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Author, Editor, Media Tie-In Writer

The Car Games We Play

The Husband and I take a lot of road trips. Some of you have asked about the car games we play, for they are many and varied. I probably should’ve posted this earlier in the holiday season, but better late than never.

License Plate Anagram Game
Level: Easy.
Occurrence: Often.
Object: Make an anagram out of every letter on a license plate.
Rules:
•    License plates only.
•    Moving cars only.
•    The more interesting the word, the better the bragging right.
Scoring:
•    Single word score: Use all the letters but out of order. License: BGG-123, “Garbage”
•    Double word score: Use all the letters in order by not next to each other. License: TXS-554, “Taxes” or “Texas” or “Taxidermies”
•    Triple word score: Use all the letters in order and concurrent. License: STL-826, “Costly” “Castle”


Alphabet Game
Level: Simple to Moderate (gets progressively harder).
Occurrence: Often.
Object: Look for the alphabet in order.
Rules:
•    License plates take priority, but signs and other writing on vehicles count.
•    No more than one letter per discreet object. (“Alphabet” on a sign only counts for “a” and not “b”).
•    Can use a particular type of sign once (IE: Exit sign can be used for E, X, I, and T once.)
•    License plates are always allowed.
Scoring: How many iterations of the alphabet can you get through before the end of the trip?

State License Plate Game
Level: Hard.
Occurrence: A rare game to play unless we are on a long road trip. Usually begins when someone sees Maine, Florida, Alaska, or Hawaii.
Object: Look for every state license plates in the country.
Rules: Any order. Parking lots are fair game.

Alphabet License Plate Anagram Game
Level: Insane
Occurrence: Long, multi-day trips only.
Object: Make an anagram out of every letter on a license plate. Alphabetic. Begins with the letter sought.
Rules:
•    License plates only unless there have been no cars for more than 3 minutes.
•    No more than one letter per discreet license. (“JBA-222” only counts for “a” and not “b”).
•    Word must begin with the letter sought for.
Scoring:
•    Single word score: Use all the letters but out of order. Looking for “G.” License: GGB-123, “Garbage”
•    Double word score: Use all the letters in order by not next to each other. Looking for “T.” License: TXS-554, “Taxes” or “Texas” or “Taxidermies”
•    Triple word score: Use all the letters in order and concurrent. Looking for “S.” License: STE-826, “Steady” “Stenosis”

Perched Birds of Prey Spotting
Level: Simple.
Occurrence: Long trips and random.
Object: See a perched bird of prey.
Rules: Bird of prey. Must be perched. Only one person in the car needs to see it, but better if more than one does.
Scoring: See the bird and note it. Smile at the good omen.

Meet Jennifer Brozek

Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Hugo Award. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.

Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.

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