Main Piece

“There’s No Right Answer” is a long-drive car game that CD learned from his friends. It is typically played when on a road trip with a group of friends, ideally with an even number of people in the car. You are partnered with one other person in the car. The goal is for you and your partner to say the same word at the same time (there is a countdown so you say the words in sync.) However, no communication is allowed between you and your partner besides just saying the words. The partner pairs all alternate saying words until one of the pairs says the same word at the same time.

CD says “the only strategy is to try and be on the same page as the other person based on what you’ve said in the previous turns.”

Informant background

CD is a student at the University of Southern California. He is from Zionsville, ID.

Performance context

This story was told during a folklore collection event that I set up with a diversity of members from the USC men’s Ultimate Frisbee team. We were in a classic folklore collection setting: sharing drinks around a campfire, in a free flowing conversation.

Analysis

Road trip games seem like a typically American tradition – the idea of the car and the open road, even the road trip itself, are tied to American youth and freedom-loving culture. I wonder if non-American cultures have popular road trip games?