Shuffle and Drive: The Best Card Games for Your Next Road Trip

Who doesn’t love road trips? However, long roads can quickly turn boring if you don’t have anything to do to spend time. Now, we all have smartphones that we can use to play game on during travel, but hey! Where’s the fun in that? To make the most of a road trip, you’d want to engage in actual activities with your companions, without phones or other stuff to spend time by yourself.

Fortunately, road trip card games are here to save the day. There aren’t a lot of options like action games that you can play comfortably in a moving car or bus, but this is exactly where they shine. All you need is, well…a pack of cards. Personally, I almost never travel without taking at least one card game with me. Trust me; it’s absolutely fun – every single time.

Top 5 Road Trip Card Games

1. Doomlings Card Game Deluxe

If a funny and lighthearted road trip game with family is what you are after, Doomlings is just what you need. This game comes with a pretty simple but interesting concept – make your species survive on a doomed planet and fight for supremacy.

The scenario is set in a distant planet that’s witnessing the emergence of life at a time when it’s inevitably headed towards destruction. Your goal as a player is to score the most before the planet gets destroyed.

How to play?

In this card game, players score by playing Traits for their respective Doomling species. This works by players drawing Trait cards from a common pile and playing them for the points.

Much like video games based on similar ideas, adding new traits makes your species more resilient, adaptable, and mischievous. The traits might also grant special bonuses and abilities, potentially giving you the opportunity to get an upper hand.

The Doomling rounds are played using age cards that add a layer of complexity, with each age having its own rules that you’d have to follow. Now, here’s a fun twist – the ages include special rounds known as Catastrophes that force players to adapt their tactics by presenting them with adverse effects. The third catastrophe ends the game, rendering the player with the most points the winner.

Depending on the sequence of events and the number of players playing, a game can typically take between 20 and 45 minutes. It also introduces a “gene pool” mechanic that results in varying hand sizes, which are affected by the traits and catastrophes.

Much like DLCs for driving video games, you can buy various advanced-play extension packs if you grow to like this road trip card game.

What makes this game great?

Easy to learn
Variable hand sizes
Added twists
A unique concept and gameplay
More than 100 Traits of varying power

Who is this game for?

If you’re a gamer and would like to try a card game on a road trip in America, Doomlings is definitely worth a try. It is suitable for adults and kids alike, but is rated for children aged 10 years or older. This is something to keep in mind if your group is going to include younger kids. However, as long as the age requirement isn’t an issue, Doomlings is my top choice for car trips.

Buy Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDSST2VN/

2. Exploding Kittens Party Pack

How about a strategic game of cards that’s a bit like Russian roulette? Well, this kitten-themed road trip game is perfect to keep a group of 2-10 players entertained. It takes only a couple of minutes to learn how to play, and each match lasts only 15 minutes. This makes it a good choice if you don’t want to play lengthy games.

How to play?

Once again, the concept itself is pretty simple – players are to take turns drawing cards until one of them draws a card with an ‘exploding kitten’, and well…loses. That is, unless the player can defuse the exploding kitten with a catnip sandwich or a catnip pointer.

If you are lucky enough to have obtained one of the powerful and rare action cards already, you could use it to avoid or move the exploding kitten.

As simple as it might sound, dominating in this card road trip game would require you to strategize really well and plan your moves carefully. Players can take a peek at the cards before they draw in order to avoid exploding, which means opponents must shuffle the cards or draw several of them. It’s up to you to outsmart your opponents to win the game.

What makes this game great?

Quick, simple, and fun
A strong strategic aspect
Suitable for large groups of players (up to 10)
Extension packs and special versions are available
Anyone aged over 7 years can enjoy

Who is this game for?

Card games are largely luck-based, but Exploding Kittens is a great choice if you’d rather play something more strategic. Whether you have a big group of 8-10 players or just want to play with another player in a 1v1 it can be pretty fun. As for the cat lovers out there – well, wouldn’t it be fun to play a kitten-themed card game?

Buy Here: https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Kittens-Party-Pack-Players/dp/B07CTXHNSL/

3. Looney Labs Fluxx 5.0

Looking for a good road trip card game that’s just pure, chaotic fun? Well, with its ever-changing rules, Looney Labs Fluxx 5.0 is just perfect. The constant change in rules also promises varying experiences as two games might not necessarily play out the same way. So, if you’re worried about a game getting boring after a while, this shouldn’t be a concern with Fluxx.

How to play?

Here’s the funny thing about this game – there’s no win condition…at least not initially. Instead, win conditions are unlocked when a player draws one of the several goal cards. First things first, you’ll find four types of cards in this card game:

Rule cards: These cards come with specific rules that start applying to the game once drawn. You can play these cards to add to the existing rules or remove any conflicting ones. You’d be surprised by the vast range of rules in this road trip game and might even need some time to get the hang of them.
Goal cards: As I mentioned earlier, these cards determine how you can win the game. Drawing a goal card essentially gives you a winning condition, meeting which would end the round with you as its winner. Most of the time, the goals involve playing a certain set of ‘Keeper’ cards.
Keeper cards: These cards each contain a term and a picture, often involving a bit of wordplay. You get to win the card game by matching your keepers against your current goal card.
Action cards: These are the cards that have the most impact on the game. Action cards take effect immediately, allowing you to do things like removing multiple rules, swapping hands or keepers with other players, and more. There’s even a really unusual action card that has the players playing a game of paper, scissors, rock to make things fun.

You start the road trip game with only a rule card and two basic rules. Players would have to draw and play one card at a time – until someone draws a rule card that changes it. I know the gameplay sounds like a bit of organized chaos, but that’s the point! Each round can last anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.

What makes this game great?

Over 100 cards
Chaotic fun due to changing rules
No monotony
Promotes adaptability in kids

Who is this game for?

If you crave a bit of unpredictability, I’m sure you’d love Looney Labs Fluxx 5.0. Be warned, though – learning all the rules can take time. A lot of rules start coming into play if you have 4 or more players, which means you’d have to spend a lot more time taking all the rules into account for each turn. However, if it’s just 2-3 players, the pace of the Exploding Kittens game should be perfect.

Buy Here: https://www.amazon.com/Looney-Labs-001LOO-5-0-Fluxx-Card/dp/B00OETKWCE/

4. Shotgun! The Road Trip Game

How about an activity that’s specifically designed to be played on trips? That’s exactly what Shotgun! Is – a game that will not only ticks the box, but would actually amplify your travel experience. Designed for 2 or more players aged 12 years and above, it comes with a deck full of cards containing trivia, challenges, dares, questions, and more.

How to play?

Playing this road trip card game is quite easy and straightforward. All you have to do is draw a card and play based on the prompt on it, competing on various tasks to score points.

For instance, there could be a prompt to spot something particular like a water body, with the first person doing so being granted a point. Some prompts are a bit more difficult, such as getting waved at by a person in another vehicle.

What makes this game great?

Simplicity
200 cards
Tailored for road trips

Who is this game for?

If you worry that a game might distract you from enjoying the views along your trip, Shotgun is the answer to your concerns. The very nature of this card game is focused on road travel, with the prompts enhancing your experience. With so many cards and varying prompts, it never gets boring.

The best part of it all is that even the person driving can play by nominating someone else as their card reader, preferably the person riding shotgun (hence the name of the game).

Buy Here: https://www.amazon.com/Shotgun-Hilarious-Family-Card-Trips/dp/B08PPVVK9M

5. UNO

Considering the popularity of this super fun card game among families, I guess you might have heard of it already. UNO is one of the few road trip games that can be enjoyed by children and adults equally without the former feeling overpowered.

UNO is also easy to learn, and the card set comes cheap – something that contributed to the high popularity of the game since it was first introduced in 1971.

How to play?

In a game of UNO, the ultimate goal is to get rid of all your cards. A UNO deck comprises 108 playing cards in total, of which 76 are colored cards. There are four colors – red, blue, green, and yellow, with 19 cards of each color.

The remaining 32 are special cards that grant you various special powers to give you an edge:

8 reverse cards (reverses the direction of the game from left to right or vice versa)
8 skip cards (skips the next player’s turn)
8 draw two cards (Makes the next player draw 2 cards)
4 draw four cards (Makes the next player draw 4 cards and allows you to choose the color to be played by the second-next player)
4 Wild cards (Can be used as any color)

There are also 3 additional blank cards on which you are free to add any rules of your choice. On each turn, the players can discard one of their cards into a discard pile – on condition that it already has a card with a matching number, symbol, or color. In case someone is unable to play a card, they would have to take a new card from the draw pile instead.

Now, while this sums up the classic UNO card game, the popularity of UNO has resulted in various additional versions and spinoffs with slightly varying rules.

What makes UNO great?

Promotes adaptability and flexibility in kids
Enhances time management skills
Helps players bond
Great for long trips – offers hours of fun
Promotes strategic thinking
Enjoyable for kids as well as adults

Who is this game for?

Considering how inexpensive they are, I’d recommend buying a pack of UNO cards anyway, even if you don’t plan to play it during the trip. This is a fun travel card game that I believe everyone should try at least once. UNO can be played by any number of players ranging from 2 to 10 – which is just perfect for trips on road. With a fair blend of moderate complexity, strategic aspects, and luck, UNO is a well-rounded game that just about everyone can enjoy.

Buy Here: https://www.amazon.com/Games-Skip-Bo-Bundle-Storage-Exclusive/dp/B0BBSSG3C4/

Other Popular Card Games For Road Trips

Besides the ones I just described, there are also some other good card games for your road trip that you could go for:

Dominion: This unique game is set up in a medieval scenario, where you play as a feudal monarch racing to rack up points by expanding your kingdom. With a deck of 500 cards, it is designed for two to four players.
Incan gold: If you’re looking for a great road trip card game that’s more luck-based than strategic, Incan gold would be perfect. The idea is to explore an ancient temple and hunt for treasure. Each turn gives you the opportunity to either return to camp with the treasure you gathered or venture deeper for more – risking your treasure in the face of various hazards.
Rack-O: Well-suited for adults and children alike, Rack-O is a good game for road travels that involves placing your cards in a rack such that they would read from a low number to a high one regardless of the numerical progression. The first person to score 500 points wins.
Go Fish: If you’re looking for the best road trip card game for kids, Go Fish is a great option. In this simple game, the players must collect as many whole sets of four numerically matching cards as they can by guessing whether an opponent has a card they need.
Phase 10: Perfect for a group of two to six players, this rummy-style road game requires players to progress through phases by collecting cards in sets and runs. To win, you’d have to be the first player to complete all 10 phases.

Final Thoughts

So, whether you’d like a more luck-based card game or one that needs more brains, you can find a perfect one for your road trip. The same goes for finding a game that suits the number of players or is appropriate for the age of everyone who’d be playing. All them can be played with no equipment – the cards are all you need.

While there are loads of card games out there, I listed the ones that I love the most. Feel free to explore them and pick whichever seems to suit your tastes the best. If card games do not ring a bell, you can check family reunion games for more fun once you park your car. Happy journey – I hope you can now find the right road trip game for your family and friends.

Image credit: Depositphotos