Drinking is more than just getting drunk; it is a social experience. Sure, pounding drinks after drinks at a bar sounds fun, but it can be pretty monotonous and boring after a while. So this is why we need some exciting drinking games to boost the atmosphere.
Even our alcohol-loving ancestors played drinking games. During the Zhou Dynasty, the Chinese played a literary game called “Jiuling”, a game that involves poetries and riddles while the Italians once played Passatella, a game of humiliation that usually resulted in drunken fights or deaths.
But don’t worry, we’ve compiled a list of fun and easy drinking games that are not dangerous or life-threatening. So gather up your friends and have a good time with some of these frat-tastic games:
1. Beer Pong
What you need: 20 cups (10 on each side in a triangular formation), a couple of ping pong balls, a ping pong table (or if you don’t, a long rectangular table should do the trick), beer.
Beer pong is the genius creation of combining ping pong and delicious ice-cold beer. Created in the 50s, the objective of the popular frat game is fairly straightforward. First, split the group into 2 teams and then each player gets one (or 2) chance to throw a ball into the other team’s beer cup. If a ball lands into a cup, a player on the opposing team must drink the cup of beer that the ball landed in before removing the cup from the table. The first team to wipe out all of the opponent’s cups wins.
2. Drunk Jenga
What you need: A wooden Jenga set, a few colourful marker pens, and a lots of alcohol.
Drunk Jenga (or Drunga) is probably one of our favourite drinking games. Why? Because it’s a game of luck – you won’t know what you’re going to get! All you have to do is write a rule on each Jenga tile and once that’s done, you’re all set to rock every house party. Just in case you’ve never played Jenga before, the game starts by building up the tower. After that, using only one hand, each player takes a turn to remove a tile. In the case of Drunk Jenga, the player must follow the rule written on the tile that he/she removes.
Note: The player who knocks down the tower must finish his/her drink.
Click here for some rule ideas you can use if you’re interested in the game.
3. (Drunk) “Never Have I Ever”
What you need: Alcohol and a brave heart.
If you are a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, then you should be very familiar with her favourite truth-telling game, “Never Have I Ever”. There are many variations of the game but it is by far the easiest drinking game there is. Begin the game by sitting near your friends, moving clockwise (or counter-clockwise), each player takes a turn saying a “Never have I ever…” statement (for instance, “Never have I ever danced in the shower”). Anyone in the group who has done the thing stated by that player have to a drink. This continues until the group decides to stop. Who knows, you might learn a new thing or 2 about your friends.
4. The King’s Cup (aka Ring Of Fire)
What you need: A deck of cards, a large cup aka The King’s Cup, and preferably different types of alcoholic drinks.
The King’s Cup is the perfect game to play when you’re meeting with a new group of friends. To start, place the deck of cards around the cup (above). Then, each player takes a turn drawing a card, and similar to Drunk Jenga, players must participate in the card’s assigned action. Depending on house rules, the corresponding instructions may vary. So here’s our variation:
- Ace – Waterfall: Each player starts drinking at the same time as the person to their left. No player can stop drinking until the player before them stops.
- 2 – You: Choose someone to drink.
- 3 – Me: Player who pick this card, drinks.
- 4 – Whores: Every girl in the group drink.
- 5 – Categories: Choose a category (i.e. car brands, European countries). The person who can’t come up with anything that falls within that category, drinks.
- 6 – Dicks: Every guys in the group drink.
- 7 – Heaven: Last person to raise their hand will drink.
- 8 – Mate: Choose a mate and when you drink, he/she will have to drink for the rest of the game.
- 9 – Rhymes: Like categories, but this time, the player who can’t rhyme, drinks. (i.e. rain, gain, pain, train,…)
- 10 – Rule: Set a rule to be followed. (i.e. Don’t say the word drink)
- Jack – Toilet pass
- Queen – Question Master: Whoever who answers the Question Master must drink.
- King – King’s Cup: The first 3 players who draw a King have to pour some of their drink into the King’s Cup. Whoever picks the last King ends the game and loses. This person has to chug whatever is in the cup.
5. “5, 10, 15”
What you need: 2 pair of hands, good counting skills, and some drinks.
We don’t really know the exact English name for this popular game but in Mandarin, it’s often called “5, 10, 15” (五, 十,十五). To begin the first round, the players must decide who will start. Then, the first player shouts out numbers in multiples of 5 (5, 10, 15, or 20). Each player has the option of showing 0 (2 fists), 5 (5 fingers, one fist), or 10 (10 fingers). If the total sum of the fingers equal the same number that the player calls out, then the other player must drink.
Though this is generally a 2-player game, you still can play this with more participants. With more hands, the maximum number increases. For example, if there’s 5 players, the maximum number is 50.
6. Flip Cup
What you need: A couple of plastic cups, a long table, and beer.
Flip Cup is more than just flipping cups. It’s about competition, speed, and teamwork. The rules of the game are simple: 2 teams line up on opposite sides of the table and everyone gets a cup of beer. Starting at one end of the table, the first member of each team chugs his/her beer. The player then tries to flip the empty cup over using only one hand. After one teammate is done flipping successfully, the next person can proceed. The first team to finish drinking and flipping all its cups wins.
7. Quarters
If you don’t have a lot of space to work with, Quarters is an easy game that requires nothing more than a glass and a coin (preferably a 50-cent coin). Players sit around a table with the glass centred in the middle of the table. Each player places the coin on the edge of the table in front of them and attempts to flip the quarter into the glass. If the player succeeds, they can order anyone in the group to drink and set a new rule.
So, there you have it folks! Drink responsibly and we wish you happy playing 🙂
Were there any fun-filled drinking games that we’ve left out? Do you and your friends have a game that is not on this list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sources: Two Drinking Games, Wikipedia, Hexjam, Buzz Feed, Beer Fest Boots, Time Out Hong Kong, The Webtender, College Ranker, What Culture.
