The best games to play in the car

Take a look at this special Roan games page and choose one of the following games to play whilst on the road.

Game 1 I spy with my little eye...
An old but still very entertaining game to play in the car. The idea of this game is that you say: 'I spy with my little eye and the colour is...', then you choose a certain object inside or outside the car and the others in the car take turns guessing what it is. The person who gives the correct answer may then choose an object after which the others can guess again.

Game 2 Make up a new word with the last letter
You have to really keep your head in the game with this one. At least it's a nice distraction from the long journey. In this game, someone starts by saying a random word, for example 'bag'. The last letter is a 'g' and the next word must start with this. The next person can say, for example, 'golf' and the next word must begin with an 'f' and so on.

You can  come up with different rules for this word game to keep it from getting a bit dull. For example, you can divide the game into different categories. You can think of car brands, place names, animals, anything you like really.

Game 3 Who or what am I?
For this game you need a pen and paper. Someone writes a person or an occupation on a piece of paper and passes it on to everyone except the person who's turn it is to guess. For example, you can write down fireman or the name of a celebrity. The person who hasn't seen the note, has to guess who or what they are by asking yes/no questions to everyone else. When they've guessed who/what they are, it's the next person's turn.

Game 4 Recognise car brands and colours
This game certainly provides the necessary entertainment on the road. For younger children, you can include a particular colour in the game. For example: 'How many red cars do you see?' That way your children will learn how to count and recognise certain colours at the same time.

With older children, you can change this game into recognising certain car brands. In this way you teach your children to recognise certain shapes and logos of cars.

Game 5 Licence plate-bingo
A very fun game. It does require some preparation though. Before you start, print out some sheets of paper with the numbers 1 - 100 on it (like a bingo card). All numbers should consist of 2, so you add a zero to the numbers 1 to 9.

When you are on your way, hand out the papers. Now the idea is that everyone searches for the numbers in the licence plates that whizz by. When you have found a certain number, you cross it out. You have to keep playing this game until someone manages to cross out all the numbers. Bingo!

Game 6 Recognise foreign number plates
You can play this game with your children when you go abroad. First, teach them which number plates belong to which countries and then they can recognise certain number plates themselves. If you want to make it a bit more difficult, have your children count the number of number plates they see too.

Game 7 Make as many words as possible from one word
This is another fun word game for when you're on the road. Select someone in the car who comes up with a word. An example is 'playground'. Then take turns to form a word with the letters of the chosen word. For example, the letters in 'playground' can be used to make 'play', 'ground', 'dog' or 'pond'. When no one can think of any more words, you can pick a new word.

Game 8 Guess the animal
In this game the person who's turn it is thinks of an animal. They are not allowed to act out or give any hints. The others can ask them questions which can only be answered with 'yes' or 'no'. When the animal has been guessed, it's someone else's turn to think of an animal.

Game 9 Find the banana
This game is fun to play with the whole family. You will notice that the parents will be just as excited as the children. How does it work? Every time you see a yellow vehicle on the road you yell out 'BANANA'. You get 1 point for a car or a truck and 2 points for a car or truck towing a trailer. The fun part of this game is that you can play it throughout the journey (and also whilst playing other games).

Game 10 Games to play during breaks
To keep your spirits up on the road, it's important to stretch your legs whenever you take a break on your way to the campsite. No matter how tempted you are to get back in the car as soon as possible after that necessary trip to the bathroom, don't do it! Before you leave on holiday, get some little games or prepare some easy outdoor activities to enjoy during your break form the long journey. Really take the time to do something together and move your body a bit. Think of a game of bowls, hopscotch, blowing bubbles, skipping ropes or cornhole.

These games will make the car journey a lot quicker and you will be at your holiday destination in no time, where you can enjoy your well-deserved camping holiday.

Are you curious about what we have to offer in Europe? Please take a look at all our luxury campsites and accommodations here!