As a college student, I’ve been exposed to many types of drinking games, from the classics (beer pong and flip cup) to the games we made up right on the spot. I’ve discovered that the main goal in all of these games is the same: get drunk.
If there’s one drinking game I love to play, it’s Cheers to the Governor. Nothing gets the party going faster than this. The goal is count to 21, and when you reach 21, everyone drinks. It’s as simple as counting, but that’s not all there is to it. Before you get your drinks ready and buzzes going, here are the Cheers to the Governor rules you need to know before playing.
The Rules, Obviously
The rules of the game are simple:
1. Everyone goes around in a circle and take turns counting to 21.
2. The only thing you need to know is that you start off with a base rule (I explain this in more detail in a section later in this article).
3. Whoever messes up has to drink, and the round starts back at the number 1.
3. When someone gets to 21, they say ‘cheers to the governor!’ Everyone raises their glasses and drinks.
4. Whoever says 21 gets to make up a new rule. New rules can be things like, ‘whoever says 5 has to drink’, ‘number 10 says the pledge of allegiance’, etc. The only limit is your imagination.
The Game Has No End
The game only ends whenever everyone agrees to end the game. It can take 20 minutes or two hours. It really depends on how long you and your friends can last.
A lot of people have a start-off rule
Whenever I play Cheers to the Governor, we always have a start-off rule. A start-off rule is an additional rule that starts the game off. Start-off rules include ‘replacing 7 with 14 and 14 with 7’, doing an action instead of saying a number, etc.
Make Up Any Rule You Want
The fun part about this game is that the rules are different every time you play. I mentioned earlier that every time someone gets to 21, they get to make up a rule to add for the next round. The longer you play, the more rules are added to the list. You can make any rule you want. You can make people switch seats, do a hand gesture, you can even make people recite the National Anthem.
It Gets Harder Over Time
Just like almost every other drinking game, the longer you play Cheers to the Governor, the harder it gets. You keep adding rules, you keep drinking, and you might keep messing up. At some point you probably won’t make it past number 5.
You’ll Be Drinking a Lot
Any time you mess up the sequence, break a rule, or even finish a round, you’ll be drinking. You can even make rules where people have to drink. You can’t not drink while playing this game.
A Word of Caution
Not to sound like a party pooper here, but whatever you do, just drink responsibly. Moderate how much you are drinking, and make sure you don’t pass your limit. If you want to stop drinking alcohol but want to continue the game, swap to soda or another non-alcoholic beverage.
Now that you know the Cheers to the Governor rules, you can try it out at your next party. If you’re looking to try out other games, give one of these 11 drinking games a go. Have fun, and be safe!