Gearing up for a group road trip aboard a charter bus from San Francisco? While you can choose to rent a motorcoach with TV screens and a DVD player for entertainment, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for any lulls on the road with fun games and ways to interact together. Read on to get ideas for fun games to play during a charter bus trip, from video game apps to classic trivia.

young girl smiling aboard a charter bus rental

Classic Games

For some quick and easy game ideas, fall back on the classics. These types of games are great for all ages and take little to no preparation to enjoy:

Twenty Questions

One of the oldest games in the book, “Twenty Questions” can be played anywhere. To play this simple game, just choose one player to be “it” and have them think of a person, place, or thing. Other players attempt to guess the secret person, place, or thing but only get 20 questions to get it right!

The Alphabet Game

This classic car game is simple and works perfectly aboard a charter bus. Players watch out the windows for road signs or objects and look for anything that starts with the letter “A”. Once that letter has been found, you move on to the next one and so on until Z, when the game ends.

Would You Rather

“Would You Rather” is a talking game where players choose between two hypothetical scenarios they’d rather do. Take turns asking questions starting with “Would you rather…” and present two different scenarios. For example, you can ask, “Would you rather have the ability to see 10 minutes into the future or 150 years into the future?”

License Plate Bingo

This game takes a little bit of preparation but is great for long road trips, especially with kids on a field trip. Select 25 different states and write their names in Bingo game board squares. As you travel, each player looks out for license plates that match the states on their boards and calls out the different state names as they’re spotted!

kids on a bus smiling and raising their hands

Mobile Games

Mobile video games are fun for everyone with a smartphone or tablet and are easy to play if you rent a motorcoach with a WiFi hotspot enabled.

Among Us

A popular video game for people of any age, “Among Us” can be enjoyed in a group of 4-10 players. In the game, a ship crew of up to ten people tries to complete basic tasks to keep the ship running but there’s at least one person (called an “imposter”) who will be trying to kill everyone on board instead. Crewmates must complete their tasks while trying to identify the imposter, and if they don’t before the game is over, the imposter wins.

Kahoot!

The game Kahoot! is perfect for teachers organizing a field trip in San Francisco. It’s a free, cloud-based quiz platform that allows you to create multiple-choice trivia quizzes for all learning levels. While on a trip, you can present a Kahoot! live and encourage friendly competition between passengers—and offer fun prizes to the winners!

The Jackbox Party Pack

Jackbox Games are fun, quiz-based party video games that can be played on the road with a smartphone or tablet. Your group will need at least one primary screen to display the game, and participants can each join the game via a browser login. You’ll be presented with many games and challenges ranging from trivia questions to social deductions.

Heads Up!

If you need a game that everyone can get behind and enjoy, Heads Up! is a fun and simple guessing game created in part by Ellen DeGeneres. Similar to charades, participants hold their phone to their forehead while it displays a word like a celebrity name, movie title, or fictional character. Then, they need to guess the word from other players’ clues before the timer runs out! Each player gets 60 seconds to guess as many words as possible based on the clues given to them by other participants.

two cards held up in a hand

Card Games

During long-distance charter bus trips, card games can easily help the miles fly by. With no smartphones or WiFi connection necessary, you can easily play these games with the people seated around you!

Exploding Kittens

This quirky, family-friendly card game is great for all ages and can accommodate 4-7 players! You play and draw cards every turn, always wary about the ever-looming exploding kitten card located somewhere in the deck! It’s easy to learn and a great way to pass the time while on the road. You can also purchase an expansion pack that allows for up to 10 players per game.

Cards Against Humanity

A popular adult card game, Cards Against Humanity could be a great addition to a long road trip with friends. The premise is simple: there’s a stack of cards labeled with prompts and a stack with possible responses. Each player is dealt a hand of responses, and they need to choose one every time a prompt is drawn. The players who drew the prompt select the funniest, cleverest, or most shocking response, and whichever is chosen as the best wins the round!

Apples to Apples

Similar to Cards Against Humanity in gameplay, Apples to Apples uses more family-friendly prompts and responses that are acceptable for passengers of all ages. It’s great for 4-to-10 players and a fun, creative outlet for younger participants.

What Do You Meme?

Great for all ages, “What Do You Meme?” is a game about matching funny captions to silly images. A rotating judge picks the best combination for each round and whoever played the winning caption card wins the round!

Rent a Charter Bus for Your Next Trip to San Francisco

Now that you know how easy it is to pass the time while on the road, planning a group trip in San Francisco should be a breeze. When you’re ready to book a bus, contact us at 415-404-6456 and speak with a reservation agent about local charter bus prices, types of bus rentals available, and more.