6 Ready-to-Go Games for Family Travel

We all need ready-to-go games when we’re out and about with kids. You never know when you might need them: an unexpectedly long line, a canceled flight, or stuck in traffic. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite no cost, no stuff needed games for families on-the-go: 

Alphabet Game

You can play this game anywhere but it’s especially fun when you’re on the move. Each player tries to spot at least one thing that starts with each letter of the alphabet – in order. For the letter A you could find an airplane, apple, or animal. The challenge is that you must find something for each letter of the alphabet before moving onto the next letter. So you might pass a zoo which would be perfect for the tricky letter “Z,” but you can’t use it yet if you’re only on the letter “G.” You can also try the version of the game where you have to find a written word that begins with each letter on signs or written material.

Rainbow Game: Remember ROYGBIV? It’s the colors of the rainbow in order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Going in rainbow color order, find something of each color (don’t worry, you can skip the indigo if it’s tricky for little ones). For an extra challenge, find three things of each color or go backwards in color order.

Number Game

Each player must find numbers in order 0-9. On a road trip? Look at street signs, license plates, or the car’s dashboard. At the airport? Search for numbers in prices at stores, flight information displays, or even your boarding pass. Then go in reverse order back to zero.

Guess My Animal

Think of an animal you know a lot about. Give two clues about the mystery animal and then let others make guesses. If they don’t get it, give another clue and let others guess again. Continue giving clues until someone guesses the animal. Talk with your kids about different kinds of information you can give as clues: where the animal lives, size, what they eat, how they get around, speed, and characteristics such as color, fur/feathers/fins, how many legs, or other special features. Younger kids can team up with someone older or simply switch it up so the other players have to ask questions about the mystery animal.

Ink Pink

Each player comes up with a pair of words that rhyme. Let’s use “Fat Cat” and “Glad Dad” as examples. These are the mystery words that everyone will try to guess (careful not to spill the beans). The player will then give synonyms for each word as clues, such as “Chubby Kitty” or “Happy Father.” Tell the other players if the mystery words are “Ink Pink” (one-syllable words), “Inky Pinky” (two-syllable words), or “Inkity Pinkity” (three-syllable words). The other players then try to guess the mystery words. This game can be fairly simple like the examples given here or quite complex (Try to solve this Inkity Pinkity: jam midriff). Make sure you come up with words that are actual synonyms and not just related words. Kids can check in with a non-playing adult to make sure.

Certain letters are really tricky like Q, Y, U, Z, and for some reason the letter I (who knew?). But have no fear, just get creative! It’s also helpful to have certain ideas in your back pocket in case kids need a hint or a little support. “Q” can be for “question,” (the hints for this can be really fun), “Y” can be for “yellow,” “Z” can be for “zipper,” “I” can be for “ice” (look for an ice cooler at gas stations if you’re on the road!), and of course, kids love to use “underwear” for the letter “U”!      

I Spy

Decide who goes first as the “spy.” The spy picks an object that everyone can see and gives a clue starting with the phrase: “I spy with my little eye something…” The clue can be the color, the first letter, shape, textures, or another characteristic. The other players take turns trying to guess what it is. The person who guesses correctly becomes the next spy. If you play this game in a moving vehicle, make sure to choose an object that will stay in sight until it is guessed.

You can also challenge kids to create their own game. It just might become a family favorite!