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Games to Play When Stuck in Traffic

No one enjoys traffic jams but chances are you will run into at least one in your driving career. If you happen to hit backed-up traffic while you are alone in the car, the time can be used to listen to music and daydream. But, if you have other people in the car, crawling traffic can quickly turn into cranky, bored passengers. There are lots of different games you can play, however, to make the time move faster, even if you can't do the same for the traffic.

I Spy
- I Spy is a classic game that can be played with children as young as two or even adults. The person who is "It" says "I spy with my little eye" and then names one characteristic of an item he sees. For example, if you saw a cow, you could say 'I spy with my little eye something that is black and white." The other passengers take turns asking yes or no questions about the object until someone finally guesses what the object is. The person who guesses correctly gets to be it next.
ABC Game
- The ABC game is one that can be modified based on the ages of the passengers. If you have older children or adults in the car, everyone can play independently, but if you have younger children, have all the passengers be one team. The goal of the game is to find every letter of the alphabet, in order, on billboards, license plates and other signs along the road. Have each person yell out the letter and item, when one is found. If you are playing individually, once someone uses a word or item, it cannot be used again. The winner is the first person to finish the alphabet.
Acronym Game
- The acronym game is best played by older children or adults. For this game, choose a license plate on a car near you. Each person will come up with what the letters stand for, or the license plate's acronym. For example, if the letters on your chosen license plate were BLF, your acronym could be Broccoli Lovers Forever. The funniest or most creative acronym wins. Let the winner of each round choose the next license plate.
20 Questions
- To play 20 Questions, you need one person to be the answerer and the rest of the people to be the questioners. The answerer thinks of a person, place or thing and then the questioners ask questions to try and determine what the answerer has in mind. Once the questioners have asked 20 questions, they each have one last guess. If no one guesses the item correctly, the answerer wins. If someone correctly guesses, that person wins. The winner from the last round is the answerer in the next round.
Road Trivia
- In this game, one person chooses a letter of the alphabet, such as P. The other players then look out the windows, around the road, for items that begin with P. Examples could include pine tree, Prius or paint. Go around the car and have each player give an answer. No answer can be repeated. Once a player cannot give an answer, he is out. The final person left in the game is the winner.
Name That Tune
- Name that tune is another classic game that can be played in the car during traffic jams. Have one person be the band leader. That person chooses a song and begins to hum a verse or the chorus. The other players will yell out their guesses and the band leader stops humming once the correct answer has been given. If no one guesses the song after more than a minute of humming, the band leader is declared the winner and chooses a new song. If two people guess correctly at the same time, break the tie by having each player sing the lyrics. Whoever is closest with the correct lyrics wins.

Games