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Road trip bingo
By Arthur, founder of BingoCard Lab · Updated
Road trip bingo is a car game for passengers. Each player gets a card of things to spot out the window, like a cow, a water tower or a school bus. Mark a square when you see it, and the first full line wins. The driver sits out. Print one different card per player before you leave.
Describe your party
Illustrations generated with AI
Road trip bingo, also called car bingo, turns the view out the window into a game. Picture cards let kids who can't read yet play too. Use the 80 ideas on this page, or get a list written for your own route.
Who road trip bingo is for
Anyone in a passenger seat who can look outside can play. Little kids in car seats do best with picture cards of things they'll spot out the window.
A car of mixed ages can give each child a grid that fits their age. Give each grid size its own prize, though. On a 3×3 with a free space, a line through the center needs only 2 squares.
Grown-ups can play too. Road trip bingo fits spring break, summer vacation, holiday drives home and long stretches of interstate.
A list made for your route
Describe your trip in one sentence, and "Write my list" drafts 30 items for it. Try "Chicago to Denver with kids 4 and 7" or "a night drive down the coast."
"Suggest 6 more items" adds ideas, up to 60 in all. You can rename, remove or add items by hand. Cut what your route won't have, like a cactus on a coastal drive or a falling rocks sign on flat farmland. The list comes from your sentence, so check it against the roads you know. Keep rare sights, like a hot air balloon, to a handful. Each line they land on gets harder to finish.
Each passenger gets a different card, up to 100 per deck, and no two cards share a winning line. Make cards for your route with the road trip bingo generator.
Words-only road trip bingo cards are free to print, as many as you like. Your first illustrated set is free to preview in full. To print it, the illustrated PDF takes an Event pass ($4.99 once, per set) or a Pro plan.
Settle the rules before you pull out
Rule one: the driver doesn't play. Scanning for squares takes eyes off the road, one of the three types of distraction the CDC lists. Then pick a rule for disputes before you leave, while everyone is calm.
With "first to call it," only the first passenger to call out a sight marks it. That suits older kids who want a close game. With "everyone who sees it marks it," every player who spots it marks the square. That suits little ones and means fewer tears.
The front passenger can referee. The call sheet on the last page of the PDF lists every item, so they can tick off each sight as it's spotted.
For riders who get carsick, the CDC notes that looking at the horizon can help in a car, and that reading or scanning closely can make motion sickness worse. So a carsick rider can keep their eyes on the horizon and team up with a passenger who scans and marks the card.
Print before you go
Print the cards at home the night before. Once they're on paper, the game needs no phone signal on back roads.
Clip each card to a clipboard so it doesn't slide off a lap. Slip a card into a sheet protector and use a dry-erase marker to play it again. Little kids grip crayons more easily than pens.
On a multi-day trip, print a new card for each day or each leg. Make a fresh list for that day's route: desert one day, coast the next.
Ideas for your item list
- School bus
- Semi truck
- Tow truck
- Fire truck
- Police car
- Ambulance
- Motorcycle
- RV
- Tractor
- Convertible
- Red car
- Kayak on a car roof
- Out-of-state license plate
- Bumper sticker
- Stop sign
- Speed limit sign
- Railroad crossing sign
- Mile marker
- Exit sign
- Falling rocks sign
- "Welcome to" state sign
- Traffic light
- Bridge
- Tunnel
- Toll booth
- Roundabout
- Traffic cone
- Freight train
- Car wash
- Grain silo
- Gas station
- Rest area
- Water tower
- Red barn
- Lighthouse
- Wind turbine
- Church steeple
- Billboard
- Diner
- Giant roadside statue
- Farm stand
- Cow
- Horse
- Sheep
- Deer
- Goat
- Bird on a wire
- Dog in a car window
- Cactus
- Mountain
- River
- Hay bales
- Rainbow
- Airplane
- Hot air balloon
- Helicopter
- Storm clouds
- Sunset
- Full moon
- Starry sky
- Headlights
- Neon sign
- Drive-in movie screen
- Motel sign
- "Are we there yet?"
- Sing-along
- Someone falls asleep
- Snack break
- Paper map
- Window rolled down
- Travel pillow
- Missed exit
- Gas station coffee
- Slow car in the left lane
- No radio signal
- Argument about the route
- GPS says "recalculating"
- Phone at 1% battery
- Someone hogs the music
- "Just one more hour"
Plan your game
- How many cards?
- One card per passenger who plays, plus a spare for the one that slides under a seat.
- Which grid?
- We suggest 3×3 picture cards for ages 3 to 5, 4×4 for early readers, and 5×5 for older kids and adults. A 3×3 card with a free space holds 8 items; a 5×5 with one holds 24.
- Letter or A4?
- Letter or A4, with 1, 2 or 4 cards per page. Two cards per page print in landscape.
- How long does a game last?
- There's no caller, so the road sets the pace. On a 5×5 with a free space, a line through the center needs 4 spotted squares. Any other line needs 5. Mix common and rare items, and play blackout on long drives.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play road trip bingo?
Each passenger gets a card and a pen. Watch out the window and mark a square when you spot that item. On 3×3 and 5×5 cards, the center can be a free space that counts as marked. The first player with a full row, column or diagonal shouts "Bingo!" and shows the card. For a different goal, try four corners.
What are some ideas for playing road trip bingo?
Try teams: kids against the grown-up passengers, sharing one card and racing to a line. As the light fades, add night squares like full moon, headlights and neon sign. For empty stretches, mix in squares about life inside the car, like "Are we there yet?" and sing-along.
Is there road trip bingo for adults?
Yes. Grown-up road trip bingo uses squares about the trip itself: missed exit, gas station coffee, no radio signal. Words-only cards work fine for adults. Keep squares about moments, not about anyone in the car. Add a few of your own family's road-trip jokes.
Is car bingo the same as road trip bingo?
Yes, it's the same game under two names, and some people say car trip bingo. It's not the license plate game, though. In that one, you check off states on a list for the whole trip instead of filling a grid.
How do kids who can't read play road trip bingo?
Picture cards solve it: a child looks for the drawing, not the word. A cow, a fire truck or a rainbow is easy to match out the window. Read the labels out loud for the first few squares. Stickers give small hands an easy way to mark a square.