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No, we’re not talking about Outrun, Pole Position or Spy Hunter but rather games you play in the car to while away the hours on a long journey.

These classic car games are proof that in today’s high-tech world just as much fun can be had for free AND with no electronic devices needed!

I Spy

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with……’.

Simple but brilliant. This guessing game has been entertaining car passengers for decades and is thought to have started around the time of World War II due to spy mania.

Of course, the rules are very simple with the players having to guess what the ‘Spy’ saw.

However, the downside is that the ‘Spy’ can easily secretly change their object if guessed quickly, not that any of us have ever done that!

Likewise, easily identified objects to avoid picking as the ‘Spy’ include car, road, tree and sky.

20 Questions

One person thinks of an object or person and can only answer yes or no to the other players who have 20 questions to guess what they are thinking of.

It’s as simple as that but great fun.

The game originated in the USA as a parlour game back in the 19th century and such was its popularity that it became a weekly radio quiz programme and television series, as well as appearing in various other countries.

Number Plate Game

There are various versions of the number plate game but a simple one is to spot the letters of the alphabet from A to Z with the winner spotting all of the letters the quickest.

It is also educational as it helps younger children learn the alphabet.
Going back to the 80s and 90s when there was only one plate change a year then a favourite game was to see who could spot the first car with a new number plate.

The flaw was that the game had a very limited lifespan and when a new number plate was spotted then it couldn’t be played again until the same time the next year!

I Went To The Shops

A great memory game for young and old.

Players take it in turn to say alphabetically what they bought from the shop, remembering what their fellow players bought before saying their own object.

It continues until someone forgets or gets the list wrong but don’t worry if you think it will go on forever as it is unlikely you’ll ever get past the letter ‘J’.

Do you have a favourite car game? ClassicLine would love to hear from you.