Long road trips are also agonizing tests of endurance. You have to sit for hours in a limited space with limited activities at your disposal. Hours pass by without any conversation. It's all you can do to keep people from jumping out of the moving vehicle.
Lots of apps can be downloaded to a cell phone with their many addictive games. This is a very expensive way to go though. Even if you choose to splurge, constant use of the cell phone results in a dead battery.
Save your battery power for roadside emergencies. You could always spend the trip singing along to the radio. How many verses of "99 Bottles of Beer" can your voice box handle? Your fellow travelers can provide all the entertainment you crave without the strain on your vocal chords.
Bingo is not just for little old ladies at the senior community center. Visit one of the websites that allows you to make your own Bingo cards. You can make them with driver stereotypes rather than numbers and call them out as you slide on down the road. Look for the girl-type redneck in her fuchsia pick-up truck, the Bentley-driving executive type or the aging hippie in the day-glo painted Volkswagen Bus.
Speaking of Volkswagen, they have come up with a new-beetle. Spotting any of these bugs gives you carte blanche to punch your neighbor while you holler "Punch Buggy" If that neighbor fails to come up with the response "No Punch-backs" the game can go on for eternity.
Don't let the beatings drag out. Whatever driving game you play, there should be a winner. People will want to participate more if they can get something out of it. The winner can claim prizes like snacks, which roadside attractions to stop at, pick the radio station for an hour, or maybe they get the front seat.
Be careful with the driver when playing a game. One real good punch to a driver could have the lot of you swerving off the road. Safety always comes first even with competitive road games.
The picnic game combines memory and the alphabet in a creative way that gets everybody involved. Start off by saying, "I'm going to a picnic and I'm going to bring..." then say something that starts with the letter A all the way to Z. The trick is coming up with food starting with 'u', 'x', and all those other unpopular letters. The fun starts when people get desperate and bring whatever they can think of as long as they win.
In many cases along the road the scene will be pastoral and you will have more sheep than people to watch. A little game called the Cow game pits the right side of the road against the left and gives points to the traveler who spots a cow. Spotting a cemetery on the opposite side of the road clears the points the cow side has earned. The victors with the most cow points pick the next lunch place.
Keep sane by keeping amused. The destination is only part of your journey. Don't mark time by whining and wishing you were somewhere else. These games can be so invigorating you may just keep driving!
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