How to Play Padiddle: Rules, Variations & The History of the Game

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Exploring the many ways to enjoy the Padiddle car game

Co-authored by Jonathan Wells and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: April 11, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Padiddle Rules
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• Padiddle Origins
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• Padiddle Meaning
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• Other Car Games

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Looking for a silly car game to pass the time on a long road trip at night? Padiddle is a classic, and it’s super easy to play. All you have to do is keep a lookout for cars with a missing headlight or taillight and call them out before your competition does. In this article, we’ll explain how to play Padiddle (complete with its many rule variations) and where the game comes from; plus, we’ll go over a few other car game ideas—just for a little extra fun!

Padiddle: Basic Rules

Padiddle is a car-spotting game played on road trips; the goal is for players to shout “Padiddle” when they see a car with a headlight or taillight out. The first person to spot the car and shout gets a point (or, alternatively, gets a light punch or kiss, depending on which rules you use).

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

How to Play Padiddle

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1. 
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   Players look for cars with one burnt-out headlight or brake light. The goal of the game is to spot a qualifying car before anyone else does and call out “Padiddle” when you do! It’s typically one point for a car with one headlight or three points for a car with one tail light. Anyone who calls out “Padiddle” when they shouldn’t (for two working lights or a vehicle other than a car) loses 5 points.

   • At the end of the car trip, just add up everyone’s points. The person with the highest score wins the game!
   • Because it’s a game involving headlights and taillights, Padiddle is meant to be played during the evening and night (when cars use their lights).
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   Only cars visible through the windshield count (no mirrors). In some versions of the game, you have to be able to see the car through the windshield to call out “Padiddle” on it; if you see it through a side or rear window, it only counts for half a point. You don’t necessarily have to use those rules, though they may be preferable if you’re playing with several passengers (with a better view than the people up front).

   • Fog lights don’t count for this game—nor does your own car if you’re missing a light on it.
   • If you’re playing with a partner, there’s also a rule that calling “Padiddle” for a motorcycle (which doesn’t count) earns them an extra kiss.
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   There are numerous variations of Padiddle. Feel free to play Padiddle any way you like—using the rules above or with any variations you might prefer. Some variations of the game include:

   • Hitting the ceiling. When someone calls “Padiddle,” they must hit the car’s ceiling or slap the window glass simultaneously.
   • Removing clothing. Whenever someone successfully calls “Padiddle,” everyone else must remove an article of clothing (or the last person to hit the ceiling does it). The winner is the last person wearing clothes.
   • Three Padiddles. The first person to call out “Padiddle” three times wins the game (and makes a wish).
   • A punch or kiss. In older versions of Padiddle, the person who spots a car and calls Padiddle must punch or kiss another player (although those rules could be too rough or invasive for some people).
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Section 2 of 4:

Where does “Padiddle” come from?

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1. The game (and the word “Padiddle”) originated in the 1940s. Its first mention may have been in an Archie comic that appeared in 1948, and it seems to have been played on the east coast of the US first before spreading west by the 19050s. Over the years, the game has been called several different names—from “Padiddle” to “Perdiddle,” “Pididdle,” “Pediddle,” or even “Kadiddle.”

   • Back in the 1940s and 50s, Padiddle was seen as more of a flirty game to play with a romantic partner (hence why there are rule variations about kissing the person who says “Padiddle”).

Section 3 of 4:

What does “Padiddle” mean?

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1. Padiddle is an exclamation but doesn’t have any specific meaning. As far as its meaning goes, it’s just an exclamation used to play the Padiddle car game (or, if used as a noun, Padiddle can refer to the car itself with one tail light or headlight). There’s no formal definition beyond that, and it’s unclear why “Padiddle” came to be associated with the game. It’s just a simple, goofy-sounding word!
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Section 4 of 4:

Other Simple Car Games

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   Punch Buggy Punch Buggy is another simple car-spotting game like Padiddle—but in this one, the goal is to look for Volkswagen Beetles. When you spot one, call “Punch buggy!” so it counts toward your score (and can’t be called by anyone else). Nowadays, it’s played for points, with each Beetle spotting earning a point.

   • However, traditionally, the person called “Punch buggy” must also punch their opponent gently in the arm (and calling “Punch buggy” incorrectly earns three punches).
   • Sometimes, when players punch one another, the player spotting a Beetle can shout, “No punchbacks!” If they don’t, the player they punch can immediately punch them back.
   • You can also call out the color of the Beetle (as is done in some versions of the game). For example, you might yell, “Blue punch buggy!” when you see a blue Beetle.
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   Yellow Car This is a European car game in which the goal is to spot yellow cars before anyone else can. There’s also a United States version called “Banana” (and a Scandinavian one called “gul bil”). Regardless, you can play this game yourself, with players potentially earning a point for every yellow car they spot before everyone else (even though there’s traditionally no scoring).

   • There’s another version of the game where you yell “Corn on wheels” when you see a yellow car (and gently hit another player, although you don’t need to include that part).
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   Spotto This is an Australian game—and it’s like a blend of “Yellow Car” and “Punch Buggy.” The rules are simple: anytime a player spots a yellow vehicle, they yell “Spotto!” and gently punch another player. The main difference here is that the rules don’t only apply to cars; vans, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and other vehicles also count.
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   The License Plate Game If you’re in the US, this is a classic car game to play on long road trips. The goal is simply to spot license plates from all 50 states by the end of the trip! You can either play as a team (meaning you’re all looking for license plates together) or award points based on whoever calls out a state first.

   • If you go by points, the player with the highest score at the end of the trip wins.
   • For a ton of other options (including more about the License Plate Game), check out our list of road trip games!
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   Restaurant Race Anytime you’re on a car trip, you always see a ton of rest stops and fast food options, right? Well, now you can turn it into a game. First, each player must pick a fast food restaurant (like McDonald’s or Starbucks). Then, when a player spots their chosen restaurant (or a sign for it), they get a point. The player with the most points after a certain amount of time wins!

   • For example, you might set a time limit of 30 minutes—or, if you want to go longer, you could play for the whole trip.
   • Any mention of the restaurant counts, from road signs to billboards, exit markers, or even name-drops on the radio.
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   Secret Place Race Reading the map on road trips is boring, right? Think again! In the game “Secret Place Race,” one player must examine a road map and find a small, hard-to-spot location (like a tiny village, lake, or some other landmark). Then, they tell the other player the location's name but not where it is. The other player must try to find that location on the map within 60 seconds.

   • If the other player finds the secret place, they win that round—and if they don’t, the first player who called out the secret place wins instead.
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