I Spy

Players

2 or more

Time

10 minutes

You need

Nothing

Ages

4 and above

Type

Travel and family games

Who it suits and when to play

I Spy suits the youngest travellers, from four years old, and it is the first game to reach for when a child says "how much longer?" Two players are enough. It needs nothing but a window, so it works in a car, a bus, a train or a waiting room. With children who do not know letters yet, play by colour: "something that is red".

How to play

1. The spy secretly chooses something everyone can see.
2. The spy says, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with T", or for small children, "something that is green".
3. The others take turns to guess.
4. The player who guesses right becomes the next spy.

Tips and variations

• On a moving vehicle, choose things inside it, or things that stay in view for long, such as the sky, hills or the road.

Common problems and how to fix them

• The thing has already passed out of sight. Choose only things inside the vehicle, or things that stay in view, such as the sky, a hill or the road.
• Small children change their object midway. Ask them to whisper the answer to an adult first.
• It becomes too easy. Give two clues together, such as a colour and a first letter, or allow only five guesses.
• The driver joins in. The driver may guess but never spy. Eyes stay on the road.

More travel and family games

• A to Z Game 10 to 15 minutes
• Atlas 10 to 20 minutes
• Road Bingo 30 minutes or the whole journey
• The Counting Game 10 to 20 minutes

Need fair teams or someone to go first? Use the team maker. See all 45 games.