Travel Games for Adults

Long trips can be boring without some form of entertainment. Even adults need to have fun, and listening to music doesn't always fill the void. Leave the quintessential alphabet game for the kids, and try some challenging adult travel games during your next cruise, road trip, or plane or train ride.

Travel Game Ideas

Play new road trip games or enjoy classics with a twist.

• Guess the Tune: If you're in the car, turn the radio to scan mode or designate a self-scanner, a person who will turn the radio dial manually. The first person to guess the name of the song gets a point. He gets bonus points if he can name the artist. The winner is the person who racks up a pre-determined number of points first.
• Celebrity String Words: Take turns naming famous people, using the first letter of the previous celebrity's last name. For example, the first person may say, "Elvis Presley," and the next person will have to say a celebrity's name that features a first name that starts with "P," such as "Penelope Cruz." The next person will have to think of someone who has a first name that starts with "C." Make the game more challenging by mandating that the celebrities must be living or must work in the music industry.
• Auto Alphabet: Rather than using billboards, road signs or license plates to play the alphabet game, use the makes and models of vehicles instead. For example, you could have "A" if you spot an Audi or a Honda Accord. If that gets too difficult, use the first letters from a specific type of roadside business, such as restaurant or gas station names.
• Road Trip Bingo: The family or kid's version of road trip bingo typically involves boxes filled with easy items, such as "red car" or "cow." Create a more difficult adult version of this board game for your next trip. For example, you could include adult-rated items, such as a "strip club" or "liquor store," or you could simply make other items very specific, such as "silver Jeep Cherokee" instead of "silver car."
• Rest Stop/Train Ride Scavenger Hunt: This type of travel game involves talking to other travelers outside of your group. Create a list of scavenger hunt items that may or may not be travel-related. For example, your list may include a map, tourist brochure or sunscreen. It may also include items such as lipstick, an umbrella or sunglasses.

License Plate Games

Skip the easy children's version of simply looking for license plates from different states and up the ante on your adult vacation.

• State Capitals: Rather than just searching for different states on passing license plates, have a contest to see who can name the state's capital city first. Bring a reference book or use your 3G or 4G phone to look up the answers. Another version of this type of game, especially if you're on a trip with a bunch of trivia enthusiasts, is to see who knows the state's flower, bird or motto.
• Acronyms: This road trip game is more entertaining than competitive. Simply use the license plate of a passing car to get started. Each person makes up an acronym for the license plate. For example, an acronym for the license plate, 2C4PCW could be "Too Cheap For Professional Car Wash," which would be humorous if the car was dirty.

Hit the Road

It doesn't matter if you're traveling for two hours or two days, playing games with your co-passengers will make the trip more fun and entertaining. Even if you simply choose to play card games. don't wait until you arrive at your final destination to start enjoying yourself. Instead, begin with the journey itself.