One person thinks of something that falls under the category of animal, mineral, or vegetable and then tells the other players which category is correct. The players then take turns asking questions which can be answered with a YES or NO. For instance, if the category is animal a player might ask "Can it fly?" or "Does it have four legs?" And after 20 questions are asked, if the players have not already guessed the answer, each player gets a last chance to make a guess. Afterwards, a new player tries to stump the group.

Someone starts by naming a country such as Japan. The next person must name a country whose name begins with the last letter of the previously named country. In this case, Japan ends in N, so a country that begins with N must be named such as Nigeria. And then, since Nigeria ends in an A, the next person's country must start with an A. And so on until someone gets stumped.

Please note, some people play the game with city names; names of rivers or other bodies of water; and in the United States it is often played with state names. Set your own rules and have fun!

The first person starts with the letter A and say "A is for ---" filling in the blank with any word beginning with the letter A such as APPLE, ARTICHOKE, AIRPLANE, etc. Let's use APPLE. The second person then does the letter B, but must also remember what A was! So, let's say the second person decides to use the word BOOK for B, the second person would say" A is for APPLE and B is for BOOK.

Looking at road signs and license plates, each player tries to spot the letters of the alphabet, in order from A-Z, then the numbers 1-26 in order. First player to finish first wins.

One person thinks of a category, and then we take turns naming items that fit in the category. When one of the participants can't name another thing in the current category, s/he is out; the game continues until one of the last two players can't continue. But the other player doesn't "win" unless s/he can name at least one more item in the category.

A large part of the fun is thinking up the categories. Characters on The Simpsons, cities (or countries) that begin with "B", things that are yellow, trees, brands of computers, cartoon shows

A variant on finding numbers on license plates: my father always liked to play Doubles. Start with spotting the digits 0 through 9 in order on the license plates. The other player will be going down from 9 to 0. But next you need to find double numbers: 00 through 99 (or 99 through 00); then triples, and so on.

Members look for fire engines, ambulances, and squad cars. When they spot one they get to make a loud fire engine noise. A great game when you're not the driver.

First person to see a law enforcement officer says "fuzz!" A false alarm is minus two points.

You spell out words, the first person says a letter and the next person has to add a letter and you continue in a certain order adding letters. The trick is that if you add a letter and the string can't be completed to make a word, you lose; but if you add a letter and make the string a complete word, you also lose. For example there were three of them, and one started with E... the next gave X... then T... then O... now if the next person said L they lose because now it is EXTOL which is a complete word. But if they said for example P then they can be challenged to come up with a word that starts in EXTOP... (I don't think there is any) and then they would also lose.

I say a name and you use either the first or last name to make another one. Names have to be familiar to all of the players with the grown up in charge as the ultimate referee as to whether little sister could REALLY be expected to know Karl Marx. So I think of Will Smith, and you say Will Rogers and Grandma says Mister Rogers and Grandpa says Mister Clean and so on and so forth. Named because if you ever get to Howdy Dowdy you've obviously lost. Wit and outrageousness count, with adults or children. (Bull Durham to Howdy Doody by way of Bull Doody is a sure winner)

~Variation~

Pick a subject (animals for example). Person 1 names an animal (cat). Person 2 now must name an animal that starts with the last letter of the previous word (turtle). Etc. Brush up on your animals that begin with 'E' and 'T'.

While everyone knows the regular version, here are some alternative versions for odiously precocious, inquisitive, or anal retentive children:

(1) "I spy a baseball player, president, rock star, movie star, country in Africa, relative, person in our school, etc.": Players think of a person, place or thing in whatever category the adult has set for the game. Kids get to figure out out with questions like - Does she have a crush on a Backstreet Boy? Did he get shot in office? Was he ever in a Gladiator movie? Is it purple on the map in homeroom?

(2) I Spy a Philosophy or World Religion: Does it allow for free will? Does it begin from a philosophical premise that all are created equal? Does it require you to march or carry banners? Does their hero's first name rhyme with "fine"? Does it have a supreme being? Are there special diet rules? Do they have neat gods and monsters that smite people?

(3) Reverse I Spy: The guessers tell the chooser something about what s/he has to spy; you've got to think of something that's blue! Or soft! Or made of metal!

If there are enough passengers (3 is the ideal number, but you can do it with 2), you can play Monster Mix-and-Match.

Equipment: a pencil or pen for each player, and some sheets of medium-sized unlined paper.

Procedure: Each player takes a piece of paper and folds it into thirds lengthwise (i.e., so that the folds are perpendicular to the long edge). Starting at one edge, with the edge at the top, draw the head and neck (or corresponding body parts) of a monster, alien, teacher, or other odd creature. Extend the two lines of the neck just barely across the fold into the next third of the paper, so the next person can see where to attach the midsection (body, arms, tops of legs) that he or she is about to draw. But tuck the finished drawing inside the folds so the next player can't peek and see what sort of monster you started. Exchange papers with the other players. Draw the midsection on the middle third of the paper, extending the lines for the legs (2 of them, anyway) into the bottom section. Exchange papers again and draw the legs (or whatever) on the last third. Open up the papers and pass them around. Laugh uproariously, especially if you got confused and drew one of your sections upside down.

Each kid chooses a window. Whenever a car goes by, wave and smile. If the person waves or smiles back (sweet), you get a point. If the person frowns or ignores you (sour), you get no points. The kid with the most points at the end wins.

Draw your own map of the trip featuring "landmark" events that happened upon the way, for example "Mike throws up cause of bad sushi" or " Bill laughs so hard milk comes out his nose" then share your trip with all our friends once you arrive.

Each traveling chapter can take pictures of these items, and who ever has the most, gets a prize!

CITY LIST:

• Bus
• Signs in foreign languages
• Dog
• Railroad tracks
• Food store
• Billboard with a child on it
• Cop
• License plate that starts with "Q"
• Person talking on a cell phone

SUBURBS LIST:

• School
• Food store
• Someone on a bike
• Statue
• Church
• Playground
• Flower garden or snowman (depends on the weather)
• Pickup truck
• Wal-Mart
• Dog in a car

RURAL LIST:

• Silo
• Railroad tracks
• Post office
• Cows
• Pond or lake
• Dirt road
• Tractor
• Gas station
• Horses
• Oil pump
• Barn
• Deer
• Armadillo (even if it's beside the road!)
• Dog in a car
• Light-blue pickup truck
• Sign with the word "welcome" on it
• Ambulance
• Statue
• Flag without stripes
• Crane
• Sign with the word "no" on it
• Somebody wearing a hat
• Car with big dice hanging from the rearview mirror
• Somebody singing in a car
• Boat
• Bus stop
• Car pulling a trailer
• Motor home
• Truck pulling two trailers
• Baseball diamond
• Tennis court
• Farm animal
• Skyscraper
• Bridge
• Swimming pool
• School
• Mountain
• Water tower
• Tractor
• Bird of prey
• Cemetery
• Detour sign

• Peppermints...lots of Lifesavers, Peppermints, or peppermint candies. Keep a supply in the car
• Ginger snap cookies. Eat a couple before you start the trip and then periodically during the trip. This tip was recommended by several readers!
• Avoid reading in the car, particularly on winding bumpy roads. Be sure to keep eye focus mainly to front. This helps the brain process sensory data, and averts vertigo.
• Use Seabands, which are wristbands with a small round metal button that presses into the inside of each wrist. They are tight & work by acupressure. Some people swear by them!
• Place the child in the middle of the backseat so they can see out the front, rather than the sides, which can appear as a blur.
• Pick a spot as far away as you can see and just focus on that for a few minutes not the road whizzing by
• Breath deep through your mouth, not your nose.
• Stick your hand out the window, just a little bit; whether it is 100 degrees or 10 degrees.
• Fresh water and saltine crackers
• Keep empty 3-pound butter tubs in the van with their covers, so that in case of an accident, you can re-cover the tub until you reach a place you can empty and rinse it out.
• Keep plenty of lollipops on hand
• A cool face cloth. The minute someone feels that urge come on, hand them a peppermint and have them place the cool face cloth on their forehead.
• Ginger root capsules, ginger ale and plain cake donuts!!
• An ice pack applied to the back of the neck -- ten minutes on, ten minutes off -- works wonders.
• Wear wrap around sun glasses
• Take Benadryl or Dramamine 1-1/2 hour prior to drive. Don't wait until you are already on the road or it will be too late. Consult a doctor if necessary before using!
• Keep a bottle of Fabreeze to get rid of accident odors
• Never travel without a big tub of wet wipes!
• Keep an extra change of clothing easily available for all travelers