Perhaps after you read the following article you may have a different perspective. Please share your ideas at the end with a few comments.
One of my favorite travel games is chess. Okay, it’s just one of my
favorite games, and I have three-ounce set with a cloth board, so I can
take it anywhere. The last time I used it was in the town center of a
small pueblo in the Andes Mountains. The games below are primarily car
travel games, but can be adapted to other forms of travel too. Have fun!
Educational Travel Games
Some
games get you thinking, learning something, or at least showing off
what you know. Here’s one for the family. Have the driver, or another
designated host, asks questions like “What temperature does water boil
at?” or “What’s the Capital of Columbia?” or “With sales tax of 7.6%,
what’s the total cost of a $23 sweater?” For the kids to love this one,
you may have to pay twenty-five cents for each right answer.
Another
car travel game starts with someone looking out the window and randomly
selecting an object. Players then try to imagine a creative way to make
money with it. Old barns become places to advertise, cows are rented
out for kids parties, and an house that is being moved becomes a
traveling discotheque.
“Red Car” Travel Games
Guess
how many red cars will pass in the next ten miles or ten minutes. It
can also be blue cars, trucks, or whatever everyone agrees to. It’s
considered bad form for the driver to slow down, letting more cars
pass, so his guess will be the closest.
One classic travel game
involves the alphabet. Try to spot something starting with an “a”, and
be the first to call it out (”apple tree!”). Since the Qs and Xes are
difficult, they can be skipped. The player with the most “firsts,” is
the winner.
Using the radio, you can have a game in which
everyone tries to be the first to call out the name of the artist when
a song starts. Then change the station, so you don’t have to wait
through a whole song to continue the contest. In one car radio game,
each player chooses a word. The player whose word is spoken (or sung)
first on the radio is the winner.
Here is one you can play
anywhere. Someone starts a story with a sentence or two, then each
person in turn adds a line to the story. It can get personal, but this
usually creates a story that has everyone laughing.
Try one of
these on your next trip, especially if you have a car full of kids.
They are easy, and unlike my chess game, you don’t need anything but a
few people to play these travel games.
Steve Gillman hit the
road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40,
he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. For travel
stories, tips and a free e-book, visit: http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com
About the Author: One of my favorite travel games is
chess. Okay, it’s just one of my favorite games, and I have three-ounce
set with a cloth board, so I can take it anywhere. The last time I used
it was in the town center of a small pueblo in the Andes Mountains. The
games below are primarily car travel games, but can be adapted to other
forms of travel too. Have fun!
Educational Travel Games
Some
games get you thinking, learning something, or at least showing off
what you know. Here’s one for the family. Have the driver, or another
designated host, asks questions like “What temperature does water boil
at?” or “What’s the Capital of Columbia?” or “With sales tax of 7.6%,
what’s the total cost of a $23 sweater?” For the kids to love this one,
you may have to pay twenty-five cents for each right answer.
Another
car travel game starts with someone looking out the window and randomly
selecting an object. Players then try to imagine a creative way to make
money with it. Old barns become places to advertise, cows are rented
out for kids parties, and an house that is being moved becomes a
traveling discotheque.
“Red Car” Travel Games
Guess
how many red cars will pass in the next ten miles or ten minutes. It
can also be blue cars, trucks, or whatever everyone agrees to. It’s
considered bad form for the driver to slow down, letting more cars
pass, so his guess will be the closest.
One classic travel game
involves the alphabet. Try to spot something starting with an “a”, and
be the first to call it out (”apple tree!”). Since the Qs and Xes are
difficult, they can be skipped. The player with the most “firsts,” is
the winner.
Using the radio, you can have a game in which
everyone tries to be the first to call out the name of the artist when
a song starts. Then change the station, so you don’t have to wait
through a whole song to continue the contest. In one car radio game,
each player chooses a word. The player whose word is spoken (or sung)
first on the radio is the winner.
Here is one you can play
anywhere. Someone starts a story with a sentence or two, then each
person in turn adds a line to the story. It can get personal, but this
usually creates a story that has everyone laughing.
Try one of
these on your next trip, especially if you have a car full of kids.
They are easy, and unlike my chess game, you don’t need anything but a
few people to play these travel games.
Steve Gillman hit the
road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40,
he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. For travel
stories, tips and a free e-book, visit: http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com
Technorati Tags: car travel games, kids travel games, travel scrabble game, travel games for children
