100
Pick something—anything, really—and try to find 100 of them.
Good for: 5 and up
The Alphabet Game
Find the letters in the alphabet in order on road signs. Once a player calls a letter on a sign, no one else can use that type sign. Once a letter is called from a Stop sign, for example, no one else can call a letter from another stop sign. The first one to Z wins.
Good for: 5 and up
Alphabet Geography
You can play this game two ways. The first is to work alphabetically in a circle, with everyone picking a city, state or country starting with A. If everyone gets that one, move onto Bs. If you can't think of one, you're out! Another way is to have the first player pick any city, state, or country. The next player must name a location that starts with the last letter of the place the last player chose. So if player one starts with Texas, player two must select a place that begins with S.
Good for: 5 and up
Bizz Buzz
Players take turns counting up from 1. Each time they reach a number that has a 3 in it or is divisible by 3, they must say, "Bizz," in place of the number. Each time they reach a number that has a 5 in it or is divisible by 5, they must say, "Buzz," in place of the number. Let's try it out: "1, 2, bizz, 4, buzz, bizz, 7, 8, bizz, buzz." That gets us to 10. Got it? Now remember, some numbers are divisible by 3 and 5. So 15 becomes "bizz buzz," and just to throw another wrench into the mix, when you come to a "bizz buzz" number, you reverse the direction of the circle. Simplify the game for younger players by using only 3 and throwing out that whole reversal thing.
Good for: 8 and up
Cootie Catchers
(or Paper Fortune Tellers)
Make your own paper cootie catchers (find instructions here). If you're not thrilled with the idea of kids using scissors in a car, cut a few sheets of paper into squares ahead of time. Then take turns telling each other's fortunes. Chances are these little beauties got you through most of sixth grade, so there's no question they'll ward off any cases of family-road-trip boredom.
Good for: 5 and up
Let's Go Grocery Shopping
The first player starts by saying, "I'm going shopping, and I'm going to buy an __________," filling in the phrase with something that starts with A. If player one uses "apple," the next player continues by saying, "I'm going shopping, and I'm going to buy an apple and a _________" selecting something that begins with B. Keep going until someone can't remember everything he's going shopping for.
Good for: 5 and up
License-Plate Lingo
If you've got really young children, stick to the classic license-plate game. Each player scans license plates for an A and then works his way through the alphabet. The first one to Z wins. For a slightly older crowd, pick one "judge," who selects a license and calls out the letters on that plate. Other players have 10 seconds to call out a phrase that the letters stand for. "LRH" could become "Little Red Hen," for instance, and "RRF" could be "Reindeers Run Fast."
Good for: 5 and up
The Professor's Cat
This game lets the little ones practice their alphabet and their adjectives. Working alphabetically, describe the professor's cat with a word that begins with the letter that you're currently on: "The professor's cat is ________" (awesome, awful, amazing...).
Good for: 5 and up
Too Bad, Good Thing
It's a game of wits! The first player thinks of an unfortunate happening, such as "Too bad, a monkey stole your muffin." Player two retorts with, "Good thing, it was not a banana muffin, so he gave it back." Player one comes back with, "Too bad, it was a carrot muffin, so the monkey's friend Rabbit stole it." The game proceeds in this fashion until all fortunate and unfortunate happenings around a certain event have been exhausted. The one who can come up with the most scenarios wins. Then, it's on to another event.
Good for: 5 and up
