According to historical record, there have been drinking games for as long as there has been alcohol
For example, in Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC, participants would throw their wine dregs across the room to hit a target. There were prizes for success and punishments for failure. In China, during the Tang dynasty in the 6th century, players had to drink according to numbers drawn at random with the winner being the last one standing.
So, drinking games are nothing new. While it is true that modern games are sometimes played in bars and clubs, the most obvious place for these activities is at a party.
So our Life Daily team concentrated on finding those games that would best fit into a party atmosphere.
The games don’t cost anything, other than the drink, and you don’t need any props except some playing cards. They’re great if you’re on a low budget but to ensure that the games are really fun you need a minimum of 3 or 4 people. Less than this number and the game will not be very thrilling.
Drinking games add a competitive edge to any party, with the drink itself acting both as a form of punishment and reward. This is what makes them such a great group activity; to spice up the excitement, you can add a few dares to the tasks
Time to browse through our selection and check on which of the games you’d like to try:
1. Drown the Clown
This is a card game: Deal each player a card face down, then all must turn over cards at the same time.
- If your card is the same number as another player’s, point to that person instantly and shout “clown”.
- The last player to say it has to drink the value of the card (allocated before the game).
- If a player points to another but there is no match, they drink two drinks.
2. Word Drinking Game
Pick a word no one is allowed to say – and whoever says it has to drink. Choose simple common words such as “it”, “and” or “so”.
Alternatively, forbid using the words “no” or “yes”. Then start asking questions needing yes/no answers.
3. Fast Questions
Everyone taking turns to quiz one another. The first questioner addresses another player by name and asks them a yes/no question, which must be answered immediately. Without pausing, the answerer then asks another player a different question.
- The game is fast and snappy. Any hesitation, such as laughing before answering, is not permitted. Neither is taking too long to think up a question.
- The punishment for delay is to take a drink.
4. Sixes
Line up six empty different sized cups in a row, and number them 1 to 6.
- To begin, someone rolls one dice. The number they throw will indicate one of the sups.
- Fill this cup to the top with beer for the player to chug down fast.
- When they’re done, another person rolls the dice.
When this drinking game is underway most players hope they’ll get the smallest cup.
5. Never
This is a good way to get to know everyone. Each person makes a real-life statement that starts with the words “I’ve never…”.
For example, if you’ve never traveled by sea, you simply say “I’ve never been on a boat”. Anyone around the table who has been on a boat has to drink.
The purpose of the game is to think of a statement where the entire group will drink all at the same time.
6. Beer Snap
Deal out playing cards face down evenly between players.
- Each person takes turns to turn over a card and add it to a pile.
- If the next card flipped is the same number as the previous card, each player tries to say “snap” before everyone else does.
- The last person to say “snap” takes a drink. But the amount is based on the following formula:
- One shot, if the card number is 2 to 6; two, if 7 to 10; three, if it’s a Jack, Queen, King or Ace.
Continue the game, until all cards are used up, or until the last person collapses, whichever comes first.
7. Beer Connection
This game is similar to Beer Snap.
However, now, whenever the next card flipped matches the previous card’s number, both players drink the value of the cards.
For example, two sevens thrown? That’s seven drinks. Jacks, Queens and Kings here count as 10, an Ace as 11.
8. Alphabet Names
This is a pressure game played against the clock, and involves spelling. To begin, someone calls out the full name of a celebrity.
The next player now has 30 seconds to pick another celebrity name, using the first letter of the previous person’s surname.
For example, if the first name was “Justin Timberlake”, the next player could say “Tom Hanks”.
If a player picks a person where the first and last name start with the same letter (e.g. Tina Turner), the game direction reverses. The drinking starts, when a player can’t think of a name immediately, and must keep drinking until they do.
9. Beer Blow
Take a deck of playing cards and place them on top of an empty bottle. Players take it in turns to blow cards from the deck.
The person who blows the last card off drinks one beer.
Anyone who blows off an Ace also drinks a whole beer. Two Aces blown? That’s two beers, etc.
10. Across the Bridge
Deal out 10 cards, face down, in a straight line on a table top. This line is called the Bridge.
The first player flips over the first card. If the number is 2 to 10, they’re safe – and can flip the next card.
- But if they flip a Jack, Queen, King or Ace, the player must drink its value (Jack = one sip, Queen is two, King three, Ace four).
- Move to the next player
Keep the game going, by adding 10 new cards when you’re down to the last two of the first Bridge.
11. Flip, Sip or Strip
You play this game with a coin. Each player takes turns flipping, calling heads or tails.
ñIf they guess correctly, the coin is passed to their left
- If they guess wrong, the coin is passed to their right and they drink or take off an item of clothing
- You are not allowed to simply drink each time and not strip. Doing the same option twice in a row is not permitted.
12. Buzz
Everyone needs to pay attention in this game. Making a mistake equals punishment. Each person takes turns counting, with the first saying “one”, the next “two”, and so on.
Whenever a player reaches a number divisible by seven, they must say “buzz”.
If the player doesn’t say “buzz”, they drink. If a player says “buzz” by mistake, they also drink.
The goal of the game is to see how high a number the group can reach with as few buzzes as possible.
This drinking games project was one that our team really enjoyed researching. Fortunately, most of them have now fully recovered and are back at work
What do you think of their efforts? Which of these drinking games had the most appeal for you? Do you have a favorite game of your own you’d like to share with our readers? You can answer all these questions by using our comment feed just below.
