Road Trip/ Car Games #4

Here are some more ideas for games to play in the car on long trips. These are great for families, or any other group that is stuck in the same car/ van for hours at a time. Rules are simple and there are very few supplies needed. A pencil and a note pad should do you just fine.

The Truck Lines Game

There are a couple of variations on this game.

1. Choose a couple of well known truck lines before beginning the game. You might choose JB Hunt, Schneider, Yellow, Roadway or Werner. Choose a time limit or a destination. Now the game can begin. At the end of the game the person who has spotted the most trucks from that line wins.
2. The second variation is to find the most different truck lines. There are literally dozens of transportation and freight lines operating in the USA. The person who writes down the most different companies will win this game.
3. A final variation is that each player will locate the most different types of trucks. Look for dump trucks, grain trucks, panel trucks, etc. Again, the one with the most at the end of the game wins.

The License Plate Game

This game is simple for anyone to play, but you will need to take special notes and be careful of your answers. Again, there are two variations.

1. Use the letters and numbers and letters on license plates to spell out the entire alphabet from beginning to end. Find an A on a license plate. Then you can find a B and so on. You can not use the same license plate for more than one letter. And each license plate can only be used by one person.
2. In this second variation you will be scoring points by finding special license plates. Gain points by the spotting the following plates.

• Each state will get you 2 points. You can only get points for each state one time.
• If you get all 48 of the contiguous states you will get a bonus of 100 points.
• Spotting Alaska or Hawaii plates will get you 25 points each.
• Any Canadian Providence is also worth 25.
• Any other foreign country is worth 100 points.
• Vanity plates are worth 10 points each.

Discussion Concussion

This game does not need to be limited to car time. It will be good for anyone, anytime. Humans do not spend enough time interacting with one another. We need to spend time intentionally talking. So, us some of the following questions to start conversation.

• What is the most important thing in your life?
• Is there something that you would give your life for? What is it?
• Do you think that money makes life better or worse?
• Give an example of a time when you were extremely happy.

Road Trip/ Car Games #3

Continuing in the tradition of Road Trip/ Car Games, I offer the following two entries. Neither of these requires any special equipment of expertise. Good luck and have fun...

Tunesmith

This is the perfect game to play with friends (or enemies). It works great on long car trips, or rainy afternoons. In fact, the best time to play this game may be when you are trying to avoid something productive like work, homework, cleaning, etc.

There is no equipment required and the rules are simple. Everyone begins by agreeing on a topic. In our example we will use the topic 'trees.' Now each person is required to think of and then sing a song about trees. To get credit for the song, the singer has to sing enough of it to establish that it is; 1) a legitimate song, 2) about a tree, or trees, 3) that it at least mentions a tree, and 4) not made up. All the other players determine whether or not the singer gets credit for his/her song. When a singer can not come up with a song, they are out for the remainder of the round. The last remaining singer wins the round.

Some acceptable tree songs would include... "O Christmas Tree," "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree," and "Misty" ('as helpless as a kitten up a tree'). After the tree round is completed a new topic is chosen and play resumes.

Some topics could include:
Color songs
Number songs
Broadway musicals
TV Theme songs
Beatles songs
Christmas songs
Religious Songs

You will want to come up with a lot of your own topics. It is more fun if the topic is a surprise to everyone so that no one can "plan" ahead.

The Jerry Garcia Game

I noticed several years ago that in almost any crowd there is at least one person who looks like Jerry Garcia. Jerry Garcia, as I am sure that you all remember, was the bearded leader of the Grateful Dead. This phenomenon became amazing to me. Everywhere I looked there was a Jerry Garcia, even though I knew that he was dead. That made me notice other people. You would not believe how many people look like someone else, famous or not.

One day when we were having lunch in a restaurant we saw a man at the next table who could have passed for the character actor M. Emmett Walsh. These "sort of" celebrities are all around you. Open your eyes.

So play this game the next time you are with a group and in a crowd. Find someone who looks like someone else. Point out your look-alike to your companions. Everyone then gets to vote on whether or not the look-alike really looks like who you say. If the person looks like a celebrity, you get two points for every yes vote. If the person looks like a personal friend or acquaintance, you get one point for every yes vote.

Road Trip/ Car Games #2

I did an entry last week about games that you can play in the car on a long road trip. There was one comment on that entry that you might want to check out, but some of today's games come from that comment. I hope you enjoy.


Again, all of the following are games that can easily be played in the car with very little equipment required. A notepad and pencil to make lists or keep score should be enough. Have fun!!

• License Plate Game #1. This game is much like the Billboard Alphabet game, except this time you are looking for numbers on license plates. Find a license plate where the first digit is "1". Then locate a "2", and so on. You must find the numbers in order. It gets tricky when you get to double digits, but that is also when it gets more fun. Set a time limit or a decide to conclude the game when you arrive at your destination. The person with the highest number wins.


• Headlight Game. This is a game that is best played at night. Set a time limit on the game and begin looking for cars with a light that does not work. Give yourself 5 points if you spot a missing headlight, 3 points for a missing fog light and 2 points for a tail light that does not work. The person with the most points wins. One extra rule: Once a car is claimed by one player, another player cannot use it. Likewise, you can only get points once for each car. For example, if the car has a burned out headlight and fog light, take the 5 points for the headlight, but you cannot count the fog light.


• I Spy. This is an all-time classic. One person begins the game with, "I spy with my little eye something that is..." and finished the line with a clue. The other players then try to guess what the first player sees.

Road Trip/ Car Games #1

What follows is intended for families, youth groups and others who are going on long car/van/road trips. The time will go more quickly if everyone participates. All that is required for the following games are a small notepad, a pencil and a good sense of humor.

• The Billboard Alphabet Game. This is a trusty old standby. Everyone has already played this game. As you are driving you look at all the signs (outside of the car) and find all the letters in the alphabet. The first one to clear all 26 letters wins. It is a good idea- but not necessary- to require that each letter, or even each sign be used only once.
• The Last Name Alphabet Game. On one page of your notepad, write one last name for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A- Adams, B- Baker, C- Carter. The first one to have all 26 letters covered wins the game. Make sure to check each person so that no one cheats. Some variations could include:

1. A competition to come up with the most "A" names in one minute. You can use any letter.
2. A round-robin where each person has to come up with a name for the next letter. I will get A- Albertson. The next person will answer Boone, for B. And the game continues until the alphabet is complete.
3. In another round-robin variation, everyone must come up with an "A" name before you can move on the "B".

• The Country Alphabet Game. This is much like the "Last Name" game, with geography. Everyone gets a new page on their notepads and lists one country for each letter of the alphabet. For example, A- Australia, B- Bermuda, C- Cuba. You can use the same variations with this game. Another variation would be a contest to see who could name the most total countries.