This guide includes everything you need to learn how to play the License Plate Game in the USA. This includes the rules and a free printable checklist. Similar to road trip bingo and a road trip scavenger hunt, It’s one of the best road trip games to play in the car!
Scroll down to find the printable license plate game checklist pdf link and print it ready for your next family road trip. Alternatively, just use the graphic below on your phone and play along in the car.
In this guide, you’ll find out how to play and receive detailed instructions on all the states to spot. You will also learn some hilarious variations of the rules to make it more fun!
There are also instructions for the UK Number Plate Game and the Australian/European version. Don’t forget to check out our other suggestions for the best printable road trip games for kids.
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What Is The License Plate Game?
- The USA License Plate Game is a simple but fun road trip game. It involves scoring points by spotting license plates registered to different states while driving.
- A player is awarded points as license plates are spotted.
- The aim of the game is to spot a license plate from all of the different 50 states or score more points than the other players in a given time limit.
- You can also play by yourself and try to get the highest score possible.
- Use our free printable PDF for your next family road trip!
Don’t have a printer? Grab the license plate game from Amazon!
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How To Play The License Plate Game
- Use A Pen & Paper, Or Print Off Our Free License Plate Checklist
- Start A Timer And Play As Teams Or Individuals. Choose The Duration Yourself.
- Award One Point For Each License Plate Spotted From Any State (Or Country)
- The Point For A License Plate Is Awarded To The First To Spot It
- Each Team/Individual Can Only Score A Point Once For A Given State/Country
- The Player Or Team With The Most Points At The End Of The Timer Wins
License Plate Game Printable Checklist
The 50 States are listed below, with an example of what each plate looks like. You can use this united states license plate game printable checklist when playing on your road trip!
Enjoy fun for all the family by getting this read in advance of your awesome road trip.
- Use the image below if you need help recognizing the design of the number plates
- Click this link to download the checklist and use it for your family road trip
Keep the kids entertained on a road trip by ordering one of these awesome travel games from Amazon for your next journey!
- I SPY Card Game – A fun game where the kids spot various things whilst on the road.
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Traveling with kids? Don’t forget Road Trip Games for Kids, such as this Travel Bingo Pack or Scavenger Hunt Card Game for Kids on Amazon!
License Plate Game Rules
The most famous version is, of course, the USA License Plate Game. Let’s get started with that.
In this section, I will explain the license plate game rules and everything that you need.
- Spotting a license plate from a state on the list is worth one point and you should mark it off your checklist.
- Score as many points as you can by spotting as many of the license plates from the list.
- The game ends when either a time limit is met, or a player has spotted a license plate from all 50 states.
- The player with the most points wins the game.
- You can either play the game cooperatively or competitively. If you play by yourself, try to get the highest score possible.
- If you play competitively, try to get a higher score than your opponents or win the game by spotting all of the license plates.
- If you play competitively then the first person to spot the license plate on a specific car is awarded the point for that license plate.
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What You Need To Play
You will need:
- A piece of paper and a pen for each player/team that is taking part in this road trip game.
- A list of all the USA states. There is one provided at the bottom of this article.
- A smartphone for a countdown timer.
- Get started and try to spot as many license plates as you can!
If you haven’t set off yet you could plan ahead and order a U.S.A License Plate Game kit for the kids!
- WOODEN TRAVEL GAME: The Melissa & Doug U.S.A….
- DURABLE AND EASY TO USE: The U.S.A. License Plate…
- TWO PLAYER GAME: Color-coded edges allows for…
If you’re on the road, read on and get started with everything you need to know to play the game!
Aim of The Game
Score as many points as possible in the time limit by seeing license plates from as many states or countries as you can before the other player(s).
You might also like: 19 Awesome Road Trip Game Apps
Rule Variations of the License Plate Game
You can choose to vary the game by having different point amounts for ‘harder-to-spot’ plates.
Example 1:
A license plate from abroad or a car from a state that borders Canada could is worth 2 points.
Example 2:
Introduce wild cards such as “A yellow car from Wyoming is worth 2 points”. You can get creative and come up with the ‘wildcards’ yourselves!
Example 3:
A license plate from an adjacent state is worth 1 point whilst all other states are worth 2 points.
The license plate game is one of my favorites as it really helps move the time along during a car journey. The more rule variations you introduce the more exciting the game can become.
If you want to make the game as fast-paced as possible you can introduce lots of new rules to include vehicle types, models, and colors. The possibilities are endless!
You might also like: 12 Amazing Road Trip Games for Two People
Cooperative License Plate Game
In the cooperative license plate game, everyone works together to collect as many number plates as possible. You can do so in a certain time period and then try to beat the score together next time.
This is one of the best road trip games to cure the boredom of those long drives!
The Punch And Yell Rule
For a stranger variation, you could try the ‘Punch and Yell’ rule. Each time you spot a new state you punch one of the other players (lightly) and yell the state that you spotted.
If you make a mistake or yell one that has already been spotted you have to pull a hair out of your head or slap yourself in the face so be careful!
Maybe not one for the kids…
Check Out: Road Trip Games for Couples
How To Play The UK Number Plate Game
This section will discuss how to play the number plate game in the UK. I will cover what you need, the aim of the game, and how to play.
What You Need
- A pen and paper.
Aim of The Game
To spot a number plate with each of the 26 letters of the alphabet, in order A-Z, before the other player(s). In Europe, you can use the numbers 1-999 in place of letters of the alphabet.
How To Play
- Be ready with paper and pen – jot the letters A-Z down the side ready to tick off
- Starting with the letter A, work your way from A-Z, progressing to the next letter when you spot a number plate with your current letter in it.
- Each number plate can only be spotted by one player and the first one to complete 26 letters wins.
- You can decide if you want to start at opposite ends of the alphabet or not
- In Europe use the numbers 1-999 instead of letters of the alphabet
The best part?
It’s great for everyone, whether you’re on a road trip with friends, or your family!
How To Deal With Tricky Letters in the UK Number Plate Game
Taking a while to find certain letters?
To make the game quicker, tricky letters can be ticked off when a number plate is spotted with the two adjacent letters in the alphabet to the target letter.
For example, number plate DO65 HJG would contain the letters “H” and “J” which are adjacent to the tricky letter “I”. Another example would be “Z+B” in a number plate would tick off “A”
Rule Variations of the UK Number Plate Game
As with the USA version, you can use rule variations to make a faster paced more exciting game!
An example would be that triple letters can be used to tick off any letter. For example, DG65 HHH would have a triple “H” in it so it can tick off any letter! Another example would be creating wild rules such as a yellow car, or a rare car like an Aston Martin to tick off letters.
A few other possible variations of the number plate game.
- Take the last three letters of the number plate and create sentences, one point for each sentence. For example, HEG could be “horse eats giraffe”
- Take the last three letters and try to find words that contain the letters in that order. For example, HKG could lead to the word HIKING
- Trying to spot the greatest number of personalized number plates in a given time period.
How To Play The License Plate Game In Australia and Europe
This section of the article will explain how to play the license plate game in Australia and Europe. Due to the license plates being different, there are different rules! I will explain what you will need, how to play, and any additional rules.
What You Need
- A pen and paper.
How To Play
- Each player chooses a number between 1 and 9
- To score points, players must find a pair or a three of the number they have chosen on a single license plate
- A pair of numbers is worth 2 points, and three of your number is worth 3 points
- The first player to 25 points wins the game.
Additional Rules
You can also use the ‘addition rule’ to make extra pairs of numbers. This is where there is only one of your numbers on the license plate, however, the two remaining numbers add up to your number.
For example, if your chosen number is 7 and the license plate is XXX – 347 then you would score 2 points because you have your number 7 and (3+4) = 7 for a pair.
More Road Trip Games
Want more activities to keep you entertained on your road trip?
We have an extensive list of interactive road trip game articles. Here are a few you might like:
- 59 Insanely Fun Road Trip Games for Adults
- 28 Incredible Word Games to Play in the Car
If you are looking to get the conversation going in the car you could also check out our article on the best family road trip questions!
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