Check out our 25 road trip games below. Some are classic car games, some are memory games, some are singing games and others are guessing games. But they all have one thing in common: they will provide you with loads of fun and help you pass the time while you’re driving. And if you have kids you’re traveling with, don’t worry, we even included some games that they’ll enjoy playing. So the next time you’re planning on hitting the road, don’t be nervous about how you’ll stay entertained, just refer to the car games below. We guarantee there are at least a few games you’ll love. Plus, the best part is, most of these road trip games can be played for long periods of time. Here at Parade.com, we’re all about sharing products we love with our audience. When you make a purchase on an item seen on this page, we may earn a commission, however, all picks are independently chosen unless otherwise mentioned.
25 Road Trip Games
1. License Plate Game
If you’re driving through a busy area or on a highway, this is a great game to play. The goal is to find license plates of other vehicles that start with each letter of the alphabet. To help you keep track of the ones you find, write the alphabet down on the notes section of your phone and delete each letter as you find them.
2. One-Sentence Story
For this game, you will tell a story one sentence at a time. The catch is, each person on the road trip takes a turn adding a sentence until the story is done. It’s a creative way to spend your time and you’ll never hear the same story twice.
3. Hangman
Bring a notebook along on your trip so you can play hangman. Each person takes a turn coming up with a word. Once you have a word, draw a blank for every letter in it on the paper. Each player can take a turn guessing letters that are in the word to fill it in. If a player guesses wrong, draw a part of the “hangman.” Players should try to guess the word before the entire “hangman” is drawn.
4. Hum The Tune
You don’t have to be able to sing well to play this game. Each player just takes a turn humming the chorus of a song and then if another player knows what it is, they can join in and start humming with you. Before you hum your song, you can tell your car mates a song category it’s in, like if it’s a Disney song or rock song.
5. What Color Is It?
If you have little kids, they’ll enjoy this game! Each player takes turns naming things that are all the same color. For instance, if you choose the color blue you could list off the items: the sky, the ocean, a sapphire, Neptune, a peacock, etc. Keep naming things until someone guesses the correct color.
6. In My Suitcase
This game is all about memorizing things, so you have to focus if you want to win. Have one person start out the game by saying “I’m going on vacation and in my suitcase, I’m packing ….” The first person should mention any item, then the second person has to repeat what they say and add another item. Then, the next person has to repeat what the players before them said. The player who messes up the phrase is out.
7. Tic-Tac-Toe
Who doesn’t love this classic game? Make it car-appropriate by using car-friendly markers to draw a tic-tac-toe board on your window. Then, take turns placing Xs and Os on the board and try to get three in a row. When you’re done, use a wet wipe to wipe the board clean and start over.
8. The Banana Game
Don’t worry, no food is involved in this game. The game’s name comes from the color yellow. Basically, anytime someone sees a yellow car, they need to yellow out “banana.” The first person to yell it out when they see it gets a point.
9. The Name Game
Decide on a category as a group. Then, go around and have each person name something that fits into that category. If someone names something that doesn’t fit in that category or if they pause before answering, they are out.
10. Bingo
Who doesn’t love Bingo? Bring these travel bingo cards on the road and whenever you see one of the objects on your road trip that is on your card, mark it on your card. The first person who gets five in a row, wins!
11. Never Have I Ever
Everyone, but the driver can play this game because it involves holding up your fingers. To play, have everyone hold up five fingers. Then, go around and take turns naming something you’ve never done. If someone else has done whatever you mentioned, then they put down a finger. The last person with a finger up wins.
12. Padiddle
If you’re going on a long road trip that will involve you driving at night, this game will be a great one to play. Whenever you see a car with only one headlight on, shout “Padiddle.” The first person to shout it out, wins.
13. Guess The Quote
Take turns saying and guessing quotes that are from a movie or a TV show. The person who guesses the quote first correctly gets to say the quote next. You can even say the quotes with an accent or try to impersonate the character who said it to make the game more fun.
14. Name the Artist
Do you and your carmates know a lot of songs? If so, this game will put your song know-how to the test. All you have to do is turn on the car radio and whenever a new song comes on, the first person to name the artist gets a point. Play the game until you stop the car or put a time limit on it to see who wins.
15. Rock Paper Scissors
This classic game is perfect to play in the backseat. You just have to use your hands to form either a rock, paper or scissors shape. Remember that rock will win against scissors but lose against the paper. While scissors will win against the paper, but lose against rock and paper will win against the rock, but lose against scissors.
16. Sweet or Sour
This game is something kids will love. Have each player take turns waving at passengers in nearby cars. If the people in that car wave back, they’re sweet and that means you get a point. However, if the people in the car you wave to do not wave back, they are sour and you get no points. See which player can get to ten points first.
17. Kiss, Marry, Avoid
Say the names of three people you know or three famous people. Then, each person must admit which of those three they would want to kiss, marry and avoid. It’s a fun game to play when you need to pass the time.
18. The Movie Game
Calling all movie lovers, this game is for you! Pick a random letter and go around and have everyone name a movie that starts with that letter. The first person to pause is out and then you start over, but with a different letter.
19. Tunnels And Bridges
This game can be played for the entire journey of your road trip. Whenever you go under a tunnel or a bridge, have everyone in the car hold their breath. The person who holds it the longest while going under wins a point. Keep track of the points and tally them up when you get to your destination.
20. Go Fish
Bring a deck of Go Fish cards on the road with you so your kids can play in the backseat. Each player should be dealt seven cards. Then you take turns asking the other player for cards you have so you can try to get all four.
21. Did You Hear?
This road trip question game is all about decoding if someone is telling the truth or not. Have each player take a turn asking a question to everyone in the car, but make sure you start it with “Did you hear…” Then, the other players have to decide whether the statement is true or false.
22. Most Likely To
To play this game, have one person say a statement that begins with “Most likely to…” For instance, “Most likely to be the president.” Then, on the count of three, everyone in the car has to yell out the name of the person they think fits that statement and see if you all agree
23. Two Truths And A Lie
Have each person take a turn for this game. Have that person think of two truths and one lie to tell everyone in the car. The other players have to try to guess which statement is the lie.
24. Would You Rather?
This game can be played with people of any age and can get pretty silly. Have each person take turns asking a question. Each question asked should start with “Would you rather…” and then list two things. For example: Would you rather have eyelashes for fingernails or fingernails for eyelashes?
25. Hot Seat
Each person in the car takes a turn being in the “hot seat.” The person in the “hot seat” can be asked five questions by the others in the car. They can veto one question but have to answer all the others. Each round, make the questions harder. Check out…40 Road Trip Snacks10 Tips for a Stress-Free Road Trip with Kids
