10 Fun Road Trip Games for Couples

Put down the Angry Birds, get off the Grand Theft Auto III and stop playing on Snake. When you’re on a long journey / stuck in an airport / waiting for your taxi to arrive, it’s the perfect time to play mind-expanding retro road trip games for couples, no electricity or batteries required.

A road trip is the perfect way for couples to spend quality time with each other while having fun! There are plenty of card games that you can play with your significant other on a long drive. In this article I’ll list some of my favourite car games for couples. You don’t have to be bored when you’re driving across country. Instead, you can use this time and make it part of the holiday.

1. A-Z pubs and bars

It’s just like the age old name-something-beginning-with- every-letter game, but with a twist. In the A-Z of pubs and bars you should create a name for your bar/pub, and then explain their unique selling point and explain the concept around your drinking establishment. The more detail, the better.

“M = Mother’s Ruin, a bar selling only different types of gin. Old gin advertising posters cover the walls and there are art displays using old gin bottles throughout. Including a display coming down from the ceiling involving lights and old-school gin bottles.

Of course, this game can easily be adapted to many topics – restaurants, sweet shops, magazine titles – or just drop the explanations and try to get the alphabet in as many animals/birds/names, as possible.

2. Would you rather

It’s an oldie, but a goldie, and just so flexible. It’s a great getting-to-know-you game too, the rules are simple: choose two or three scenarios and you have to choose the one you’d rather.

“Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater?” “Would you rather be a pop star or a famous traveller?” You know the sort of thing, can be as ridiculous as you like!

3. Name that tune

This one is guaranteed to annoy / thrill everyone around you if you’re on a bus or train. Maybe it should be saved for the inevitable wait at the airport over Christmas, when you can find yourself a quiet little corner. Think how much fun the people in this picture could be having right now if only they knew about this game…

Right, the rules: hum / whistle / sing a tune and the other person / people have to guess it. You set the boundaries, but it could be, if they name it in five seconds they get 10 points, ten seconds, five points, 20 seconds 1 point. Or you could easily make it into a drinking game. If the opponent gets it right, the singer has to do a shot, if they get it wrong, they have to do a shot.

4. Never have I ever

You might be familiar with the naughty version of this a lot of teenagers like to play to see what their mates have been up to with their boyfriends and girlfriends. I’m not denying this is a fun game, but you can turn it around a bit to find out more about your travelling buddies beyond how many girls they’ve kissed. The rules: The game starts by saying something they’ve never done.

“Never have I ever not made it back to my own bed after a night out”

Then everyone who has done that takes a swig of their drink/admits it. This makes for some great story times. Then the question moves on to the next person. It can be something really mundane, like “Never have I ever changed a baby’s nappy” and then everyone will probably be shocked. It’s also a good idea to have some travel shot glasses with you too (obviously for when you’ve pulled over for the night).

5. Yellow car

My brother used to punch me in the arm as hard as he could whenever he saw a yellow car – now I’m not condoning this violence, having spent 15 years at the end of it, but he did have the basis for a good game there. And I’m very glad we never went to New York.

Choose something such as a yellow car and every time you see it, the first person to scream yellow wins. You could add a few more in the mix, whenever you see an animal you have to get up and imitate the animal, or if you’re in an airport, whenever you see a baby, stand up and start crying demanding some milk. Or whenever you see someone in a ski jacket, get up and imitate a skier. Just be careful who you mock.

6. Truth or Dare

Be careful with this one!

While truth or dare has the potential to be one of the best road trip games for couples, it can also be one of the most dangerous. By dangerous I’m not only referring to crazy dares but also truths no one wants to hear while stuck in a car together.

For example, don’t go asking about past lovers or dirtiest habits etc…these things do not need to be discussed in enclosed environments.

Keep it fun!

7. License Plate Game

You can mix this up however you like, but the general principle of the license plate game is to find as many license plates from either different countries or years etc. But an alternative spin on this, which makes it a more fun road trip game for couples is to make it about you.

So maybe trying to find cars with license plates that begin with certain letters to spell out your partner’s name or the city you met etc. Otherwise this game can get pretty dull fast if you play it the normal way.

8. Couple’s Trivia

This is one of the road trip games that can really put couples to the test, where you’ll be tested on how much you know about each other. Dig deep and try to remember all those conversations you’ve had over the years.

Or if you’re a fairly new couple, maybe it’s a good way to get to know more about each other?

Couple’s Trivia works by having to guess the answer to questions about your partner, such as where were they born, how old were they when they learned to ride a bike etc. You could prepare question cards in advance and whoever gets the answer right scores a point.

If you don’t want to play trivia about each other, you could always opt for general trivia. From movies to music, and pop culture to… road trips, here are 50 trivia questions and answers already prepared for you.

9. 20 Questions

In the game of 20 Questions, one person has to think of someone famous and the other has to guess by asking up to 20 yes/no questions. The famous person can be real or fictional, dead or alive, male or female etc.

If the person guessing gets the answer in 20 questions or less, they score a point and roles are reversed. It’s a simple game, but a great way to pass the time. It’s also one of the road trip games for couples that doesn’t require preparation in advance.

10. Kiss, Marry, Kill

Find out which celebrities your partner has a thing for or who they think is the lesser of three evils in this game. Kiss, Marry, Kill involves giving your partner three famous people and they have to choose which one they would rather kiss, marry or kill. It’s a simple couple’s game that’s great for road trips, as it’s often one of the funniest.

Some alternatives replace the word ‘kiss’ so you can choose whatever combination of words you want. Also, don’t always choose three beautiful celebrities, go for funnier options like three horrendous politicians or people you know your partner can’t stand.

Road trip games for couples

You might think some of the games sound a little silly now, but just you wait until you’re at a loss on a long journey with no access to charge your iPad / iPhone / Android, whatever. You’ll need something to occupy yourselves and fun road trip games for couples or friends are great for this.

Remember, it doesn’t matter what game you play as long as you’re sharing laughter and memories together! Just make sure you keep things light and don’t go too heavy on the personal questions (it’s supposed to be fun, not an interrogation).

I hope this list of games has given you some ideas for your next road trip with your significant other, or even a group of friends. Whether the goal is to keep everyone awake, find out who knows their stuff about their partner more, or rekindle romance, these fun road trip games for couples help make a long journey enjoyable.

If you want more inspiration on games to play while on the road, I’ve also listed the best board games for road trips you can play to keep things fun.

Quicklist of the best road trip games for couples

• A-Z pubs and bars
• Would you rather
• Name that tune
• Never have I ever
• Yellow car
• Truth or dare
• License plate game
• Couple’s trivia
• 20 questions
• Kiss, marry, kill