Games To Play In The Car With Family

Got a long drive ahead? Wondering how on earth your going to keep the kids entertained mile after mile? We all know that long hours on the road can be challenging, especially for your littlest passengers.

It simply isn’t a family road trip without some games up the sleeve. Family road trips with games are not only fun and exciting, but they also offer many incredible benefits. These benefits include:

Promoting family bonding
Building patience
Enhancing language development
Enhances visual skills etc

So, if you’ve got a family road trip ahead, play one of these fun games to keep everyone entertained during the long car ride. These family car games promise to dodge boredom – for a few hours at least (we still wouldn’t be scrimping on the toddler toys or snacks!)

In this Family Car Games Guide we’ll cover:

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Best Family Car Games With Young Kids

The prospect of entertaining kids on a long road trip is enough to deter even the bravest parent from traveling. Young kids can stir crazy, whine incessantly, drop things a million times, and refuse to nap.

The deal is that you practice and prepare for fantastic road trips with even the most spirited of kids. The more you do it, the more your kids will know what to expect, and the more prepared you are as a parent with different kids’ car ride games for them to enjoy, then the more you can relax and enjoy the trip.

The best games for kids on road trips are simple, mess-free, and ones they can enjoy without supervision. Here are the best road trip games we have come up with for your young kids!

What Colour Is It?

The adults in the family get to list a bunch of things that are the same color. For example, the adults can shout “apples, fire engines, stop signs..” they keep going until the children figure it out and call “red!” The longer the list you have prepared, the better, as road trips are long.

I Spy

Keeping in mind that this classic game should fit your young kids, it is better to keep this “I spy” game to things that can be found inside the vehicle. The first person selects something inside the car without revealing what it is to the rest of the players in the car.

They must repeat the phrase “I spy something that begins with the letters c..” as it relates to the answer. The other passengers then try to guess what it might be.

If your toddlers and preschooler’s still can’t spell, why not do I-spy colors instead?

Category ABC’s

Category ABC is the most straightforward name game that is great for car trip games for kids. The first player chooses a category and names something that begins with the letter A, B, and so on until someone is stumped.

In My Suitcase

In my suitcase game, you will sprinkle a fun memory game into your car game for family road trips. The first player says, “I am going on a vacation, and I packed..” Finish with a sentence that begins with the letter C.

The second person repeats the sentence, repeats what the first person is bringing, and adds an object starting with the letter D. This keeps going with the alphabetical letters until someone forgets an item the quickest.

You can simply this activity for toddlers to join too.

The Alphabet Game

One passenger chooses the right-hand side of the road and the other the left side. Each of them keeps an eye out for road signs or license plates with letters of the alphabet. The objective of this game is to find a word for each sign or license plate you pass. The sign or license begins with each letter of the alphabet starting from the beginning.

Call them out as you drive by, and the first one who gets to Z wins.

Best Family Car Games With Tweens & Middle Schoolers

There’s nothing better than seeing your tween laughing and playing with their friends in the backseat of the car. This is mainly in the digital age that we live in, with many tweens spending soo much time on their phones and other electronic devices.

When raising a tween, you’ve got to take those bonding moments where you can get them, right? Try out these fun road trip games for tweens to keep your tween crew entertained.

20 Questions

Twenty questions are one of the fantastic games for car travel, especially if you are driving through long stretches of rural areas. The first person thinks of a person, place, or thing. Everyone in the car asks “yes” or “no” questions about what it is or who it is you may be thinking of.

No two people should ask the same questions, and no one can answer more than 20 questions. Whoever guesses the mystery first goes next.

Name That Tune

Most tweens love music, so challenge their knowledge by playing this radio game. The general rule of the game is that everyone in the car is competing to see who can guess the names of the most songs. Whoever guesses the most songs by the end of a round wins.

The Word Game

Bring some pencils and paper to play this fun word game with your tweens. Choose one person who will keep the time. The timekeeper will also pick the letter to be used to make the words. The chosen person shouts out the word, and everyone writes down as many words as possible that start with that letter.

Once the set time is up, whoever has the most words wins. Once the players have their group of words, spice up the game. Set the time for another minute. And each player must write a sentence with as many words from their list as possible.

Two Truths And One Lie

If the tweens in your car trip are new friends and trying to learn more about one another, then two truths and lies will set the pace. Each person takes turns to be “it.” That person says three things about themselves, two of them truth and one that is a lie.

The other players then hold up their fingers -one, two, or three to indicate which statement they think is a lie. The “it” person then reveals the answer, and someone else in the group becomes “it.”

Do You Really Know Your Family?

Do you agree that tweens can go mute on a road trip till you wonder what is wrong? This game will help eliminate those awkward hours that make you regret the journey. Do you really know your family creates hilarious family memories as you compete and perform silly challenges together.

It is a fun card game that is super easy to learn and play, allowing the family to bond and know each other while sparkling exciting convos.

Loaded Questions On The Go Card Game

Loaded questions on the go are one of the best card games to play in the car for families. One player chooses a card and reads one of the four questions on the card. The other passengers in the vehicle must then write their answers on the score card and pass them to one player ( not the player who read the question).

That player reads the answers to the card reader, who must match each response to the player they think wrote it. For each correct answer, the player earns a point. The first player to earn eight points wins.

Best Family Car Games For Teens And Adults

Even adults (grandparents) and teenagers begin to get tired and bored on long road trips. The next car games for families will keep you and your teen awake and entertained.

Fortunately, Unfortunately

In this family card game, one person begins with an, “unfortunately”, statement and the next with a “fortunately” statement. For example:

“Unfortunately, I think he needs to use the restroom.” “Fortunately, we are stopping soon.” “Unfortunately, he is also hungry,” and so on.

Remember, the more bizarre the statements, the more fun this game becomes.

Never Have I Ever

Another adult road trip game that reveals something about the players is “never have I ever”. Each person takes turns and says the phrase “never have I ever….” The following person guesses whether the statement is true or false. The person with the most accurate guesses wins this game, or you decide to play for fun.

Hum That Tune

One player starts off the game by humming a well-known song. The first person to guess the song correctly gets to be the next “hummer.” While this game sounds super simple, it’s often trickier than it seems making it one of the best games to play in the car with the family.

Arkadium

If you happen to be traveling with your grandparents, remember that they also need a little distraction on a long car ride. Comes in Arkadium to the rescue!

It’s a company that offers a variety of popular games, including mahjong, crossword puzzles, word games, and solitaire, all designed for adults and teens. It can either be played on a phone or tablet, offering much-needed relaxation.

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time is a fun game that involves using your imagination. Each player takes turns looking at a car and the occupant(s) and starts creating a fictional story about them. The storyteller should begin with “once upon a time.”

For example, a teenager driving a red sports car might prompt, “once upon a time, a guy bought a car to impress his girlfriend.” The variation is for each passenger to take turns adding one sentence to the fictional storyline.