Games For The Road

Ranger Rick, July, 2000

Going on a road trip? Then try out these goofy animal games. Be sure to take some pencils and paper along!

LAUGHING HYENAS

This is a very serious game! The players may not smile or laugh. One player starts by saying Ha. The second player says Ha, ha. The players take turns, adding one Ha each time, trying to look serious. Anyone who laughs or makes a mistake is out of the game, but he or she may now try to make the others laugh. The most serious person is the winning hyena.

AMAZING ADVENTURES

The first person starts a story about an animal but says only four words. The next person adds four words to the story. Continue taking turns until the silly story comes to an end.

LIST AND LOOK

Take turns naming animals you think you might see in the next 50 miles (or however far away you decide). Everyone makes the same list. For example, you might put these on the list: dog in a car, three birds together on a wire, any animal's picture on an advertising sign, a flock of sheep, a running horse, a dead animal in the road, and so on. The driver gets to decide if they're too easy (a black bird would probably be too easy, for example). Then work together as a team and cross the animals off the list as you find them. But the driver doesn't help. Know why? When you stop, the driver has to give each of the players a little treat for each thing found on the list.

ANIMAL TANGLERS

Have you ever gotten all tangled up trying to say a tongue twister? You can make up some for your family to try. Start with the name of an animal and write down some words describing that animal that begin with the same letter. Let's say you choose a snake. You might come up with sneaky, slow, slithery, and slinky. Then add more "s" words as you turn the words into a silly sentence: The slow, sneaky snake slithered silently down the slope. Now, everyone in the car can try to say it five times fast. Then others can have a turn at coming up with more Animal Tanglers.

MORE GAMES for the ROAD . . .

ANIMAL WIPEOUT

Each player writes the word WIPEOUT at the top of a piece of paper. Decide on a time or mile limit. Each time a player sees an animal or group of animals, he or she calls out the animal's name. Let's say one player sees a flock of crows. The driver then says, One mark for the crows. If someone sees a dog, the driver says, One mark for the dog. Everyone gets to make a mark each time someone spots an animal.

Meanwhile, always be on the lookout for a tanker truck carrying any liquid such as gasoline, oil, or milk. The first person to see a tanker truck shouts WIPEOUT! Then all players have to cross off their marks, except the one who shouted wipeout. (Anyone who calls wipeout when there isn't a tanker truck nearby has to cross off his or her marks.) The game continues, with all players getting marks for the animals you see and losing them when someone sees a tanker truck. The person with the most marks left at the end is the winner. (The thing that wipes you out doesn't have to be a tanker truck--it can be anything the players decide on.)

CRAZY CRITTERS

In this game, the players help make a funny animal. The paper can be passed back and forth between two players, or it can go to three or four. The first person draws the head and neck of a real or imaginary animal. Then he or she folds the paper back, leaving just a little of the neck showing. Without peeking at the head, the next person draws the neck and chest, leaving a little of the chest showing when the paper is folded back. The next person draws the bottom of the body and top of the legs and folds the paper back so the top of the legs are showing. The last person draws the legs and feet. Open the paper and see what you've created!

HUNDRED-MILE STRETCH

Is it time to get out of the car and run around? If you can stop at a grassy place, try this simple game for quick exercise. You'll need three or more people to play. Put a jacket or other marker at each end of the running field. Set up side boundaries too, if you want them. One person is the hawk and stands in the middle. The rest are mice. The mice try to run from one marker to the other without being caught by the hawk. Anyone caught has to help the hawk until everyone has been caught. The last one caught is the new hawk.

Ask a librarian to help you find travel-game books. Or check out this Web site for a list of kids' travel books to buy: www.nwf.org/bookstore. Click the arrow next to TITLE till it says KEYWORD. Then type in KIDS' TRAVEL ACTIVITIES and click on GO.