car games for road trips

Kick off with I Spy, but cap guesses at three so no one spends half of Queensland on "something beginning with S". Try 20 Questions with a car theme, Number Plate Anagrams (turn BXJ 42C into "Box Jelly 42 Clams"), and the Alphabet Hunt using roadside signs. Car Cricket keeps score by what you pass: hatchbacks are singles, SUVs are boundaries, trucks are wickets—house rules, referee optional. For the brainy types, play "Pitch a Ute" where each person invents a ridiculous ad for the next car you see. When conversation needs a pit stop, run Silent Game—winner buys the next servo snacks. Keep it civil, keep eyes on the road, and let the driver veto anything daft.