18 Road Trip Games You Played Before Screens Took Over
Before smartphones and tablets took up residence in the passenger seat, family road trips were a patchwork of pit stops, questionable gas station snacks, and classic car games. These simple pastimes had a unique way of making hours fly by without a single screen in sight. Here’s a nostalgic look at 18 road trip games that kept us entertained, kept sibling rivalry to a minimum (sometimes), and filled the car with some serious laughter.
1. I Spy
The ultimate game of observation, “I Spy” could keep kids entertained as long as there were things to look at. One person would say, “I spy with my little eye something…” and give a color or feature, while everyone else frantically tried to guess. It usually started with easy guesses like “tree” or “car” but often devolved into heated debates about what qualifies as “brownish-green.” It was fun—until you were in the middle of Kansas and someone said, “I spy something green.”
2. 20 Questions
Who knew that so much fun could come from simply guessing what someone is thinking about in 20 tries or less? With only “yes” or “no” answers allowed, the game could swing between excitement and frustration pretty quickly. If the answer was “an armadillo,” the car could erupt in confusion or amazement, depending on the creativity of the guesser. The best part? The sense of triumph when you guessed it right on question 19.
3. The License Plate Game
Spotting different state license plates was both thrilling and deceptively educational. Points were awarded for each state, and finding rare plates like Hawaii was the holy grail of road trip entertainment. This game kept eyes peeled and minds engaged, although it did occasionally cause arguments over whether D.C. counted as a state. Extra points for spotting vanity plates, even if the meanings were sometimes mystifying.
4. The Alphabet Game
The challenge was simple: find words on road signs, billboards, or even license plates that started with each letter of the alphabet in order. The letter “Q” became everyone’s arch-nemesis, leaving players scouring signs for a long-lost “quilt” advertisement or a passing “Quiznos.” Victory came only to those who stayed focused through mile after mile of A, B, C… well, you know the rest.
5. Punch Buggy
Nothing says “sibling bonding” like randomly punching each other over Volkswagen Beetles. The rules were simple: spot a Beetle, call out “Punch Buggy!” and lightly (or maybe not-so-lightly) punch your sibling. It was all fun and games until someone’s punch was deemed “too hard,” resulting in a parental intervention and the classic, “Don’t make me turn this car around.”
6. The Cow Counting Game
For anyone driving through rural areas, counting cows was strangely satisfying. Each person would count the cows they saw on their side of the road, racking up a herd of points along the way. But beware: if you passed a cemetery, all your cows “died,” and you had to start over. This game was a real heartbreaker, especially in cow country.
7. Rock, Paper, Scissors
A simple game that needed no supplies and could diffuse almost any road trip disagreement. “Rock, Paper, Scissors” settled snack disputes, decided which radio station to listen to, and was even used to assign responsibility for opening particularly suspicious-looking gas station bathroom doors. Best two out of three was always the unspoken rule, especially if you lost the first round.
8. Would You Rather?
For kids with big imaginations, “Would You Rather?” was endless entertainment. Questions ranged from “Would you rather eat spaghetti every day or never eat it again?” to the truly profound, “Would you rather have a pet dragon or be invisible?” Sometimes silly and sometimes hilariously deep, this game was a surefire way to make time fly by in between rest stops.
9. Categories
One person picks a category, like “types of candy” or “things you’d find at the beach,” and then everyone has to name something in that category without repeating any answers. A wrong answer or a repeat got you eliminated until one person was left victorious. Simple yet surprisingly challenging, this game became an intense competition for anyone who wanted to claim the title of “Road Trip Champion.”
10. Who Am I?
This guessing game had everyone taking on the role of a famous person, character, or family member, while everyone else tried to guess who they were with only “yes” or “no” questions. It could take minutes or it could take forever if the “mystery person” picked someone truly obscure like “the guy from the tire commercial.” A mix of cleverness and patience was necessary to succeed here.
11. Road Trip Bingo
Armed with a Bingo card full of common road trip sights (tractor, police car, horse, stop sign), everyone kept their eyes peeled, hoping to be the first to yell, “Bingo!” Crossing off those little squares was surprisingly satisfying, especially if the card came with fun items like “driver singing loudly” or “car with at least two dogs.” Bonus points for snagging a black-out card.
12. Ghost Stories
There’s nothing like sharing ghost stories on a dark, quiet road. Someone would start spinning a spooky tale, often making it up as they went along, while the rest listened with rapt attention. The scarier the story, the better the game—but be careful, because once everyone was thoroughly spooked, every creak and shadow suddenly became terrifying, which didn’t always bode well for getting a good night’s sleep.
13. I’m Going on a Picnic
This memory game starts with the classic phrase, “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m bringing…” Each player would add an item starting with the next letter of the alphabet, while everyone had to remember the growing list. By the time you hit letters like “U” and “X,” it was a true brain-bender. It might sound simple, but try remembering a list that includes “an aardvark, a ball, carrots, and a xylophone.”
14. The Quiet Game
Parents’ secret weapon, the Quiet Game had one rule: no talking. As a surprisingly fun twist, the first person to talk lost, and everyone else got to bask in the silence for a few blessed minutes. Of course, it didn’t last long, as someone always found a reason to break the silence with a sneaky cough or exaggerated sigh. Still, it was a beautiful moment of calm while it lasted.
15. Slug Bug
Similar to Punch Buggy but with a twist: any color of Volkswagen Beetle was fair game. Players had to yell “Slug Bug” and punch whoever was sitting next to them whenever they spotted a Beetle. This one could turn competitive fast, especially if someone’s punching skills were a little overzealous. Parents often tried (and usually failed) to impose rules about “gentle slugs.”
16. Song Lyrics Game
Each person takes a turn singing a line from a song, and the next player has to sing a line from a different song that starts with the last word of the previous line. This game is basically karaoke, road trip edition. It often led to some hilariously strange musical mashups as everyone tried to remember lyrics while coming up with connections. And yes, it might end with everyone yelling the chorus to “Sweet Caroline.”
17. Telephone
This classic game of whispered messages had a tendency to morph “We’re almost there” into “My mom has purple hair” by the end of the line. A simple message would get whispered from person to person, usually resulting in a hilariously garbled phrase by the end. Half the fun was seeing how wrong things could go after just a few people.
18. Counting Cars
Sometimes it was all about sheer quantity. Counting how many cars of a specific color passed by was oddly engrossing, especially for younger kids. It seemed easy, but a few wrong moves could get the whole car arguing about what qualifies as “blue” versus “teal.” Everyone became an expert in color theory, at least until the snacks came out.
