The fun starts the moment you get up and go on a family trip, so don’t let long car journeys become a drag. Inject some fun and silliness with our guide to the best car games that everyone can play.
1. The Classic: Twenty Questions
Great games become classics for a reason! Take it in turns to pick a celebrity or public figure, real or fictional, and allow the rest of the group to try and work out who you are by asking no more than 20 questions. Make sure you pick a celebrity that everyone knows! The first person to guess who you are gets to have the next go. This game is a real time-killer. You’ll find yourself pulling up outside the Stafford M6 Travelodge or your chosen cosy hotel in no time.
2. Great for Teenagers: Celebrity Spotting
A great chance to show off your knowledge of celebrity culture and personalities. The first player names a celebrity whose name starts with the letter ‘a’. Going around in a circle the next player has to say a celebrity whose name begins with the last letter of that celebrity’s name and so on until someone can’t think of a name. For example, if the first celebrity is Angelina Jolie then the second player has to pick a celebrity beginning with ‘e’. They could pick Emma Watson and the next player would have to pick a celebrity whose name starts with ‘n’.
3. Great for Teaching while Playing: Alphabet Memory
Test your memory! Going around the group, the first player says, ‘I went to the supermarket and I bought …’, filling in the blank with an item beginning with ‘a’ (e.g. apples). The next player then goes, beginning their list in the same way and repeating the item that’s already been listed and adding another item beginning with ‘b’. The list must be alphabetical (e.g. apples, bananas, carrots, dog food) and each player must list every item on the shopping list before adding their item. This game gets difficult quickly, but once you get stuck in you’ll watch the time tick away as you head towards your destination. Maybe our Nottingham Trowell M1 Travelodge, situated just off the motorway for people on the move.
Pro tip: you can use this same game with different scenarios. Instead of a shopping list you could start by saying ‘I am going on holiday and in my bag I’m packing…’
4. Great for Brain-Twisting Fun: Never Yes or No
Pick one person to answer. The rest of the group have one minute to ask this person any question they want. To win, the ‘answerer’ must give their answer to any question asked of them without using the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Go around the group so that everyone has a chance to try – you’ll be surprised how hard it is.
5. Great for Imagination: The Car Next Door
Get your storytelling juices flowing by telling some tall tales about your fellow road users. Look out of your window and pick a car that you are close to. Look at the inhabitants of the car. Work together to tell a story about the group and why they have ended up going on a trip together. To start the story, one member of the group will say the first line of the story. The next person will then begin the story where it left off by saying ‘yes, and…’ and then adding their part of the story. Continue to go around the group until the story feels like it has come to a natural end.
