Family road trips can be a fun adventure, but when they go on for too long they become boring. Thankfully, there are a lot of great road trip games for Android and iOS that'll keep everyone occupied during the ride.

The following games offer something for everyone, including online multiplayer, local multiplayer via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and even single-player experiences. (For the games that require internet access, you can use any of these in-car Wi-Fi options.)

The one aspect they all have in common is they'll help you and your family pass the long hours as you travel to your vacation destination.

1. Plates Free Family Travel Game

What's the one item you pass most often when you're driving for countless hours on the highway? License plates.

That's what makes this a perfect road trip game. It includes all plates you'll see from regions in Mexico, Canada, or the United States. The name of the game is simple: each person needs to find plates from as many states or regions as possible before the trip is over.

The person with the highest score by the end of the trip wins. This game doesn't require any network connection, since each player's phone tracks their score.

If you prefer, to keep track of each player's score you could also use a note-taking app.

Download: Plates Free Family Travel Game for Android (Free)

Download: States and Plates Free for iOS (Free)

2. What If

Another fun road trip game is What If. This only requires one person in the car to run it on their phone. That person can ask the question and either take a majority poll from everyone in the car, or ask one person each question in turn.

The fun part of the game is seeing whether a majority of people who play the game agreed with your answer. It's really surprising to see how people answer some of these crazy questions!

Download: What If for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Family's Game Travel Pack Lite

If you're more into playing networked games with other people in the car, then you're definitely going to want to give Family's Game Travel Pack a try.

The app includes a collection of 50 traditional games like Sudoku, Chess, Crazy Eights, and more. To link up and play these games with other players riding in the car, they just need to install the app too and make sure they have either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled.

These classic games are a fun way to pass the time normally. But when you play them during a long drive, you'll be surprised just how fast the ride goes by.

Even if there's no one else in the car available to play with you, there's also an offline option to play with the game's AI. A non-app alternative, if you just love board games, is to jump online and play free board games through your browser.

Download: Family's Game Travel Pack Lite for Android | iOS (Free)

4. Pictoword

Word games make for great party games. And great party games usually also make great road trip games. This one is no exception.

The game is simple. The app shows you two pictures that together represent a single word. You can use the scrambled letters underneath to spell out your guess.

It's a great one-player puzzle to pass the time during a trip, but it's easy to turn it into a multiplayer game by passing your phone around and taking turns.

Download: Pictoword for Android | iOS (Free)

5. Fun Run 3: Arena

If you do have a family data plan, Fun Run 3 is a total joy to play. It's an online multiplayer game where you compete against players from all around the world.

The touch controls are pretty simple. You tap up to jump and down to duck or slide.

You'll challenge three other real online players to make it to the end of the race first. The better you place, the more points you get at the end.

This is a great game for an only child to pass the time during a long drive. They won't have to worry about finding someone to play with them, because there are online players ready to go anytime.

Download: Fun Run Free: Arena for Android | iOS (Free)

6. DUAL!

DUAL! is a direct phone-to-phone game you can play with someone sitting next to you. Just install it on your phone and have a friend install it on theirs. Make sure you both have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled.

What's unique about this game is it combines two phone screens into one. You need to hold the phones together so the top ends touch. It's a vintage Atari-style shooting game and it's a blast (pun intended) to play.

The only limitation of this game is that you have to be physically sitting next to the person you're playing with, and only two people can play. But as a backseat road trip game for two kids (or adults) to play, it's great fun.

Download: DUAL! for Android | iOS (Free)

7. Psych!

After the highly successful Heads Up!, Ellen DeGeneres is back with another fun family game called Psych! It's great for holiday parties, but also fits for long car trips.

There are four "decks" available to play: a truth game, movie trivia, a word game, or a true/false facts game.

Thanks to the way the game lays out its rules, you can have a lot of fun if you're a bit witty. For example, the "Is That a Fact?" game asks players to answer a fact. You can either provide a truthful answer, or a fake one.

If you're convincing enough, you could probably fool everyone into believing your fake answer. It's a complete riot to play with friends or family, and it passes the time quickly. You won't want to stop playing even once you reach your destination.

Download: Psych! for Android | iOS (Free)

8. Racers Vs Cops

If you're into car racing games, you'll love Racers Vs Cops. This game puts you head-to-head against your friend in a wild road chase.

The goal of the game is for the racer player to make it to the end first, or the cop player to get ahead of the racer and cut them off short of the goal.

There's also a single-player mode if you don't have anyone to go up against. Controls are easier than most mobile racing games, with the throttle and brake on the lower corners of screen. Sound effects and steering sensitivity are quite accurate.

Download: Racers Vs Cops for Android | iOS (Free)

9. Battleships: Fleet Battle

If you've ever played the classic game Battleship before, then you can imagine how awesome this digital version is.

You can choose from single player against AI, online multiplayer, or local multiplayer. Place your battleships wisely, because the goal of this game is to shoot your enemy's battleships out of the water before they shoot all of yours.

If you think those rules sound too simple to be fun, you've got a surprise in store. I challenge you to play just one round of this game. It can easily make several hours pass in the blink of an eye---perfect for a road trip!

Download: Battleships: Fleet Battle for Android | iOS (Free)

10. Tank 1990 HD

If you love retro console games, then you should adore Tank 1990. The game is exactly what it sounds like: a multiplayer remake of the popular game Tank 1990. You can play with your friends over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

If the never played the game before, the rules are simple. Navigate your tank through the gaps between brick walls and shoot the enemy tanks before they shoot you.

But be careful. Tanks can blow a hole through the bricks, so play strategically! When you play this game with friends, it's exciting, a bit nerve-racking, but really fun.

Download: Super Tank for Android (Free)

Download: Battle City--Super Tank for iOS (Free)

Playing Road Trip Games on the Go

Remember, playing games while traveling is something only passengers should do. Drivers need to keep their eyes on the road! But for the rest of the passengers, any of these road trip games are sure to help pass the time without getting too bored. You might enjoy these fighting games on iOS and Android as well as these bingo games on Android too.

For help planning future trips, check out our tips. Travel plans aside, here's how you can find new mobile games worth playing anytime!

Image Credit: Kryzhov/Depositphotos