My seven-year-old daughter and I have a bus journey together every day. She always wants to play I Spy, but I am sick of it! What else can we play?

Try Blind Man’s Bluff. One of you is the Bluffer and the other closes their eyes. The Bluffer looks out of the window and describes anything interesting that they can see, such as, “There’s a woman dressed in yellow pushing a buggy, and five taxis in a row…” The Bluffer must also try to slip in a few big fibs without the other player noticing, so they might continue, “…and there are three boys in school uniform, and someone dressed up as a chicken is standing outside a shop…” If a fib is suspected, the other person says, “Trap!” and opens their eyes. If their suspicions are incorrect, they lose a point and the game continues. If they correctly detect a fib, however, they score a point, and the other person has a turn at being the Bluffer. Each fib that goes unnoticed also scores a point.

Granny Went to Market is a good time-filler. Start by saying, “Granny went to market and bought a…” Then choose any item you fancy – let’s say a melon. She then repeats this and adds another item to the list, maybe a Bratz doll. You now repeat these two items and add another, saying, “Granny went to market and bought a melon, a Bratz doll and a mobile phone.” Aim for a list of 20 items.

If she’s still aching for I Spy, this simple variation might make it a bit more interesting for you. She spies something beginning with A, then you spy something beginning with B etc, moving through the alphabet to Z.

If you’re at your wits’ end, e-mail Polly@thetimes.co.uk

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