How it differs from the license plate game
The classic license plate game is a checklist: find all 50 states. It rewards patience over days, and most families end a week-long trip well short of 50. License plate bingo gives you a round you can finish before lunch. Half the squares are states and half are things printed on or around the plate, so a slow stretch with nothing but local cars still moves the game. A dealership frame, a plate ending in 7 or a charity plate can come from your own state.
Both games use the same traffic, so run them together. One passenger keeps the whole-trip state list in the license plate tracker while everyone else plays short bingo rounds.
Which plates are common and which are rare
Texas, California and Florida register more vehicles than any other states, so their plates turn up on interstates almost everywhere. That is why they sit in the common group. Big Midwest and East Coast states come next. Alaska and Hawaii are the classic rare finds in the lower 48, since those cars have to be shipped or driven a very long way. Wyoming, Vermont and Rhode Island have so few cars that you rarely see them far from home.
Where you drive changes the odds. Ontario and Quebec plates are routine near the Canadian border and in Florida in winter. Mexican plates are ordinary in Texas and Arizona border towns. If you live in one of those places, treat those squares as easy and play for a blackout instead of a line.
Plate-type squares, explained
- Apportioned plate: semis that cross state lines carry a plate with the word APPORTIONED on it. Look at the front bumper of the cab.
- Temporary paper tag: the printed tag on a just-bought car, usually in the rear window or where the plate goes.
- Plate from a bordering state: a state that touches the one you are driving through right now, so the answer changes at every state line.
- Washington, DC: DC plates are easy to spot by their slogan about taxation without representation.
- Plate with your initials: two or three letters in a row that match a player’s initials, in order.
Every square in this set
Common: you’ll see these most hours
Plate from your home state, Plate from a bordering state, Texas, Florida, California, Vanity plate, Dealership plate frame, Temporary paper tag, Apportioned plate on a semi, Trailer plate, Motorcycle plate, Charity or cause plate, Plate ending in 7, Plate with a double letter, Muddy or bent plate, Plate with a picture on it, RV from another state, Plate with an X in it.
Uncommon: a few per drive
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Plate 1,000+ miles from home, University plate, Veteran plate, Sports team plate, Accessible parking plate, Dealer plate, Three of the same digit.
Rare: the ones that end a blackout
Canadian province plate, Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota, Vermont, Rhode Island, Washington, DC, Mexican plate, US government plate, Antique vehicle plate, Plate with your initials.