Are we there yet?

‘I-Spy’ with my little eye …. the most popular game to play on long journeys

• Fifty eight per cent of families play ‘I-Spy’ on car journeys
• The ‘X Factor’ influence, as ‘Car Karaoke’ becomes more popular with 50 per cent singing along to songs on the radio/stereo
• Direct Line launches a free downloadable car games guide

With many families getting ready for long journeys in the car, research* from Direct Line car insurance has revealed ‘I-Spy’ remains the most popular game to play when travelling, beating off stiff competition from game consoles as well as DVD and MP3 players.

The research compared games parents played when they were children with the games now played in the family car. Showing traditional games still have a place with today’s cyber generation ‘I-Spy’ is still the most popular game, though played less now (58 per cent) than a generation ago (65 per cent). Spot the car of a certain colour, make or model (45 per cent) and ‘Car Karaoke’ - singing along to songs on the radio/stereo (50 per cent) have also remained in the top five of favourite games.

Electronic gadgets have taken over some traditional games in popularity with 46 per cent playing handheld games consoles, 36 per cent listening to MP3 players and 34 per cent watching DVDs. However some traditional pastimes are increasing in popularity, 28 per cent enjoy reading, 24 per cent sing songs or nursery rhymes as a family and an artistic 22 per cent pass the time colouring in or drawing.

Jennifer Culley of Direct Line car insurance says: “I think we all have memories of those long car journeys in the summer holidays and how the monotony was broken with a game of ‘I-Spy’ or who could spot the most red cars. It’s great to see some of these games have withstood the test of time and are still popular even with the advent of hand held games consoles, DVD and MP3 players.

“Many of the new gadgets take away family participation and that’s why Direct Line has decided to launch a free downloadable pack containing many traditional games as well as new ones that the whole family can play.”

There can be nothing more boring than a long car journey especially if you have children asking 'are we there yet?' That's why Direct Line has put together some tips to help your journey go without a hitch and some ideas for games to play, both old and new to break the monotony and make your journey more enjoyable.

Click on the link below to download Direct Line’s ‘Are We There Yet?’ book of games to play in the car.