🍌 Banana!
- 3–5, 6–9, 10+
- 5, 15, 30 min
- ☀️ Needs a window
To play Banana in the car, everyone watches for yellow cars, trucks and vans. The first to see one shouts "Banana!" and taps the big button on this page, which counts one more for the whole car. Some families play a version with a punch on the arm; this one has no touching at all, only shouting, so the littlest player can join in and nobody ends up crying.
- Look for yellow cars and trucks.
- Spot one? Shout "Banana!" and tap the button.
- The car counts together. No hitting, ever: only shouting.
🎮 Getting the game ready…
How to play Banana!, the long way
Agree what counts before you start: yellow cars only, or yellow trucks and school buses too. A school bus can be worth two, if the car says so.
Spot one, shout "Banana!", tap the button. If two people shout at once, it still only counts once: there's one count for the car.
Count to a goal ("ten bananas by lunch") or see how many before the next town. Then switch colours: purple cars are rare, so they're "grapes" and worth a cheer.
Banana! works best on busy roads and in towns, where cars pass in both directions. On an empty country road it can go quiet for a long time, so pair it with Count the Cows: yellow cars in town, cows in the fields. A grown-up in the passenger seat can be the referee for what counts, which keeps the shouting fair and short.
Keep the volume kind to the driver. A whisper-shout of "banana" is just as fun, and makes everyone giggle.
By age
🧸 3–5: Threes and fours know yellow and love shouting. Perfect.
🎒 6–9: Six to nine can keep the rules: what counts, what doesn't.
🎧 10+: Big kids can play "rare colours": purple, pink and orange cars only.
When it goes wrong
- Someone shouts banana at a yellow sign: it has to have wheels.
- It gets too loud for the driver: switch to whispering "banana".
- Arguing about who saw it first: there's no first. It's the car's banana.
Questions families ask
Isn't this the game where you punch people?
Some versions are. Peabody's has no touching at all: you shout, and the car counts together.
Are yellow cars rare?
Rare enough to be exciting. On a long highway drive you might see a handful an hour.
Try next
v0.2.0 · Checked 31 October 2026 · Everything you tap stays on this phone. No sign-in, no location, nothing sent. For grown-ups