks a fruit or you can draw a fruit from a hat. Once a fruit is picked, each person who spots a passing vehicle of that color gets points. The winner of the game is the person who gets the most points of the chosen color in 30 minutes. Points are awarded based on the size or make of the car:
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- Sports Car – 1 point
- Regular Car – 2 points
- Pick-up Truck or SUV – 3 points
- Bus – 4 points
- Semi – 5 points
Brain-Boosting Fun
Geography Chain – A player names a place (e.g., Florida), and the next player has to name a location starting with the last letter (e.g., Atlanta). An alternative is for the first person to name a geographic location then the next person would name a related locations. For example, Louisiana > Mississippi River > Tennessee > Appalachians Mountains > Maine > Atlantic Ocean > England. Keep the chain going for as long as possible!
Number Guessing – One player picks a number within a range, and everyone guesses, asking whether their guess is higher or lower until someone finds the correct number.
Guess the Word – Write a word one letter at a time on someone’s hand with your finger. They have to guess the word!
Hypotheticals – Ask imaginative questions like, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” or “What three things would you take to a deserted island?”
I Spy – This game is a road trip classic. The game starts when Player 1 says, “I spy with my little eye….” and then vaguely describes something they see. For example, “I spy with my little eye something wet”. The other players will then turn asking yes or no questions until someone can guess what the item is.
License Plate Word Fun – Look at the letters on license plates and come up with funny or creative meanings for them. For example, if you see “FPW1945,” it could be “Fluffy Pink Walrus.”
Memory Game – To begin, the first player names an object available in the chosen category that starts with the letter A. The next player has to repeat what the first player said and then add another item that starts with a B. For example, if player one says “Applesauce,” player two would repeat “Applesauce” and then might add “Brownies”. Player 3 repeats “Applesauce, Brownies and Chili. If you forget an item you’re out. The game continues until the player with the best memory wins.
Movie Madness – This game is for movie aficionados. Player 1 names an actor then Player 2 names a movie that actor was in. Player 3 then names another actor who also appeared in that movie. Player 4 names a movie that actor was in. If a player can’t think of an answer, they are out. The last player who can name the next answer wins. Here is an example:
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- Player 1: Robert Downey, Jr.
- Player 2: Iron Man
- Player 3: Gwyneth Paltrow
- Player 4: Country Strong
- Player 1: Tim McGraw
- Player 2: The Blind Side
- Player 3: Sandra Bullock
- Player 4: Ms. Congeniality
Wave Wars – Smile and wave at passing cars. If they wave back, they’re “nice.” If not, they’re “naughty.” Keep score to see how many friendly drivers you encounter!
Silly Sentence Challenge – The game starts when one player names three nouns. The rest of the players take turns making up sentences which include all three nouns. For example, the three nouns could be ‘house’, ‘pickle’, and ‘cat’ which could lead to the sentence: “The HOUSE smelled like PICKLES because the CAT knocked the open jar off the counter.” The sillier the better!
Road Trip Math – Using constants like miles-per-hour, gas prices and distance, have your kiddo figure out different math equations. This game features endless possibilities. Here are some examples:
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- Figure out the gas mileage you’ve been getting.
- Calculate how long it will take to get to your destination given your average speed.
- Predict how much it will cost to fill up the tank at the next gas station based on the price per gallon and the number of gallons the tank holds.
- Have them read a map and figure the distance to your destination.
Modern Family Games
Road Trip Playlist Showdown – Create personalized playlists before the trip. Every hour, switch who’s in charge of the music. Bonus: Introduce your kids to some classic tunes while you’re at it!
Off in the Distance – Guess how far away a distant object (like a billboard or a landmark) is. Whoever guesses the closest distance wins.
Two Truths and a Lie – Each passenger takes a turn making three statements. Two are true, one is false. The rest of the passengers have to guess which one is false.
Spelling Bee – One person picks a difficult word, and others take turns spelling it until only one person remains. Great for both kids and adults!
Taboo Words – Pick 3-5 common words that are banned for the trip (like “car,” “road,” or “food”). If anyone says a banned word, they get a point. Lowest score wins!
Team Storytime – Create a collaborative story, with each person adding a word or a sentence. By the end, you’ll have a hilarious (and likely nonsensical) story!
Alphabetical Sign Mayhem – Everyone in the car looks at road signs and tries to find words on those signs that either start or end with the letter ‘A’ then proceeds through the alphabet. The first one to ‘Z’ win. This game is WAY harder than it sounds.
Pre-Trip Prep Games
Some road trip games require a little bit of pre-trip preparation by either buying games or printing sheets. Below are some games to consider before you leave so you can have everything ready.
License Plate Game – Get a U.S. map and some crayons to color in each state as you see license plates from different states.
Bingo – Print out road trip bingo cards that include things like cows, red cars, and road signs. Check off items as you spot them!
Tic Tac Toe – It’s a classic game and easy for all to play. Print out several copies of the sheet below for multiple games with multiple players.
Hangman – Another classic game which makes a great time killer. In the car version on Hangman, one play thinks up a word less than ten letters. They tell the other players how many letters the word has. Each player takes a guess. If they get the letter right, it goes in the appropriate slot. If they get it wrong the letter they guessed is crossed off and a piece of the Hangman is drawn. The pieces of the hangman are a head, a body, two arms and two legs. If you are playing with smaller children you can add body parts such as hands, feet, facial features, etc.
Travel-Themed Games to Purchase – Consider picking up travel-themed games or card decks designed for road trips. These portable games can offer hours of distraction-free fun:
- Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
- “50 Cool Things to Do in the Car”
- Think Outside the Box
- “I Spy” card game
- Activity Books
- “Do You Really Know Your Family?”
- Madlibs
- Memory Game
- Talking Point Family Conversation Cards
Final Thoughts on Road Trip Games for Family Travel
When you’re traveling, it’s all about enjoying every moment of the journey—both on the road, on a plane and at your destination. These road trip games are a great way to bond, laugh, and make memories together. Whether you’re headed to a world-class resort, a family-friendly theme park, or a guided tour of a new city, keep these games in your back pocket to ensure the fun starts from the moment you leave your driveway.