Ultimate Car Travel Game A - Z
Author: Chris Barker
Published: 29 August 2008
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There are many ways you can keep children quite on a long car journey, some of which are within the boundaries of the law, and other which would require you to help the Police with their enquiries and result in Social Services showing a keen interest. So we’re concentrating on sharing with you the ways in which you can keep everyone happy, and first and foremost, small people.It’s the perfect time to switch off from the rat race and bond with the family before the holiday gets under way good and proper. Don’t let boredom and subsequent family ding-dongs rule your roost, instead be proactive and engage all the occupants young, old and furry in a spot of light-hearted name-calling, gesticulating and contact sports in the safety and privacy of the family car.MT wants to get back to basics, but not necessarily conform and follow the entire, morally-preaching syllabus laid out in the Conservative Party’s 1992 manifesto. Just long enough to give modern, mindless, imagination-lacking children’s games a kick in the teeth, whilst focusing on those that come from a time before modems and broadband connections. From a time when batteries required backpacks to be carried around in, and the only computer known to man filled a warehouse somewhere in Manchester and could only muster enough power to print a name and form number tag for your gym kit bag.MT’s A- Z Guide to in-car travel games harks back to its youth, grubby knees and all and will help parents reconnect with their kids in a way that has been lost to the Nintendo generation. All the games listed – other products are available – seek to occupy your children’s minds, improve their memories, hellp speling, boost visual and perception awareness, exercise the mind and generally enhance the travel experience. As well as try an adults patience, test and strain relationships, entertain inexpensively, pass time and get everyone involved.What you might call a win-win situation.As always there’s some rules of engagement to be strictly adhered to at all times so as to make the journey not only pleasurable but safe for all the passengers.1. Never interfere with anyone driving2. Some people might appreciate a little peace and quiet to snooze or read a book. Bear these people in mind, as they have equal rights in a democratic society.3. Some people get ill when reading and writing when moving. These people are called freaks, no, sorry, friends or family. Ensure that they look out of the window for a moment or two should this happen. Or pass them something to be sick in. Not a handbag though.
A is for Alphabet Hunt
– which is basically getting little Henry and littler Henrietta to point out anything that you pass en route that begins with the letter A. Followed by B,C and D. All the way up to Z. Which, unless you’re planning on traveling to the moon might be a little tricky.A is ALSO for Alphabet Suitcase
– which thrives on being a memory game. Suitable for older children, the first player may say something along the less-scripted lines of, “In my suitcase I have packed…..” and then proceeds to name an item beginning with the letter A. The next player repeats what the first has said, then adds something of their own, starting with the letter B. And so on and so forth through the alphabet. The game continues until someone forgets the chain of by that stage none-sensical travel items. Remembering that should someone mention P for Playboy then time out will have to be called for a hastily arranged birds and the bees address after a slap around the lug holes has been administered. Not that MT condones violence.B is for Beetle Bingo
– get the kids to train their peepers on the road for a Volkswagen Beetle or ten. Once they see one of the novelty cars – new or Hitler-inspired old – then get them to note it down on their colourfully-designed bingo pad that you made earlier. The first child-shaped participant to accumulate 10 Beetles shouts ‘Beetle Bingo’. And Bob’s your cross-dressing Aunty.B is ALSO for Bubble Gum Blowing contest
– as the name implies, this task is all about lung capacity and suffocation-avoidance, and as such has to be played out in the company of responsible adults. Essentially the winner is the person who manages to exhale the most oxygen and form a pink bubble stemming from their mouths.C is for Counting Cows/Sheep etc
..anything that’ll make them nod off. Count all the cows on your side of the car. However if you pass a cemetery you loose all your crows for some reason.But only if the opposing team calls "your cows are buried!” This game gets interesting when diversion tactics are employed to either cause your opponent to miss cows on their side of the road or to miss a cemetery on your side of the road. A white horse can count as a bonus. The team with the most cows wins.That’s the rules of the game, who are we to argue. The sheep bit applies a similar principle but ignores the cemetery lark. By which time everyone should be asleep, excluding the driver.C is ALSO for Charades
– which as we all know involves players to guess as to the identity of a film, book, song, etc by carefully observing an elected person to act out the title, by using nothing other than their body. Sound being a no-no rule breaker. The person who guesses correctly then gets a go. And so on.C is ALSO, ALSO for Colour Car
- a game for the strictly religious, Colour Car is all about spotting a vehicle on the road and announcing its colour then and there. Once that’s been established, players must then seek to consider something from the Bible that has to do with that color. For instance, a green car can represent the "green" pastures in Psalm 23. Not everyone’s flask of luke-warm tea mind.D is for – don’t Know.
Literally. Haven’t the foggiest.E is for Ear, Ear, Ear
- a silly game, especially good for cheering you all up when you're bored or tired. The first player places the index (first) finger of his right hand on a part of his body, and points the index finger of his left hand at the player next to him. At the same time he calls out the name of an entirely different part of the body. For example, if he were to touch his nose, he might say: 'This is my foot'. If he were to touch his ear, he might say: 'This is my mouth'.The next player goes through the same body-dyslexic routine, indicating one thing but saying something completely different. The game carries on round and round, getting faster and faster. The quicker it goes the more fun it is to play. Apparently.F is for Favourites
- where everyone in turn is asked their favourite colour, ice-cream flavor, song, animal, place to visit, etc. Might not last long if passenger numbers are limited, but should your car be wedged to the rafters with a jamboree-full of Cubs or Brownies, then Favourites is a game that could go the whole distance.G is for Guess How Far Away That Object Is
– long SEO-savvy title, but fun guaranteed for hours upon end as you get them to point at an immovable object in the distance/on the horizon and guess just how far away it is by watching the car’s milometer. Dwarfs don’t count.H is for – hey! I’ve haven’t a clue.
Make one up yourself.I is for I-spy
– the daddy of all road travel games shows no signs of diminishing in the public’s affections, and will ensure hours of pleasure. Unless you’re driving through the world’s longest road tunnel in which case participants will experience a creative block that much quicker. Simply put, it’s all about settling your eye on an object either in – or most likely outside – of the car without letting slip, and then inviting others to have a stab at it.J is for Just a Minute
– unapologetically robbed from BBC Radio 4, Just a Minute requires participants to talk for exactly 60 seconds on any given subject. Without hesitation or deviation. The topic can be volunteered by the elected speaker, or thrown in by members of the audience. A wheeze for any age group.K is for Keep the Beat
– an ingenious travel game for kids and grown ups alike that’s based around the joys of music, and helps build and compliment memories in the process. Switch on the radio and start singing along to the tunes, when everyone’s up to speed turn the radio off for 10 seconds. When it’s turned back whoever’s still in time/tune with the song wins. A bit like singing in the shower, only with less water and even more chance of annoying the hell out of your nearest and dearest.L is for Lines and Dots
- this is that game you used to play in primary school if you can cast your mind back that far. You make a grid of dots on a sheet of paper. Each player takes turns drawing a line between two dots. The lines are horizontal or vertical (not diagonal) and must be next to each other. If a player makes a complete square, they get to mark the square with their initials in the center of it, and they get another turn. The player with the most squares when all the dots are connected wins!M is for Make a Trip Scrapbook
– again, one for the more artistically-inclined amongst your traveling party, whereby you sit perfectly still and preferably silent and concentrate on compiling a journal of your journey. Either in words or with the aid of doodles, documenting an occasion that’s full of visual stimuli can prove an invaluable learning tool to decamp from place to place. Paper and felt tips required.N is for New Registrations
– a personal MT favourite that necessitates that the first person to single out a new registration plate on a passing vehicle wins. Two initial drawbacks of course. One being the longevity of the interactive game play being dramatically reduced once someone validates their exclamation, and secondly only really workable during the first few days in May and September.As an alternative perhaps children may detract more pleasure from working their way through the alphabet, based on any car registration plates that begin with the chosen letter.N is ALSO for Name The Clouds
- depending on what standard of education you’ve put them through/paid for, this travel game of skill and judgment requires avid viewing and an encyclopediac knowledge of all the major cloud formations known to man. And child.O is for Once upon a Sign
- described as an ingenious travel game for ages 6 months and above it requires tenacity, skill and a slightly theatrical bias if you’re to succeed in stringing a highly improbable yarn together derived from the names of the public houses you pass on your journey.P is for Pipe Cleaner Creatures
– imagination and dexterity is key to success here, as players are asked to shape and cajole traditional pipe cleaners into new and amusing animal-tastic studies. Hand to eye co-ordination is paramount, as is the ability to think outside of the box.P is ALSO for Puppet Show
– prior preparation is needed to unlock the potential of this game for car travel, unless you ask the driver and other occupants to take their socks off then and there. Which would be dangerous. However, done beforehand with the aid of buttons, a sewing kit and possibly some felt, hours of fun can be idled away in the back of a car by staging your very own puppet show. Think Punch and Judy, but more PC. Where there’s no place for cruelty or faces that’ll reduce the audience to tears.P is ALSO, ALSO for Punch Bug
- the notoriously violent game – sometimes called Slug Bug - that excuses itself as innocent child’s play when in actual fact its full scale fighting for the sake of it. Under the pretense that it’ll keep the young ‘uns quiet, Punch Bug allows players to literally punch other passengers of their choosing every time they see a Volkswagen Beetle. Of course, if the victim doesn’t see the evidence then they get to return the favour, twice.Q is for – you’re kidding us right?
There’s no game beginning with the letter ‘Q’. So have another ‘T’ instead.T is for Treasure Bottle on this occasion.
Find a large cola bottle and fill it no more than 2/3 full with uncooked rice or birdseed. Then put in about 20-25 small objects (safety pin, plastic bugs, button, M&M, nut, bolt, paper clip, penny, tiny Lego, and other misc. toy pieces or stuff that is probably rolling around in your kitchen junk drawer.) Keep a count of the items and write down the number of items on the outside of the bottle. Put the lid on tight. Let the kids take turns rolling the bottle around in their hands until they find them all.R is for Rest Stop Athletics
- get the Olympic bug and every time you pull over grab the footy, Frisbee or rope in the boot and tire them out. Involve the family dog too, unless it’s more than happy to remain blissfully unaware of your boredom. Exercise will do for long faces and hyperactivity like nothing else.R is ALSO for Rock, Paper, and Scissors
– the age-old game of out-smarting your opponent by presuming what shape they’re going to make with their hands when they come out from behind their backs. Remember the rules of engagement though. Paper wraps around rock, so is victorious, whilst scissors cut through paper as you’re likely to know. Short-lived this may be, but mental stimulation is as good as physical when they’re that age.S is for Simon Says
– who hasn’t heard of Simon Says? One person is chosen to be Simon. He tells the others to perform a series of actions: 'Put your hands on your head', 'Stick out your left elbow', Tap your knees' and so on. The actions can be anything you like, as long as they don't cause too much noise or impede the driver's vision.The point is that the players only obey the instructions when they are prefaced by the words 'Simon says . . .'At 'Simon says clap your hands', they should all clap their hands. But if the order is simply 'Clap your hands' they should do nothing. Anyone performing an action without the magic words must drop out of the game. Likewise, anyone who doesn't perform an action when Simon says so must drop out. The last person remaining is the winner.S is ALSO for Slug Bug
– but we covered the issues raised over this earlier.T is for Travel Watch
– a marathon of a travel game that might even outlast the journey. Submit a list of items for the kids to look out for, typical of what might be encountered on a journey, and for each item they see and tick, they receive 1 point. The winner is the person with the highest score when the car stops. In MT’s experience we find that traffic lights, train stations, buses, churches, a horse and rider, a dog in a car, a cow in a field, a GB sticker on a car and bridges provide the most visual ammunition.T is for that’s My Car
- take turns. Choose one of the next five vehicles that you pass (or that pass you) to be "your car" as if it were your very own. All players mutually decide if you are a "winner" or a "loser" based on how nice a car you "own" compared to the other players current cars. It’s random, it’s spontaneous, and it’s trainee one-upmanship.U is for Uniforms
- nothing below the belt here, just good old fashioned and clean fun focusing on people in uniforms that you may pass on your journey. For maximum points it’s suggested you drive through an air base or army training camp. Although a tank might be the best form of transport for this. On a less facetious note, we all encounter policemen, traffic wardens and postmen and maybe just maybe you’ll see milkmen, bus drivers, railway porters, girl guides and nurses. Dads will be particularly enthusiastic to help you out with the last category. Mummy won’t though.V is for – no game we’ve ever heard of.
W is for Write Postcards
- every service area you stop at buy some postcards and beaver away on the back seat. Self explanatory really.W is ALSO for Who/What Am I?
- occupants are invited to ascertain just who the person is by asking 20 questions. You might have played similar games eleswhere.X is for X-Box
- we know. We’ve fallen off the traditional travel games wagon, but you try and find something beginning with the letter X.Y is for – pass them the Nintendo.
Why not. You’ve run out of ideas.Z is for – Zzzz
…….your prize for keeping them occupied.Of course if they’ve got a laptop they can log onto MT and go to our gaming section where there’s games aplenty online. Although this goes against the grain of what we’re preaching here.See Also:
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Motorways were supposed to herald the coming of a modern hi-tech Britain. Nowadays they´re regarded as no better than a necessary evil. But are motorways all bad?
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