As an adult, the Irish scenery is one that may capture your imagination for many hours while driving through the countryside. There is no shortage of things to see as most roads will bring you near or often through small country towns and villages. However, capturing the imagination of children in the backseat is quite another story!!
Car games are a terrific way to entertain children and yourself too! The games pass the time, stimulate thought, and can educate the children! The great thing about car games is they can be played by many different aged children.
Many of the games we play in the car are games you probably played yourself but have forgotten all about...such as 20 Questions, Geography & read on for more!
Why not print off this section and store in your glove compartment for that long journey.
20 Questions
Geography
Name Game
Alphabet Memory Game
Guess What I Am
20 Questions
20 Questions is truly a classic game. It can be played by children of all ages. There are many variations of the game. We will describe only one variation of the game.
One person thinks of something which falls under the category of animal, mineral, or vegetable and then tells the other players which category is correct. The players then take turns asking questions which can be answered with a YES or NO. For instance, if the category is animal a player might ask "Can it fly?" or "Does it have four legs?" And after 20 questions are asked, if the players have not already guessed the answer, each player gets a last chance to make a guess. Afterwards, a new player tries to stump the group.
Geography
Geography is another classic game. But Geography is not for younger children. This game is best for children ages 8 and up. Not only do they enjoy the game, they know enough locations to be able to play the game well. Although the fine points of the game may vary from place to place, this is how the basic game is played.
Someone starts by naming a country such as Japan. The next person must name a country whose name begins with the last letter of the previously named country. In this case, Japan ends in N, so a country which begins with N must be named such as Nigeria. And then, since Nigeria ends in an A, the next person's country must start with an A. And so on until someone gets knocked out.
Please note, some people play the game with city names; names of rivers or other bodies of water; and in the United States it is often played with state names. Set your own rules and have fun!
Name Game
Simple, yet a fun game. Perfect for children of all ages. Think of a name. Then tell the group whether it is a boy's or girl's name, and tell them the first letter of the name. The group then tries to guess the name by calling out all the names they can think of which start with the appropriate letter. That's it. Simple, but fun!
Alphabet Memory Game
Great for children of all ages. An excellent way to help reinforce a the ABCs, yet fun for older children too!
The first person starts with the letter A and say "A is for ---" filling in the blank with any word beginning with the letter A such as APPLE, ART, AIRPLANE, etc. Let's use APPLE. The second person then does the letter B, but must also remember what A was! So, let's say the second person decides to use the word BOOK for B, the second person would say" A is for APPLE and B is for BOOK.
You continue your way through the alphabet. By the time you get up to the letter Z the player will have to recite each and every letter with its corresponding item. The game takes a while and kids love it, particularly if you throw in some silly words or phrases like S IS FOR SMELLY CAT!
Guess What I Am
One person states they are either a person, place or thing and the others then ask questions (are you blue, can you speak, do you bark, can you be eaten, etc) until they guess what the person is, then they are next.
Enjoy!
