5 Road Trip Games: Fun Games to Occupy Your Captive Audience

Long road trips are always something I look forward to because half of the fun is the adventure of getting to our destination. As the self appointed copilot there are MANY duties I must do to ensure everyone is happy and motivated on our journey. Making time fly by while traveling down the long... long... long... road is very important.

Free games that require nothing more than pen and paper are always a fun way to occupy your captive audience.

#1 - License Plate - Make a list of all 50 states (that might be a challenge in itself), then keep an eye out for license plates from different states. For each state license plate you find cross it off your list. Try to get all 50 by time you reach your destination.

While you are looking at license plates take note of the number and letter combinations. For example if you see ABR 452, pretend the ABR is an acronym and you have to decipher the code. Ants Bite the Rabbit 452 times, and then the next person tries to come up with something different, Aardvark Breath is Rancid.

#2 - A to Z - Find objects, signs, animals, or whatever you see from your vehicle, start with the letter A. Look for something that starts with an A, like airplane, then move on to B, like building, then C, and so on, till you get to the letter Z. You can add elements to your game too, for example, if you see a detour sign you have to start all over back at A.

#3 - Story Telling - Pick a fellow traveler on road, observe their vehicle (how dirty it is, the state license plate, and so on), the amount of stuff they packed (are they traveling with a lot of luggage or are they traveling light), then look at the driver and the passengers (what are they doing, do the look happy, sad, tired) use your observations to create a story about the traveler. Try to make up a silly story or something ridiculous, that might have happened, explain where they are going and why. Be creative.

#4 - What If?- Life is filled with "What if's". Traveling is a good opportunity to explore some of those questions. What if you were stranded on a deserted island and you could only bring one thing with you, what would it be? What if you were in the jungle and got lost, what would you do? What if you could be any animal, what would you be and why? There are countless "What if's", have fun and learn about the people you are traveling with.

#5 - What's on the Radio - Surf through the radio dials and find a song. The first person to shout the name of the singer/band gets one point. The first person to correctly guess the name of the song gets two points. Turn the dial and find another radio station playing a song. Repeat. Other elements can be added to the game such as the title of the album (that could be worth 3 points). This game works best when you are in an urban area. Also, beware of cheaters! They like to make you think they know who sings a song when they really don't!

These are some of my family's favorite road trip games. It always helps to have some games planned incase motivation is running low. Being prepared for a long journey always makes the trip much more enjoyable.