3 Games to Deploy on Your Next Road Trip to Alleviate Boredom

Let’s face it; planning a road trip with friends or family members sounds good during the planning stages. But when the day arrives, you’re all facing the reality of being crammed in the back of the designated driver’s Volkswagen Polo for hours, and the novelty can soon wear off!

Especially if you’re travelling with young children or teenagers, long hours being cooped up in a car can lead to boredom and restlessness, which aren’t pleasant for those experiencing them, let alone those sitting next to them.

To prevent this, it’s essential that you come up with innovative boredom-busting solutions like interactive and amusing games that you can engage your fellow travellers with to alleviate boredom and other negative emotions.

But aside from ‘Eye Spy’, you might be racking your brain trying to remember games to entertain your travelling companions with. Fortunately, you’re in the right place because we outline several in our article below.

From multiplayer console and mobile games to traditional games like ‘20 Questions’ and ‘Eye Spy’, we outline several ways to make your next road trip enjoyable - continue reading to discover which of our top picks to deploy on your next journey to alleviate boredom.

Play Games On Your Mobile

If nobody in the car is a gamer, and you’ve exhausted all conversation points, why not have some downtime? After all, you’ve got to survive several more hours in the car with them (plus more when you arrive at your destination, so what’s wrong with having a little bit of quiet time to yourself by playing mobile games?

You can find various mobile games through the app store that can help you get a few minutes to yourself, including puzzles, problem-solving, strategy, role-playing, simulation, and casino games. The latter are some of the most popular since you can entertain yourself and earn a little extra cash.

However, as with anything involving money online, it is essential that you only download and use reputable mobile casino game providers. Fortunately, you can weed out the good from the bad using independent casino reviews sites like Online Casino Review, which provides honest game reviews, online gambling guides, and much more.

Whether you’d like to find the best casinos for mobile integration or brush up on your knowledge of all things online casino using their online casino guides, consider visiting their website to see how their reviews could help you find a fun and reputable casino games provider for mobile today.

Play Multiplayer Handheld Console Games

With over twenty-four million gamers across the country, South Africa has one of the largest video gaming markets worldwide, including the sale of game cartridges, gaming accessories, consoles, and much more. So, providing that you and your fellow travelling companions enjoy a round or two of ‘Mario Kart 8’ why not consider bringing your handheld consoles and duel it out in the backseat of the car until you reach your destination?

With the recent release of modern handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck, gamers can play their favourite games whenever and wherever, making it much easier to relieve boredom on long trips.

Plus, unlike the handheld gaming devices of our childhoods (looking at you, Gameboy Advance!), you don’t have to spend most of your time playing, holding it under a lamp to see what your character is doing or scrambling for batteries when they inevitably die halfway through your game. You can find many multiplayer console games nowadays, producing good memories and fostering teamwork among your companions.

Play ‘Traditional’ Road Trip Games

As fun and boredom-busting as our first two suggestions might be, there is a downside to both: the designated driver cannot join in on the fun. While being the designated driver isn’t the most fun, we’re sure that seeing their friends hooting and hollering in the backseat over a game of ‘Fortnite’ isn’t going to make them feel any better!

Therefore, to ensure that your friend/family member driving doesn’t get too bored (or worse, starts falling asleep from lack of socialising!), make a conscious effort to include them in any games/conversations you’re having. Some of the best games to play in this situation are the classics such as ‘Eye Spy’, ‘Twenty Questions’, or ‘The License Plate Game,’ which, although intended for children, can produce amusing answers which are bound to get you and your companions laughing.

After all, nothing generates more laughs than watching your friend or family member squirm as you bombard them with ‘Twenty Questions,’ or watch as everyone becomes increasingly more competitive as the game of ‘Eye Spy’ goes on. Plus, the best thing about these games is that no equipment is required to play them, and there are no age limitations meaning that everyone in the vehicle can play them – so long as participants choose tasteful topics!