Car rides have a reputation for not being any fun, especially if the car rides are more than four hours. But I am about to break the pattern! I have put together a list of some things you can do in the car for long periods of time. Some of the games you can play with two people and others you can include a van packed full. Depending on the competitive nature of the family, you can decide whether you want to keep score or not.

1. Name that tune.

Plug in your aux card (or Bluetooth in those fancy cars) and shuffle the songs. Once a person guesses the song move on to the next one!

2. Color cars

Everyone picks a car color and they count the number of cars they see of their color. The person who finds X number of cars first wins!

3. Slug Bug

When a Volkswagen Beatle passes, you LIGHTLY tap the person next to you. WARNING: This game may be dangerous depending on who you play with! For example, I refuse to play with my brother because he likes to hit hard!

4. Remembering Alphabet Game

This is a game all about testing your memory. A person starts by saying, “I’m going to an island and I’m going to bring an apple.” Then the next person says, “I’m going to an island and I’m going to bring an apple and a beach towel.” Then another person says, “I’m going to an island and I’m going to bring an apple, a beach towel, a chair.” This goes all the way through the alphabet. Here comes the competitiveness, you can either help the person out if they forget an item, or you can kick them off and the last person standing wins!

5. 20 Questions

Someone thinks of a person, place, or thing and the remaining people in the car have to ask them 20 questions to try and figure out who they are thinking of. See how many people you can stump!

6. License Place Game

While you’re on the road, try and find as many license plates from different states as possible! Depending on how long the road trip is, you may find all 50!!

7. The Alphabet Game

This requires you to be very aware of your surroundings! Look at billboards, license plates, signs, etc. The first person to get through the alphabet wins! The word does not have to start with the letter for the word to count. However, two people cannot use the same word for the same letter. It is a very quick game until you get to X,Y,Z!!!

8. Mad Libs

You will have to shell out $5.00 or so for this game, but it’s hard to put a price on humor and entertainment. Mad Libs are an awesome way to come up with creative and funny stories for the whole family to laugh! Who knows, you may even start a family inside joke!

9. Tic-Tac-Toe

Depending on your parents this may not be the best option! But hey, it’s different! Bring some dry erase markers on the trip and play Tic-Tac-Toe on the windows of the car. It makes you feel a little rebellious without doing something to damage the car! Maybe you can even write nice notes to drivers passing by, or possibly even "(Destination) or Bust!”

10. The Category Alphabet Game

Someone comes up with a category for the car to go through the alphabet with! For example, the category fruits. One person starts with A, and the next B, and so on and so forth. The best part about this game is that you don’t have to remember what the person said ahead of you. You can come up with so many different categories for this game! Fruits, Veggies, Movie Titles, Names, Countries, Cars (makes and model), etc.

These are just some of the many games that you can play with the family to keep your brains working and make the car ride go just a little faster. Of course, there is always listening to music or reading a book, but why not expand your brain for a little bit! Actually talk with your family, WHAAAA! I know it’s hard to believe, but you can have a lot of fun!

If you have any other car games, feel free to comment below. That way my family and me can play during our next road trip!

Good luck on the journey ahead!