Games you can play in the car! Fun activities to liven up drives and traffic jams
“I want to make boring time in the car fun!” If you’re looking for ideas to make that wish come true, you’re not alone.
In fact, there are plenty of games you can enjoy in the car with family and friends.
In this article, we’ll introduce ideas for car games that turn travel time into something exciting.
From license-plate math games and the classic word-chain game to music-based challenges.
With games that everyone can enjoy together, even traffic jams and long drives can turn into fun memories! Be sure to try them on your next trip!
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Games you can play in the car! Fun activities for road trips and traffic jams (1–10)
Intro Quiz
The intro quiz, a staple on TV quiz shows, is easy to run as long as you can play music.
You just play a song from the beginning, and the person who answers correctly the fastest gets a point—simple rules that are appealing.
It’s also fun to choose songs that suit the questions, like tracks that start with vocals or have distinctive intros.
Since for big hits the chorus is often more famous than the intro, you might even make new discoveries through the quiz.
Who am I?
One person pretends to be a designated something, and the others ask that person questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no.” By repeating questions, the group works out what the person is pretending to be.
Since it’s basically a conversation-only game, it can be enjoyed without issues even in small spaces or environments where it’s hard to see facial expressions.
You narrow the scope step by step from simple questions, gradually getting closer to the true identity—this sense of progression is fun.
It’s enjoyable both to guess the answer and to think up good questions along the way.
No-Katakana Game
This is a project that adds restrictions to everyday conversation and turns the inconvenience into a game.
Since katakana words are blended into everyday speech, even simple conversations become difficult once you’re consciously avoiding them.
It’s just a game that adds a twist to normal conversation, so as long as you’re in a place where you can speak, it’s easy to play.
It might run more smoothly if you set detailed rules in advance—like setting a time limit, deciding which words are banned, or imposing a penalty if someone doesn’t participate for a certain period.
If you make the person who says the most katakana within the time limit do a forfeit, you can enjoy the game without interrupting the flow of conversation.
Games you can play in the car! Fun activities for drives and traffic jams (11–20)
Theme-restricted shiritori
Shiritori is a word game where you take the last letter of a word and say a new word that starts with it.
This game adds rules to that classic version everyone’s played.
Before starting, you set a theme, and you can only say words related to that theme—simple as that.
You can enjoy an easy rally with a clear theme like country names, or set a harder theme and have everyone puzzle over it until an answer comes up.
It’s a game you’ll want to enjoy including the process of discussing and deciding the theme.
Character-Count Shiritori
Shiritori is a game where you take the last character of the previous person’s word, say a new word that starts with that character, and repeat the process.
Because it has simple rules and everyone knows it, there are many possible variations.
Even just adding a limit on the number of characters makes it more challenging.
If you want to enjoy keeping the rally going, you can specify a small number of characters; if you want to emphasize difficulty, you can set a larger number—there are many patterns to try.
It could be even more fun if you add an element of luck, such as deciding the number of characters with a die.
Games of all ages and places
The ‘Kokon Tozai Game,’ also known as the Yamanote Line Game, is a classic party game often played in large groups.
A theme is given, and players take turns naming words that fit the theme in time with a rhythm—simple as that.
Anyone who fails to answer in rhythm or repeats something that’s already been said loses.
It’s commonly used to decide a loser, and giving the loser a penalty is a standard twist.
Themes are usually broad and easy to understand, and part of the fun lies in the shrinking pool of remaining answers—making it a game that blends knowledge and tactical play.
A game where you guess the song title from the lyrics
People listen to music and focus on different things—some enjoy the sound more than the lyrics.
By creating quizzes that ask players to guess the song from its lyrics, you might deepen both understanding and affection for the music.
You can prepare the lyrics in advance, or look them up on the spot to make questions.
Choosing which part of the lyrics to read out is also where the quizmaster can show their skill; selecting the chorus, the opening lines, or other sections changes the difficulty, which is part of the fun.