Car Scramble: A game for all the family

We leave in an age where it's expensive to keep children (and sometimes) yourself entertained on long journeys. However, don't despair for within this very blog post is a secret that will make any long trip an absolute joy - unless you're the driver, in which case you're screwed. Sorry. Just listen to some music or something.

And the beauty of this exciting travel game? It's absolutely free and its limited only by the vast landscape of your imagination. All you need is daylight (or low light at the very least), a working eye/spine/neck combination and a car window - and let the fun begin!

The rules are simple - position your head so you're looking through the side car window and can focus on a smudge, dot or scratch on the window itself. If the car window is too clean, I'm sure the owner won't mind if you get a permanent marker and draw a small arrow on it heading in the direction of travel. If the owner of the car does object simply wait until he's not looking and draw it then. If they spot you vandalising their car with a marker, adopt a disgruntled tone and point out that they should have been paying attention to the road and you're lucky you're all not dead - and then run away at the nearest opportunity and find a new friend with a car.

As the vehicle you're safely within begins gathering speed, imagine that said speck is a flying vehicle hurtling parallel to your car. You might think that this game isn't so exciting yet, but the real miracle is yet to happen. If you move your head ever-so slightly you'll note that can change the altitude of the flying smudge. When you've quite recovered from the excitement of that, the fun can begin. Using your skill and judgement "fly" the smudge on the window as low to the ground as possible whilst avoiding all oncoming obstacles.

Here comes the science bit..  Click on any of the pictures for more detail.

To adjust the sensitivity of the controls move yourself towards the smudge to increase sensitivity, away from it to decrease it. You can also use this sensitivity to raise or lower the difficulty of the game.

As an exciting gameplay variant if you're lucky enough to be sitting as a passenger next to the driver, why not try using the road ahead as your playing field?  A smudge on the front window (or the carefully drawn back end of a spacecraft) can make an exciting first person flight simulator as you weave in and out of "enemy traffic".

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU ARE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THIS BLOG ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CRASHES/FATALITIES THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF PLAYING "CAR SCRAMBLE". NOR DO WE ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY FAILURE OF NAVIGATION THAT MAY OCCUR FROM PASSENGERS BEING DISTRACTED PLAYING THIS ENTERTAINING GAME.

And why is it called Car Scramble? In honour of the thrilling eighties video game where you manouvered a gaudily coloured vehicle over mountains attacking enemy fighters and bombing stuff. Including fuel dumps, which somehow replenished your fuel. I don't know how either. IT WAS THE EIGHTIES.