The 10 Best Road Trip Games for Kids and Adults

This game is a creative take on I Spy where you and your family members will start with the letter A and each person is expected to find something on the road that starts with the correlating letter. This is a great, and easy, way to keep the kids engaged while driving long distances.

Arguably a fan-favorite among parents everywhere, The Quiet Game is a game where children must remain quiet for, well, as long as possible! The first child to make a noise loses. However, noises they cannot control, like sneezing or coughing will not disqualify them.

Yes, this game might be a ‘subtle’ way to keep kids quiet during long road trips, but it’s one that’s definitely worth trying for peace and quiet - even if it’s only for a few minutes!

The License Plate Game is another simple yet entertaining game. The rules are easy - just point out all of the different state’s license plates you see while on the road to your destination. If your family is competitive, encourage them to write down their answers or keep a tally - whoever has the most, wins. Plus, a bit of incentive always helps.

This will forever be a classic. Kids are very inquisitive, so why not make a game of it? The object of the game is to choose someone to think of a person, place or thing. Then, the rest of your family takes turns asking yes or no questions to get clues to help point you to the answer. If you guess it before 20 questions, you get a point, but if not, it goes to the other person.

Another fun game to keep your family on their toes is “Don’t Say It.” To start, brainstorm with the family about three words you regularly use. The point of this game is to refrain from saying the chosen words for the rest of the trip. If someone slips up and says one of the forbidden words, they get a point against them. At the end of the trip, whoever has the least number of points wins the game!

Do you plan to listen to music on your trip? Turn it into a game by naming the artist of each song as it comes on! Playing is easy, simply put your playlist on shuffle and award points to whoever guesses the correct artist first. This is a great game for older kids (and adults) to stay occupied!

If you don’t mind a bit of preparation, Mad Libs is a fill-in-the-blank storytelling activity which can be done by getting a Mad Libs booklet or downloading an app. This game is a great way to challenge your family’s vocabulary while keeping them laughing along the way.

Keep your family entertained by having a scavenger hunt, this can be done by giving each child a list of items to look for, such as animals, signage, gardens and more. If you’re struggling with ideas, there are many printable options online, which include images to help young ones who may not be able to read.

The popular British comedy show by the same name is very easy to adapt and play on long road trips. It’s a super simple game that requires no stationery or equipment. Any number of people can play, and it involves one person telling a story about their past, with the others trying to guess whether the story is true or a lie. 

The guessers have two minutes to ask questions to try and uncover whether their story is true or not. Once the two minutes are up, the guessers must make their final decision: is the story true, or is it a lie? The storyteller then reveals the truth.

Tips for Playing:

• If you’re the storyteller, try to include small, believable details to make your lie more convincing.
• If you’re guessing, pay attention to inconsistencies in the storyteller’s answers.

This game works pretty much anywhere but doubles up as a great road trip game for adults. One player explains the plot of a film badly, and the other player has to guess what that film is. Try to pick films that are popular, or at least well-known.

If the player guesses right, they get a point. But they only get three guesses. If no one guesses correctly, the storyteller gets the point.

Tips for Playing:

• Be creative but not too obscure - Make sure your "bad" plot summary is tricky but still gives enough hints. For example, instead of saying "A young wizard fights a noseless man," for Harry Potter, you could say "An orphan with a head scar causes problems at boarding school.”
• Think about key but misleading details - Try to focus on minor or odd parts of the movie rather than the main plot. For example, for Titanic, you might say "A rich girl ditches her fiancé for a guy she just met, then loses a valuable necklace."

All you need for this game is a relatively good eyesight and the ability to spot number plates! 

It’s a simple game that involves finding license plates with random letters - the aim being to create a word that uses those letters. So, if the license plate is "JKT 839," players must come up with a word that includes the letters J, K and T in that order. For example, "jacket" would work.

Variations:

• Speed Round - Whoever shouts out a valid word first wins that round.
• Theme Challenge - Words must fit a category (e.g., food, animals or places).

This game depends on the type of road trip you're taking and where you’ll be passing through. For example, if you’re driving through multiple cities, choose one person to be the “expert” of that city. They then ask questions and provide trivia about that city. So, if you were driving through Nashville, the expert might ask questions like:

• Which famous music genre is Nashville known for? (Answer: Country)
• What is the name of the famous street filled with honky-tonk bars? (Answer: Broadway)
• Which iconic singer recorded over 200 songs at RCA Studio B? (Answer: Elvis Presley)

Players earn a point for each correct answer and each person gets a turn as the expert for different locations.

Arguably one of the most well-known and easiest road trip games to play as adults. 

As the name suggests, someone chooses a category to begin. This could be car models, drink brands, NFL league winners or any other category. The first player must then name something in that category starting with the letter “A,” the second player then does “B,” next “C” and so on.

So, if the category is car models, player one might start with “Aston Martin,” player two might then say “Bentley” and so on.

Tips:

• Try to choose categories that everyone has basic knowledge of. This makes the rounds last longer and are generally more enjoyable!

In this game, you need to be able to plug your phone or music device into your car - or alternatively, you could just play it off your phone.

One player plays the song for three seconds, and the other player(s) must guess the title of that song. It’s important that you state the exact name of the song to win the point. For example, if the song is “Hound Dog,” and a player guesses “You Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog,” this would be wrong. 

You can also play it so that you say the first lines of the song in a funny or monotone voice to make things funnier.

Another one you can guess by the name!

Guess the quote is as simple as it sounds. One player thinks of or looks up a famous quote and the other player has to correctly guess where the quote is from. For example, you could quote “I’ll be back” from The Terminator, and if the other player guesses correctly, they get a point and then the roles are reversed.

This one is aimed at adults who often fall asleep on long road trips. The aim of the game is, while one person is asleep, to create the most believable story to tell them when they wake up.

So, once they fall asleep, the other passengers start to create a story. Each person should try and add their own elements to the story to cover all bases. If you can convincingly tell the story without the sleeping person suspecting any lies, you win! 

You could also keep up the lie for as long as you want if you like!

Who doesn’t love Uno?

If you don’t have the rules on hand, don’t worry. The goal is simple, be the first to get rid of all your cards by matching colors or numbers. Special action cards like Reverse, Skip and Draw Four keep the game unpredictable and fun.

If you want to switch it up, you can play "Silent Uno," where no one is allowed to speak unless they're challenging a rule!

This is becoming increasingly popular and is very easy to play. It’s a fast-paced card game version of Monopoly that takes only 15-20 minutes per round, making it perfect for road trips! Players collect properties, steal from others, and use action cards to win.

Plus, unlike regular Monopoly, this one won’t take hours, making it a great pick for quick games at rest stops.

A hilarious and easy-to-learn card game where players try to avoid drawing an exploding kitten card. Strategy and a bit of luck will keep you in the game while others get eliminated!

If space is tight, play in rounds so players who are out don’t sit too long before the next game.

If you have a deck of standard playing cards, you can play countless games like Poker, Rummy, Go Fish or Crazy Eights. You can look up the rules on your phone easily too.

• Tip: Bring a small travel table or use a lap tray to keep cards organized in a moving car.