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Related Sections: Car Electronics  GPS

Sweet car trip game uses GPS to keep kids quiet

backseat playground

Kids these days, they've got it easy. When I was a boy, a car trip didn't mean it was time to watch DVDs on a seat-mounted LCD screen — it meant fighting with my brother in the backseat and playing half-assed guessing games. And now a new game is in development that, if it lives up to its potential, would have made me beg my parents to take me on a road trip.

The Backseat Playground is a game developed by researchers in Sweden that incorporates GPS to make the surrounding area part of a detective mystery. It's not all that clear exactly how the game would be played, but currently it works in the city of Stockholm while it's being developed. I envision you needing to spot various things that you're passing as clues to help you advance the story, and the outcome changing on where your parents are toting you to. In any case, it seems a lot more fun than 20 questions.

Backseat Playground, via Oh Gizmo!

 
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Chicago Attorneys:
I agree, kids have it too easy for road trips now. I remember 3 day trips to FL with 4 kids, 2 parents and a dog - ...More »


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By Chicago Attorneys at 9:00 PM ON 01/11/09

I agree, kids have it too easy for road trips now. I remember 3 day trips to FL with 4 kids, 2 parents and a dog - and no air conditioning! Now they've got ipods, DVD players, and Nintendo DS. This could be a nice addition to the car activities but in a good educational way. In a few years GPS games like this will be big.


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