Free Do It Yourself Travel Games for Kids

The Penny Game

This game is a must, and if you have younger kids, you can substitute pennies for something like crackers or Smarties. Each person in the car starts out with a designated amount, usually ten. Then, the first person says “I’ve never” and fills in the rest. Anyone that has done it gives the person one of his or her pennies. Play continues until someone runs out, and whoever has the most pennies wins. You can switch up the game by adding “I have…” statements, so then all the people who haven’t done this thing owe that person a penny.

I Spy Bingo

While you are planning your trip take a few minutes to put together bingo sheets. Get on your computer and find 8 clipart pictures of things you may see on a road trip, but don’t make them too easy. Pick things like a cow, cemetery, or an odd colored car. The first person to get bingo gets to pick the place you eat for dinner or something similar. To make the game more challenging play blackout.

The Alphabet Game

This game requires nothing. It is a rhyme that is set up like this: Hi my name is Agnes (if you are a boy then you would start with a boys name and say your wife’s name) and my husbands name is Abner we come from Alabama and we sell Apple Pies. All the A words would be substituted by words in each successive letter of the alphabet. Each person in the car takes a turn and everyone laughs at the crazy rhyme.

Bubble Gum Blowing Contest

Before you leave pick up a package of gum. If some of your kids don’t know how to blow bubbles have an instruction and practice period then, start your contest. The kid who wins gets to pick out the next flavor of gum.

Count Cows

Divide everyone in the car into two teams; keep a running tally of all the cows you see out the car window. If you pass a cemetery the first person to see it yells out “your cows are buried,” and the opposing team loses all their cows. Get the game really going by using distraction techniques and having other less seen animals count as bonuses. Bring along a treat for the winning team.

Picture and Description Pass-Along

All you need for this fun game is some paper and pencils. Pass out a paper and pencil to everyone in the car, each person will write something that can be drawn at the top of the page; the more odd the thing the funnier the game gets. Then they pass the paper to the next person. The next person draws a picture of what has been described then folds over the paper so that all that can be seen is the picture. Then everyone passes to the next person and they write a description of what they see. Repeat this about five or six times until the page is full then pass one last time, and let everyone unfold the paper. You’ll get tons of laughs seeing what you started with, all the crazy pictures and how you ended up.