For those of us born before the digital age, there wasn’t much to keep us entertained on a family road trip. We mostly engaged with everyone else – a novel idea these days.
Want to bring a bit of old-fashioned fun back to your next family driving holiday? Here are a few ideas – and there’s not a screen in sight.
1. 20 Questions
An oldie but a goodie. Each person, in turn, thinks of a famous person – one that everyone, no matter their age, will know. The others can ask 20 questions that take a yes/no answer to try and find out who the famous person is.
2. Numberplate bingo
You will need paper and pens. Everyone writes the 26 letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper. Every time they see one of those letters on the number plate of a passing car, they can cross the letters off. The first one to cross off all the letters of the alphabet is the winner.
3. The last letter word game
Pick a theme – it might be animals or food or three-letter words if you have younger children. The first player says a word related to that theme – say, tiger, if the theme is animals. The next person has to say a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word played. Like rabbit, in this case.
4. Memory game
You’ll need to come up with an opening line for this game. For example, “I’m going on holiday and I need to bring…” Each person tries to complete the sentence, remembering the previous words: “I’m going on holiday and I need to bring sunglasses,” “I’m going on holiday and I need to bring sunglasses and a towel.” There’s no right or wrong answer: let your kids be as crazy as they like.
5. Spotto
One of the most popular road trip games all the family can play is Spotto, that eternal game of observation and speed. The premise is simple. Spot a yellow car on the road and the first person to call out 'Spotto' claims the point. The more yellow cars, the more points.
6. Eye Spy
The player who starts picks an object that everyone can see. The player gives the first letter of the object as a clue. For example, if the player chooses a fence, they say, 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with F'. Players take turns to call out guesses until someone gets the right answer
