Fun game/activity for the drive to the hike: License Plate Words

"Jagged"

Sometimes you’ve got to drive a little ways to get to the trailhead, especially if it’s in a national forest or a state park. Those trips can get long. You can help keep them sane by playing games in the vehicle, however. One such game is License Plate Words.

To play, have one of the passengers pick a license plate from another vehicle on the road. Each player has to make a word that contains all of the letters on that plate. For example, if the license plate is OGD846, players might say dog, good or oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. A point is given to each player who comes up with a word. After everyone has had an opportunity to say a word, start the next round with another vehicle’s license plate. Whoever has the most points after so many rounds wins. One variation of the game is to give more points based on the word’s length; if you had three players, the one who said dog above would receive 1 point, the player who said good would receive 2 points, and the show off who said oesophagogastroduodenoscopy would get three points. Another variation is to give a bonus point for hiking- or nature-related words.

Materials: Other vehicles on the road

Ages: 9 and up

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.