We’ve all been to a pregame where the mood is dull, everyone is slowly sipping their drinks, and it’s already almost time hit the bars. The last thing we want is for our group of friends to be the only sober people at an overcapacity bar full of inebriated partygoers.
Time is of the essence, we need to get a solid buzz going or else it will be too late. Our last hope is to start up the drinking games. Here are some games to get everyone drunk involved and a surefire way to get the party going.
Flippy Cup
Photo courtesy of thrillist.com
Skill Level: Extremely Easy
Items Needed: One Solo cup per player, beer (duh)
Flippy Cup may or may not have originated with the cavemen. Everyone knows how to play Flippy Cup. You don’t even have to be the next Michael Jordan to be able to play this game. You can literally play with one arm. Don’t you dare use the excuse, “oh, I suck at Flippy Cup, no thanks.” The guy from 127 Hours (the movie where he cuts off his own arm — look it up) would be shaking his head.
The competitive nature of this game takes over during this game and the alcohol starts flowing. A good tip is to play a Stanley Cup Series (best of 7), so that way you’re guaranteed at least a few games. Flippy Cup is a staple in the world of drinking games and is a must for all parties.
Don’t know what type of beer to use? Take this quiz to find your beer soulmate.
Circle of Death
Photo courtesy of games4drinking.com
Skill Level: Easy
Items Needed: One unopened beer can, one deck of cards
Want to add more suspense to your drinking games? Play Circle of Death (also referred to as King’s Cup). It’s simple. Place a full beer can in the middle of a circle of cards. Each person draws a card and follows the list of rules here. After you draw the card you place it underneath the beer tab.
Eventually, the cards will open the can and that person is summoned to chug whatever watery beer you placed in the middle. The “Never Have I Ever” portion of this game can get real weird real quick, so prepare to learn a lot of dark things about your friends.
Ride the Bus
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
Skill Level: Easy, if you have good luck
Items needed: Cards
This game may seem simple, but it’ll catch up to ya real quick. All it takes are two players — the dealer and then the one getting screwed. The dealer lays out one card face up, and then six more face down. The player then guesses whether number the next card that is face down is higher or lower than the previous card. Every time the player is wrong, they drink. The game is over when the player has “ridden the bus,” or when they get all seven cards correct.
#SpoonTip: Always determine beforehand whether the ace is high or low because that can cause some d-r-a-m-a and drama’s not okay.
Irish Poker
Photo courtesy of mentalfloss.com
Skill Level: Moderate
Items Needed: Cards, determination & heart
A perfect game for those of us that want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all year round. There are many different ways to play this game. The easiest way is to place four cards face down. First, you choose red or black. If you get it wrong, you can either drink for two seconds or however many seconds the number of the card is. I strongly recommend the latter if you’re trying to get LIT.
The second card is either higher or lower than the first card. Again, either drink for how many seconds the number on the card is or drink for four seconds.
The third card is outside or in-between the first and second card. Similarly, if you are incorrect — DRINK.
Lastly, the fourth card is to guess the suit. If you guess this one correctly, congrats, you won and can go let your liver yell at you. And not to mention at any point throughout the deck, if you get it wrong, start over from the beginning.
21
Photo courtesy of pixabay.com
Skill Level: Advanced (mentally)
Items needed: Brain power
This is a game that can break down any awkwardness at the pregame that will get everyone involved. It’s simple. Each person takes a turn counting up to 21. Each time the group reaches 21, everyone drinks, and whoever said 21 makes a rule for the next round.
For example, switch 4 and 7, stand up every time you get to 12, so on and so forth. Once you get a few rules in place, things get difficult and this is where your memory becomes vital to winning the game. Each time you forget one of the rules, you take a drink and start from the beginning.
This game doesn’t involve as much drinking as the ones above but it is socially engaging for you and all your drinking buddies. Since it involves less chugging and more sipping, here are some yummy and easy drinks to make.
These staple games will not only get your buzz to the right place but will make for a great and entertaining social gathering. So drink up (responsibly).