The best car games for kids need no equipment, have rules a child can explain back to you, and can stop the moment the driver needs to concentrate. Here are twenty of them, sorted by age, with a note on which ones last and which are best kept short.
One rule first: the driver can join in with talking games, but never with anything that needs looking for. Spotting games are for passengers only.
Car games for ages 3 to 5
Little ones need games with one simple rule, lots of repetition, and no way to lose.
1. Colour I Spy
Instead of first letters, use colours: "I spy something red." Under-fives can play it long before they know their letters, and there's always something red on a motorway.
2. Animal noises
Someone makes an animal noise, everyone else guesses the animal. Then the guesser takes a turn. Let them invent animals; a "dinosaur cat" is fine.
3. Spot the lorry
Pick one thing that comes up every few minutes, like lorries, buses or tractors, and everyone shouts when they see one. Simple, loud, and over quickly, which is the point.
4. What's in the bag?
Describe something in your bag without naming it: "It's soft, it's round, and you can eat it." They guess. Then they describe something of theirs.
5. Sing-and-stop
Sing a song they know and stop on a word. They fill in the gap. Then they try it on you.
6. Teddy says
Like Simon Says, but only with hands and faces, so seatbelts stay on: "Teddy says touch your nose." If they have their teddy with them, let the teddy give the orders.
Car games for ages 5 to 7
This age can follow rules, take turns and start to enjoy a bit of challenge.
7. Classic I Spy
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with T." Allow things inside the car as well as outside, or the answer zooms past before anyone guesses.
8. The alphabet game
Find each letter of the alphabet in order, on signs, lorries and shop fronts. Play as a team rather than a race; Q and Z can take a very long time.
9. Twenty questions
One person thinks of an animal. Everyone else asks yes-or-no questions to work it out. For younger players, drop the limit and let them ask as many questions as they like.
10. Story chain
Each person adds one sentence to a story. "Once upon a time, a bear called Barnaby..." "...found a door in a tree..." It gets silly fast, which is half the fun. If a child gets stuck, ask them a question: "What was behind the door?"
11. Fortunately, unfortunately
A story chain with a twist. One person says something good ("Fortunately, we found a treasure map"), the next something bad ("Unfortunately, a goat ate it"). It's a gentle way to practise turn-taking.
12. Would you rather
"Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?" Everyone answers and says why. Keep a few ready, then let them write their own.
13. Counting cows
Each side of the car counts the cows on their side. Pass a church or a horse on your side and you get a bonus. Every family has its own rules; making them up is part of the game.
Car games for ages 7 to 10
Older children like games with a bit of strategy, wordplay or a chance to beat a grown-up.
14. Number plate sentences
Take the letters from a number plate and make a sentence. AB12 CDE could be "Angry bears can't dance easily." Funniest sentence wins.
15. Categories
Pick a category (animals, football teams, foods) and a letter. Take turns naming something that fits. If you can't think of one in five seconds, you're out of that round.
16. The last letter game
Name a place, an animal or a food. The next person names one beginning with the last letter of yours. "London" then "Newcastle" then "Edinburgh". Keep a list of used answers in your head.
17. Hum that tune
One person hums a song, the others guess. Harder than it sounds, and a good one for mixing ages: little ones can hum nursery rhymes.
18. Who am I?
Think of a famous person or a character from a book. Everyone else asks yes-or-no questions. A good one for family members to play against each other.
19. The minute game
Pick a topic. One person has to talk about it for a full minute without saying "um". It's surprisingly hard, and very funny to listen to.
20. Guess the distance
Pick a sign showing miles to a town. Everyone guesses how many minutes until you pass it, and the closest wins. A sneaky bit of maths that doesn't feel like it.
How to make car games last longer
- Stop before they're bored. End a game while it's still fun, and it'll work again later in the journey. Play it until everyone's fed up, and it's finished for the day.
- Save the best for later. Use the simplest games first and keep your strongest ones for the hard middle stretch.
- Let them lead. Children stay with a game much longer when they get to set the rules or be the one asking the questions.
- Mix talking and quiet. After twenty minutes of shouting about cows, everyone needs a calmer stretch.
When the games run out
On a long drive, games usually carry you through the first hour, and then everyone needs a break from taking turns. That's a good time for something they can just listen to. Our guide to planning a long car journey with kids has a sample plan for how to mix games, stops and stories across a whole day.
Stories work especially well after a game like Story chain, because children have just been making one up themselves. With Storee, they can hear a story where their own teddy is the hero, and you can even turn their silliest Story chain idea into a proper story by saying it out loud. See how it works.
Written by the Storee team with help from AI, and read by a person before it was published.
