How to play: Whoever spots a cow (a group of cows or even a single cow) first while driving says, “MY COWS!” You get a point! Once you claim the spotting of cow(s) no one else can until the next cow sighting occurs.
How it works: Start with a small 3-4 letter word. See how many words you can make out of it. If you have 4 people in the car, it gets really competitive! Since it doesn’t involve searching for something outside of the car, the driver can play too.
One person names an object or two; or perhaps an object and a problem. Then the storyteller gets two minutes to tell a story using the given object/problem. If you have more than two people, a new person is deemed storyteller after the story ends and you can repeat the process.
Pick a few artists you may hear on the radio while you're in the car. When that singer or band’s song comes on the radio you get a point. The person with the most points at the end of the trip wins.
How to play: You alternate taking turns making up a story with 3 words each. For example, one person may start with, “While walking on…” and the next person adds, “the beach I…” and then, “saw the strangest…”
Be sure to pick up some portable travel games for adults too that are very much worth the small investment!