#390: Unfortunately - Fortunately

The game Unfortunately-Fortunately is a pile of fun and will get you thinking.



Take turns with a friend or bunch of friends and switch between ‘unfortunately’ and ‘fortunately’.

Start with unfortunately.
For example:
First person: “Unfortunately our essay that was due next week is really due tomorrow morning.”
Next person: “Fortunately, I have mine done.”
Next person: “Unfortunately the teacher added an extra page.”
Next Person: “Fortunately, mine was two pages over.”


Make this a family activity: Play together in the car, around the supper table, or anytime you feel up to a little playing.

This activity promotes positive problem solving and thinking in opposites.

#388: Punch Buggy / Slug Bug

Going somewhere? Play Punch Buggy / Slug Bug!

Here are the rules for Punch Buggy which is also known as Slug Bug:


Look for Volkswagen Beetles (Bugs). Whenever you see one (old styling or new styling--it doesn't matter), yell, "Punch Buggy White (or whatever colour it is)!" Then lightly punch the person riding with you in the arm. Also add, "No punchbacks!" or else they can call that same car on you and punch you back! If so say no punchbacks, it means nobody can use that punch buggy again.

Variations: Some people call them Pinch Buggies and pinch instead of punch. And some people call this game Slug Bug. As well, if punching isn't your thing--OUCH!--try variations such as a gentle nudge, a tap, or simply calling out with no actions.


Make this a family activity: Get everyone looking for a punch buggy. Break into teams if there are a lot of you riding together.

This activity promotes keen eyesight and quick visual identification.

#330: Draw on Frosty Windows

Going for a ride in the car? Is it brrrrr out there? Have your windows frosted up? Draw pictures in the window frost using your finger or fingernail.



Make this a family activity: Turn your drawings into games. (Xs and Os is a good one.)

This activity promotes passing the time and creativity.

#277: Look at Your Route on a Road Map

Where are you going in the car? Pull out a map and see where you are going.




Make this a family activity: Share the map and work together to find different ways to get to the same place.

This activity promotes navigational skills.

#259: Alphabet License Plate Game

Going to be spending some time in the car? Play the alphabet license plate game.


Most license plates have numbers and letters. Watch license plates and 'collect' all the letters from the alphabet. Start by looking for the letter ‘a’. Once you have found that, go on to ‘b’, and on through the whole alphabet.

Make it challenging: Take only one letter from each license plate. In other words, you can’t take the letters ‘a’ and ‘b’ from the same license plate.


Make this a family activity: Everyone can work together to find the letters, or you can play with teams.

This activity promotes visual identification skills as well as literacy.

#244: Wave at Everyone You Can See

While riding in a vehicle (car, bus, van, truck), wave at everyone you can see. See how many people wave back.


Make this a family activity: Get the whole family waving.

This activity promotes social awareness.

#205: Watch a Movie in the Car

It's travel season. When you've exhausted all the games here, try a movie.




If you don’t have a movie player and you are going on a really long trip, see if you can borrow a portable movie player from a friend. (And maybe a movie too!)


Make this a family activity: Everyone in the backseat--it's movie time! Who brought the popcorn?

This activity promotes mental well-being in traveling parents.

#163: Pick 20

Are you stuck in the car for hours and bored out of your mind? Play the car ride game, Pick 20.

20

Pick something, then try to find 20 of them.

What did you pick? Red cars? Waterfalls? Semis? Yellow signs? Trees? Traffic Lights? Minivans?


Make this a family activity: Everyone picks 20 of something to find. See who finds 20 of their items first, or work together to find 20 of the same thing.

This activity promotes visual identification skills.

#127: Guess the Number

21? 40? 5? 87?

One player picks a number in their head. The other player(s) try and guess what the number is. They can ask questions like, “is it higher than _______?”

For example: Is the number over 60?
No.
Is it an even number?
Yes.
Is it 20?
No.
Is it over 20?
Yes.
Is it 44?
Yes!


Make it a family activity: Get the whole family guessing.

This activity promotes math skills and logical deduction skills.

#102: Car Ride Scavenger Hunt

Who says you can't have a scavenger hunt in the car? Nobody, that's who! So, let's go!

What to do: Look for the items listed below (or make your own list) while riding in the car. You don't have to find the 'real' items. For example, if you see a picture of a cow, or a sculpture of a cow, or even a car painted to look like a cow, you can count that as finding the 'cow' on your list.

You can play against someone else in the car to see who finds all the items first, or you can work together or even all by yourself.

Good luck!



Here's a list to get you started (you can also find this list along with other printable car ride activities here):
* Bridge
* Cow (or other farm animal)
* Blue minivan
* A tree shorter than the vehicle you are riding in
* A person with white or grey hair who is driving another vehicle
* Transport truck/semitruck
* Motor home
* Bus
* Sign with the letter ‘F’ on it
* Speed limit sign
* A vehicle you think is speeding
* Fast food restaurant
* Overpass
* Red car
* A vehicle with an out of province/state license plate
* A vehicle that is for sale
* A vehicle that has a company name painted on it
* A child riding in another vehicle
* Pedestrian

Extra challenge: find the items in the order they appear on the list.


This activity promotes visual identification skills and written and visual matching skills.

#68: Round Up!

You can add your own rules or change the game to work for where you are driving. Here are a few rules to get you started:

Each player chooses a side of the road. They will try to spot as many cows as they can on their side of the road. That means they can't count any cows they see on the other player's side.

If a player sees a dog (either side of the road), and says, “cow round-up” first, they add the other player's cow total to their own (the other player doesn’t lose any points though).

If a player sees a semi with a cow hauler, and says, “cows went on a trip” first, the other team loses all their cows and has to start at zero again.

If a player sees a grocery store and are the first to say, “cows got fed”, they add 100 more cows to their total.

If one player is behind the other player in points and they see a food truck of any kind (like a grocery truck, fast food truck, pop truck) they can yell “Ketchup” and they will ‘catch-up’ in points and be even with the other player again.

VARIATIONS: You can change this game depending on where you live. Instead of cows, try gas stations. Each player tries to spot as many gas stations as they can on their side of the road. If they see a gas truck, they say "fill up" and get 10 points. If they see a tow truck, the first one to say, "out of gas" makes the other team lose all their points. Whoever sees a gas station billboard and says, "Gas Bonus", they add the other teams points to their own, but the other team does not lose their points.

What other variations can you think of?

(Note: You can print out this game as well as other car ride games by clicking here.)


This activity promotes visual identification skills, counting skills and memory skills.

#38: Pick and Count

To keep you from getting bored while in the car, pick something to count (like trees, red cars, dumpsters, cows) and see how many you find.


You can set a time limit, like two minutes to make it more of a challenge. You can also play against someone on the other side of the car. In this case see who can find the most by only looking out their own side of the car.


This activity promotes math skills and visual recognition.

#6: How Long Will It Take?

This one is for in the car, bus, subway or really, anything that you are riding in.

Look out the window and guess how long it will take for you to pass something. For example, how many seconds until you pass that tree? That store? That huge red sign?

You can play this game alone or with someone else. If you are playing with someone else, see who guesses the closest!


This activity promotes math skills as well as develops visual anticipation and timing skills.