Road trip games to keep you entertained
On the Road Again with Synergy Supreme+ 99
If you’re heading out on a road trip soon, Esso Synergy Supreme+ 99 is here for you. With our highest-octane level ever and an extra dose of beneficial additives compared to our regular fuel, it can help to improve your engine’s performance and help keep your engine clean and protected.
As for your in-car road trip entertainment, look no further, we’ve got you covered too.
Below you’ll find the instructions for the UK’s favourite car games* and Red Bull Racing Honda Formula 1 drivers Max and Sergio reminiscing about their favourite road trip memories.
The UK’s Favourite Car Games
I Spy
Esso recently commissioned a survey of 2000 participants to learn more about the UK’s road trip habits. The survey revealed that I Spy is the UK’s favourite car game (as chosen by a fifth of survey participants). A classic, its is brilliant for encouraging younger children to speak and engage, it’s still the preferred choice for older generations too!
How to play:
- Select who is the spy and who are the guessers.
- If you are the spy, you should silently choose an object that you can see, either inside or outside of the car, for example “clouds”. Think which letter your chosen object begins with? In this case its ‘c’.
- The spy starts the game by saying “I spy with my little eye something beginning with c”.
- The guessers take it in turns to guess the object that the spy can see. (Remember, the spy isn’t allowed to give any clues)
- Whoever guesses correctly then becomes the spy.
20 Questions
Another firm favourite. Slightly more challenging than I Spy, 20 questions can be adjusted to fit your road trip audience.
How to play:
- First, decide who will be the thinker.
- The thinker thinks of an object that can be categorised as either an animal, vegetable or mineral. The thinker starts by saying which category their mystery object belongs to. For example, “My object is a vegetable”
- The first guesser then asks a yes/no questions to learn more about the mystery object. For example, “is your object a root vegetable?”
- The thinker may only answer yes or no and must not provide additional hints.
- Players continue to ask yes/no questions, up to a total of 20 questions.
- The winner is the person who correctly guesses the mystery object.
- The winner becomes the next thinker and must think of the next mystery object for people to guess.
Modifications
To make the game harder, reduce the number of questions the guessers are allowed to ask.
Yellow Car
The rules are simple, and it’s a great game to keep younger children occupied on long journeys.
How to play:
The rules are simple, it’s every person for themselves!
Everyone must stay alert, scanning passing cars and driveways for yellow cars. The first person to see a yellow car and shout “YELLOW CAR” wins a point.
Keep a scorecard of who has won the most points by the end of your journey to decide the winner.
This game can become a battle of dedication and focus –those who stay alert will spot more yellow cars, than those passengers who decide to have a road trip snooze!
Make this game more complex by adding other categories for example other yellow objects, such as “yellow tractors” “yellow flowers”. Perhaps you could award a different number of points for different types of yellow object – get creative and make your own rules!
Pub Sign Cricket
A car game with a bit of a twist. This game requires careful concentration and a keen eye.
How to play:
Passengers take it in turn to “bat” – this means they look for pubs along the journey.
When the batter spots a pub, they can begin to accumulate runs.
A run (one point) for each physical leg possessed by the subject of the pub. For example, “The Swan” gets two runs whilst “The Black Horse” would get four.
If the pubs name is an object or concept, the player scores no points.
The batter is out if the pub name includes “arms” or “head” – for example “The Queens Head” – when this happens, it is the next players turn.
The game ends at the end of the car journey and the player with the most runs wins.
Other UK Favourites
Guess the song– Connect to your car’s Bluetooth and take it in turns to play the start of a song, the winner is the person who guesses the most song artist and titles the fastest.
Spot the animal – At the start of your journey make a list of animals to see on your journey, tick them off as you spot them, award points as you go, the winner is the person who spots the most from the list.
Number plate game – Spot the most unusual number plates, everyone keeps their eyes peeled for number plates that spell funny words, the person who spots the funniest numberplate wins!
The above games can easily be played by the passengers, but when driving it is important that the driver’s attention is not interrupted.
* Source: OnePoll. Favourite car games as voted for in a consumer survey of 2000 UK participants.
Use your Nectar points to get 5p off per litre on your next road trip at selected Esso branded service stations.
Simply fill up with a minimum of 10 litres, scan your card when you pay (or pay via the Esso App) and select the option to swap 300 Nectar points to get your 5p per litre discount. It couldn’t be simpler.