Would You Rather is a conversation game: one person reads two options (“Would you rather have a car that flies or a car that swims?”), everyone picks one, and each player explains their choice. It needs no looking, so the driver can play, and it works for two players or a full minivan.
The hard part is coming up with good questions at 70 miles an hour. That’s what the free Would You Rather deck is for: 60 road trip questions on swipeable cards, with a read-aloud button so the passenger in charge doesn’t have to.
The rules
- The reader asks the question, word for word.
- Everyone chooses. “Neither” and “both” aren’t allowed; that’s the whole game.
- Each player gives one reason. Keep it to a sentence or two so the round keeps moving.
- The reader passes the phone to the next passenger, or keeps reading if the car prefers one voice.
Scoring variants
Would You Rather has no winner out of the box. Two ways to add one:
- Read the room. Before answering, each player predicts which option the majority will pick. A correct prediction scores a point.
- Best argument. After everyone answers, the player who chose the less popular side gets 30 seconds to change one mind. Converting someone earns 2 points.
Both make kids listen to each other’s answers instead of waiting for their turn to talk.
Versions by age
Toddlers (3–4)
Keep it to two concrete things they can picture: “Would you rather be a lion or a fish?” Let them answer with a sound. Most toddlers can handle five questions before they wander off.
Kids (5–9)
Silly and physical works best: superpowers, animals, food. They’ll ask you to explain “why” three times per card. That’s the game working.
Tweens and teens
Harder trade-offs with a cost on both sides: “Would you rather know every language or play every instrument?” Let them write a card or two for the parents.
Adults
Real travel dilemmas: “Would you rather drive 10 hours straight or take two days with a motel stop?” The answers are surprisingly useful for planning the rest of the trip. For couples, the road trip questions for couples deck goes deeper.
Driver-safe version
The game is already driver-safe, because nobody has to look at anything. One rule helps: the driver never reads the card. A passenger reads it aloud, or taps the deck’s read-aloud button, and the driver answers by voice.
Tips for long drives
- Play in rounds of ten cards, then take a break. Sixty cards in a row turns into a quiz.
- Hand the phone to a kid who reads. Being the reader is a status job in the back seat.
- Save a few cards for a traffic jam. A question about teleporting lands better when the car hasn’t moved in ten minutes.
When it gets boring
Flip the format: each player writes their own question and the car votes on the best one.
Or switch to a guessing game like 20 Questions, which uses the same “no looking needed” setup and gives the conversation a goal.
