Family Games & Activities

Below you’ll find a list of games and activities to enjoy with younger children. We know time in the car isn’t always easy - so the majority of these are suitable to keep the little ones entertained on the road, or throughout the day!

Roadtrip Vlog 📹

This game turns the family into vloggers! The kids are armed with a camera and must document the trip and interview their parents. Make sure the kids are playing safely and not distracting the person who is driving. Perhaps conduct interviews at each stop, so you can review each place you visit and the goodies you collect!

Top tips:

  • As well as interviewing your subjects, a good vlogger also addresses the camera themselves.

  • Remember to record some of the scenery you pass by! 

  • Does anything happen during your day that you can report as breaking news? 

  • If the kids are a bit younger, one of the adults can help with the videoing

Suggested Interview Questions:

  1. What are you looking forward to most today?

  2. What is your favourite place to roadtrip too?

  3. What is the longest drive you have ever done?

  4. Will I be a better driver than you? 

  5. What did you think of the stop we just visited? 

The Name Game 🔥

The name game can be played with kids aged 6 and up.

The kids or parents must pick a category first, out of the following list: 

  1. Cities/Towns/Countries/States

  2. Animals

  3. TV Shows

  4. Food

Take it in turns to name something belonging to that category. When it’s your turn your answer must start with the last letter of the previous player’s word.

For example: 

Category: Animals

1st person says “Dog”, 2nd person says “Gorilla”, 3rd person says “Ant”, and so on. 

Make it extra hard!

Give each player a 20 second time limit to think of an answer. If they don’t answer OR they repeat an already used word, they are eliminated from the game. Keep playing until there is one person left and they are declared the winner.

Grow A Story 📖

A fun story telling game that gets kids thinking creatively, to create memorable stories.

Each passenger in the car must take turns to continue building on a story. See what funny twists and turns your story may take!

How to play:
The first player says one sentence to start a story, then the next player must follow it with another sentence to keep the story going. Keep taking it in turns until you come to the story’s end.

If you need some help getting started, try out some of AmazingCo’s story starter lines below: 

  1. A family was on a mystery picnic adventure then suddenly....

  2. On your way to school, something strange happens…

  3. After being stuck in the attic, I noticed…

  4. After a bad day in the lab, I mistakenly discovered a cure for…

  5. A dragon flying high in the sky began to descend on the village...  

  6. An alien stole my lunch and then…

  7. I heard a knock at the door…

  8. One day, my dog started talking and he said…

  9. I grew 10 inches every day and then…

  10. It’s the year 3000...

Number Plate Bingo 🚗

We recommend getting a pen and paper out or write notes on your phone to keep track.

This next game involves looking at passing number plates and practicing your spelling skills!
Someone in the group says an 8-10 letter word. Everyone keeps an eye on the number plates in passing traffic to see if they can spot some that contain any of the letters that make up the chosen word. 

Whenever a player sees a letter that is in the word, the person who chose the word can cross it off.  Keep playing until you find all the letters for the word. 

Eagle eyes at the ready!

Memory Game 🧺

One person in the family starts the game by saying “I’m going on a Mystery Picnic and I’m going to pack…” The second player must then repeat the phrase and add an item that they are going to pack. This is a test to see who has the best memory! 

For example:

Player 1: I’m going on a Mystery Picnic and I’m going to pack… a basket.

Player 2: I’m going on a Mystery Picnic and I’m going to pack… a basket and a water bottle.

Player 3: I’m going on a Mystery Picnic and I’m going to pack… a basket, a water bottle and a rug.

Player 1: I’m going on a Mystery Picnic and I’m going to pack...a basket, a water bottle, a rug and some cheese

The game keeps going until someone forgets an item!

Categories ABC 🔤

In this name game, the first player chooses a category and names something in that category that starts with the letter A. The next person names something in the same category beginning with the letter B, and so on, until you run out of answers or get to the end of the alphabet!


Example
Category: Famous Characters

A: Alice in Wonderland 

B: Bart Simpson 

C: Captain America

D: Darth Vader

Some other categories you could use depending on the age of the kids include:

  • Superheroes

  • Food (or more specifically fruit and vegetables)

  • Disney

  • Sports and Games 

  • Animals 

  • Clothes and accessories

What am I counting? ❓

This guessing game requires you to guess what someone is counting on the road. One person decides on an object (and keeps it a secret) and they count the thing out loud as they see it.

Example:

Dad could be thinking of red cars, so every time you pass a red car he counts out loud. 

Everyone else needs to guess what Dad is counting.

Miles of Waves 👋

As the family is driving down the road, wave and smile at as many people as possible. Count how many people wave back! Whoever has the most waves back by the end of the car journey is the winner!