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With spring in the air and summer around the corner…I think I’m done with colloquialisms for this sentence…many of us are probably anticipating family vacations. However, I usually don’t relish the hours on end driving with three kids whining from the backseat. In an effort to make the trek a little easier, here are some game ideas. All of these can be played without anything more than paper and pencil - and many don’t even require that!

I am including ALL the games’ information here so you can just pull this up on your phone and go. You can even screenshot the lists and use the markup feature on your phone to check them off. OR, if you’d like printed copies for the kids to use, you can find them on my Etsy shop (use code READER10 for 10% off your order).

Checklist Games

Rural Roamers

As you travel through the countryside, see how many of these things you can spot…

1. cow

2. horse

3. goat

4. sheep

5. fallen tree

6. rock wall

7. old barn

8. muddy hill

9. forest

10. waterfall (or icicles)

11. horse

12. trailer

13. vehicle pulling boat

14. motorcycle

15. sprinkler

16. single tree in field

17. pond or lake

18. broken down car

19. dump truck

20. birds

21. bridge

22. overpass

23. church steeple

24. water fountain

25. wildflowers

26. silo

27. cell phone tower

28. backhoe

29. hay bale

30. white picket fence

31. river/stream

Urban Explorers

Driving through a city? See how many of these things you can spot…

1. skyscraper

2. traffic light

3. fire hydrant

4. pedestrian

5. public bus

6. street sign

7. bench

8. graffiti art

9. food truck

10. public park

11. construction site

12. subway or metro

13. outdoor eating

14. sculpture/outdoor art

15. historic building

16. street vendor

17. bridge

18. water fountain

19. school bus

20. parking meter

21. library

22. stop sign

23. skateboarder

24. dog

25. taxi or rideshare

26. crosswalk

27. traffic cone

28. toll booth

29. overpass

30. gas station

Color Cruisers

See if you can find a car of each color below… (There are 18 colors listed.)

1. red

2. blue

3. yellow

4. white

5. black

6. silver

7. gray

8. orange

9. purple

10. burgundy

11. turquoise

12. navy blue

13. tan

14. cream

15. charcoal

16. lime green

17. pink

18. gold

Plate Pursuit

Traveling in the US? See how many different state’s license plates you can find. If you get all 50 PLEASE let me know! I would be truly impressed - especially with Hawaii and Alaska. Actually, I’d be impressed if you got all 48 contiguous states!! Here are all 50 states listed in alphabetical order. You could also do tally marks to see which state tags you saw the most of. I’m thinking this will be more successful if you are traveling across the states rather than within one of them. :-)

1. Alabama

2. Alaska

3. Arizona

4. Arkansas

5. California

6. Colorado

7. Connecticut

8. Delaware

9. Florida

10. Georgia

11. Hawaii

12. Idaho

13. Illinois

14. Indiana

15. Iowa

16. Kansas

17. Kentucky

18. Louisiana

19. Maine

20. Maryland

21. Massachusetts

22. Michigan

23. Minnesota

24. Mississippi

25. Missouri

26. Montana

27. Nebraska

28. Nevada

29. New Hampshire

30. New Jersey

31. New Mexico

32. New York

33. North Carolina

34. North Dakota

35. Ohio

36. Oklahoma

37. Oregon

38. Pennsylvania

39. Rhode Island

40. South Carolina

41. South Dakota

42. Tennessee

43. Texas

44. Utah

45. Vermont

46. Virginia

47. Washington

48. West Virginia

49. Wisconsin

50. Wyoming

Write It Down

These are a mixture of competitive and cooperative games, because let’s be honest - I don’t enjoy listening to my kids “argue” for hours on end. Thus, some of these are a peaceful group effort.

Just grab a pen and some paper (or even a tablet)! I have found these inexpensive writing tablets on Amazon to be really versatile. They are mess free. Although, I wish this particular one came with a string that tied the pen to the tablet. I ended up having to buy some more pens (or rather “stylus”) because, naturally, one of my kids lost theirs within days. But there are lots of similar tablets - some of which do include an attached pen.

Again, a printable is included for each of these if you purchase the game pack. BUT good old pencil and paper will work just fine!!

Tic-Tac-Toe

Play the classic game on a piece of paper or a tablet. Two players take turns marking spaces in a 3x3 grid with their chosen symbol (X or O) until one player gets three in a row. Twist: Play “Tic-Tac-Doodle” instead where players choose their own doodle to draw in place of an X or O.

Hangman

Despite the rather macabre title, this game is an old favorite. One player (“It”) thinks of a word and draws blank spaces representing each letter. Other players guess letters to fill in the word. If a guessed letter is in the word, the person who is “It” writes that letter in the correct space(s). If the letter guessed is not in the word, “It” draws part of a stick figure hanging from the gallows or scaffold. (Usually the parts are head, body, 2 arms, 2 legs, and maybe a hat or feet.) Play continues until the word is guessed correctly or the hangman in completed.

Dot Game

I wish I could think of a better name for this one. Anyway, players take turns drawing lines to connect two dots on a grid. If a player completes a square, they write their initial(s) inside and take another turn. The game continues until all possible lines are drawn. The player with the most squares at the end wins.

Category Countdown

Choose a category (e.g., animals, foods, movies) and set a timer. Each player writes down as many items from that category as they can think of before time runs out. Players earn points for unique answers, and the player with the most points wins.

Telephone Pictionary

Everyone writes a simple phrase or sentence at the top of their paper. Pass the paper to the player on your left who then draws a picture of it underneath. Then they fold the top phrase backward so it doesn’t show and hands the paper to the next person. The next player looks at the drawing (without seeing the original phrase) and writes a description of what they think it shows beneath it. They then fold the paper to cover the original drawing, leaving only their description visible, and pass it to the next player. The next player looks only at the description and attempts to draw it beneath it. Continue passing and alternating between writing descriptions and drawing until each paper has gone around the circle. Finally, unfold the papers and share the hilarious interpretations with everyone!

Paperless Fun

I Spy

Most likely this one is already in your parenting arsenal. But, just in case you need a reminder…One player selects an object they see inside or outside the car and says, "I spy something..." and provides a descriptive clue about the object's color or shape. Other players take turns guessing what the object is. Whoever guesses the correct answer goes next.

20 Questions

Anyone with a child old enough to talk probably feels like they live this game all day every day. At least I do. But, here is a way to hopefully turn this game into something the kids can do themselves!! One player thinks of an object, and the other players take turns asking yes or no questions to figure out what it is. They have 20 questions (combined) to guess correctly.

A-B-Sees

Players try to find signs, billboards, vehicles, license plates, etc. with each letter of the alphabet - in order. It doesn’t matter what the letter is on. Just start with A and (as a group) try to find all of the letters from A to Z in order. This game could also work as a quiet independent game. (Let me know if your kids actually manage to play this quietly!)

Categories

Someone chooses a category (like animals, foods, colors, etc.). Players take turns naming items in that category until someone gets stuck or repeats an item.

Word Chain

Players take turns saying a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word said. Try to keep the chain going without repeating words.

Story Time

Choose a theme or character. Then, create a story as a group. Each person takes turns adding one sentence at a time to the story.

Giggle Games

Telephone

One player whispers a message to the next player, who then whispers it to the next, and so on, until it reaches the last player who says the message out loud. Compare the final message to the original to see how much it changed.

My Name is…

Players take turns saying, “My name is ______; I live in _______; I’m married to _______; and I sell _______.” However, all of their words must start with the same letter. The first player must use A, the next player B, etc. till they finish the alphabet.

Animal Antics

Players take turns pretending to be different animals and making sounds they think those animals would make. The others have to guess which animal they’re imitating.

Funny Faces

One player makes a silly face, and the others have to try to copy it as closely as possible. The sillier the faces, the better!