Road trips, especially with your partner can be a lot of fun and memorable. However, long hours of driving without any activities can spoil the journey. That’s where road trip games designed for couples come in handy.
Not only they keep you entertained, but they also help you bond better and share moments of laughter. With them, the journey becomes as beautiful as the destination.
Having played many of them with my boyfriend over the years, I’ve prepared this mega list and infographic of recommendations you’ll love.
17 Couples Road Trip Games That Are Fun & Exciting
These are all easy to understand and can be played verbally. The suggestions range from basic trivia to something more spicy for the road. Plus, I’ll cover the basics of how to play to get you started.
Buckle up your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!
1. Name The Tune
A game that is equal parts competitive, mind-boggling, and fun. Name That Tune tests your knowledge of music and your listening skills.
It is just the perfect game for couples to play in the car, as it keeps you entertained throughout the journey.
How To Play:
- Take turns humming a tune, or the opening lines to a song.
- The other person has to guess which song this is.
- If they get it right, they score a point. If they get it wrong, it’s your point.
2. Hot Seat
As someone who has taken many road trips with my partner, I love playing Hot Seat! This game ensures that we bond better, and tests our knowledge about each other.
If you’re in a new relationship, it will help you discover new things about your partner. If you’ve been dating for a while, it will show your partner how much you care about them and remember the small things.
It’s a win-win for everyone, isn’t it?
How To Play:
- Ask a question about yourself to your partner. (Example: What is my favorite shampoo brand?)
- Your partner has to guess that right about you.
- Take turns asking each other these questions.
3. Odd Colored Car
Some of the best road trip games are the ones that keep you alert throughout the journey. It ensures that both, the driver, and the co-traveler are fully focused on the road. The game is not only fun, but it can make your long road trips safer as well.
How To Play:
- Decide on one color (for example, red)
- Shout every time one of you sees a red-colored car.
- Keep a score of who spots more cars, the higher scorer wins.
4. The Movie Game
For those of us who are movie buffs, this is an incredible game you can play while in a car.
Every time my partner and I start playing this, we end up spending hours playing it – and time just flies by, which is a big advantage, especially when you’re on a really long drive.
How To Play:
- Start by naming a movie (Example: Good Will Hunting)
- Your partner will then say the name of an actor in the film (Example: Ben Affleck)
- You then proceed to name another film that the actor was in (Example: Batman)
- Your partner then proceeds to name another actor from that film – and the game goes on.
5. License Plate
Here is another fun road trip game that keeps couples present in the moment! The game is all about spotting unique license plates and ensuring that you and your partner have your eyes on the road.
You can play this game competitively, as well as in a co-op way where you try to achieve the task together. I personally prefer the latter.
How To Play:
- The objective is to try and spot license plates from as many US states as possible.
- The non-driving partner maintains a list of US states and keeps ticking them off upon spotting license plates.
- The game ends when you spot all 50 states on the road.
6. The Picnic Game
This is a classic childhood game that we all have played at some point, but it becomes even more enjoyable when you play it during a road trip with your girlfriend/boyfriend.
It is easy to play, tests your memory, and also ensures that you are alert while you drive.
How To Play:
- Start with the phrase “For my picnic, I am carrying …” and add something at the end. (Example: Apples)
- The next person continues it by adding one more thing “For my picnic, I am carrying apples and bananas”.
- The point is to remember the previous things and to keep adding newer items to the list.
- Whoever forgets it loses and the game restarts.
7. Kiss, Marry, Kill
A classic party game that can also be played on the road trip, ‘Kiss, Marry, or Kill’ is almost self-explanatory.
Playing this game with your partner helps you understand the kind of person they are, what kind of people they are attracted to, and what kind of people do they not like. This is a perfect game for early-stage couples.
How To Play:
- Name three celebrities. (Example: Timothy Chalamet, Tom Holland, and Andrew Garfield)
- Your partner now has to choose who they’d kiss, marry, and kill respectively.
- Take turns asking these questions to each other.
8. Spicy Storytelling
Not every game has to be about memory or fun, there can be some games that spice things up too.
When you’re spending so long with your partner in a confined space, the chemistry is bound to charge up, and ‘spicy storytelling’ is just the perfect game to start the sparks flying.
How To Play:
- You start the story with an opening line. (Example: “Once upon a time there was a girl”)
- Your partner then adds the next line. (Example: “She was always horny but no one could satisfy her”)
- Keep taking turns improvising and make the story as spicy and exciting as you can.
Bonus: If you want to explore more spicy games, check out this app. It features 7+ sexy games designed especially for couples!
9. Couples Questions
Question-answer games are my favorites! I am a big fan of them, and I love it when my boyfriend ask me questions and I get them right.
I also enjoy asking questions, and this makes it one of the most fun and insightful experience while traveling with your partner.
How To Play:
- Find a list of road trip questions that couples can ask each other.
- Pick one topic and ask a question.
- They answer the question and ask you another.
- The non-driving partner keeps a scorecard of who gets more answers right.
Pro Tip: Ask Siri or Google Assistant to read the questions aloud so both of you can take turns answering and enjoy the game hands-free!
10. Sorry I Was Late
A healthy competitiveness is great for a relationship. When playing a game, me and my partner love to outwit each other, and ‘Sorry I was late’ is just the perfect platform for that.
The game is all about being wildly creative, while also trying to one-up each other.
How To Play:
- Start a sentence with ‘Sorry I was late because’ and then give a creative excuse.
- Take turns and keep making up new excuses, go as absurd as possible.
11. Speak in Song
Not every car ride game has to be intense, competitive, and keep you on your toes. Some are designed to be silly. After all, there are fewer pleasures in life than being silly with your partner — two people, absorbed in a moment.
The privacy of a car on a road trip, combined with ‘speak in song’ gives you the freedom to be the silliest versions of yourself.
How To Play:
- Think of a song, but don’t sing it. Speak it out like you’re having a regular conversation.
- Your partner has to guess the song – and nobody has to sing it (Harder than it looks!)
- Keep taking turns speaking in song.
12. Strip Padiddle
As I pointed out earlier, some games are meant to spice things up, and ‘Strip Padiddle’ is just the kind of game that gets things hot and heavy!
This is a game for those of us who like to push our boundaries a little and don’t mind something steamy in the car.
How To Play:
- Decide on an object sighting. (Example: Red cars)
- Every time a red car shows up, stick your hand to the top of your car.
- Whoever does it second has to strip an object of their clothing.
- The game ends when one of you is down to (almost) nothing.
13. Would You Rather
A fun road trip game to play with your partner, especially if you have just started dating them or have not had a lot of time to spend with them.
The game helps you understand each other’s life experiences better, resulting in a stronger bond by the time you step out of the car at the end of the trip.
How To Play:
- Ask a question that begins with ‘Would You Rather’.
- The question needs to have two choices ‘Would you rather go on a candlelight date or on a fine dining date?’.
- The other person chooses one of the two and asks you a similar question with two choices.
- Find a list of Would You Rather questions for couples and get started!
14. Two Truths and A Lie
Another all-time favorite of mine, and one that you can play when you are still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase, this game tests your creativity but also helps you know your partner via their life experiences.
How To Play:
- One of you can start by giving three statements, out of which two are true and one is a lie about you.
- For example, “I can speak German, I broke both my toes in an accident, I once fell from a moving train” – your partner has to guess which is the lie out of the three.
- Take turns asking each other these questions.
15. 20 Questions
A party game that has not gone out of style in decades, Twenty Questions is also a fun game to play on the road. It’s also one of the few games that can be played without any tools or props.
It makes you put your thinking caps on and ensures you are compelled to frame your questions smartly to get the right answer out of your partner.
How To Play:
- One of the partners thinks of a word. (Example: A movie, an object, or a celebrity based on a decided theme)
- The other person has to ask 20 yes/no questions to find out what the word is.
16. Mystery Stop and Shop
More of a sweet gesture than a game, this makes road trips with your partners memorable as you collect small mementos from the trip which you gift each other. This helps strengthen the bond you and your partner share as you get physical objects that remind you about each other.
How To Play:
- Every time you stop at a gas station, check out the nearby store – but go there one by one
- Get each other a small gift and exchange them at once, surprising the other
- Take them back home as memorabilia from the trip
17. Never Have I Ever
We all know this one. This is the perfect game that even long distance couples can play, especially if you have just begun dating them and are still getting to know them.
This is a game that can be played to know your partner better, as well as to spice things up between you two, depending on the questions that you ask.
How To Play:
- Find a list of never have I ever questions (suitable for couples).
- Ask your partner a question that begins with ‘Never Have I Ever’.
- Suffix that phrase with something you want to know about them (For example, Never Have I Ever sniffed my own socks).
- If they have, they tell you. If they haven’t, they say “I’ve never done that”.
Final Thoughts!
There is one thing that I always point out when it comes to couples games — a healthy relationship is not competitive, but cooperative. I hope you have a good time playing these games during your road trip. Do let me know in the comments which one you liked the most!
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