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15 Car, Plane and Restaurant Games That Need Nothing at All

No toys, no screens, no paper. Just voices, eyes and imagination. Save these for the next long drive, airport delay or wait for dinner.

Travel with children is a special kind of adventure. There's the long motorway, the delayed flight, the restaurant where the food takes just a bit too long. And somehow the toys you packed are always at the bottom of the wrong bag.

These 15 games need absolutely nothing. Bookmark this page for the next time you need one.

For the car

  • The alphabet road trip. Find each letter of the alphabet, in order, on signs, number plates and shop fronts. Q and Z are legendary.
  • Number plate stories. Take the letters from a number plate and make a sentence. "KTP" becomes "Kangaroos Try Pizza".
  • Yellow car. First to spot a yellow car scores a point. Simple, surprisingly competitive.
  • Twenty questions: animal edition. Think of an animal. Everyone else asks yes-or-no questions to guess it.
  • Road trip DJ. Each person describes a song without saying its name or singing it. Others guess.

For the plane or train

  • The quiet game (with a twist). Whoever stays silent longest wins, but the others can pull faces to make them laugh.
  • I went on holiday and packed… Each person repeats the list and adds an item. "I packed a toothbrush, a llama and a trombone…"
  • Would you rather. "Would you rather have wings or gills?" Everyone must explain why.
  • Story in three words. Take turns adding exactly three words to a shared story. Watch it go wonderfully off the rails.
  • Guess the destination. Imagine where everyone around you is going and why. Be as dramatic as you like (quietly!).

For the restaurant table

  • Spot the change. Everyone studies the person opposite, closes their eyes, and that person changes one tiny thing.
  • Hand-clap rhythms. One person claps a rhythm; the next repeats it and adds a beat.
  • Menu maths. Older kids: "If we each had a main and a drink, what would it cost?" Surprisingly fun for number-lovers.
  • The interview. Take turns being a famous person while everyone else asks questions.
  • Categories. Pick a category (fruits, football teams, superheroes) and go round the table. Hesitate and you're out.

Tips for smoother journeys

  • Start before boredom hits. A game launched at the first sign of wriggling works far better than one used as a rescue.
  • Rotate who chooses. Giving each child a turn to pick the next game cuts down on arguments.
  • Mix quiet and loud. Follow an energetic game with a calm one to keep everyone regulated.
  • Keep the stakes low. Travel is tiring for everyone, and silly beats competitive.

Need a fresh idea on the go?

TinyThinkLabs works brilliantly from the passenger seat. Choose "In the car" or "At a restaurant", tell it how many are playing and your child's age, and get a new game that needs nothing but voices, in seconds. It installs on your home screen too, so it's always one tap away.