The License Plate Game — Free Printable Checklist
All fifty states plus Washington, D.C., laid out so a kid can tick them off from the back seat without losing their place. Eleven hard-to-find states score three points instead of one.
4 pages · Best for ages 6–12 · PDF, US Letter · no email required
Going somewhere specific?
The Sunlight Kids destination activity books are written for the place you're actually driving to.
“Perfect for my grandkids”— Julia R. · Verified Amazon Purchase
What's inside the PDF
- Two identical 51-entry checklists, so two kids can each keep their own score.
- A color-in state grid for younger kids who aren't reading a list yet.
- Eleven rare states marked with a star and worth three points.
- A blank tally sheet for Canadian provinces, Mexican states and the good vanity plates.
How to use them
Two ways to play. For an afternoon drive, play the short game: first to fifteen different states wins. For a longer trip, everyone keeps their own sheet for the whole vacation, there and back, and you total the points on the last day. The starred states are worth three because a game where Texas scores the same as Alaska is over in twenty minutes. Kids who aren't reading fluently yet play the color-in page instead — an adult calls the state and they find and color the box.
What this builds
It is the least effortful geography lesson available to a parent. Kids finish a long trip knowing which states exist, roughly where they are, and which ones are far away — because they spent a week hunting for Alaska and never found it. There's real reading practice in it too, and for the younger version, letter recognition and matching.
The printed version, and the rest of the set
The Sunlight Kids destination activity books are written for the place you're actually driving to.
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Frequently asked questions
- Does this include all 50 states?
- All fifty, plus Washington, D.C. — 51 boxes in total, listed alphabetically so a kid can find one quickly from a moving car.
- Why are some states worth more points?
- Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, Vermont, the Dakotas, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maine and D.C. are marked with a star and score three points. Without that, whoever spots the nearest state fastest wins and the game is over before lunch.
- What age is the license plate game for?
- About 6 to 12 for the checklist version, since it needs reading. There's a color-in grid in the same PDF for ages 4–6 that needs no reading at all.
- How long does a game last?
- The short game — fifteen states — is an afternoon. The full 51 realistically takes a whole vacation, and most families never finish it, which is the point.
- Does a plate in a photo or on TV count?
- No. It has to be a plate you can read, on a vehicle you can see, while you're playing. That rule prevents more arguments than any other in the pack.
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