Car games
Road trip story games, for the long way round.
Story games are perfect for the car. They need no kit, they work in any weather and they last for miles. Everyone can join in, including the driver, because the whole game is spoken.
Below are seven car story games, then a stack of road-trip opening lines, secret words and twists you can read out from the passenger seat.
Safety first. The driver only talks. A passenger reads the lines, keeps score or holds the phone. If you use Taletoss, it is a passenger’s game: pass the phone along the back seat.
Seven story games for the car
Car story chain
Go round the car, one sentence each. Clockwise from the driver works well, so the driver always knows when it is their turn.
Start with “Are we there yet?” asked a small voice from the back seat. The trouble was, nobody was sitting in the back seat.
Spot it, use it
Before your sentence, look out of the window. The first thing you see has to appear in your line: a cow, a lorry, a castle, a sign. The story ends up as a map of your trip.
Start with A scarecrow stood by the side of the road, holding a cardboard sign that said “Anywhere but here.”
Fortunately, unfortunately
Good news and bad news take turns. “Fortunately, we found a service station. Unfortunately, it was shaped like a giant teapot.” It works for all ages and needs no thinking time. Starters.
Start with At 6:14 a.m., Dad announced a “quick shortcut.”
Secret passenger word
A passenger whispers a secret word to each player. Sneak it into your next sentence. At the end, everyone guesses each other’s words.
Start with Try: motel, seatbelt, traffic jam, milkshake, tollbooth, crocodile.
One word each
One word per person, as fast as you can. Great for the last half hour when everyone is tired and silly.
Start with The… car… started… to…
Twist cards
Play a story chain. Every few miles, a passenger reads out a twist from the list below, and the next line has to deal with it.
Start with The sat-nav develops a very strong opinion.
Postcard ending
When you arrive, each person says the story’s last line as a postcard home. Vote on the best one before you get out of the car.
Start with Postcard found in the glovebox: “If you’re reading this, you’re already on the wrong road. Keep going.”
Road-trip opening lines
These come from the Road Trip deck in Taletoss. Read one out to start any of the games above.
- “Are we there yet?” asked a small voice from the back seat. The trouble was, nobody was sitting in the back seat.
- The sign said “Last Fuel for 300 Miles.” The next one said “Seriously. Last Chance. We Mean It.”
- At 6:14 a.m., Dad announced a “quick shortcut.” By lunchtime we had driven right off the edge of the map.
- The motel key was shaped like a fish, and the number on our door was 7½.
- Halfway across the desert, the car radio started taking requests, but it would only play songs about llamas.
- The world’s largest rubber duck was just twelve miles away, and Aiyana said we would never forgive ourselves if we missed it.
- In the corner of our old map was a tiny town called Nowhere-in-Particular. Nobody had ever been there. Until today.
- The sat-nav said “Turn left,” then “Turn right,” then, very quietly, “I’m not sure I want to go there.”
- We stopped for a picnic, and when we came back to the car, someone had very neatly painted it purple.
- A scarecrow stood by the side of the road, holding a cardboard sign that said “Anywhere but here.”
- Rule one of every family road trip: nobody touches the cooler. Kofi had just touched the cooler.
- Somewhere around mile 400, we noticed the caravan was no longer behind us. It was in front of us.
Secret words for the car
Half are things you might see on the way. Half are not, which is what makes them hard to hide.
- map
- motel
- suitcase
- sandwich
- sunglasses
- seatbelt
- traffic jam
- postcard
- cooler
- campfire
- souvenir
- compass
- billboard
- tent
- snacks
- detour
- caravan
- tollbooth
- pothole
- milkshake
- radio
- headlights
- octopus
- trombone
- wizard
- igloo
- ballerina
- crocodile
- spaghetti
- chandelier
- unicorn
- porridge
- astronaut
- pyjamas
- yo-yo
- bagpipes
Twists to call out
- Take a wrong turn. On purpose.
- Someone urgently needs a toilet break.
- The sat-nav develops a very strong opinion.
- A roadside sign gives oddly personal advice.
- The snacks run out. Panic sets in.
- Pick up an unusual passenger. It is not a person.
- The car makes a noise it has never made before.
- Stop to visit the world’s largest something.
- A traffic jam, caused by something ridiculous.
- Someone in the back seat starts a sing-along.
- The map blows out of the window.
- You arrive somewhere. It is not where you meant to go.
Endings, for when you can see your exit
- Wrap it up: you finally arrive. Was it worth it?
- End with someone asking, “Are we there yet?”
- Finish with the best souvenir of the whole trip.
- End with the car pulling into home, sweet home.
- Wrap it up with a photo everyone will keep forever.
- End by revealing where you were heading all along.
Tips for long drives
- Play in short bursts. Ten minutes of story, then music or quiet, then another round.
- Let the youngest start. It gives them a head start and the story a silly first line.
- Car sickness? Spoken games are better than reading or screens for most people.
- Keep a note of the best line from each day. It makes a fun holiday diary.
Questions
What games can you play in the car without a phone?
All the story games on this page work with voices only: story chain, spot it use it, fortunately unfortunately, secret words and one word each. A passenger can read out the opening lines and twists from this page before you set off, or print it.
Which car games suit older kids and teenagers?
Give them harder rules: every word starts with the same letter, the line must be exactly seven words, or the genre switches to a nature documentary. Secret words that do not fit the trip, like “chandelier” or “bagpipes”, also make it harder.
Can the driver play?
Yes, as long as the driver only talks. Spoken story games need no hands and no eyes off the road. Phone games are for passengers only.
Does Taletoss work without a signal?
Yes. Open it once with a connection and your browser saves it, then it works offline. The read-aloud uses your device’s own voices.