Some of the best kid car games like pub cricket and car snooker are great for when kids are older but won’t keep a tetchy two-year old amused for long at all. So we’ve gathered together a few ideas that might appeal more to toddlers and pre-schoolers. Try them out in the car, plane or train to stave off the boredom a little longer.

Red lorry yellow lorry 
(2 years up)

Each person chooses a colour. You get 1 point each time you spot a lorry (or car) of your chosen colour. The winner is the first person to spot 20.
Someone may have to keep score if several of you are playing.

The rainbow game (2 years up)

Go through the colours in the rainbow and the kids have to find something that colour. The older kids can spot six items while the 2 year old needs to find only one. Indigo and violet are tough!!

A to Z game (Anyone who knows their alphabet)

Everyone has to find the letters of the alphabet from A-Z in order by looking around them. Letters can be found on licence plates, posters, road signs, place names etc. The first person to get to Z is the winner.

The silence game (any age)

Simple enough and heaven for parents if it works! See who can stay quiet for the longest; the winner is obviously the last person to make a noise and earns gets a treat. It can get frustrating for little ones who just cannot keep quiet, but you never know - they might fall asleep trying!

Rhubarb! (any age)

This appeals to kids’ love of nonsense! Basically you can only say ‘Rhubarb’ in response to any question: “What’s your name?” “Rhubarb”. You get the idea. However if you laugh, your turn is over. Someone needs to time each round and the one who lasts longest without laughing or saying another word is the winner. You could choose another word if you like.

Horse (3 years up)

Share out some sweets among all the players. If you see a cow you have to shout out 'sheep'. The last one to shout it out gives one of their sweets to the person on their left. Plus if they shout ‘cow’ by mistake they give a sweet to the player on their right too. Some kids can’t bear to part with sweets - especially to siblings - so you might want to use raisins instead.