| Game On! |

Long Drives, Late Nights, Lots of Laughs

By Chanie Nayman | March 23, 2021

You can pull out an old game from the basement — but why not play one of these creative, curated games for even more fun?

It’s Chol Hamoed. You finally have everyone in one place. Sure, you can pull out an old game from the basement — but why not play one of these creative, curated games for even more fun? Try one (or all) of these:

Reward Bingo

Ask each family member to contribute a reward and make a request. E.g., a reward can be, “I’ll make your bed for a week.” A request would be the opposite, “You have to do my Erev Shabbos job this week.”
Make sure you have enough rewards and requests to fill 24 squares. You can do 12 rewards and 12 requests, or any preferred ratio. List all of them on a paper, numbered 1–24. (Steps 1 and 2 should be done before Pesach, so the writing is done before Chol Hamoed.)
Using regular bingo boards, with B,I,N,G,O cards and number cards, start calling out letters and numbers. Each number coordinates with a number on your list. So if B-17 is called, whoever has a 17 under the B column will receive the reward or request for that number.
If someone lands on their own number, they can swap with someone else, or there can be a general reward offered to anyone who lands on their own reward.
Only award the rewards and requests to someone who actually gets a row. Otherwise prizes will fly off the shelves!

Some sample rewards and requests:

I’ll take you to the mall! Love, Rivky
I’ll bake cookies for you! Love, Yitzi
Free bedtime pass! Love, Mommy
Babysit the baby for an hour
Go out for lunch! Love, Daddy
Drinks and fries date! Love, Mommy
Do Dovi’s Erev Shabbos job
Shine Avi’s shoes for Shabbos
Sleepover with a friend! Love, Mommy
Prepare everyone’s snacks twice
I’ll organize your closet! Love, Shira
You pick supper for a week! Love, Mommy
Make supper for Mommy one night
Free bedtime pass! Love, Mommy
Organize the pantry
Make Shira’s bed for a week
Breakfast in bed! Love, Rivky
Take out the garbage every evening
Color code Rivky’s art supplies
I’ll make a BBQ for your friends! Love, Avi
I’ll take you on a bowling outing! Love, Daddy
Write thank-you notes for Yitzy’s bar mitzvah gifts
Read little Shimi three books
$20 gift card to Amazon! Love, Daddy
Treat the family to pizza
I’ll make supper, Love Daddy
Hang out a load of laundry

Car Fun

By the time the kids are all loaded in the car to go on your Chol Hamoed trip, you’re probably hoping against hope they’ll just listen quietly to whatever is in the CD player. But if you’re hopes get dashed, don’t fear. These games will make the miles fly by. (Thank you, Michal Frischman and family, for the first two ideas!)

Name That Tune: Play a song for ten seconds, either the beginning or middle of the song, and have your kids guess what song it is.
Rhyme-Opposite-Rhyme: Start with a word, let’s say, Cake. Then, a sibling needs to add a rhyme to that: Snake. The next person needs to say the opposite for that: Giraffe. Then rhyme: Laugh. Opposite: Cry. And so on.
Car by Color: (This one’s for the little ones, aged 3–5). Print (or draw) a sheet before you get into the car of rows of cars by color (Do common car colors: gray, black, white, red, blue). Give the child a crayon, and have them cross off each of the colored cars as they see them. This will keep them busy for a while!

Super Scattergories

This can work well for a long drive, but will be equally fun indoors. Take turns picking any letter from the alphabet. Then go through the lists below (or create your own), and come up with answers, each of which starts with the designated letter. You have two minutes to finish each full list!