'We're All Arms & Legs!' - The raucous rural car game

As part of our 15 games to entertain kids on long car journeys series to help you survive an upcoming trip in one piece, we've got a great game for the whole family. Try out this classic road and pub sign game, counting the number of arms and legs that can be seen.

In a nutshell...

Using road signs and pub names only, count the number of arms and legs you see on your journey (or part of it) to be the team with the highest number. ‘Octopus Inn’ anyone?!

This will stop you getting asked "are we nearly there yet?" for...

You could play this as long as everyone’s interested. Glasgow to Guildford might be pushing it, though!

LOL factor:

High - there’s going to be some good giggles in this game.

Required Mensa levels:

Easy peasy. Kids aged five and up can enjoy and play this one.

Instructions:

The people on the driver’s side of the car make up one team, and the people on the passenger side, the other. Anyone in the middle can choose which team to join!

Everyone needs to keep an eye out for pubs and road signs on their side of the road. One point is awarded for every arm or leg each team claims on each one of the items they see.

So, for example: If you see a pub called the ‘The Queen Victoria’ passenger side, that team will score four points (two arms and two legs). ‘The Red Lion’ pub would score four (four legs). ‘The Coach and Horses’ would score 12 (two horses and one driver equals 10 legs and two arms).

The team with the highest score at the end wins. However, if someone sees a pub called ‘The Ant Hill’, then it will be game over straight away – no one will beat that score!

The horse and rider warning sign would be worth eight points (six legs and two arms). Whereas the roadworks warning sign would be worth four points (two arms and two legs).

Some tips and variants:

• This game is suitable for A roads and countryside driving, not the motorway.
• Keep score on a piece of paper.
• Set a time limit on a long journey, or play the game for the whole journey if it is relatively short.
• Road names do not count.

Looking for more car games?

You can see our full list of games to entertain kids on long car journeys here, providing you with plenty of ways to keep the kids occupied no matter their age or the length of your journey.