When we take the family on a long driving trip we have a variety of games to play together to help pass the time and to keep the kids from getting bored and restless.

One game that we invented involves reading the license plates of cars that we pass by to make poker hands. All you need is a notepad and pencil and a cup of pennies. Each person gets a turn at claiming a license plate – he can claim the next one we drive by or if he doesn’t want that one he can pass his turn and the next person has the choice of claiming that one or the next one. Once a license plate is claimed, you make your best poker hand from the letters and numbers on that plate and then you discard the unwanted numbers so you can draw more from the next and final round of claiming plates. Once you get your second plate you fill out your poker hand and either bet pennies on it (with a 10 cent maximum bet) or fold. Winner of the “hand” gets the cup with the pennies.