5 Top Road Trip Games for All Ages

Family road trips are a great way to travel, but if you're unprepared, they can seem to last forever. Beat boredom and connect with your kids using these 5 travel game ideas. Playing together in the car will help the time to fly by and create fun memories. You'll be at your destination before you know it!

1. License Plate Game
Give each child a sheet of paper with a map of the United States and some crayons. Each time a child sees a license plate from a new state, she can color that state in on her map. The winner is the child who has the most states colored by the end of the trip. This activity is good for children who can read and have a working knowledge of state geography. You can bring along a labeled map for help in identifying the states.

Free USA Map Printable: http://www.coloringpages.net/pages/usa-map.html

This game can also be played by looking for letters of the alphabet or numbers 1 to whatever you choose on license plates. The winner is the child who finds every letter or number first. Simply make a list of letters or numbers on a piece of paper and cross them off as you find them.

2. Road Trip Bingo
This game works like regular bingo, except each square has a picture of something you might see on the road. Print out enough cards for each child and laminate them before the trip. Kids can use dry erase markers to mark their squares, and when someone wins, the cards can be erased and they can start again. There's no reading involved, so this activity is appropriate for preschoolers on up.
Free Bingo Cards to print: http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html

3. Mini Games
Our family loves to play board games, and now many companies make travel versions of these games to play in the car. Games such as Candyland, Connect Four, Magnetic Games like Checkers and Tic Tac Toe, Sorry, Guess Who, and many more are available in compact sizes perfect for the car. Most of these games are for ages 6 and up.
This site has lots of mini travel games: www.boardgames.com

4. I Spy
This game requires nothing more than a good eye and a little creativity. The person whose turn it is picks an object for everyone else to find. He then says, "I spy with my little eye. . ." and names a characteristic of that object. I.e.: "I spy with my little eye something that's round and shiny." Answer: a CD.

Or, for kids who can read and understand the alphabet, you can say, "I spy with my little eye something that begins with [letter of the alphabet]." I.e.: "I spy with my little eye something that begins with T." Answer: tree.

You can change the rules to apply to objects only inside the car, only outside the car, or both. This game can be played by preschoolers on up.

5. 20 Questions Interview
This game is a great way for older kids and adults to connect on a long road trip. It can lead to all sorts of conversations you might not have had otherwise. Each kid and adult (except whoever's driving!) writes a list of 20 questions to ask another person in the car. Think of questions that are unique and tell you information you might not know. Some questions to get you started:

• How old were you when you went on your first date and where did you go?

• Who was your favorite teacher in school and why?

• If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

• What three books and three CDs would you take with you to a desert island?

• Who do you admire most and why?

• If money wasn't an issue, what would you want to do with the rest of your life?

• What qualities in another person make them a good friend?

The possibilities are endless, but the point is to have some great conversations while learning about other members of the family. The only rule is that the person being asked the questions has to answer in some form or fashion.

Sources:
www.momsminivan.com
www.ehow.com