The License Plate Game: A Fun Car Game While Traveling

When I was kid we used to drive to central Pennsylvania on holidays to visit relatives. One way we kept the three-hour drive interesting and fun was by playing the License Plate Game.

My grandmother suggested, "Keep track of all the different license plates you see." From that nugget of advice came a fun car game that kept the kids entertained on many long trips on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How to play the License Plate Game

The basic idea of the License Plate Game is to simply track every license plate you see during your travels. Like a football game, the License Plate Game had two halves - the car ride to the destination and the car ride home. At the end of the trip, whichever state has the most plates wins.

Because we lived near the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, I had to disqualify those two states in order to level the playing field. Every other state (and Canadian province) was eligible to win this car game.

The path of our trip took us along Interstates 79 & 80. Route 80 was a great venue for the License Plate Game because it runs across America from coast to coast. Lots of travelers and truckers use that interstate. Trucks are great because many have multiple license plates from different states.

If your kids are going to play the License Plate Game, you need a similar road, one with lots of out-of-state traffic. Otherwise, the game will be tedious and monotonous rather than fun and interesting.

As a kid playing this game, I was always on the edge of my seat whenever we would pass a car, or vice versa. I remember frequently saying, "Speed up! I need to see what license plate is on that car!"

License Plate Game results

New York won most of the early License Plate Games, but occasionally a state like Connecticut or Michigan would earn a surprise victory.

The success of the License Plate Game sometimes depends on when you play it. Some of the events I played on Easter were less exciting because there wasn't as much interstate traffic on those holidays. Non-holidays were more fun, as they tended to result in a larger number of out-of-state license plates on the road.

Later during the teen years I created a more sophisticated scoring system with "handicaps" so that the states that always seemed to win received only 4 points per plate while other states received up to 10 points per plate. This made the contests more exciting and resulted in Illinois, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and the province of Ontario becoming powerhouses.

License Plate Bingo: A License Plate Game Alternative

If scoring systems and keeping track of points are too complicated, another option is simply to create bingo cards and insert the names of states in the boxes. Then, simply watch for out-of-state license plates and see who gets BINGO first.

The License Plate Game Summary

Kids today may not need to be entertained like this, with their iPods and cell phones and portable gaming systems. But if you want to suggest an old-fashioned form of entertainment for a long car ride, try the License Plate Game.

Sources:

Personal experience