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8 Recession Road Trip Games
Even with the emergence of the “staycation,” many families will be hitting the road this Labor Day. So after the Harry Potter series ends on the DVD player, we suggest some timely car games to keep the fun rolling along. Print this guide and take it with you.
Spot a Sign
This one’s easy. In the wake of mortgage defaults and foreclosure-o-rama, for-sale signs dot the landscape like a new mutant weed. In a twist on “punch Buggy” or “slug a bug”—in which you punch the person next to you when you spot a VW Beetle—tag (we prefer it to a punch) the person next to you to signal you spotted a for-sale sign first.
Song: Old McDonald Had a Farm Old McDonald Sold His Farm
Old McDonald sold his farm
Ee i ee i oh
And at the sale there were some cows
Ee i ee i oh
With a moo moo here
And a moo moo there
Ee i ee i oh
Repeat with different farm animals.
Song: 150 Million Working Americans
Sung to the tune of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”:
150 million working Americans
150 million working Americans
Take one down, kick him around
149 million working Americans
Sing this song until you get to 141 million—approximately the number of Americans left with jobs after the endless layoffs of the last two years.
20 Questions
To keep it fun, make a rule that the object has to be something related to the downturn. Such as: a pink slip; or a clunker; or Bernie Madoff.
The Picnic Game
In a twist on the old, “I went to a picnic and I brought,” let’s note that not everyone is as flush as they once were—today’s car-game picnics need to be budget-conscious. Instead, try, ” I went to a picnic and all I could afford to bring was…”
Name That Bank
For sophisticated financial crisis afficionados. Test one another’s expertise with clues on such downturn highlights as which bank failed first (Bear Stearns), where credit default swaps were first invented (JPMorgan), or which bank paid back its government debt first (Goldman Sachs).
The Car Next Door
Create narratives about the people rolling along next to you: Have they got jobs? Did anyone take a salary cut this year? How are they adjusting their spending habits? What opportunities have they found in the downturn? Let the story take its own course!
Rock, Paper, Scissors
This timeless classic has never been more relevant—what more do you need than these three simple imaginary objects, especially if you can’t afford them!
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3 comments for “8 Recession Road Trip Games”
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This is terrific. But, recession or not, it’s hard to beat Rock, Paper, Scissors.
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