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It’s about time to return to summer nights on your back porch, where your guests talk and laugh until the sun comes up. What’s the best way to welcome the new season? A few drinking games. You don’t have to be a college student to appreciate these activities, especially when there’s more to choose from than Beer Pong and Power Hour.
Here are the best drinking games to play with friends.
This drinking game requires a movie or song, so it’s a terrific choice for FaceTime happy hours when you can’t get together with friends. You can also weave it into your conversation. Either way, you’ll only need a drink for Drink When You Hear It.
There’s one rule to follow. When you hear a particular word or phrase, drink. You and your companions can draw up a list of themes to follow as you play. For example, let’s say that you want to binge “Criminal Minds.” Every time you heard a character say “unsub” or “ruse,” you’ll take two sips.
If you’re up for an adult take on Truth or Dare, here’s an option. For Give and Take, you’ll need playing cards, plus a table.
Ask everyone to gather around. Use 24 cards to lay out two parallel rows – one for truth and one for dare. Each row should have 12 cards. Next, you need to deal four cards to each player. Start with the person to the dealer’s left. They’ll flip over a card from either row. Anyone who has that card needs to complete a truth or dare told by the person who flipped the card.
If no one has a match, move to the next person. When someone refuses to take on a truth or dare, they need to drink for a certain amount of time. They’ll determine this time by the position of the card that they drew. If it was the first card in the row, that’s one second.
Here’s a classic pick that you may remember from your college days. Ring of Fire, or Kings, can seem a little complicated at first, but you should be able to get the hang of it after a practice round. For this drinking game, you’ll need playing cards and a table, as well as a spare unopened beer or cup of alcohol.
Place the can or cup in the middle of the table. Spread the playing cards around it so that you achieve a circular formation. Then, ask everyone to gather with a drink of their own. In this drinking game, each card aligns with a specific rule that you need to follow.
You’ll go around the group and ask each player to take a turn. After a player draws a card from the circle, they’ll follow the rule that corresponds with that card. For instance, if they draw a six, it’s time for every woman to drink. Then, they’ll insert their card under the beer’s tab. If you’ve chosen a cup of alcohol, they’ll need to balance one edge on the rim.
When the beer tap pops, or the cards on the cup’s rim fall, it’s up to the person who broke the ring to finish the drink in the middle of the table.
Here’s another drinking game that you can play wherever you like. The Name Game involves a little pop culture knowledge, so you may want to change the topic if you’re not familiar with many celebrities. Memory games can improve your brain’s grey matter, so this drinking game definitely has a few benefits.
Nominate one player to begin. They’ll say a famous person’s name. Then, the next player follows up with someone who’s first name starts with the same letter of the previous person’s surname. For example, if you used Sophie Turner, the next person could try Taylor Lautner. Then, Lady Gaga would work after that.
If someone hesitates before they answer, they have to drink.
The next time that you want to host a small gathering at home, try these fun drinking games.
