Car games are useful to have with you. after only five kilometers on the highway, your children start whining in the back seat and ask: "are we there yet??"children get bored quickly and then become dissatisfied. To make the long car ride pleasant, there are a lot of fun car games, so that you and your children can arrive at your destination happy and relaxed.
Here you will find a practical list of tips, activities, vacation games and small games to make the trip pleasant. So you don’t have to be afraid of a travel weekend anymore, enjoy your vacation.
1. Play various small fun car games / vacation games in the car
Car games ? You can also participate in games as a car driver. You can ask questions and answer questions. Here we describe some of our favorite social games where there is no boredom in the backseat.
Car games – backseat bingo
Bingo is of course one of the most popular family games. But this car version should not be missing with you. Everyone in the car is given a card and every time they see something on the card outside, they have won the card. The first person to see everything wins the game.
We offer this game for free. Just send us an e-mail via our contact address (at the top of this page) and you will get the game in your e-mail.
Find license plate
In this game you can choose to search for different license plate numbers. There are two different versions. You can choose the countries of europe and look for foreign license plates like for example license plates from italy, belgium or germany. French license plates consist of 101 departements. The last two digits of the license plate are determinant for the origin of the department.
If you spend your vacation on a camping site in france, for example, why not play this game with your children?. Roam the campsite in search of the different signs. Our cards help you, the found license plates can be checked off.
The kids will surely like this search and they can enjoy the well-deserved vacation rest.
But there are even more fun car games.
How long is a kilometer ? – car games
In this game, ask your children to close their eyes and open them only when they think they have driven a kilometer away. You yourself count ten green hectometer posts next to the roadway. The child who sits closest to the answer wins this game. The game is educational and of course also suitable for adults.
Sing the song
You listen to (well-known) music in the car. Then the song is turned off and the children and passenger are asked to continue singing the song. Funny games with music provide energy.
Car coloring dots game
everyone in the car chooses a (car) color. From the first five cars that are seen in that color, the license plate numbers are taken down. Of course the co-driver or a child writes down their license plate number for them as they keep their hands on the wheel. Each number and letter on the license plate gives a certain number of points.
The number on the license plate will be copied accordingly. There are two kinds of letters: consonants, which count for six points, and vowels, which count for four points. The player who scores the most points with the five cars he finds wins the game. This popular social game is as popular with young people as it is with adults.
Hole alphabet
This game is suitable for players who know the alphabet. The first player says the entire alphabet. The second player also recites the alphabet, but omits every other letter. (a – c – e) the third game leaves out every third letter and so on. (a – b – d – e – g).
Who makes a mistake is eliminated, the game continues until a winner remains.
car games – where am i ?
In this game a player has to think of a place (a beach, a campsite, at work, in bed, on the playground…)..). The other players ask questions that the first player can only answer yes or no to.
With this game the time in the car will pass in no time!
Pictionary on the car window
In the game "pictionary" you have to make a drawing of the puzzle. These can be drawn with a whiteboard pen on the window of the car. At home, parents can write the relevant terms on small cards that the children have to guess or draw in the car. You should always have a cloth with you to wipe it all up again.
car games – who am i ?
This is the same game as "where am I". Now the first player thinks of a personality for the other players to guess. A variation is to train a famous personality.
Animals polonaise
Car games like the animal polonaise are of course part of the trip. One player names an animal. For example: zebra. The next player names an animal with the last letter of the named animal, i.e. an animal with the initial letter A, etc. The game goes on until no more animal can be named.
The vacation alphabet
In this social game you tell a story together. The first player forms a sentence. For example: we get into the car and arrive at our destination in the evening. The second player makes a sentence starting with the last word of the first sentence. In this case, the new sentence must begin with "an", etc. All the sentences together make a funny story.
Car games – machelen
In this game one player thinks of a verb (activity word, do word). The other players guess this word and replace the verb in their questions with the word: machelen. Example questions: can animals make music? I have already done this today? Usw.
Unfortunately and happily
Also in this game a story is told together. The first player makes a sentence starting with "unfortunately". The second player makes a new sentence starting with "happy". And the next player again forms a sentence that starts with "unfortunately" and after that another sentence is formed with "happily". Most of the time this results in funny sentences and a nice story.
I go on a trip and take with me
This game is a classic social game. The first player starts with: I am going on a trip and I am taking (for example a suitcase) with me. The second player repeats the sentence and adds an object to it. For example: I am going on a trip and I am taking a suitcase and a toothbrush with me. The next player repeats the whole sentence and adds an object again. etc. It is important to remember the previous sentences. Who can remember the most?
Where is the treasure ?
One player thinks of a hiding place for a treasure. The other players have to find out this hiding place. The players take turns asking questions that can be answered with yes or no.
Depending on the age of the children, you can limit the search area to one room, one floor, the whole house or the neighborhood/school. But you can also consider hiding places in germany or europe.
Bananas – car games
Every time you see a yellow car or a yellow truck while traveling on the road, call out: banana! The first person to call "banana" ten times wins the banana game. Of course, the game can also be extended to other car colors, such as a red car "strawberry", a blue car "grape" or a green car "apple".
Remember also to take a break when driving a car. Always take some chalk or a ball with you. Run a lap with the children, they must lose their energy.
Looder songen
You can sing songs in a funny way while driving. All vowels are replaced by an o or an a or an e for example.
Singing a book and guessing the song
One person reads a text from, for example, a brochure. The person is humming the melody of a well-known song. The other travelers have to guess which song is being sung.
Ssssssst… – car games
And then of course the most ingenious game to restore peace in the car. Who can be quiet the longest? Who makes noise first, has lost.
Car games need little effort. Before you know it, you will already be at your destination.
2. Create a route plan for the kids – car games
If you are driving from hamburg to lake garda, for example, take a look at the route on google maps and note down all the places along the way with a distance of five kilometers between them. Print the list of places and give it to your children.
Every place the kids see on the road signs can be checked off. This game is very educational and the children can see by the list that they are getting closer and closer to the goal.
But you can also print out the travel route from google maps, the children can then paint the route they have traveled.
3. The gift basket
Buy some small gifts (puzzle books, small games to play in the car, pens to mark, a brochure, vacation game for vacation and so on).
Put these games in a basket. Calculate the number of kilometers of the trip or the total travel time beforehand. divide the number of gifts by for example the travel time. After about an hour, your child will receive a gift and can unwrap it.
4. Other tips
There are a few other things you can do to make your children’s trip as pleasant as possible:
- Buy DVD screens and make sure you have enough movie hours with you so the kids don’t see much of the actual trip.
- Travel at night. The children sleep a large part of the trip and their journey is quiet and stress free.
- Use aluminum foil for crafting. The children can make different things with this foil.
There are many fun car games for travel that will make your kids (and you) travel more enjoyable. We wish you happy vacations and a good trip. Enjoy the family car games during the trip.
Find a nice game for your vacation address? Are you with a large group ? At games groups we offer all kinds of fun and affordable group games. I would like to know more.