Travel games

[AgentMama]

Looking for suggestions for travel games. We seem to have all the tried and true games and are looking for something new (and/or unusual) to entertain the kids when we travel the upcoming Holidays. Appreciate any suggestions!

 

[Communicore1991]

How are you travelling? By car, plane? If by car I would recommend getting the license plate game (https://www.amazon.com/Bendon-License-Magnetic-Activity-50519/) and/or some sort of car themed bingo (https://www.amazon.com/Regal-Games-Original-Travel-Vacations/).

 

[JohnnyMay]

If you are not willing to buy anything in advance I'd suggest playing 'predicting what car is coming'. The game is pretty straightforward. You try to predict the color of the upcoming car, count points, and announce the winner in the future. Barcelona tour guide taught me that while we were on a car trip.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

You didn't mention any ages, so I'm just going to list a few of our favourites for a wide variety of ages. With more specifics, I could possibly provide other idea options.

We really enjoy Animals Tic Tac Twice. We have carried it with us for years when we travel with kids. It takes two to play. Tic Tac Twice is similar to Tic Tac Toe, but has a bit more strategy (though not too hard for kids), where you have to get four of your colour in a row. The game is in a CD case, so easy to travel with no matter what mode you are using.

A friend of mine always packed a baggie with cotton swabs that had been pre-moistened with water, and then let her kids do those "paint with water" books in her car because they were non-messy that way.

We have an Areaware Cubebot Micro (Black), which is a manipulative guy that can be puzzled into a cube, which gets a fair amount of play, plus it is tiny. My son also enjoys the Transformer-type robots, which are puzzle-like in their own way. The more moves to go from vehicle to robot and back, the greater the difficulty.

For kids who are able to read (as well as adults, not counting the driver!!!) Rubberneckers has been good.

Older kids and teens get a few Hanayama puzzles tossed in. There are different difficulty levels to choose from. They are slightly pricey at about $10 each, but are very good quality.

The Paint By Sticker for Kids series of books are good. (They make harder ones for older kids and adults).

 

[AgentMama]

14 and 15, but they enjoy most travel games. We have trips by plane and car coming up. They both like strategy games. Neither one particularly enjoys electronics while traveling, so it would be fun to having something new. Within reason, I don't think we really care about the cost.

 

[neverlandsky]

*Sing-along music playlists. Have teens also create a playlist to share.
*Great time to have conversations.
*I spy.
*Clues to guess what movie. Setting, characters, plot, etc.
*A blanket in the car for teens nap time.
*Teen approved drinks and snacks.

 

[RUDisney]

At 14 and 15, it's a great time to start exploring harder words with "The Minister's Cat." You can play that a few ways... You can play it going through each letter of the alphabet, or by a single letter and then deciding who used the best word, or until someone can't think of any adjectives that start with that letter. It can start preparing them for SATs and the longer, harder words that come with them without them knowing this.

To start, you say, "The Minister's Cat is a ___________ cat." You can fill in the blank with "abalone" and then the next person uses the same phrase and fills in the blank with another "a" word, or you can move to a "b" word, like "black cat." The kids will start to think of harder adjectives as the game moves forward, if everyone is trying to outdo the person before them.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

14 and 15, but they enjoy most travel games. We have trips by plane and car coming up. They both like strategy games. Neither one particularly enjoys electronics while traveling, so it would be fun to having something new. Within reason, I don't think we really care about the cost.

Okay, so possibly yes to the Rubberneckers activity, the Hanamaya puzzles, and adult sticker books if any of those things seem engaging to them. I would add consideration for other thinking/activity games like Kanoodle or Cat Stax.

Shotgun is another car challenge game in a card deck.

Editing the suggestion for mysteries to a book more like Two-Minute Mysteries, where even the driver can listen to the stories being read aloud and try to figure out the solution.

They could work on projects, knit, crochet, spool knit, or even friendship bracelets. (There are some really cool, slightly more complicated designs online, that might engage them more.)

There are packs of cards that you can use for conversation starters. One such pack are called "SO … Cards: A Collection of Questions for Deeper Discussions."

You might be able to find a podcast that everyone is interested in. We used to listen to audiobooks "back in the day," and as the kids got older, just adjusted what we listened to to suit their ages. Books like The Hobbit, or Lord of the Rings, or other ones for teens would be good.