You can’t do a series on easy games, and not do I-Spy. It doesn’t matter if you are travelling or not – in fact, it’s probably best played at home, with lots of familiar objects you could select from.
1) I-Spy: the original
I-Spy is about observing – but it’s also about spelling:
I spy with my little eye something beginning with …(name of letter)
The other player(s) then look round the room/train compartment/bus interior etc to try and see things beginning with that letter.
B…could be balloon (at a party), boy (on a neighbouring seat of the bus), buggy (at the front of the bus), bag (on the seat beside you), and so on.
If you guess right first, you get to choose the item for the next round. Play for a short, or long time – whatever you prefer, or however long you are in transit/having to wait/letting your meal go down etc.
2) I-Spy variant: sounds not names of letters
For junior players, who are doing sounds but not yet the names of letters, play on sounds. Many words will begin with consonants, which tend to keep to the same sound.
However, if you get a sound beginning with ‘s’, the junior player can focus on the sound, rather than worry whether it starts with ‘s’ (sticker) or another letter (city).
3) I-Spy variant: play on colours
A version that can work for your junior player, if they are pre-letters, is to play on colours:
I spy with my little eye something that is…(colour).
This can be quite varied – something that is blue on a bus might be the back of a seat, a person’s coat, the suitcase on the rack, and so on. The child’s ability to pick something interesting can be fun for them, allowing them to cheerfully say ‘No!” to your first few choices.
4) I-Spy: some tips
If you are playing on the move, there’s nothing worse than continued guessing, only to be given the answer for an item that’s now half a mile behind you.
So we’ve gone for a similar rule to Hunt the Thimble – it needs to be visible, and within the room/vehicle, so that you still have time to guess.
5) I-Hear: guessing the origins of sounds
For a bit of variety, or if the people you’re playing with don’t all have the same level of sight, you can also play on sounds:
I hear with my little ear something that is…
It’s up to you how you take it from here. Adjectives can be good: something that is crackly/something that is whistle-y/something that is very quiet. Â The guessers then have to identify the person/animal/object that’s making the noise.
The trick is to avoid giving too many clues that will mean the others guess too easily.
6) Playing on multiple words
Sometimes someone wants to identify their item, and it has more than one word:
…something beginning with…P S (pink suitcase)
You can decide if you allow for multiple words or not – it can be more exact, but it can also be harder to guess on.
I leave you with a (true) cautionary tale on multiple word I-Spy. A small person once came up with B O S as their clue. Â The adults scratched their heads over this, tried various options and gave up.
The answer? Beast On Sarah a.k.a. a butterfly brooch worn by one of the ladies in the room. I’m not sure whether the wearer was entirely pleased to hear her brooch described as a beast.
If you’re going to play with kids, be prepared for some clues that are harder to figure out. Just saying.