14 Classic Car Games Kids Don’t Play on Road Trips Anymore
These forgotten car games once made long drives fun, creative, and interactive for kids growing up before smartphones.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
Before backseat screens and digital entertainment took over, car games were a rite of passage for road-tripping families. These analog diversions sparked imagination, sibling rivalry, and sometimes outright chaos — but they helped pass the time without Wi-Fi. While some of these games survive in nostalgic memory, most have quietly rolled off into the rearview mirror of childhood.
1. Punch Buggy
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This game involved spotting a Volkswagen Beetle and punching your sibling on the arm while shouting “Punch buggy!” followed by the car’s color. The game had no real rules beyond being the first to spot the car, which led to chaotic (and sometimes tearful) backseat brawls. As VW Bugs disappeared from roads, so did this bruising pastime.
2. License Plate Game
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The goal was to find license plates from as many different states or provinces as possible during the trip. Kids kept track on a piece of paper, sometimes turning it into a competitive tally. With everyone glued to iPads now, few children even glance at license plates, let alone log them.
3. I Spy
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One child would say, “I spy with my little eye something…” and give a color or letter clue, prompting others to guess what they saw. It was a simple, open-ended game that encouraged kids to observe their surroundings. Today, tinted windows and screen time have replaced this creative use of boredom.
4. 20 Questions
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Someone thinks of a person, place, or thing, and the others have 20 yes-or-no questions to guess it. It sharpened deduction skills and passed time quickly, especially on long stretches of highway. Now, voice-activated trivia games have taken over, and the old-school guessing game rarely gets a shot.
5. The Alphabet Game
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Players searched for letters of the alphabet in order on road signs, license plates, or billboards. The hardest letters, like Q and Z, always led to dramatic tension or groans of frustration. With navigation handled by apps and fewer roadside signs, this once-popular alphabet hunt has faded.
6. Car Bingo
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Instead of traditional bingo numbers, these cards had symbols like cows, motorcycles, construction cones, or police cars. Kids marked what they saw along the road until someone shouted “Bingo!” It was a clever blend of observation and chance that’s now gathering dust in glove compartments.
7. Name That Tune (From the Radio)
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Before playlists and Bluetooth, families listened to the radio and raced to identify songs. Whether it was classic rock or country, the game depended on shared music knowledge. With everyone on separate earbuds, that communal soundtracking moment is rare today.
8. Rock, Paper, Scissors Marathons
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Played endlessly between siblings when the conversation ran dry or the terrain got dull. It was quick, easy, and always accessible — no props needed, just two hands and a lot of repetition. Kids today might still know the game, but the idea of playing it for 45 minutes straight in a cramped backseat feels alien.
9. Ghost (The Word Game)
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One person says a letter, and each player adds one, trying not to complete a real word while still keeping the word viable. It was sneakily educational, teaching spelling and vocabulary under the guise of strategy. You rarely hear “G… H… O… uh oh!” from the backseat these days.
10. Counting Cows
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Kids would pick a side of the car and count cows (or other animals) spotted on their side. If you passed a cemetery, all your cows “died,” and you had to start over. It was silly, competitive, and entirely dependent on rural routes — something fewer families take now.
11. Story Chain
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One person starts a story with a sentence, then each passenger adds to it, building an unpredictable tale together. It usually devolved into absurd plots with talking dogs or aliens at gas stations. Creativity ran wild, but so did boredom once phones began telling their own tales.
12. Who Can Stay Quiet the Longest?
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Disguised as a “game,” this was often a desperate peacekeeping move by parents to get a few minutes of silence. Surprisingly, kids bought into it and genuinely competed for quiet. In a world full of media noise, the challenge of silence has mostly lost its charm.
13. Yellow Car
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Similar to Punch Buggy, this one involved spotting yellow vehicles, but without the physical violence. It was about being alert and quick to shout “Yellow car!” before anyone else. These days, rare color-focused games like this have been edged out by apps that do the spotting for you.
14. Radio DJ
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Kids pretended to be radio hosts, complete with made-up station names and dramatic weather reports or song intros. It gave kids a sense of control and fun while using the car radio as their stage. With Spotify and streaming services now dominating, the imaginary FM airwaves have gone silent.