Keep kids entertained on long car rides with these road trip games for kids! Get 17+ printable road trip games including scavenger hunts, bingo, license plate games & more.
You’re 30 minutes into an 8-hour drive. The snacks are already gone. Someone just announced they’re bored. And you’ve still got 7.5 hours to go.
Sound familiar? Every parent who’s ever attempted a road trip with kids knows exactly how this goes – and it’s exactly why I put together this ultimate bundle of road trip games for kids.
Whether you’re traveling with a toddler, a tween, or everyone in between, this post covers screen-free games you can play out loud, pen-and-paper classics, and — my personal favorite — a 20+ page printable road trip activity bundle you can print and grab right before you hit the road.
Planning your trip? You’ll also love these ideas: grab a printable travel journal for kids to document the adventure, or try these fun questions to ask kids in the car for great conversation on the road.
A Note from Amy
I’ve been doing road trips with my kids for years, and I know how fast the “I’m bored” complaints show up. I designed this bundle to have enough variety that kids can move from one activity to the next without burning through everything before you’ve hit the highway. The mix of window-watching games, strategy games, and paper-and-pencil classics keeps things fresh for hours – I’ve even caught myself playing along more than once.
Road Trip Games for Little Kids (Ages 3-6)
Little ones need simple, visual, and short games that can reset quickly when attention runs out. Here are the best options for your youngest passengers.
Color Car Hunt
Before you leave, write down a list of colors. Kids call out when they spot a car in each color. Works great as a printable tally sheet OR as a bingo style card with the different colors- both are included in the bundle!
What you need: Printable tally sheet (in the bundle) or just paper + pencil
Ages: 3+
I Spy
The classic. One player picks something they can see and says “I spy with my little eye, something that is [color].” Everyone else guesses. Simple, no-prep, endlessly repeatable.
What you need: Nothing
Ages: 3+
Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
Hand little ones a printed scavenger hunt with pictures (included in the bundle!) and let them search for items out the window – cows, barns, stop signs, water towers. The picture format means even non-readers can play.
What you need: Printable scavenger hunt sheets (in the bundle)
Ages: 3+ (picture version), 6+ (word version)
20 Questions (Simple Version)
Think of an animal. Kids ask yes/no questions to guess what it is. Keep it to simple categories like animals, food, or vehicles for younger kids.
What you need: Nothing
Ages: 4+
Road Trip Bingo
Give every passenger a unique bingo card and scan the scenery for matches – a fire truck, a billboard, a cow, a yellow car. First one to get five in a row wins! Multiple unique cards are included in the printable bundle so no two players have the same board.
What you need: Printable bingo cards (in the bundle)
Ages: 4+
Road Trip Games for Kids (Ages 7-10)
School-age kids can handle more strategy, longer attention spans, and paper-and-pencil games. These are the sweet spot for the 7–10 crowd.
License Plate Hunt
How many states can you spot before you reach your destination? Each player (or the whole family as a team) tracks license plates on the printable hunt sheet. Bonus challenge: try to get all 50 states!
What you need: Printable license plate tracking sheet (in the bundle)
Ages: 6+
Road Sign Hunt
How many different road signs can your kids identify? The printable road sign hunt sheet includes common signs kids can check off as they spot them — a great sneaky way to teach road safety, too.
What you need: Printable road sign sheet (in the bundle)
Ages: 6+
Dots (Dots and Boxes)
Two players take turns drawing a single horizontal or vertical line between two dots on a grid. When a player completes the fourth side of a box, they claim it with their initial. The player with the most boxes at the end wins. We played this for hours as kids — it’s deceptively strategic!
What you need: Printable dots grid (in the bundle) or paper + pencil
Ages: 6+
Tic Tac Toe
Simple, fast, and satisfying. The printable version in the bundle includes a grid of multiple games on one sheet so you’re not redrawing boards constantly.
What you need: Printable grid (in the bundle) or paper + pencil
Ages: 5+
Connect 4
A paper version of the classic drop-the-chip strategy game. Players alternate marking X or O in a grid, trying to get four in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally before the other player blocks them.
What you need: Printable Connect 4 grid (in the bundle)
Ages: 6+
Spot the Car Game
Older kids can tell the difference between different car brands like Ford, Chevy, etc. so this more challenging scavenger hunt game is perfect for them! And it will take longer to complete because it’s a bit more difficult, which means fewer times you hear “Are we there yet?”.
What you need: Printable car scavenger hunt (in the bundle)
Ages: 8+
Alphabet Sign Game
This easy road trip game for kids was another one of my favorites growing up. It’s fun to play, and it’s GREAT for elementary aged kids that are familiar with the letters of the alphabet. This is another game to play in the car that doesn’t require a road trip printable or pen and paper.
Here’s how to play the Alphabet Sign Game:
- Everyone starts at the letter “A”. All players look out the window for a billboard or street sign that has the letter “A” on it.
- Once someone finds the letter “A”, he or she points it out to the rest of the car riders, and then moves on to letter “B”.
- Each sign can only be counted for ONE player, so if Lucy finds the letter “A” in a Subway sign, then no one else can use a letter from that sign.
- The person to get through the entire alphabet first wins!
What you need: Nothing (or use a tally sheet included in the printable bundle)
Ages: 6+
Alphabet License Plate Game
The Alphabet License Plate Game is played the exact same way as the sign game above, except that instead of looking for the letters on billboards, you look for letters on license plates.
So everyone starts by looking for letter “A” in a license plate number (not the state). Each license plate can only be used by one player, or you can omit that rule to make the game easier for younger kids.
Road Trip Games for Tweens & Teens (Ages 10+)
Older kids need a little more challenge and a little less “let’s all sing together.” These games keep tweens and teens actually engaged.
20 Questions
A classic that gets better with age. One player thinks of any person, place, or thing. Everyone else gets 20 yes/no questions to figure it out. Encourage tricky categories like famous historical figures or obscure movie characters.
What you need: Nothing
Would You Rather
Take turns posing ridiculous Would You Rather questions and let the debates begin. “Would you rather have to narrate everything you do out loud, or speak only in questions?” These are great for sparking actual conversations on long drives.
What you need: Nothing – or you can print my “Would Your Rather?” question cards for kids here!
Name That Tune
Play the first 10 seconds of a song and see who can name it first. Kids vs. parents brackets are always entertaining.
What you need: Bluetooth speaker and a music streaming app like Spotify to be able to select songs
What to Pack for Road Trip Games
You don’t need a Pinterest-worthy activity box. Here’s the short list of what actually makes printed games work in a moving car:
- One clipboard per kid – this is non-negotiable. Writing on your lap on floppy paper in a moving car is frustrating. A clipboard makes everything doable. Grab them at the dollar store.
- Pencils + a small sharpener – pencils over pens for games like dots and connect 4 because kids will want to erase mistakes.
- Dry-erase sleeves + markers – slide your printed pages in and kids can reuse them. Wipe clean, play again.
- A small pencil pouch – keeps everything contained and findable.
- The printable activity bundle – 20+ pages ready to print and go. No searching, no cutting, no laminating required. Get the printable road trip games here!
Ready to Hit the Road?
Road trips with kids don’t have to be a survival mission. With the right games in your bag, the drive can actually be part of the adventure.
Grab the Road Trip Activity Bundle — 20+ pages of printable road trip games including color car hunt, scavenger hunt, license plate hunt, road sign hunt, bingo, tic tac toe, dots, Connect 4, and more. Print it tonight. Pack it tomorrow. Enjoy the drive.
You’ll Love This!
Printable Road Trip Games Bundle
Packed full of 17 different games designed for all ages with bright colors and fun designs to keep kids engaged!
Want more road trip fun? Don’t forget to grab a printable travel journal for kids to document every mile, and bookmark these fun questions to ask kids for the drive home.
What are your favorite road trip games for kids to play in the car? How do you keep your little ones entertained when the iPad just doesn’t cut it anymore? Leave me a comment down below!
And don’t forget to PIN this post for when you’re prepping for your next car ride!
