As a bonus rule, whoever guesses correctly gets to start the next round of the game. Take note of other players’ questions (and the responses) to make the best guess possible. Don’t repeat any questions, though.
To keep things interesting, multiple players can’t repeat the same word. For example, once someone calls the word “highway,” competitors have to find a different word that starts with “H. ” Words on license plates don’t count for this game.
For example, if it’s your turn and the letter is “D,” then you could pick the word “dog” and say something like, “A is for antelope, B is for bark, C is for centipede, and D is for dog. ” If you’re playing with little kids, you don’t have to go all the way to Z. Start small and see if they can play through M in the middle of the alphabet instead.
For example, if you said, “Britney Spears,” then the next person could say, “Sandra Bullock. ” If you name someone with the same first and last initial, like Harry Houdini, then the next celebrity’s first name should start with “H. ” For a similar game with a bit more variation, try saying an actor’s name. Then, the next player has to name a movie they’ve starred in, and the player after has to name another actor in that movie, and so on!
Try adding an extra rule and awarding bonus points to the first person who spots a Canadian license. This game is especially fun to play on days when a lot of people are traveling—around holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Labor Day, for example.
Say you’re asking movie questions. You might ask, “What is the name of Nicole Kidman’s character in Moulin Rouge?” or “Who was the only Lord of the Rings actor nominated for an Oscar?”
You might say, “I spy something green,” to reference a tree-covered mountain in the distance, or “I spy something blue,” while thinking of one of the player’s shoes. The trick here is to pick something that’ll be visible to players as they think, even if it’s outside the car. You don’t want to pick a billboard that the car then immediately passes!
You could start the story with something like, “Once upon a time, a young ostrich decided to pack up and see the world…” and let the other players build on that. If you’re worried about taking too long, you might limit the story to 15 minutes or give each player 3 turns (and therefore 3 sentences) to work with. Whether you want to keep the story realistic or toss the rules out the window is completely up to you. You’ll be amazed at all the different stories you can dream up!
Choose random nouns that might not seem related at first. For example, you might say, “book,” “crocodile,” and “parachute,” and let the kids craft a story from there.
While every result is different, most telephone games include some hilarious and muddled final responses.
As long as you’re confident there’ll be opportunities to spot it, you can choose pretty much anything for your list. For example, you might add things like a red billboard, a McDonald’s sign, or a horse pasture. Come up with a prize if they win! This could be as simple as buying ice cream at the next rest stop.
For example, if the first person sings, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you…” then you could chime in with, “You are my fire, the one desire, believe when I say, I want it that way!” For a simpler musical game, you could just play “Name the Song” and take turns singing a single song lyric. Everyone else must then try to guess either the song title, artist, or both.
Give each player a theme to choose from so their song selections are related—and pick a theme everyone can enjoy! For example, your theme might be “songs about traveling” or “rock songs from the 80s. ”
Try counting different animals depending on the region or landscape. Maybe the area you’re driving through is known for having lots of deer, buffalo, or eagles.
For example, a road trip bingo card might have things like “scenic view,” “traffic jam,” or “someone falls asleep” on them. Change up the different things that appear on your bingo sheets based on where you are (and where you’re driving). For example, a coastal trip might have “ocean vista” or “passing a beach” on it.
“Would you rather find true love or win the lottery?” “Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?” “Would you rather be able to speak any language or be able to communicate with animals?”
Person 1: “Fortunately, I’m about to see Yellowstone for the first time. ” Person 2: “Unfortunately, bears have taken over the park and really hiked up admission prices!” Person 3: “Fortunately, I think we can bribe them with a basket of fish. ” If someone stumbles or can’t think of something, they get a strike. Once a player has 3 strikes, they’re out. The last person standing wins!
For example, if the category was capital cities, you could say, “Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin…”
For example, if someone said “turkey,” other word associations that players might make include stuffing, Thanksgiving, cranberry sauce, cooking, and so on.
