What Does ‘Travel Games’ Mean to You?

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  07.22.11 | 9:15 AM ET

I had a strange experience yesterday morning. I saw a headline in my feed reader—The Ten Best Travel Games, from The Independent—and I clicked, expecting a nostalgic list of childhood car trip time-killers. You know, low-tech classics like “I Spy.” Instead, I got a slideshow of modern, high-tech options: iPhone apps and, of all things, an electronic Rubik’s Cube.

I can’t be the only one who still thinks “I Spy” when I hear “travel games,” can I? Or has everyone else embraced in-car gaming and iPads for every passenger? What do you think of when you hear the words “travel games”?


Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


4 Comments for What Does ‘Travel Games’ Mean to You?

James Cowlin 07.22.11 | 9:50 AM ET

My favorite games are the ones that required looking outside the car. I don’t recall the name for the game, but it involved counting things on your side of the car and accumulating points. For instance, you got 1 point for each cow, 2 points for each horse, 10 points for a church and so on. However, you lost all your points if you passed a cemetery on your side. I think it is important for kids (and grown-ups for that matter) to pay attention to the country through which they are passing and games that promote that are the best.

Dusty 07.22.11 | 11:21 PM ET

‘I spy,’ ‘yellow car’  and any version of the alphabet game come to mind before Mario cart!

aishajcreative 07.24.11 | 3:44 PM ET

We played a ‘license plate’ game that collected as many of the US States (and other countries) as possible. We usually played that soon after “Punch Buggy” got a little out of control. That and the ever popular “Silent Game”.

Deborah-Eve 07.25.11 | 1:34 AM ET

On long car journeys with my children we play a game called “What you ask or say, stays in the car.”  It’s led to lots of family bonding and kids asking questions they would hesitate to ask elsewhere—that’s the point of the game.  I’m a staunch believer in developing concentration skills and traveling distances in a car is still possible without videos and individual electronic games.  There’s always time to sing and change the words to a well known song—another family favorite.  I remember traveling with my parents and now families go in so many directions that traveling together is often a special time to actually be with each other—silly games included!

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