Best cars with games tested: the current state of the in-car gaming art
In-car entertainment has come a long way in recent years...
Christmas is the big season for family games, but that’s not just sitting around the dining table these days. As technology develops, more and more car manufacturers are getting in on the act, and we’ve pulled together a selection of latest options ahead of the big festive getaway.
Whether you’re waiting for a car to charge while driving home for Christmas, hanging around a shopping centre car park as the family are picking up those last few gifts, or even hiding on the driveway to avoid the post-sprout aromas, there are now plenty of ways to keep yourself amused while the wheels aren’t turning.
BMW
BMW has really stepped up the in-car family gaming experience. Using the AirConsole system, there were, at the time of writing, 19 games to choose from, including the ever-popular Uno, as well as the likes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and console favourite Overcooked. Alternatively there is The Neighbourhood (familiar to many Google Play users and very close to the classic game Worms for anyone of a certain age) or some fun on Smoots Air Summer Games, which replaces the button-hammering running, jumping and throwing of old with some more 21st century screen swiping.
Where BMW differs from all the other options here is that you use your phone to scan a QR code and then join the game individually. So for Uno, for example, four players control their cards on their phone, and the central dash screen shows the overall game. It’s a clever system that means you can go to three, four or even eight players (if BMW did an eight-seater!) without everyone needing to reach the touchscreen.
And it’s great. Rather than gaming in the car as a way of escaping the family, with the BMW, you’ll be bringing them with you for some competitive fun, to the point where the neighbours will be thinking you’ve locked yourself out of the house.
The games are hosted online so new ones will be added over time. And the only bad news is that for cars running BMW’s latest iDrive - version 9.0 - AirConsole gaming comes as part of the Digital Premium package, along with video streaming and enhanced map offerings, but it’s accessible on all models running BMW and Mini’s latest software.
Tesla
From displaying a roaring log fire to switching the indicator repeater sound to a puerile rude noise, Tesla has very much led the way when it comes to in-car fun.
Of the 21 games available through the brand’s infotainment system, there’s a real mix of strategy, board, arcade and retro gaming. Drivers can while away charging time playing chess, backgammon, solitaire, Sudoku or Mahjong, or regress to the eighties Commodore 64 or even ZX Spectrum days with some simple pixel games. But the big winner is Beach Buggy Racing 2, which has long been the beacon of power when it comes to playing behind the wheel – because you actually use the steering wheel and pedals to race in a Mario Kart-style series of events, unlocking more races and difficulties as you go. Using the car’s steering wheel makes it easy to do some animated drifting of your little digital Tesla and it’s engaging enough to keep you wanting one more race, but you do also look to the outside world like you’re pretend car driving while you’re parked at a charge point.
Other games need a controller - connecting either wireless Xbox or Playstation handsets via Bluetooth works - for a more regular gaming experience.
Volvo
For 99p you can party like it’s 2009 and get lost in the addictive world of Angry Birds via Volvo’s Google Play system. It’s the only purchasable game at the moment, although like most of these systems, over-the-air updates mean things are always being updated. The game itself is an exact replica of the phone version, but the bigger car screen makes it even more satisfying to clatter those annoying pigs.
If you don’t fancy coughing up a pound for a game that was one of the early app phenomenons 15 years ago, then there is an array of free fun to download, including the ubiquitous 2048 numbers game and tile-matching mainstay Mahjong. Plus plenty of other simplistic stuff that will keep kids amused, though not challenge adults. But the Play Store will undoubtedly receive more updates over time, with plenty of phone-based favourites making their way onto the big (car) screen.
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Ford is definitely not as advanced as the likes of Volvo, Tesla or BMW, but the Mustang Mach-E does at least have a few options to kill time while charging, although nothing good enough to entice anyone out of the house and onto the driveway for a bit of gaming downtime.
The Ford’s choices are more the kind of simple brain-disenaging puzzles you might have on a phone – extracting a car from a crowded car park in as few moves as possible, a version of Tetris and a few others, including a single two-player game of building bridges across a board while also blocking off your rival.
They’re all pretty basic, but keep you entertained for a little while if you’re sitting waiting for a charge. And at least the car saves high scores so you’ve got a target next time.
Polestar
Much like sister company Volvo, Polestar gives its drivers access to the Google Play store, and plugging in a Playstation controller to the USB-C port gives a different dimension to the same Beach Buggy Racing 2 game you can play using the Tesla’s steering wheel and pedals.
The controller turns it into a more console-like experience, which gamers may prefer, although the portrait screen isn’t quite as game-friendly as the Tesla’s landscape orientation.
More serious gamers also have the option of downloading the Vivaldi browser from the Google Play store and linking it to a game-streaming service. It’s more complex, but it opens up a wider world of potential options.
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
Who needs big screens and downloads when you’ve got a car big enough to play a real three-dimensional board game in?
Our long-term Volkswagen ID. Buzz’s huge expanse of rear space creates a big enough flat area with the rear seats folded that Monopoly or Cluedo are legitimate options. The two big sliding side doors and hefty rear hatch mean four people can sit in relative comfort, although it’s more of a summer set-up when you don’t mind being so exposed to the elements. It’ll also be a conversation starter at charge points, and the board being flat to the boot floor means table-flipping quitting by sore losers isn’t an option.
Rear passengers can also fold down the aircraft-style tray tables for a game of cards while you’re on the move.
Fiat 600e
If you’re after something basic to keep the kids amused while you’re sitting around waiting, then the Fiat 600e has a hat-trick of options.
Hangman is the best of the three, with the computer generating words to guess, and points adding up until you get a word wrong, with your high score saved for next time. Tic-tac-toe is exactly what you’d expect, and at least better than playing on a steamed-up window, while there’s also the numbers game 2048 for bigger brains to try.
It’s all very last-generation compared with the more interactive range of games BMW, Tesla and Volvo can offer, but anything that stops the kids moaning about being bored while you’re waiting is never a bad thing.
Car games for when you’re on the road
It's all very well playing while you’re parked up, but don't forget these classics for when you’re on the move with easily bored kids. Or grown-ups...
I-Spy
The king of the in-car games launched a series of books and means the kids (or adults) can occupy themselves by ticking off makes of car, types of vehicle, road signs and more. But the old-fashioned “I spy with my little eye” has been causing arguments for decades. Make sure you pick something you can still see after five minutes of increasingly desperate guesses from your companions.
Bridge baseball
This is a motorway game where you take it in turn to be ‘on strike’, and every time you go under a bridge where there’s a car or person moving, you move on a base until you reach fourth base to complete a home run. But if you go under an empty bridge, you’re out, and it’s the next person’s turn to be on strike. The most complete runs in a set amount of miles, minutes or junctions wins.
Pub cricket
If you’re off the motorway, a game of good old English pub cricket is more appropriate for A and B-roads. You score a run for every arm and leg in whatever the pub you pass takes its name from, but if you encounter a pub with the words ‘head’ or ‘arm’ in its name, you’re caught out, and it’s the next person’s innings. So the Horse and Jockey scores a huge eight, but the King’s Arms is a dismissal.
Alphabet game
First names, animals, foods, cars – there are plenty of topics as you go round the car in turn, moving through the alphabet. If you’re smart, you’ll work out who needs to start so you can dodge Q or X. A Haribo each if you get the whole way through the alphabet.
Word association
Essentially, this is Mallet’s Mallet for those who remember Timmy Mallet’s finest hour – although ideally without bonking people on the head with a foam hammer while they’re driving. The first person picks a word, and the next has to immediately say another that links to it. Any pause, repetition or a word that’s too tenuous, and you’re out. This one gives you a real insight into your carmates’ brains, if that’s a door you’re willing to open!
What's your favourite in-car game? Tell us in the comments section below...
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