Traveling for long periods can be exhausting for kids and adults alike. However, playing some games is the perfect way to recharge your brain, kill time, and have staggering amounts of fun at the same time.
Are you embarking on a road trip with your family to explore the countryside, or perhaps dreading surviving a long-haul flight with your children? Undoubtedly you are worried about how to fill in those hours and keep your kids entertained throughout before the inevitable whining starts and "are we there yet?" questions begin. Traveling always seems to be an exciting adventure, until you set off on the journey. While the first couple of hours are always enthralling, anything beyond that and many people begin to get agitated, especially kids.
Let’s face it! Long journeys can get quite dull; however, planning out some good old games can turn a boring road trip into a fun-filled experience where you laugh out loud and make some fun new memories together. After all, playing some interactive games is a fantastic way to engage yourself and your kids' developing minds and an activity far better than staring passively at a tablet or phone screen.
Here are our six favorite games appropriate for all ages that you must give a shot that will turn the boredom into fun and make time fly by, and help make the most of your travel adventure.
Scrabble
Yes, we know! The standard Scrabble board game is probably not the brightest idea for a road trip or perhaps a plane ride. After all, it only takes is one little bump in the road and there go your tiles. But there is a way around this. Using a portable, travel Scrabble set instead enables you to play this memory stimulant game while on the plane, train or, road trip across the country. Having the same rules as Classic Scrabble, it has interlocking tiles grids or a raised-letter grid that secure the tiles from falling off the board due to turbulence or bumps.
Playing Scrabble offers many emotional, intellectual, and social benefits. If you are a Scrabble enthusiast, you must have come across challenging letter combinations that make you pull your hair out. You may want to check out word unscrambler, an excellent way to unscramble the most challenging letter combinations and create words out of them that will blow your mind. It is a good way to up your game and show off your vowel-free vocabulary to your friends and leave them astonished.
UNO
Compact enough for your travel bag and easy to pick up for everyone, UNO is a family-friendly and endlessly competitive card game. The goal is simple. You want to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. Take advantage of valuable cards like Skips, Reverses, Draw-4s, and color-changing Wild Cards to increase your chances of emerging victorious. While it may seem simple, there is more to playing UNO than that, and you will need to need to put on your strategic thinking cap as the game develops. Played in short, fast-moving rounds, it is a well-loved classic for all ages and for all the right reasons. The perfect game to play for kids from the age of 6 or 7, and adults, do not forget to shout “UNO” just as you are left with your last card in this popular card game.
Image by andibanane from Pixabay
Monopoly Deal
You can not carry the traditional monopoly in a car or on a plane, as it is simply not practical. However, this fast-paced card version of the game enables you to enjoy one of the most iconic board games ever made wherever you are. Enjoyable and easy to learn for kids above 8, the quick-playing card game is similar to the original game where players collect sets of properties and use action cards to earn money by charging rent, making tricky deals, and much more. To win, be the first to collect three complete property card sets in different colors in as little as 15 minutes. To view the complete rules of this game, click here.
Connect 4
Connect 4 is another perfectly sized game to take on your travels. One of the best travel games, the goal is to connect a row of four matching checkers to win. You may do that vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. While you are trying to connect your four checkers, so will be your opponent. They will also aim to block your attempts at the same time, making for exciting gameplay. A fun game for the whole family, Connect 4 is well suited for kids aged six and up and adults.
The Number Plate Game
A true classic and a road trip staple for many American families, the goal is to spot as many license number plates registered to different states or countries while driving. Players pen down the license plates they have covered on paper in a given time limit. They are awarded one point for each number plate spotted, and the player with number plates from all the US states, or at least most of them, emerges victorious. Level the game up a notch by awarding additional points to those who can name the capital city of that state. The game may have an educational element as it is a brilliant opportunity to teach your kids about the USA's geography.
20 Questions
Not everyone can sleep soundly while traveling on a long journey. Our last suggestion for an interesting game to keep you occupied and kills time simultaneously is 20 Questions. A classic guessing game played for decades that never gets dull, the game involves choosing something, literally anything, and giving the category to which it belongs. That could be anything like a famous person, animals, countries, and even types of food. Then, the other person may ask up to 20 questions and try to guess what it is. Sounds simple, right? But the fact that you may only ask questions with a “yes” or “no” answer makes this fun-filled game a surprisingly tricky one. Award a point for each correctly guessed answer while also giving extra points for every additional question a player did not ask.
Traveling for long periods can be exhausting for kids and adults alike. However, playing some games is the perfect way to recharge your brain, kill time, and have staggering amounts of fun at the same time. If you are traveling as a family, then packing some travel games with you can help keep your children entertained and engaged throughout, all while making some fond memories.
Main photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
