Card Games

• Minimum 4 players

• One full deck of cards

• A beer for the center

This game can move as fast or as slow as you want. There are many variations on the rules of the game. The most common are listed below. A deck of cards is spread out faced down around a full, unopened can of beer, and the participants position themselves in a circle around the table.

Each turn, every player picks up one of the face down cards, and either drinks or gives drinks based on the action associated with said card.

At the end of the turn, the player puts the card underneath the beer can's tab surrounded by face down cards, making sure not to open the can (which can be heard by air leaking out should it happen). If the can is opened, that players drinks the beer, and a new one replaces it with no cards under the tab to start. The game continues clockwise until all cards are drawn.

Common cards

• 2: You - Whoever drew the card assigns a drink

• 3: Me - Whoever drew the card drinks

• 4: Floor - Everyone races to touch the floor, last person to do so drinks

• 5: Guys - All guys drink

• 6: Chicks - All girls drink

• 7: Heaven - All players point towards the sky, last player to do so drinks

• 8: Mate - Pick a person to drink with

• 9: Rhyme - Say a phrase, and everyone else must say phrases that rhyme. Going clockwise, everyone says a rhyme until someone repeats a rhyme or someone fails. The loser drinks.

• 10: Categories - Pick a category, and say something from that category (i.e. if "drinking games" was the category, "kings" would be a viable answer.) Going clockwise, everyone says something from that category until someone repeats a thing or someone fails. The loser drinks.

• Jack: Never have I ever - Each player puts up 3 fingers, then starting with the person who drew the card, each player says "never have I ever «something»". If you've done it, you put a finger down, until someone loses. The loser drinks.

• Queen: Question Master - The person who drew the card can ask anyone a question, and whoever is asked must respond with a question. If they fail they must take a drink. The Question Master title is kept until the next Queen is pulled.

• King: Ruler - Make a rule that everyone must follow until the next King is drawn (i.e. force everyone to drink after each turn)

• Ace: Waterfall - Every player begins drinking, and no one can stop until the player before them does

Optional rules

• (Optional) 2: Smoker/Toilet Card - In this version, a player needs to possess a Smoker Card to leave the table to smoke or use the toilet. If a player chooses a 2, they keep the card for later use. A player can have multiple copies of the card and they can be traded, typically under conditions such as; the recipient must refill drinks on demand, crawl for the rest of the game, talk in a funny voice, etc.

• (Optional) 5: Drive - All players put up their hands as if driving a car. The player who drew the card begins. They say "vroom" while tilting their hands to the right or left. The "driver" is passed to the player next to them in that direction. Players now have three options as the "driver" position is passed to them. They can choose to turn to same direction as the person before them and say "vroom", passing it one more person. They can turn their hands in the opposite direction and say "skert" (as in the screeching of car wheels) and pass the "driver" position back to the person who just sent it to them. Now that is the new direction and all "drivers" who turn that way must say "Vroom" until a "driver" decides to "skert" it back again. The last option is to say "beep" while mimicking hitting the car horn. This passes the game's position to the player opposite the current driver. The first "driver" who speaks or turns the wrong way has to drink. [If this is used, "4: Floor" becomes "4: Whores - All girls drink", and "6: Chicks" becomes "6: Dicks - All Guys drink."]

• (Optional) 9: Time to Shine - You have to do 20 push ups, if you can't do it you have to drink the amount of sips you were short of 20.

• (Optional) King: King's Cup - This is a variation where an empty cup is placed in the center and in some versions no beer can is used. When each of the first 3 Kings are drawn, the person who drew the card puts some of their drink into the King's Cup at the center of the table. When the 4th King is drawn, the person who drew the 4th King must drink the contents of the King's Cup. If agreed upon by all players, the first 3 kings can make a rule.

• (Optional) Ace: Moose Game - Everyone begins by tapping the table like a drum roll. The person who chose the Ace starts by making Moose antlers on their head and saying "Moose." They then point to a random player. The new player makes their own animal sign while saying what animal it is, repeats the Moose sign (while saying moose), and then points to a new player. The new player makes their own sign, repeats the previous signs in order, and chooses the next player. The cycle repeats until someone screws up, forgets an animal sign, or all players have made a sign. If no player fails and it makes it all the way around, the last person chosen loses and must drink.

(Optional) Ring of Fire: If, by drawing a card, a player creates a gap in the circle of cards, they must finish their own drink.

Click here for the official rules

• Miminum 3 players

• A full deck of cards

• Everyone has their own drink

Prep

Everyone sits in a circle. The oldest player is the first dealer. Gameplay moves in a clockwise direction.

Game Play

The dealer looks at the top card. The player to his left guesses the value of the card. If the guesser is correct, the dealer takes four drinks. If the guesser is wrong, the dealer gives a hint of "higher" or "lower." THE DEALER CANNOT LIE. The player guesses again, and if the new guess is correct the dealer takes two drinks and it counts as a loss for the dealer. If the new guess is wrong, the player must drink the difference between the guess and the actual card's value and it counts as a win for the dealer. Example: If the actual value of the card is 9 and the player guesses 4, the player must take 5 drinks. J, Q, K, & A all have a value of 10.

The dealer puts the card face up on the table.

Game play repeats with the next player. The dealer will continue to be the dealer until he gets three wins in a row. The dealer then passes the cards to the player to his left. The game ends when there are no more cards.

As the game is played, the exposed cards are put on the table, face up, in order. If all four cards of a certain value are exposed, the dealer will flip the cards and declare them to be "closed out." If a player guesses one of the "closed out" cards during their turn, they must take four drinks (or finish their drink) and that counts as their guess

As the game goes on, it becomes harder for the dealer to get a win and they wind up having to drink more often than not.

(Optional) Even though the dealer cannot lie, cheating is not necessarily discouraged. If no one is paying attention and the dealer passes the cards to the next player, AND that player accepts the cards, the exchange can't be contested and he is now the new dealer.

Phase One: Dealing the Cards

Round One:

One player is assigned as the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and begins to the left, asking the first player “red or black?” The player guesses whether the card is red or black; if they’re right, nothing happens, but if they’re wrong, they take a sip of their drink. Play continues around the circle until everyone has their first card.

Round Two:

The dealer now asks player one, “higher or lower?” The player has to answer whether they think the card that’s about to be dealt is higher or lower than the first card they received, with Ace being the highest. Wrong guess? Drink. If the two cards are the same, it counts as a wrong guess and the player drinks. Play continues around the circle until everyone has their second card.

Round Three:

With the same format as the previous two rounds, the dealer asks “in-between or outside?” meaning, will the card that’s about to be dealt fall in-between the two previous cards’ values, or outside of the gap? For example, if your first two cards are four and nine, five would be “inside” while a Queen would be “outside.” If the card is the same as either boundary card, it counts as a wrong guess and the player drinks.

Round Four:

For the final dealing round, the dealer simply asks each player to pick a suit, giving them a one in four chance of avoiding a drink. If the player guesses wrong, as they likely will, they drink. If they happen to guess correctly, they are rewarded with five drinks to distribute amongst the other players.

Phase Two: Building the Pyramid

Players collect their four distributed cards and hold them privately. The dealer then builds a pyramid of face-down cards, with five cards at the base, four in the next row and so on until there is one card at the top. Drink values increase as you go up the pyramid, with cards on the bottom row counting for one drink each, and the single top card counting for five drinks—or one shot of liquor, if you want to up the ante.

Starting at the bottom row, one card is flipped at a time. Anyone who has a matching card in their hand can lay their card on top, gaining them the right to punish another player with the quantity of drinks associated with that row. Multiple cards can be laid down per row and on the same card, and the drinks earned can be distributed however the player pleases. Play continues up the pyramid.

Example: The dealer turns over a four on the second row of the pyramid, and a player has a four in their hand. They lay down the four, earning two drinks to distribute to multiple people in the group or to one person.

Players have the option of saving their cards in the hopes they’ll be able to match them to a higher pyramid value. But it’s a risky move, as having the most cards in your hand by the end of Phase Two means you have to ride the bus.

Phase Three: Riding the Bus

Once the pyramid cards are completely turned over and the final drinks have been distributed, players compare how many cards they have left in their hands. Ideally, they will have gotten rid of them all. More likely, they will still have cards left. The person with the highest number of cards has to ride the bus. Note: In the event that two people have the same quantity of cards, the person with the highest value card in their hand has to ride the bus. If both players have matching highest cards, the loser is whoever has the next highest card.

The dealer lays 10 cards face down. One by one, the dealer flips a card over. If it’s a number card, nothing happens and the dealer continues to the next card. If it’s a face card or an Ace, the player riding the bus has to drink: One drink for a Jack, two for a Queen, three for a King and four for an Ace.

Common variation

Instead of "10 cards" ending, the player who is riding the bus must complete ALL four questions posed in Phase One of the game IN A ROW.

1. Red or black

2. Higher or lower

3. In between or outside

4. Suit

Any failure at any stage requires that player to start BACK at question one and they have to take the number of drinks assigned to each question.

For example if you guess black, and the first card dealt is black, you may proceed to the second question. If you guess higher, and the next card is actually lower, you must restart at the first question and take two drinks. If you fail on the fourth question, you must take four drinks.

Play continues until:

• The entire deck is used or

• The player answers the four questions correctly in a row

• If the deck runs out of cards, play ends.

Phase One

Each player is dealt five cards. A pyramid of face down cards is laid out, the first row has four cards, the next has three, two, then one.

Starting at the first row, one card is flipped at a time. Anyone who has a matching card in their hand can lay their card on top, gaining them the right to punish another player with the quantity of drinks associated with that row. Multiple cards can be laid down per row and on the same card, and the drinks earned can be distributed however the player pleases. Play continues up the pyramid.

Players have the option of saving their cards in the hopes they’ll be able to match them to a higher pyramid value. But it’s a risky move, as having the most cards in your hand by the end of Phase One means you have to ride the bus.

The drink values of the rows can be changed depending on who is playing, but normally the first row is 1 drink, second is row 2 drinks, third row is 3 drinks, fourth is 4 drinks or a shot.

Example: The dealer turns over a four on the second row of the pyramid, and a player has a four in their hand. They lay down the four, earning two drinks to distribute to multiple people in the group or to one person.

Phase Two

Once the pyramid cards are completely turned over and the final drinks have been distributed, players compare how many cards they have left in their hands. Ideally, they will have gotten rid of them all. More likely, they will still have cards left. The person with the highest number of cards has to ride the bus. Note: In the event that two people have the same quantity of cards, the person with the highest value card in their hand has to ride the bus. If both players have matching highest cards, the loser is whoever has the next highest card.

The player who is riding the bus must guess correctly all four questions below IN A ROW.

1. Red or black

2. Higher or lower

3. In between or outside

4. Suit

Any failure at any stage requires that player to start back at question one and they have to take the number of drinks assigned to each question.

For example if you guess black, and the first card dealt is black, you may proceed to the second question. If you guess higher, and the next card is actually lower, you must restart at the first question and take two drinks. If you fail on the fourth question, you must take four drinks.

Play continues until:

• The entire deck is used or

• The player answers the four questions correctly in a row

• If the deck runs out of cards, play ends.

• Minimum 5 people

• A full deck of cards

• A pen and paper (to write bets)

• Everyone has their own drink

Prep

The announcer finds the four Aces and lays them face up in a row. Place 7 cards face down in a row next to the Aces forming an L shape.

Someone is assigned as the "bookie." This can be the announcer or someone sober enough to keep track. The remaining cards are set to the side for use later.

[XX][XX][XX][XX][XX][XX][XX]

[A] ^These are the "links"^

[A]

[A] <--These are "the gates"

[A]

Betting

Before the game begins, each player makes a bet on which horse will win. These bets can be as simple as "five on diamonds." You can get as complex as any true horse race such as Trifectas, Exactas, Daily Doubles, but I recommend keeping it simple. It is recommended to put a max bet in place (20 drinks is the norm), but if you choose not to enforce bet limits, it is common to require players to drink a portion of their bet before the race begins.

Side bets are encouraged; Placing a small bet on the "first horse out of the gates" is a popular bet that excites the crowd early, or making bets on lead changes during game play.

(Optional) Penalties may be applied to bettors who bet on an ace that never leaves the starting gates.

In other variations, players may simply pick their favorite horse, and the payout is set at 20 drinks for the first-place horse, 15 for second place, and 10 for third place.

Gameplay

Once all bets are in, the announcer begins the race. They flip over the top card of the remaining deck. Only the suit of this card matters; the Ace of that suit moves forward to the first link. The announcer narrates the ebb and flow of the game as the betters cheer on their horse. The announcer continues flipping cards and advancing horses accordingly until one horse wins by passing the final link into the winner's circle.

Drink Distribution

Any player that bet on the winning horse gets to assign the number of drinks they bet to the other players.

The losing players must take the number of drinks they bet AND however many drinks they are assigned by the winners.

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Bullshit

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Another mentally challenging card game that involves beer.

High level buzz factor. Supplies: beer, people (not more than 6

for a good game), and a deck of cards.

Sit in a circle, deal out the entire deck of cards evenly,

or thereabouts, to each player. The object of the game is to get rid

of all your cards. Starting with aces, the first player lays down

the number of aces s/he has, stating the number of cards. EVEN if the

player doesn't have any of the card, LIE.

If someone thinks that you are lying, they say "Bullshit!"

If that person is right, you drink an amount proportional to the

number of cards in the stack; lots of cards already played = lots of

drinks. However, if you were honest in your play and someone says

"Bullshit!" that person ends up drinking the prescribed amount.

Play starts with aces, then goes on accordingly, through kings,

then repeats back to aces.

Oh, by the way, if have to drink because of either being caught

bullshitting or falsely accusing, in addition to drinking, you must

also pick up all of the cards already played and add them to your hand.

Play continues until someone runs out of cards. If you so choose,

play could continue down to the last two players.

A pretty silly looking game, but that's what makes it fun.

Supplies: people, beer, and a deck of cards. Mid-high buzz factor.

Each player is dealt one card that they can not look at. They must

place the card on their foreheads so that everyone else can see the

cards. That means you can see everyone card but your own.

Dealer begins by betting that he has the highest card by saying how

many drinks he wishes to bet. Players who don't think they can win fold

and take as many drinks from their beer that the current bet is at. The

player who ends up losing with the lowest card with the lowest card must

drink the total of the bets.

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Up and Down the River

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Quite an excellent game with a potentially very high buzz factor.

Required materials: many people and at least two decks of cards. A good

rule of thumb is one deck for six people, than an additional deck for

every additional eight to ten people.

Everyone sits in a circle, one player is the dealer as well

as a participant. Each player is dealt four cards face up, to be kept

in front of that player.

The dealer then starts 'up the river' by turning over the first card,

each player with the same card in front of him/her (suit doesn't matter),

must take one drink. If the person has more than one of the same card,

it is a drink for each card.

The dealer then turns over the next card. Same thing, except this

time it is two drinks. The next deal is three drinks, and the the last is

four drinks.

After the fourth card, the dealer returns 'down the river' by dealing

the next card on top of the fourth card dealt. Players with matching

cards now GIVE four drinks away in any combination; four to one player,

or maybe one drink to four different players. Same situation of the

player has more than one of the same card; the player gives drinks for

each card.

The dealer continues back 'down the river' by dealing the next

card on top of the third card dealt. This time players give three cards

for each matching card. The next deal is a give of two drinks, and the

last deal is a give of one drink.

After all the cards are dealt, simply shuffle and deal again.

Lastly, the dealer starts turning over cards, while counting from 1 (ace)

to 13 (king), if the count and the card turned over are equal in value

then all players drink that many drinks. Play continues until everyone

is sick of the game, or sick from the beer.

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Beer 99

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An interesting card game involving that "new" math. Mid level

buzz factor. Supplies: people, beer, and a deck of cards.

The object of the game is to play cards into a pile and have the

value of the pile equal 99. You start off by dealing four cards to each

player, then turn the top card over. Play goes around the circle with

each person playing a card, mentally keeping track of total value of

the pile.

Special cards:

King - Kept to avoid drinking or place drinking responsibilities on

Someone else, usually used near end of game.

Four - used as a skip card when you have none to play, can also be

used to skip drinking responsibilities goes.

Tens - When in the 90's, this drops the value of pile by 10,

otherwise its a regualr card.

Socials occur whenever the total equals a number ending in 9. Special

socials on 69 and 71. On special you must drink twice.

Whoever gets hit with 99 must drink 1/2 glass.

After you play a card, draw another from the stack. When out of cards,

reshuffle those already played.

Needed: Deck of cards, 1 shot/shooter, and whatever you want to casually drink.

The shot is placed on the table, the shuffled deck of cards is spread around the shot in an unbroken circle. The game is similar to Kings (see above), but it is simpler and there aren't as many rules. Players take turns picking cards and doing whatever it indicates. Play continues until the circle of cards is broken. Whoever breaks the circle has to take the shot and the game ends.

Cards 2-10: Red (Hearts & Diamonds) - You drink for however many seconds the card indicates

Black (Clubs & Spades) - You give out however many seconds of drinking indicated on the card

Ace: Make a rule (the rule exists for the duration of the game.)

Jack: Never Have I Ever

Queen: Question Master

King: Captain Dickhead - As Captain Dickhead you are equal to a god until the next King is picked. You can do anything. Want everyone to finish their beer? Say the word. You want someone to jump into a pool fully clothed? They can't say no. You want your friend to buy everyone in the bar a shot? He better have a high credit limit, because he's fucked. HOWEVER, anything you make anyone do, they can throw it right back at you when the next king is picked. You will get your ass handed to you, so don't make people angry at you... or just make sure you picked the last King!