Probably the best known traditional travel game which has been played for generations and can be enjoyed by all age groups is “I spy”. It has the advantage that no extraneous materials are needed, and is simple to play almost anywhere. The players take it in turns to choose and object that can be seen. If you are traveling in a car or bus, the object should be able to be seen for the duration of the turn. The magic words are “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with…..” and the first letter of the object is then supplied. The other players must guess the object - simple, yet surprisingly engrossing.
Another traditional travel game is “Countries”. The first player names a country and the next person must then name a country starting with the last letter of the previous country, for example, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, etc. To make it easier, names of towns and cities can be included, or even the names of animals substituted, depending one the ages and general knowledge of the players.
There are also many travel games which need nothing more than paper and pencil. Noughts and Crosses is easily played even over bumpy terrain, while Hangman is an old favourite. Another fun and easy tactical game is “Squares”. A grid of dots is drawn (the size and dimensions are up to the player) then players take it in turns to join the dots vertically or horizontally, one line at a time. Whoever draws the final line to create a square writes his or her initials in it, and the player with the most squares at the end of the game is the winner.
A length of string can be used to play many versions of Cat’s Cradle, and if you’ve finished playing all those, a family sing along can help to pass the time. Songs with many easily remembered verses, such as Ten Green Bottles or There was an Old Woman work well, and if you are really stuck for words, there’s always The Song That Never Ends. It goes like this:
This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because... This is the song that never ends….etc.
You get the idea.
Another traditional travel game is “Countries”. The first player names a country and the next person must then name a country starting with the last letter of the previous country, for example, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, etc. To make it easier, names of towns and cities can be included, or even the names of animals substituted, depending one the ages and general knowledge of the players.
There are also many travel games which need nothing more than paper and pencil. Noughts and Crosses is easily played even over bumpy terrain, while Hangman is an old favourite. Another fun and easy tactical game is “Squares”. A grid of dots is drawn (the size and dimensions are up to the player) then players take it in turns to join the dots vertically or horizontally, one line at a time. Whoever draws the final line to create a square writes his or her initials in it, and the player with the most squares at the end of the game is the winner.
A length of string can be used to play many versions of Cat’s Cradle, and if you’ve finished playing all those, a family sing along can help to pass the time. Songs with many easily remembered verses, such as Ten Green Bottles or There was an Old Woman work well, and if you are really stuck for words, there’s always The Song That Never Ends. It goes like this:
This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because... This is the song that never ends….etc.
You get the idea.