10 car spotting games for road trips

Long car journeys go much faster when everyone has something to look out for. These car spotting games need nothing but sharp eyes, work for all ages and can be played on any road, from the motorway to country lanes.

1. Yellow Car

The classic. The first person to spot a yellow car and call out "yellow car!" scores a point. Agree the rules before you set off: do yellow vans count? What about taxis or a yellow stripe? Keep it to calling out, not the traditional punch on the arm. Our guide to the Yellow Car game has fuller rules, the game's history and some variations.

2. Car spotting bingo

Before the trip, make a bingo card for each player with things to spot: a red car, a convertible, a camper van, a tractor, a horsebox, a car with a roof box, an electric car charging, a classic car, a car towing a caravan and so on. The first person to complete a line, or the whole card, wins.

3. Number plate alphabet

Find every letter from A to Z in order on the number plates around you. You can only use one letter from each plate. Agree a free pass for I and Q, which aren't used on modern plates in Great Britain.

4. Number plate phrases

Take the last three letters of a number plate and turn them into a phrase. BKR could be "Big Kind Rhino" and FTS "Five Tired Sheep". Vote for the funniest, or make it harder by sticking to a theme such as food or famous people.

5. Make Spotter

Each player picks a car brand. Every time you see one of your brand, you score a point, and the first to ten wins. Popular brands make the game quick. Pick something rarer, such as Porsche or Tesla, and every spot is worth double.

6. Colour count

Everyone picks a colour. Count the cars in your colour for ten minutes, or until the next junction. Silver, black and white are the safe picks. Green or orange is a gamble that sometimes pays off.

7. Guess the age

UK number plates show roughly when a car was first registered. On plates issued since September 2001, the two numbers give it away: 24 means March to August 2024, and 74 means September 2024 to February 2025. Take turns guessing how old a car is, then check the plate with our number plate age checker, which reads older plates too. Our guide to identifying a car from a photo explains the system.

8. Plate maths

Add up the numbers on a plate, so 24 is 2 plus 4, which makes 6. The first person to reach exactly 50 across several plates wins. Younger players can simply race to find the biggest number, while older players can multiply or play to a target.

9. Rarest car wins

Give each passenger a time limit, say until the next services, to spot the most unusual car they can. The rest of the car votes for the winner. Sports cars, classics and anything with a strange shape usually do well.

10. One shot each

Every passenger gets one CarSpot snap for the whole journey, so choose your moment. Each photo becomes a collectible card with a rarity tier, and the highest tier wins. If two cards share a tier, everyone else votes. Services, car parks and traffic jams are the best places to strike, when cars stay still long enough for a good photo.

Tips for a good game

• Agree the rules before you set off, especially what counts as a "car".
• Mix quick games, such as Yellow Car, with longer ones, such as bingo, to keep everyone interested.
• Give younger players a head start or easier targets.
• Keep score on paper or in a notes app, and crown a champion at the end of the trip.

Want more? Our beginner's guide to car spotting has tips on where to find the most interesting cars.