Easy Games to Keep Kids Entertained

16th March 2017

Try some of these great technology-free ideas on your next family outing to keep the kids entertained.

If you’re planning a long train journey with your kids, you might be tempted to keep them occupied with a tablet loaded with their favourite apps. However, there are plenty of other ways to stop your children from getting bored whilst keeping the whole family entertained. Try some of these great technology-free ideas on your next family outing.

Bring a puzzle book or travel games

Leave the tablet at home and take a classic travel game, deck of cards or a book of puzzles that you can all join in. Be prepared with portable versions of your favourite board games or small puzzles and take advantage of the table space available on most trains.

20 Questions

Little ones and big kids will love this straightforward guessing game. One person starts by thinking of a place, person or thing. The other players ask up to 20 questions to try and guess what the object is. Each player has their turn to ask a simple yes or no question and gets one guess afterwards. Carry on playing until the 20 questions are up or one of the players guesses correctly.

The Last Letter Game

Although playing I Spy usually provides plenty of entertainment, why not take alphabet games one step further with a trickier twist? First, agree on a theme like food, countries or animals. The first player starts things off by naming a word that fits with your theme. The next player has to think of a word that starts with the last letter of the first player’s answer and so on. For example, if the theme was animals and the word was Dog, the next answer should start with a G, like Goat and the following word could be Tiger.

Put pen to paper

A pencil and a few sheets of paper are all you need for hours of amusement. Get back to basics with traditional games like Noughts and Crosses or drawing games where one player draws and others have to work out what their doodling means. If you need a helping hand, there are plenty of printable games available online. Print off a few copies and all you’ll need are some pencils or crayons.

Hangman

Although you only need a paper and pencil, this classic game is the perfect way to keep kids guessing. One player thinks of anything from an object or place to a book or film. Then, instead of writing down what they’re thinking, the player draws a dashes or underscores for each letter of each word. Each player then takes turns guessing one letter that could be in the word or phrase. If it does contain the letter, the first player writes it in the right places. Otherwise, they draw one part of the hangman and his gallows. If the guessers are able to fill in all the blanks before the hangman is complete, then they win. However, if no one guesses the answer before the hangman is drawn then the first player is the winner.

Window bingo

Train windows offer a fantastic view of different towns, cities and nature. Although it’s tempting, don’t just sit there watching the world go by. Write or print out a list of things your kids should look out for, such as sheep, a car or a tunnel. Let them tick off every item they spot and tally up the points. The person who gets the most points is the winner.

However you plan to keep young minds busy while travelling, make sure you have your Railcard ready. By booking in advance and hopping over to Railcard.co.uk, you could save plenty.