Games For The Road With No Punch-Backs

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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Fun Games for RV Trips

When you're on the road for an RV trip, you spend a lot of time, well, on the road. While an RV affords more entertainment opportunities, and space, than a typical road trip in a smaller vehicle, those hours can still leave your passengers pining for things to do. Here are several ideas of ways you can pass the time between destinations:

Alphabet Game

This tried-and-true classic inspires friendly competition and requires enough focus to keep RV occupants riveted on passing signs, etc. This game can be played a couple different ways. In one version, you start with A and have to find a word (on passing billboards, road signs, etc) that begins with the letter A. The same word cannot be used again by another player. After finding an A word, you move on to B -- whoever gets through Z first, wins! Other versions simplify the game by allowing you to find the letter anywhere, not just at the beginning of a word. In this version, you can find the letters on license plates as well.

Card Games

Whether you opt for gin rummy or go fish, an RV is ideal for playing card games because, unlike other vehicles, you have table space! Poker and black jack will go over well with older crowds, while younger players can enjoy simpler games like slap jack and memory. If you're tired of traditional games, pick a target and see who can throw the most cards into the trash can, etc. Flicking cards effectively is more difficult than you'd expect -- and it's addicting to try and perfect your technique. Also, an RV trip is a good a time as any to bust out all your old card tricks -- your audience is captive, after all.

I Spy

This one is a good way to stay entertained while still enjoying the passing scenery. Each player takes a turn choosing an object outside and gives a clue, such as, "I spy something green." Players take turns guessing what the object is until someone gets it right, and whoever guesses correctly gets to pick the next object. Be careful though -- if you don't pick a larger object in the distance, it's likely to pass too quickly for anyone to guess it. If you run out of larger choices, you can choose things inside the RV.

Cow Counting

If you're in cow country, start counting! Assign players to face different windows, set a time limit, and see who can spot the most cows. No livestock around? Pick whatever fits for the region you're in -- a certain kind of tree or cactus, oil drills, airplanes, etc. Spice this game up by adding a prize for the team that gets the highest count before the time runs out. Nothing compels people quite like the promise of an ice cream cone or the right to choose the afternoon movie.

License Plate Acronyms

Aside from making the cars around you paranoid, writing down passing license plate numbers can provide an entertaining and creative activity. Using the letters from the license plates, see how many funny and witty phrases you can come up with using the letters as an acronym. Bonus points if you manage to include the numbers in the phrase!

Car Shopping

There are two ways you can play this game. In the first version, you pick a time limit and each player has to view the passing cars and decide which one they want to "own." Whoever calls a car first gets it, but once you call one you can't change your answer. Be careful -- if you hold out until the end, you might get stuck with the last old beater you see before time runs out. At the end, you can either debate about whose car is best or let someone who didn't play choose the winner. Another way to play this game is to have each player select a type of car. During the predetermined time limit, see who can find the most of his or her type of car on the road around you.

Any of the above games should be winners with your RV crowd -- but you're less likely to enjoy them if you're dealing with setbacks or RV trouble. If heading through Arizona, get everything checked at a Phoenix RV service location so you can have as much peace of mind as possible during the 25th round of I Spy.

Katie Hawkes is a freelance blogger for RV Renovators, a full-service AZ mobile RV repair shop and Phoenix RV service company with more than 30 years of experience.

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