Vacation Games

[mary kate]

If we were on a road trip, the games began in the car, with "20 Questions" and "I Spy." Our dad would also invent some fun diversions to keep us awake along the way (e.g., first child to spot the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign wins a dollar!).

And then Scrabble and Monopoly, and maybe a round or two of Old Maid or Concentration...

 

[scrapchyck]

If we were on a road trip, the games began in the car, with "20 Questions" and "I Spy." Our dad would also invent some fun diversions to keep us awake along the way (e.g., first child to spot the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign wins a dollar!).

And then Scrabble and Monopoly, and maybe a round or two of Old Maid or Concentration...

We used to play find all the license plates of every state in the union when we went on road trips! We also had these road sign bingo card games that had little red windows you'd close when you found a sign! Can't go wrong with 20 Questions and I Spy, though! Classics!

 

[amandac]

Battleship was a big HIT one year (ha! See what I did there?).

Hilarious! Love it!
When the kids were younger, during school holidays we would usually do jigsaw puzzles not so much board games. When they got older we used to take Articulate, Pictionary and Sequence away to the beach with us. We had lots of fun. We waged some battles royale with the other family we would go with . We had to stop taking Monopoly as we had some very competitive people in our group
Now my kids are both adults if we get a chance to play board games together we like to play Zombies Third Edition Board Game which is cut-throat and very much a throw your sister under a bus to escape the zombie hoard kind of game.
Good times!

 

[jk703]

We started the License plate game - where you get the furthest license plate wins, but then it changed.

We made up license plate bingo... lol. You have to find 5 connecting state license plates to win. It varies if there is a free "plate." We made up other rules, but that is mostly because we are in a tri-state area getting 3 would be super easy, so we disallowed certain combinations. As an example, you couldn't have NY, NJ, PA altogether in one Bingo. Or NY, NJ, DE. But we made our rules ahead of time. Mostly the states had to make a line, not a clump, lol! Oh, and depending on length of trip, we would allow or not allow 18-Wheelers. This was good, and we could have multiple games.

 

[Karen]

We always played a lot of Uno because it was small and easy to take along and everyone could learn easily and all ages could fairly play together. We also played "war" with a regular deck of cards and crazy eights. When we were at home we played a lot of Scrabble, Parcheesie, Life and Chinese Checkers.

 

[scrapchyck]

We started the License plate game - where you get the furthest license plate wins, but then it changed.

We made up license plate bingo... lol. You have to find 5 connecting state license plates to win. It varies if there is a free "plate." We made up other rules, but that is mostly because we are in a tri-state area getting 3 would be super easy, so we disallowed certain combinations. As an example, you couldn't have NY, NJ, PA altogether in one Bingo. Or NY, NJ, DE. But we made our rules ahead of time. Mostly the states had to make a line, not a clump, lol! Oh, and depending on length of trip, we would allow or not allow 18-Wheelers. This was good, and we could have multiple games.

Wow! That was way more involved than we would do! But it makes sense over there where the states are all compacted together. Out here we were lucky to see ANYTHING other than California, Washington and Oregon when I was a kid. Big score if we saw a Canadian province plate!

 

[scrapchyck]

We always played a lot of Uno because it was small and easy to take along and everyone could learn easily and all ages could fairly play together. We also played "war" with a regular deck of cards and crazy eights. When we were at home we played a lot of Scrabble, Parcheesie, Life and Chinese Checkers.

I remember playing War with my cousin Denise! She must've taught it to me as she's quite a bit older than me. Good times!

 

[jk703]

Wow! That was way more involved than we would do! But it makes sense over there where the states are all compacted together. Out here we were lucky to see ANYTHING other than California, Washington and Oregon when I was a kid. Big score if we saw a Canadian province plate!

True... but over here we see oodles. I always get a kick out of California plates, only since I'm in NJ. I saw Hawaii once, and Alaska a few times. With Bingo, it's usually many states so there is a mix. But, you can always add the rigs in and that widens the locations.

 

[HeatherB]

We played Yahtzee or Aggravation when I was young. When my kids were young, we played a game on car trips called "Lime Green Car" that I think I learned from one of @Karen's scrapbook layouts years ago!

 

[scrapchyck]

We played Yahtzee or Aggravation when I was young. When my kids were young, we played a game on car trips called "Lime Green Car" that I think I learned from one of @Karen's scrapbook layouts years ago!

Uh-oh...what does Lime Green Car entail? I might be doomed .... my car:

 

[HeatherB]

Uh-oh...what does Lime Green Car entail? I might be doomed .... my car:

View attachment 665796

Love your car!

You call out when you see a lime green car (I think they are worth 100 points). Other colours like yellow car are worth less than that. The person with the highest score wins the game. It's been years since we played, I just remember the kids yelling out "lime green car". We added more winners, like pink and purple vehicles, but nothing beat that lime green!

 

[Karen]

We played Yahtzee or Aggravation when I was young. When my kids were young, we played a game on car trips called "Lime Green Car" that I think I learned from one of @Karen's scrapbook layouts years ago!

I completely forgot about that game! Lol!

 

[Iowan]

We’re a card-playing family. It all started 50-plus years ago with Slap Jack and similar games when our girls were just toddlers. Since then, we’ve collected scores of games, and they’ve been a big part of our family time ever since.

These days, our go-to game is Pitch. My husband has Alzheimer’s, but he can still play, with just a few stumbles here and there. We all just go with it. Nobody worries too much about keeping score anymore…being together is what really matters.

During COVID, we discovered Trickster, an app for playing cards online. It was such a great way to stay connected and keep our game nights going even when we couldn’t be in the same room.

One of our favorite newer games was a gift from a friend: Awkward Family Photos. It’s kind of like Apples to Apples, but with silly family photos instead of word cards. It’s always good for laughs and works well with just about any group, from kids to grandparents.

 

[scrapchyck]

Love your car!

You call out when you see a lime green car (I think they are worth 100 points). Other colours like yellow car are worth less than that. The person with the highest score wins the game. It's been years since we played, I just remember the kids yelling out "lime green car". We added more winners, like pink and purple vehicles, but nothing beat that lime green!

Fun! Good to know I'm worth extra points. There are quite a few green Kia Souls in my town. People think they see me all the time! LOL

 

[scrapchyck]

We’re a card-playing family. It all started 50-plus years ago with Slap Jack and similar games when our girls were just toddlers. Since then, we’ve collected scores of games, and they’ve been a big part of our family time ever since.

These days, our go-to game is Pitch. My husband has Alzheimer’s, but he can still play, with just a few stumbles here and there. We all just go with it. Nobody worries too much about keeping score anymore…being together is what really matters.

During COVID, we discovered Trickster, an app for playing cards online. It was such a great way to stay connected and keep our game nights going even when we couldn’t be in the same room.

One of our favorite newer games was a gift from a friend: Awkward Family Photos. It’s kind of like Apples to Apples, but with silly family photos instead of word cards. It’s always good for laughs and works well with just about any group, from kids to grandparents.

I recently learned how to play Swoop...that's a fun, fast-paced card game. Would I be able to remember how to play? Not without a refresher, but I remember having a good time. And that's what matters...like you said, being together and just having fun.