23 Fun Road Trip Games for Adults That Make Car Travel Enjoyable

Spin a Story From the Past

Think of this as "Who can lie better?" One player begins by telling a story about their past, and players have to guess whether they're telling the truth or spinning a tale.

Each guesser gets two follow-up questions, and then it's time for an answer. Every correct answer is two points, and the first player to 10 wins. (The loser has to reveal a super-embarrassing story.)

Riff Off

While the traditional license plate game involves finding a plate from each of the 50 states (yawn), this competition involves finding a license plate with random letters and creating a word with those letters. For example, if the license plate is YMT23, the answer could be "Yosemite".

Think of it as Road Trip Scrabble, but instead of taking turns, just yell when you see one and come up with a word. Other players can challenge by creating a longer word with those same letters.

To up the stakes, stipulate that the letters must be in the exact order to make the word and can't be scrambled. Award two points for each winning answer and two extra points for anyone who spots a vanity plate. The winner is the first to reach 10 points.

Explain a Movie Plot Badly

This party game also works when you're trapped in a car. One player thinks of a movie and explains its plot in a way that is factual and terrible, and the other players have to guess.

The first player to guess correctly gets a point. If no one guesses correctly, the plot explainer gets a point. Our favorite: "Girl can't commit. Loses cat." (Yep, Breakfast at Tiffany's!)

Essentially the Same Movie

In another film-related game, a player starts by naming a movie. The next player has to name another movie that has the same basic plot. For example, Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful, or No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits.

Players continue to take turns naming flicks with essentially the same narrative until someone gets stumped—the last person to come up with a film that fits wins. Start with your favorite kid movies if you're having trouble thinking of movie plots.

Radio Roulette

This is essentially a road trip game of Name That Tune. Flip among radio stations until you hear a song (presets work best), and let it play for 15 seconds. Players are challenged to name that song and its artist, earning one point for each, with an extra point for naming its album. The first one to reach 15 points wins.

Mad Libs

You know Mad Libs, that hilarious word game that solicits nouns, adjectives, and verbs from players to create an imaginative narrative. If you plan ahead, you can access a free printable Funny Mad Libs For Adults to take with you on the road. (Don't forget to bring a pen!)

If you're not a fan of pre-technology, whip out a smartphone and play WordLibs online for free, with no app or downloads required. You can even create your own stories!

Fortunately, Unfortunately

To start this storytelling game, one player makes a declarative statement that begins with "Fortunately..." For example, "Fortunately, on this highway, we will soon pass a cool roadside attraction." The next player must follow up with an "unfortunately" statement such as "Unfortunately, the attraction is a giant booger."

The subsequent player must give a "fortunately" statement, and so on as you go from player to player. Switch from "fortunately" to "unfortunately" statements until everyone runs out of steam.

Snack the Rainbow

Along your road trip route, plan to stop at seven gas stations. At each station, find a snack that's a specific color of the rainbow. (Remember, it's ROYGBIV!) You can only get one snack item per gas station.

Famous Names

For this road trip game, someone starts by saying the first and last names of a famous person. The next player must name another famous person whose first name starts with the first letter of the previous celebrity's last name.

For example, Justin Bieber leads to Billy Crystal. Billy Crystal leads to Catherine O'Hara. Catherine O'Hara leads to Owen Wilson, and so on. If a player is stumped, they're out, and the group moves on to the next player.

Road Sign Alphabet Game

Each player must find a word on a road sign that starts with the letter A, then a word that starts with B, and so on through the alphabet. Once a player has claimed a word, the other players can't use that word. Whoever gets to the end of the alphabet first wins.

Road Trip Trivia

For each city you pass through on your trip, designate one person to be the "expert" about that city's population, industry, dining establishments, and anything it might be known for. The expert can use their smartphone, but guessers cannot.

As you pass through each city, the expert asks trivia questions that other players guess the answers to. Examples are, "How many people live in Scranton?" and "Which fast food restaurant does Cedar Key have five of?"

Road Trip Bingo

Road trip bingo is always a crowd-pleaser. Before you leave, you can create your own paper bingo cards or print road trip Bingo cards for free to distribute to each player.

If you make your own, consider a theme of fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, KFC), gas stations (BP, Shell, Texaco), or types of cars (Honda Civic, Subaru Outback, Toyota Tacoma). Whichever you choose, make sure there are enough markers or stickers for everyone to mark their cards.

Guess the Time

Look up which cities you'll be passing through on the way to your final destination, and have everyone in the car guess the exact time you'll arrive at each one. (The use of map apps are prohibited.) For example, what time does your car pass the sign that says "Entering Sacramento"? The player whose guess is the closest wins that round.

Categories

Someone chooses a category, such as movies, sweet treats, or flowers. The first player must name something in that category that starts with the letter A. The second player has the letter B, and so on.

For example, if the category is flowers, the first player might say "amaryllis." The second person might say "begonia." The third person might say "carnation," and so on. Be sure to choose the categories based on the players' knowledge base. (If no one in the car is interested in gardening, flowers might not be the best category.)

The Price is Right

Based on the TV game show, each player guesses the price for regular unleaded gas at the next gas station you see. Whoever gets the price to the nearest tenth gets a point. When it's time to stop for gas, the player with the least number of points buys snacks for everyone.

Guess the Song

For Guess the Song, one player sings or says lyrics to a song, and the other players must name the title of that song. Stating the lyrics in a monotone makes the game harder.

For example, someone says, "And he's long gone when he's next to me. And I realize the blame is on me." The winner is whoever correctly names the song's title, Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble."

Players must name the exact title. So, if a player says, "I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In," that answer is wrong, and someone else gets a chance to name the exact title.

Guess the Quote

One player looks up a famous quote on their smartphone and reads it to the other the players, who must name the person (or fictional character) who uttered it. The quote could be from a famous speech, like "Give me liberty or give me death!" (Patrick Henry) or a movie, like "There's no place like home," (Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz).

While You Were Sleeping

This is a group game to play when one or two passengers are taking a nap. While they're sleeping, the rest of the passengers work together to create a story about something the sleepers missed.

For example, you all spotted a famous person who was stopped by the side of the road with a flat tire. The celebrity lets you hold their dog, eat some of their delicious snacks, and so on. Storytellers collectively agree on the specific, weird details for optimal believability. Too bad you didn't take any photos!

Who's Most Likely to...?

For this fun road trip game, someone starts by asking the question, "Who in this car is most likely to...?" The other players have 3 seconds to name the person that fits the statement best.

Players take turns asking a new question. Here are some possibilities:

• Who is most likely to answer the phone at 3 am?
• Who is most likely to throw their friend a surprise party?
• Who is most likely to give you a nickname?

If you have trouble thinking up questions, visit teambuilding.com for a list of dozens of them that'll keep you asking and answering for miles.

Triple Threat

In Triple Threat, someone starts in the role of the judge by saying three random words, and each player has to tell a story using those three words. The player who thought up the best story, according to the judge, wins. The winner becomes the judge for the next round, offering the next trio of random words, and the game continues.

20 Questions

This classic guessing game easily adapts to a road trip. It starts with a player thinking of a person, place, or thing. The other players take turns asking yes-or-no questions to determine what they're thinking about.

Whoever guesses correctly gets a point, but if no one guesses after 20 questions, the originator gets a point. Make sure someone is keeping track of the number of questions.

Spot the Car

This road trip game is similar to I Spy and keeps everyone's eyes on the road. One player names a particular type of vehicle—like a double tractor-trailer, RV, or a Ram pickup—and players compete to be the first to see one and score a point. For a variation, consider non-vehicle items like signs or landscape items.

Scavenger Hunt

This activity works as well in a car as it does out of one and demands much less legwork. If you're a planner, create your own list ahead of time based on what you expect to see along your drive. If not, print out a generic list for free. Either way, make a copy for each player, and whoever has seen (checked off) the most list items wins.