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Long Drives VS Short Attention Spans
Games to play with kids on journeys
There is no better way to pass time on a long tiresome car journey than with some tried and tested car games. Long-distance driving can be boring and draining for everyone, but children in particular will feel the effects of a lengthy and potentially boring drive. With a little preparation, a little imagination, and a great selection of games that are ideal for playing while on long car journeys with children. If you haven’t already read our tips for keeping the kids – and yourself – sane and comfortable on long journeys, you can read it here…Here are five great games to while away the hours on gigantic journeys…
A is for…:
It’s an oldy but a goody – this game is a classic and should definitely kill a tedious hour or two of your trip. It’s a simple one, easy for kids of all ages, and most importantly it’s not likely to irritate the driver too much! Here’s the idea – starting with A, each passenger in the car has to attempt to spot and name three things beginning with that letter. The winner gets to select the next letter to be spotted, and it’s a good idea to keep points so that the overall winner can be awarded with a treat!
Twenty Questions:
Another reliable old chestnut, Twenty Questions is a great game for car journeys whether there are kids around or not! It has the capacity to last for ages, and the possibility of being really mind-boggling and often quite funny. One person thinks of something, anything, and states whether they are ‘animal’, ‘vegetable’ or ‘mineral’ (or person/place/thing). The rest of the players get to ask questions about what the person is, but they must be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ only. The players are allowed unlimited yes answers, but only twenty no’s. The first person to guess correctly gets to think of the next thing. Ok, sometimes the ‘twenty no’s’ rule goes out the window, but either way it’s a great game!
Cow Count:
This can be played as teams or by individuals (although team games can be more fun). The game is as simple as it sounds – you count cows. Get into your teams, and having decided on a destination to stop counting, start to count the cows on your side of the road. The goal is to have the highest number of cows by the time you reach your destination. Pick a penalty too – something along the lines of a cemetery or playground, that if you pass by on your side deletes your count back to zero. If there aren’t enough cows on your route, pick anything – mailboxes, phone-booths, yellow cars, or at Christmas time, decorated trees. Maybe the winner could choose where you take your next pit-stop, or what game is played next.
Geogralphabet:
To play this, start with any place in the world (beginning with A is a good way to start the game off). In a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, players must think of a place-name that begins with the last letter of the previous place chosen. Got it? Ok, so if the first place picked is Albuquerque, then the next could be England. After England could be Dresden, and so on…. It has to be a real place (although some leniency could be granted to kids who suggest ‘heaven’ or ‘Neverneverland’ or some such sweet suggestion!), and each place may only be used once in one game. This game can be adapted, for example use food items or famous people.
Two Trumps:
In my humble opinion, top trumps may just be one of the greatest games known to man! Having experienced a kind of renaissance in recent years, top trumps card sets based on a massive selection of cartoons, sports, films, cars and much more can now be bought. They are small and lightweight, making them ideal for car journeys, and are less likely to cause arguments than some regular card games (“YOU NEVER SHOUTED SNAP!”….). Invest in a pack for each child, let them choose their own favourite set, and, all going well, they will play away amongst themselves in the back seat.
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