Take a break from the iPad with these six fun boredom busters inspired by Hertz.
1. Best for traffic jams: Nosy neighbours
Take a glance at the person in the car next to you (if they catch you looking at them, the game is over). Each person makes up a story about who they are, what their name is and what their job is. The story that’s voted the best, wins.
2. Best for memory testing: Off to market
The first person starts by saying, ‘My aunt went to market and bought a…’ adding in an item of their choice. The next person repeats the sentence, adding their own suggestion. The list gets longer and longer until someone forgets one of the items and the game is over.
3. Best for long journeys: Pub cricket
Teams divide into one side of the car versus the other. The team that passes a pub on their side which is named after an animal, person or bird scores ‘runs’ or points according to the number of ‘legs’ it has (e.g. The Red Lion scores four, The Swan scores two, The Slug and Lettuce scores none). At the end of the journey, the team with the highest score wins.
4. Best for busy roads: Alphabet game
Teams divide into one side of the car versus the other. Each player looks for letters of the alphabet on licence plates on their side. The team who spots all the letters of the alphabet in order, from A to Z wins.
5. Best for short journeys: Twenty questions
One person thinks of either an animal, mineral, or vegetable. The other players then take turns asking up to 20 questions that can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’, such as, ‘Can it swim?’ or, ‘Does it live in a hole?’ If the players haven’t guessed right after 20 questions, they lose.
6. Best for non-competitive families: Name game
One person names an animal or a city or country, whatever they decide. Then each person in order has to name another animal, city or country that starts with the last letter of the previous name. There are no winners or losers – the object is to carry on for as long as possible without repeating.