Road trip games that won't make anyone carsick

The license plate game

Players:

Any number

Ages:

6 and up

You need:

Nothing, or our tracker

Spot license plates from as many different states or provinces as you can before you arrive.

1. Everyone watches passing cars and parked cars for out-of-state plates.
2. Call out the state as soon as you see it. The first person to call it gets the point.
3. Keep a shared list, or play together and try to beat your record from the last trip.

Easy on the stomach: Plates are spotted on moving traffic ahead and beside you, so eyes stay up and outside.

Try this: Play as a team against the map: can the whole car find 25 states by the end of the trip?

Use the license plate tracker →

Road trip bingo

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

A printed bingo card each

Each player has a card of things to spot. Mark them off as you see them; five in a row wins.

1. Print a different card for each player before you leave.
2. When you see something on your card out the window, call it and mark it.
3. Five in a row across, down or diagonally wins. Play on for a full card on long drives.

Easy on the stomach: Marking a square is a quick glance down; the searching happens out the window.

Try this: Picture cards work for children who cannot read yet.

Make printable bingo cards →

I spy

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

3 and up

You need:

Nothing

One player picks something everyone can see and gives the first letter or color. The others guess.

1. The spy says: I spy with my little eye something beginning with B, or something green.
2. Everyone else takes turns guessing.
3. Whoever guesses right becomes the next spy.

Easy on the stomach: Pick things outside and far ahead, not inside the car, so guessers look out the window.

Try this: Things out the window only, and they must still be in sight when the round starts.

The alphabet game

Players:

Any number

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Nothing

Find the letters A to Z in order on signs, billboards and trucks outside.

1. Start at A. Look for a word outside that contains it.
2. Call out the word, then move on to B.
3. Q, X and Z are the hard ones. First to reach Z wins, or play as one team.

Easy on the stomach: Signs are read at a distance and in a glance, which is far easier on the stomach than reading in your lap.

Try this: Only first letters count, which makes it much harder.

Cow counting

Players:

2 teams

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

Nothing

Each side of the car counts the cows on its side of the road.

1. Split the car into left side and right side.
2. Count every cow you see on your side.
3. Pass a cemetery on your side and your count goes back to zero. Most cows at the end wins.

Easy on the stomach: Perfect for country roads, and it keeps each passenger looking out their own window.

Try this: Horses count double, and a white horse wins outright.

Color car count

Players:

Any number

Ages:

3 and up

You need:

Nothing

Each player picks a car color and counts the cars of that color.

1. Everyone picks a color. Rare colors are harder but more fun.
2. Count every car of your color that passes or that you pass.
3. First to 20 wins.

Easy on the stomach: Easy for the youngest passengers, and nobody needs to read anything.

Try this: Yellow cars score five points each.

Road sign hunt

Players:

Any number

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Nothing

Call out a list of sign types and race to spot each one.

1. Agree on a list together: a speed limit sign, a deer crossing, a rest area, a bridge sign.
2. Spot and call each one out.
3. The first player to find all of them wins.

Easy on the stomach: Road signs sit ahead and at eye level, right where a queasy passenger should be looking.

Try this: Invent the funniest meaning for a sign you do not recognize.

Truck spotting

Players:

Any number

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

Nothing

Score points for the kinds of trucks you spot on the highway.

1. Agree the scores: a tanker is 1, a car carrier 2, a truck carrying a boat 3.
2. Call out each truck as you see it.
3. Most points at the next stop wins.

Easy on the stomach: Trucks are big and easy to spot far ahead, which keeps eyes up on the road.

Try this: Count the wheels on the biggest truck you pass.

Cloud shapes

Players:

Any number

Ages:

3 and up

You need:

Nothing

Find animals, faces and objects in the clouds and convince everyone else they are there.

1. Pick a cloud and say what you see in it.
2. Everyone else tries to see it too.
3. The best find of the drive gets to choose the next snack.

Easy on the stomach: Looking up at the sky and the far distance is one of the calmest things a passenger can do.

Try this: Tell a short story about the cloud creature.

Window scavenger hunt

Players:

Any number

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

A list, read out loud

An adult reads out ten things to find, and everyone watches for them.

1. The front passenger reads out a list: a red barn, a water tower, a flag, a dog in a car.
2. Call out each one when you spot it.
3. Play together to find all ten, or keep score.

Easy on the stomach: The list is spoken, so nobody in the back has to read anything.

Try this: Make the list about the place you are driving through.

Twenty questions

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

6 and up

You need:

Nothing

One player thinks of something. Everyone else has 20 yes or no questions to guess it.

1. Think of a person, animal, place or thing.
2. The others ask questions that can be answered yes or no.
3. Guess it within 20 questions to win, or the thinker wins the round.

Easy on the stomach: Pure talking, so eyes can rest on the horizon or stay closed.

Try this: Play the timed version on our car-safe games page.

Play Guess in Twenty →

Story chain

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

Nothing

Build a story together, one sentence each.

1. Someone starts with one sentence: Once there was a dog who drove a bus.
2. The next person adds one sentence.
3. Keep going around the car until the story reaches an ending.

Easy on the stomach: No looking needed. The silliest stories keep the whole car laughing.

Try this: Each sentence must start with the next letter of the alphabet.

Name that tune

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Music, played by the front passenger

Play the first seconds of a song. First to name it wins the point.

1. The front passenger plays the start of a song.
2. Shout the title and the artist as soon as you know it.
3. Most points by the next stop picks the playlist.

Easy on the stomach: The person choosing songs sits in front, so nobody in the back stares at a phone.

Try this: Hum the song instead of playing it.

Would you rather

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Nothing

Ask each other impossible choices and explain your answer.

1. Ask a question: would you rather fly or be invisible?
2. Everyone answers and says why.
3. Take turns asking.

Easy on the stomach: All talking, and it works in the dark.

Try this: The asker has to guess everyone's answer first.

Categories

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

6 and up

You need:

Nothing

Pick a category and take turns naming things in it until someone runs out.

1. Pick a category: animals, pizza toppings, cities.
2. Go around the car, each naming one thing. No repeats.
3. Anyone who hesitates too long is out. The last player in wins.

Easy on the stomach: Keeps busy minds busy without anyone looking down.

Try this: Every answer must start with the last letter of the previous one.

The minister's cat

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

6 and up

You need:

Nothing

Describe the cat with an adjective for each letter of the alphabet.

1. The first player says: the minister's cat is an angry cat.
2. The next player uses B: the minister's cat is a brave cat.
3. Carry on through the alphabet. Get stuck and you are out.

Easy on the stomach: A classic memory and word game with nothing to look at.

Try this: Everyone must repeat all the earlier adjectives first.

Fortunately, unfortunately

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Nothing

Tell a story that swings between good news and bad news.

1. The first player starts: fortunately, we won a trip to the moon.
2. The next player adds bad news: unfortunately, the rocket was made of cheese.
3. Keep alternating until the story ends.

Easy on the stomach: Eyes can stay on the road ahead or closed.

Try this: Set the story in the town you are driving to.

Guess the animal sound

Players:

2 or more

Ages:

3 and up

You need:

Nothing

Make an animal sound. Everyone else guesses the animal.

1. Take turns making an animal sound.
2. The first to guess right goes next.
3. Harder animals score more: a giraffe is worth a lot.

Easy on the stomach: Made for the youngest passengers, with no looking at all.

Try this: Make vehicle or weather sounds instead.

Two truths and a lie

Players:

3 or more

Ages:

8 and up

You need:

Nothing

Say three things about yourself. Everyone guesses which one is made up.

1. Say two true things and one false thing, in any order.
2. Everyone else votes on the lie.
3. Fool the most people to win the round.

Easy on the stomach: Good for older kids and adults, and no looking needed.

Try this: All three must be about this trip.

Who am I?

Players:

3 or more

Ages:

7 and up

You need:

Nothing

One player is a famous person or character. Everyone asks questions to work out who.

1. The player picks a famous person or character and says only whether they are real or made up.
2. Everyone asks yes or no questions.
3. Guess the answer to take the next turn.

Easy on the stomach: Like twenty questions, with no limit, and nothing to look at.

Try this: Only characters from books the family has read together.

The quiet game

Players:

Any number

Ages:

4 and up

You need:

Nothing

Everyone stays silent. The first to make a sound loses.

1. On go, everyone goes silent.
2. Watch out the window and try not to laugh.
3. The last person to make a sound wins.

Easy on the stomach: A calm reset when the car gets loud, and silence with eyes on the view settles the stomach too.

Try this: Winners pick the next song.

Slow count

Players:

Any number

Ages:

5 and up

You need:

Nothing

Count slow breaths together while watching the horizon.

1. Everyone looks at a far point ahead, like a hill or the end of the road.
2. Breathe in for four counts and out for four counts, together.
3. See how many slow breaths the car can do without anyone speeding up.

Easy on the stomach: A gentle one for anyone starting to feel off: slow breathing and a fixed far point.

Try this: Count passing trees or poles in time with the breaths.

Guess the minute

Players:

Any number

Ages:

6 and up

You need:

A watch, kept by the front passenger

Everyone guesses how many minutes until the next landmark or stop.

1. The front passenger names the next landmark: the bridge, the town, the rest area.
2. Everyone guesses how many minutes it will take to get there.
3. Closest guess wins.

Easy on the stomach: Watching for the landmark keeps eyes forward, the calmest place to look.

Try this: Guess the number of cars you will pass before it.

Sound safari

Players:

Any number

Ages:

3 and up

You need:

Nothing

Close your eyes and name every sound you can hear for one minute.

1. Everyone closes their eyes for one minute.
2. Listen for every sound: the engine, the wind, a siren, a bird.
3. Open your eyes and share. Whoever heard the most sounds wins.

Easy on the stomach: Closing the eyes removes the mismatch between a still car inside and a moving world outside.

Try this: Name only sounds from outside the car.