This improved and updated article was originally published By Gunjan Upreti
Before smartphones and tablets, we used games to keep us entertained. So, for your next road trip, let go of your 'reach for the sky' playlist and try some of these board-less, card-less road trip games to play in your car to keep you going.
Top 17 Road trip games for Adults to Enjoy
1. Twenty Questions
This is a game where one person thinks of a person, place, or thing, and the others have to guess what it is by asking up to 20 yes or no questions. The person who guesses correctly gets to think of the next thing. And you can get goin on and on and cover at least a mile or two guessing what is it? Make your road trip more fun with these car games.
2. How’s Yours?
It's a very simple and fun game to play in which a group of people team up against one guesser. These are games to play in a group without anything. The game is somewhere on the lines of twenty questions, but the only question the guesser can ask is “how’s yours?”
How to play :
• Ask the guesser to put on earphones and listen to music. Meanwhile, rest of the group can come up with something that everyone in the group owns or has such as a passport, a house, a phone, an email account or a degree (you can be more creative than this)
• Once decided, the guesser will start approaching each player with the question, “how’s yours?”
The questioned player gives a truthful clue that will ultimately help the guesser figure it out. Try not be too vague or too obvious.
For example, if the decided entity is a passport, your answer shouldn't be, “mine is full of stamps.” A better answer would be, “mine has an expiration date.”
• The guesser is only allowed one guess per clue given, and the guesser can either go around asking in a fair circle or pick on people indiscriminately for clues.
3. Sorry I’m Late
It starts off with one player saying, “Sorry I’m late”. The person who is late proceeds to give a reason as to why she/he was late. The reason you're late is actually the plot of a popular (or not) movie.
Ex: Sorry I’m late, because I had to save my estranged daughter, who got kidnapped while she was on a trip to Paris.
Answer: Taken.
Ex: Sorry I’m late, because I had to help this guy find his son, but I kept forgetting where I saw him.
Answer: Finding Nemo.
Engage in these fun games to play with nothing but with only fun!
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4. Straight Poker Face
All players write sentences on small pieces of paper. What kind of sentences? Ones that are ridiculous or inappropriate; sentences that anyone would struggle to read (or hear) while keeping a straight face.
One at a time, each player will choose a slip of paper and attempt to read whatever is written on it without giggling or cracking a smile.
All of you can collectively decide the punishment for failure.
5. Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
This is a game where you get to explore the world around you and have some fun. You have a list of items or landmarks to find along the way, such as a cow, a rainbow, or a statue. You can either print out a ready-made list or make your own before you leave. You can check off the items as you see them or take pictures of them for proof. The person or team who finds the most items wins. But don’t forget to enjoy the scenery too!
6. The License Plate Game
This is a game where you get to travel across the country or the world without leaving your car. You try to spot license plates from different states or countries. You can either keep track of how many you see or try to find them in alphabetical order. You can also make up funny phrases or acronyms from the letters and numbers on the plates. For example, BFF could stand for Best Friends Forever, or Big Fat Frog.
7. I Spy
This is a classic game where you get to test your observation and your creativity. One person chooses something that they can see and says “I spy with my little eye something that…” and gives a clue, such as the color, shape, or size of the object. The others have to guess what it is. The person who guesses correctly gets to be the next spy. But don’t make it too easy or too hard. And no cheating!
8. Who Am I?
Thinking of another game to play without phones? Here it is. Think of someone that you and your fellow passengers know. A common friend, any family member, neighbor, or maybe a fictional or historical character. Then give clues about the person’s identity by revealing his or her hair color, gender and other distinguishing physical characteristics or allow each person in the car to ask only “yes” or “no” questions about the identity of your secret person. Keep giving clues until someone figures out the identity of the individual you have in mind.
9. Movie Connections
One person says a movie, then the next person has to name another movie that is somehow connected to the previous one (an actor, director, producer, etc. in common). You can’t name the same movie twice, and you have to know your connection — so you can’t take a wild guess and hope there’s some obscure actor connection.
For example: Ugly – Udaan – Lootera – Bajirao Mastani – Piku
10. Cows on my side
When you see a cow on your side of the road, you have to yell, “Cows on my side!” Every time you call a cow, you get a point. If you see cows on the other side you say, “Cows on your side!” If you call, “Cows on your side,” before the person sees them, you steal a point and if anyone sees a cemetery they scream, “Ghost cow,” stealing all the other side’s points.
11. Fuzzy Duck
This version of fuzzy duck doesn't involve alcohol.
Say “fuzzy duck” to the person on your left. Continue until someone says “does he”. You must now say “ducky fuzz”, going right. “Does he” can change direction again. Mess up? Decide a nominal fine.
12. Ice Cream Sundae
Start by looking for a vanilla (white) car, then a mango (yellow) car, after that a chocolate (brown) car, then a sprinkle (bright pink, purple, or green) car, then to top off your sundae, a cherry (red) car. It’s super fun! Whoever completes their sundae first wins.
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13. The Name Game
One person starts by naming a celebrity, fictional character, sports icon etc. No personal or friend's names.
So if it’s Julia Roberts, for example, the next person has to think of another celebrity, whose name starts with the first letter of the last name. The next person could say Rahul Dravid, and then the person after has to come up with someone whose name begins with D, and so on and so forth.
If someone drops a name with the same letter for the first and last name, like Kim Kardashian, the player rotation reverses.
14. While You Were Sleeping
This is a game where you get to make up the most ridiculous and hilarious stories about the person who dozed off in the car. Maybe they were abducted by aliens, or they won the lottery, or they married a celebrity. The crazier, the better! Just don’t wake them up with your laughter. The sleeper can join in the fun by pretending to be clueless or adding their own twist at the end.
15. Did You Hear That?
Make your car games more interesting with this one in the line! This is a game where you get to test your ears and your imagination. One person makes a sound effect with their mouth, such as a siren, a fart, or a gunshot. The others have to guess what the sound is and where it came from. Was it a police chase, a bad burrito, or a bank robbery? The person who guesses correctly gets to make the next sound.
16. Alphabet Game
Even kids can play this game on a road trip! This is a game where you get to show off your vocabulary and your eagle eyes. You look for words that start with each letter of the alphabet, in order, on anything you see outside the car. You can play as a team or compete against each other. The first person or team to finish the alphabet wins. But be careful, some letters are harder than others. Good luck finding a word that starts with X!
17. The Memory Game
This is a perfect games to play with friends without phone. This is a game where one person starts by saying “I went to the market and bought…” followed by an item of their choice. The next person has to repeat the phrase, saying the last person’s item and adding one of their own. The game continues until someone forgets an item or makes a mistake.
Have a favorite road trip game? Perfect as a car game? Share it with us!
Add it in the comments below!