Carful

Car journey games

The classic British car journey games are Yellow Car, Car Cricket (runs for every leg on a pub sign) and the number plate word game, with I Spy and I Packed My Suitcase for the younger ones. None of them needs anything but the view and the people in the car.

4+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. Spot a yellow car and shout 'yellow car' first to score a point.
  2. It must be a car and it must be yellow. Agree the rules on vans before you set off.
  3. Wrong shout loses a point. Most points at the end of the journey wins.
Full rules and variants

6+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. The batter scores runs for the legs in each pub name you pass: the Red Lion is 4, the Coach and Horses 8 or more.
  2. A pub with no legs in its name, like the Crown or the Plough, is a wicket.
  3. Each batter has three wickets. Highest total wins.
Full rules and variants

6+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. A passenger reads out the last three letters of a nearby number plate.
  2. Everyone races to make a word using those letters in that order. KTN: kitten.
  3. First valid word scores a point, and the shortest word at the end scores a bonus.
Full rules and variants

3–10 yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. The spy picks something everyone can see and says: I spy something blue.
  2. Everyone else guesses. The spy answers yes or no.
  3. Whoever guesses right is the next spy.
Full rules and variants

4+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. Start with: I packed my suitcase and in it I put… plus one item.
  2. Each player repeats the whole list in order, then adds one new thing.
  3. Forget or swap an item and you lose a life. Last player standing wins.
Full rules and variants

5+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. One player secretly picks a person, place or thing.
  2. Everyone else asks yes-or-no questions. Count them out loud.
  3. Guess it within 20 questions to win and pick next. Otherwise the picker wins.
Full rules and variants

6+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. Count up from 1 around the car, one number per player.
  2. On any multiple of 7, or number with a 7 in it, say 'buzz' instead of the number.
  3. Say the number, miss a buzz or pause too long and you're out. Last player in wins.
Full rules and variants

7+ yrsPlayers: 2+

  1. One player names a category, such as breakfast cereals or dog breeds.
  2. Going around the car, each player names one thing in it.
  3. Repeat an answer or go silent for five seconds and you're out for the round.
Full rules and variants

More games that fit

Every British family has its own version of Yellow Car, and most have argued about whether a mustard-coloured van counts. That’s part of the appeal. The best car journey games in the UK are the ones built around what you actually see on British roads: pub signs, number plates, sheep, roundabouts and the occasional yellow Fiat.

The British classics

Yellow Car. Spot a yellow car, shout “yellow car”, score a point. That’s the whole game, and it can run from Bristol to Edinburgh. The house rules are where families differ. Settle these before you leave the drive: do vans count, do parked cars count, and is there a penalty for a false call? In our car, calling an orange car costs you a point, which keeps the shouting honest.

Car Cricket. A proper British invention. The batting player scores runs for the legs in the name of every pub you pass: the Red Lion is four runs, the Fox and Hounds is eight. A pub with no legs, like the Crown, the Plough or the King’s Head, is a wicket and the next batsman is in. It only works on A-roads and through villages; on the motorway there are no pubs, so switch games.

The number plate game. UK plates end in three letters, and the game is to make a word using them in order. KTN becomes kitten, BRD becomes bread or bird. Shortest word wins. It’s the best game for motorways, because there’s always a car in front, and the driver can play it from plates they can already see.

Games for the whole car

I Spy is still the first game most children learn, and it works best with things inside the car or far off, like a hill or a church spire, so the answer doesn’t disappear behind you. I Packed My Suitcase is a memory game: everyone repeats the list and adds one item until somebody forgets the wellies. Buzz is a counting game that falls apart somewhere in the twenties, and Categories keeps older children and adults going for a whole county.

For something to hold, our UK car bingo cards are built from British roads: roundabouts, red post boxes, caravans, a Services sign and a red kite if you’re lucky on the M40. Print a different A4 card for each child or play on one phone.

Planning games around a British journey

A long UK journey has a rhythm that’s different from an American road trip. You’re rarely more than an hour from services, the roads change character every few miles, and there’s usually traffic.

Motorways. The number plate game, 20 Questions and Categories. There’s not much to spot on the M1 apart from other cars and bridges, so play with those.

A-roads and villages. Car Cricket comes into its own, and Yellow Car picks up because there are more cars at slower speeds. Sheep and tractors appear for bingo.

Traffic jams. Bank holiday queues on the M5 towards Cornwall are where a family’s game list really gets tested. Talking games work best when you’re stationary: 20 Questions, I Packed My Suitcase and a round of Buzz.

Services. Stop every two hours, more often with young children. Check the bingo cards and the Yellow Car score at every stop, and announce a new game when you set off again.

A few rules that keep the peace

  • Agree the rules first. Most car game arguments are about rules nobody agreed. Thirty seconds at the start saves an hour of “that doesn’t count”.
  • No hitting. Some families play Yellow Car with a punch on the arm. It ends in tears by Birmingham. Shout, don’t punch.
  • The driver is the umpire. For spotting games the driver can’t play, give them the deciding vote. It keeps them in the game without taking their eyes off the road.
  • Stop while it’s fun. A game played all the way from London to the Lake District won’t be wanted on the way home.

For children on trains, ferries or planes as well as in the car, our page of travel games for kids covers games that work wherever you’re sitting. If you’ve packed nothing at all, the list of car games with no supplies has more.

Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of Yellow Car?

The first person to spot a yellow car and shout 'yellow car' scores a point. Agree the house rules before you set off: whether vans and lorries count, and whether calling a car that turns out to be orange loses you a point.

How do you play Car Cricket?

The batting player scores a run for every leg in the name of each pub you pass, so the Red Lion is four runs and the Coach and Horses is a lot more. A pub with no legs, like the Crown or the Plough, is a wicket and the next player bats.

What's a good car game for a motorway, where there's not much to see?

The number plate game, since there are always plates in front of you. Take the last three letters and race to make the shortest word using them in order. Talking games like 20 Questions and Categories are the other answer on a long stretch of the M6.

Which car journey games can the driver join in with?

The number plate game, 20 Questions, I Packed My Suitcase, Buzz and Categories can all be played by voice. Yellow Car and Car Cricket need eyes on the verges and pub signs, so the driver is the umpire rather than a player.