“I spy” is a very simple and fun game you can play anywhere. I used to play it in the doctor’s waiting room

with my mom all the time. And I would also recommend it for long car rides. It is great for a little bit of distraction and to get rid of boredom. Also, you will build your vocabulary and gain a better understanding of your language. If you are feeling really confident, you can even play it in a foreign language.

What do you need?
The best part about this game is that you don’t need anything to play it. Additionally, you can play it at any place.

Who plays?
It is a perfect game for children in preschool. Also, you can play it with older kids. I find myself having fun playing this game too. So that is how you can see that it is a good game for any age group.
You can play it with two players and go up to as many as you want. But I would recommend no more than five, so that everybody can participate more actively.

How to play “I spy”?
“I spy” is a turn-taking game. So the first thing you have to do is decide on who is going to start. You can do this with a simple round of Rock, Paper, Scissors, or you can say that the youngest player starts. There are many ways to decide that. Just be creative.
The player who starts picks an object everyone can see. Then the player says, “I spy something with my little eye. And it is __” For the blank, you say the color of the object. So, if you choose a red car, you say: “I spy something with my little eye. And it is red. “
Now, the players take turns guessing what object the first person thought of. The first person to guess the correct answer gets the next turn to choose an object.

Variations
You can easily adapt the game for younger children. To make it easier you can change the rules, so that the person who chooses an object does not only include the color but also the fist letter of the word. You could also include a category. For example if you spy a food you say:”I spy something with my little eye that I can eat.”
To make it easier you can also include yes and no questions. For example about the location, the shape, or the size.
In another variation of this game, the goal is no longer to guess a specific object. The goal is to find as many things as possible that have the announced color. One point is awarded for each object found. The winner is the player who reaches five points first.
If you have really bad weather, and just not that many things to look at in your house you can also use this picture for the game. Or search for another “Wimmelbild”, where a lot of objects, colors etc. are captured.

Lastly, I also wanted to add some tips for playing it in the car. You should all agree that you don’t use objects outside the window because they will not be visible for long.
Have fun playing the game and always remember to play fair and respectfully!