Do your Spring Break plans involve driving long distances? With these clever (non-electronic!) games, getting there can be half the fun. Â
7. Punch Buggy. Rediscover an old classic. Players stare out the window, looking for Volkswagon Beetles. When one comes into view, the first one to squeal “punch buggy” gets to slug their unfortunate seat-mate in the arm. Players might wish to put a new twist on an old favorite, perhaps by awarding extra punches for rare models? More suggestions found at thepunchbuggygame.com.
6. Would You Rather? Take turns coming up with wonderful, horrible, creative, and outright disgusting options for their car mates to choose from. Find out who would rather eat gum off of the sidewalk or eat cat food. The more invasive, the better!
5. What Am I? “Animal, vegetable, or inanimate object?” “Am I larger than the Empire State Building?” Players come up with a person/place/thing and write it on a sticky note. Sticky notes are exchanged and stuck on another player’s forehead, where he or she cannot see the word but everyone else in the group can. Players take turn guessing the word on their forehead. The player to first guess what “they are” in fewer than twenty guesses wins. Â
4. The Green Glass Door. This spoken riddle is best played with people who do not have the rule figured out. The riddle is as follows: There is a green glass door. Only certain things can go in and out the green glass door. For example, ball can pass through, but circle cannot. Gorilla can pass through, but monkey cannot. Tommy can pass, but Thomas cannot. Egg can pass through, but chicken can not. (Hint: only words that have two of the same letter next to each other are allowed to pass through).
3. Chinese Fire Drill. During a stoplight, all occupants of the car evacuates, runs around the vehicle, and sits in a different seat before the light turns green again. Perfect for stretching out those leg cramps, or just to create havoc. Guaranteed adrenaline rush. (ATTEMPT AT OWN RISK).
2. Go coning. You have to stop for food some time. By now, I’m sure you have all heard of coning and I know some of you do not find humor in this for whatever reason, but I still do. Call me immature. This is probably the only game in this list that the driver may safely (“safely” is used loosely) participate in. For those of you who are late on the fad, “coning” is basically ordering an ice cream cone through the drive through and driving off having just grabbed the ice cream itself, leaving the cone in the hands a very confused/annoyed minimum wage employee.
1. Exquisite Corpse. Allegedly played by surrealist artists back in the 1920’s, one player would fold a piece of paper into thirds or fourths. Then he would begin sketching in the top section, making sure to extend his artwork just slightly beyond the first fold. When he was done, he would fold his section under, so that only the remaining blank sections were visible. The next player then connected his own drawing to the exposed bit of the previous artist’s drawing. Others followed until the entire page was filled. At number one on the list, this game is my favorite for a multitude of reasons. The results are often unpredictable with all the bumps on the road, and being a very sentimental person, the resulting artwork would be a fond reminder of a fun road trip.
So if this carefully crafted list is not convincing enough to put away your iPhones at least until the first pit stop, you might want to consider help because life is too short to obsessively check Facebook every five minutes! Sometimes we all need to unplug from our devices and spend some quality time with those around us, whether they be family, friends, or road trip companions. –