Top 10 games to play in the car

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Road trips are an American pastime and a great way to see some of the country's less traveled parts. However, if it's a longer trip, someone in the car is eventually going to get bored. With this in mind, we've gathered some of the best games to play in a car. Many of these don't require anything other than your imagination to play, but we also included a couple of video games for those who prefer a more high-tech option.

I spy

We all know this one, but I spy is a classic for a reason, but a quick refresher on the rules can't hurt. One passenger peers out the window, choosing an object. Everyone else in the car has to guess what the object is with a series of clues, for example: "I spy with my little eye something that begins with (the first letter of the object's name)." The clues aren't a hard and fast rule and can be just about as easy or hard as you'd like, which makes it great for players of all ages. The player who guesses the object goes next, and the cycle repeats. There's a catch — you can't exactly "spy" something that's whizzing by the car. Landmarks work great, but moving objects like other cars in traffic keep the game interesting too.

License plates

Speaking of moving traffic, the license plates game is great for killing time on the highway (but not so great for sitting in traffic). The rules here are a little more flexible than I spy, and it's really up to the players to set the game up in a way that makes it fun and fast-paced. There are many ways to play with license plates, depending on the age of your kids. Younger kids can call out the first letter of a license plate in alphabetical order; the first one to Z wins. Or players can go off of the first letter in a state's name. Just like the first way to play, you can go in alphabetical or random order, again with the first to all 26 letters of the alphabet becoming the winner.

20 questions

Twenty questions sits in the same "guess an object" genre as I spy, but with a twist. You don't need an object that's physically within view of the vehicle to play, which should make for a much more varied and interesting quiz game. Whoever goes first thinks of just about anything, and the other player's objective is to guess the thing, be it an animal, a car, a place, or any number of other possibilities. The first question is designed to narrow things down a lot, usually with other players asking something like "Person, place or thing?" After that, the players begin the inquisition to try to guess — the remaining players take turns (in a circle, usually) asking questions to try to narrow the possibilities down. The player holding the answer may only answer in a yes or no format. If the rest of the group arrives at the 20th question without a winner, there's a final 21st round of outright guesses at the item before another player picks and starts a fresh round.

Name the song

This one's great for passengers with a bit of a generational gap, say parents and their kids. It's also great for groups of friends with different tastes in music. The objective is in the name, though it can be tough to hide the name of the song in a modern car with a large screen. Maybe bring some tape and an index card to cover the display. In any case, the objective here is simple: Name the song. You can use a playlist off someone's phone or the radio for a little variety. Alternatively, more vocally talented players can just sing the tune. The first one to guess the song name wins the round, and we like to play to a set score before moving on to another fun road trip game.

Punch Bug

Everyone's got a different name for this one, but it's a little harder now that the iconic Volkswagen Beetle is out of production. Without getting *too* carried away, players have to spot a VW Beetle and playfully slug the arm of the person next to them, calling out "Punch Buggy" followed by the color. In the game's original version, you punched your seatmate when you spotted a Bug, but most parents find that any game that involves hitting can get out of hand pretty quickly. If you've got young kids or don't want to get anyone to end up with a dead arm, keep score another way — tapping your seatmate, counting on your fingers or phone (first to 10 wins, for example), or something more in keeping with the Bug's peaceful hippie identity.

Video games: The Legend of Zelda

Truthfully, all of these games are a little ... analog in 2024. Everyone's got a smartphone on them, especially on a road trip. There's also a ton of handheld video game consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, that grant access to thousands of games to roll away the miles. We love the Legend of Zelda games because of their open-world format, which kind of fits with the exploratory theme surrounding road trips. Plus, the sheer size and scale of Zelda titles like Breath of the Wild and its successor, Tears of the Kingdom, are so huge players probably won't come close to finishing the titles on even the longest of road trips.

Video games: Mario Party

While Zelda is a great pick, it's also a lonely one. Mario Party, on the other hand, gives players a chance to involve other occupants in the vehicle. Super Mario Party lets players, either solo or with friends, take on a series of minigame challenges, competing for an outright win. The latest installment, Super Mario Party: Jamboree, adds Jamboree Buddies that can help turn the tide or be used against you. Like any Mario Party title, things are bound to get competitive, and there might not be a more entertaining way to kill time with your fellow passengers whether in the back seats or at the hotel between stops.

Video games: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Though not as shiny new as some of the Zelda titles above, Skyrim is widely available on handheld platforms. (It probably won't be long before it's running on cellphones, frankly.) It's a classic, and while the Mature-rated game certainly isn't for younger players, there's almost no better way to kill time than to kill dragons in this classic game. It's easy to rack up a 300-hour playthrough of the game, so there's always something to do. Plus, the fact that the game is more than a decade old means it runs well on almost anything, from the Nintendo Switch to the Steam Deck, and it won't suck up the battery the way newer titles will.

Mobile game: Heads Up! app

Heads Up! is a mobile game classic at this point. It's effectively charades with a cellphone: Players hold up a phone to their forehead with a name or phrase on it, and it's up to the rest of the group to give clues to help the player figure out just what is being displayed on the phone. Players can take turns, and the game can be played with any number of people so long as there are at least two to start with.

Mobile game: Road Trip Games App

Of course, this list only covers 10 games. There are scores of games that can be played in the car to keep you and your passengers entertained. There are even a few apps like the Road Trip Games App that compile a few popular hits such as tic-tac-toe and hangman into one game. It's even got the license plates game above. The app features a leaderboard so you can keep track of who's winning, and the license plates game also has a save feature for extra-long sessions.

Your parents' parents have played some of these games, and some are so current your parents might not know what a Nintendo Switch is, but there's a single common denominator: If you're not keen on staring out the window as the continental U.S. flies by, all of these are fantastic ways to entertain yourself and other occupants on a long road trip.