10 Best Drinking Games That are Sure to Liven Up Your Party

Ah, drinking games. What is a party without one? Remember the last time you had one? Probably not all the details, but you’re not alone and your secrets are safe with us! 

Drinking games are about as old as alcohol itself. You can thank the fun-loving ancient greeks for the invention of drinking parties as we know them today and also for the first-ever recorded drinking game called “kottabos”- a game wherein you throw the dregs of wine found at the bottom of your drinking cup against a wall in competition, post-chug. Not very complex we know, but drinking games are a tradition and are all about speed and endurance.

Whether you see drinking games as a fun way to consume large amounts of alcohol in a short time or the fastest way to get your friends intoxicated and make embarrassing spectacles of themselves, always remember to know your limits and make sure you are in a safe environment with people you trust!

Here are ten drinking games to try that are sure to liven up your party the next time you decide to wet your whistle:

Don’t throw away that old and dusty box of Jenga just yet! Bring it out the next time you need to jump-start a dull party. The same basic rules of removing a block and adding it to the top of the tower without knocking it over apply but with a twist - write down crazy and funny challenges on the blocks and take a chug every time the pile comes crashing down. 

If this sounds like too much work you can always just buy a pre-made drunk Jenga set - although that would take away the joy of coming up with your own rules to personalize the torment of your friends!

This one falls under the let’s get drunk super fast/team category. All you need are a bunch of cups and a bunch of friends who have agreed not to be driving themselves (or anyone!) home after the party. The teams will line up their cups on both sides of the table with each member in front of their own cup. The first pair will toast, chug, and set down their empty cup on the table before flipping it over. As soon as the cup lands face-down on the table, the next person can go. The first team to have finished their drinks with all their cups lined face-down wins. You can obviously tweak the game to involve only two players with the number of cups and rounds depending on how much drink you can handle.

This one is simple. Everyone sits in a circle and takes turns asking a “most likely” question. For example, “Who is most likely to date two guys at once?”, after which everyone points at a person who they think is most likely to do so. The person who has the most number of fingers pointed at them drinks as many drinks.

All you need for this one is a brown paper bag and a pair of scissors. Two teams will play against each other trying to pick up a paper bag using only their mouth. Failing to do so means drinking a shot. Players are not allowed to touch the floor, any part of their bodies, and other players. An inch of the paper bag is cut after each round until only the bottom of the bag is left.

The key here is to make your friends admit embarrassing stories and get them drunk fast! No secrets are safe with this game and the fewer skeletons you are hiding in your closet the better. It starts with someone sharing something they have never done before and the people who have will drink a shot. For example, “Never have I ever drunk-dialed an ex”, all those in the group who have will drink a shot.

Participants take turns bouncing their coins off the table into a whisky glass. Successful attempts mean you can nominate any other player to drink the shot and have a second go. Get three bounces in a row and you can play god and create a new rule like bouncing with your non-dominant hand. If anyone then breaks that rule they drink the shot. You forfeit your turn every time you miss.

This one’s a classic, for sure. Cups with booze are lined up in a triangle formation. Taking turns, two teams throw ping pong balls into the opponent’s cups. If the ball lands in a cup, the booze is consumed by the other team and the cup is removed from the table. The first team to eliminate all of the opponent's cups wins.

Here’s another game you can play with a deck of cards. Players are dealt five cards each while the rest of the deck is spread out in the middle of a table. The first player picks a card from the deck (goes fishing) and flips it up.

The rest of the players must quickly lay down a card equal to or higher than that card. They can pick up one card from the table if they can’t. Not being able to match or better the initial card means drinking a shot. The last person to either drink or lay down his card must drink twice. All the cards played are mixed back into the fish pond (deck of cards) and the highest card laid down starts the next round.

A more adult twist to a classic teenage game. If you’ve ever played spin the bottle, then you’ll have no problems playing this one. Simply form a circle (with a drink in hand of course), turn over an empty beer bottle on its side, and spin it.

Now, the fun part. You get to choose if you want to kiss the person the spout points at or drink bottoms up. Regardless of what you choose you will find yourself drunk-whether with love or alcohol.

This one is a test of strategy, cunning, and alcohol tolerance! All classic chess rules apply but there is a twist to this game of strategy.

Every time your opponent is able to kill one of your pieces, it's time to take a swig of your drink. What makes this game fun (if you do have the tolerance to finish the game) is each player is guaranteed 16 shots.

A word of caution though, it is recommended that you actually know how to play chess before you even attempt this 21 years old and above option. Drinking while you learn this game is definitely not advisable. Unless of course losing is in your strategy to get drunk quicker. You will most likely either end the game drunk, better at chess, or BOTH. 

When you think about it, you can now turn almost every game into a drinking game by making the consequence a drink of alcohol. The sky’s the limit- replace chess with checkers, backgammon, or even your favorite PlayStation game. Just do you, and what you enjoy doing!

Now that you have 10 drinking game options to make your next party an absolute success, please remember, win or lose, keep it fun. Drink responsibly and that includes never drinking and driving. 

Enjoy!