Drinking games: the classics and how to play them
The games people actually play: the card games, the ones that need nothing but the people in the room, the ones that work with two or three of you, and the ones that suit Christmas and New Year. Traditional rules, each explained once.
This guide explains the traditional game as it is played offline. The Antics app, for iPhone and Android, is a party-only app built on forfeits and contains no drinking instructions.
Picking fast? Got a deck of cards → Ring of Fire. Just the two of you → Higher or Lower. Nothing on the table → Fuzzy Duck or Thumb Master. Half the room are strangers → Never Have I Ever. Everyone knows each other far too well → Paranoia.
| Game | Players | You need | Ends? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ring of Fire (Kings Cup) | 3+ | Cards, a cup | Fourth King |
| Ride the Bus | 2+ | Cards | Last rider gets off |
| Higher or Lower | 2+ | Cards | Whenever |
| Snap | 2+ | Cards | Whenever |
| Thumb Master | 3+ | Nothing | Runs all night |
| Fuzzy Duck | 3+ | Nothing | Whenever |
| Paranoia | 3+ | A coin | Whenever |
| Twenty-one | 2+ | Nothing | Whenever |
| Never Have I Ever | 2+ | Nothing | Whenever |
| Imposter | 3 to 12 | A phone | Per round |
Card games
One deck of cards covers most of a night. These are the four you will meet most, and between them they suit any size of group.
Ring of Fire
The big one. Spread a full deck face-down in a ring around an empty cup and take turns drawing. Every rank has a rule: Ace is Waterfall, 5 is Thumb Master, Queen is Question Master, and so on. Each King adds a splash of drink to the cup in the middle, and whoever draws the fourth King drinks it, which ends the game. It is the only classic here with a proper ending, which is why it is usually the main event.
→ Ring of Fire rules: every card explained
→ No deck? Play Ring of Fire online, free
Kings Cup
The same game under its American name (Circle of Death is another). The ring, the cup and the fourth King are the same; a few card meanings change. In the common US version the 4 is Floor (last hand on the floor drinks), the 5 is for the guys and the 6 for the girls, and the Jack is a quick round of Never Have I Ever. If your table learned it in different places, agree the meanings before the first card.
→ Kings Cup card meanings, US and UK side by side
Ride the Bus
A card game in three stages: everyone plays the first two, and one unlucky player rides the bus at the end. Tables vary on the details, so agree them first. This is the usual version.
- Four questions. The dealer goes round the table asking each player four questions, dealing them a card face-up after each answer: red or black? Higher or lower than your first card? Inside or outside your first two? Which suit? Get one wrong and take a sip. Keep your four cards.
- The pyramid. The dealer lays out a pyramid of face-down cards, four on the bottom row up to one at the top, and turns them over one at a time, starting at the bottom. When a card matches the value of one in your hand, put yours down on it and hand out sips: one on the bottom row, two on the next, and so on up.
- Riding the bus. Whoever has the most cards left rides the bus. They answer the four questions again with fresh cards, and a wrong answer means a sip and starting again from the first question. Four right in a row and they are off.
The last stage can drag. Agree a limit before it starts: three goes and the bus stops is fair.
Higher or Lower
The simplest card game there is. Turn over the top card. The player guesses whether the next card will be higher or lower, then flips it. Right, and they guess again; three right in a row and they can pass to the next player. Wrong, and they take a sip and the turn moves on. Aces are high, and a card of the same value counts as wrong, unless your table says otherwise.
Games with no props
Nothing to set up and nothing to carry, so these start anywhere: a pub table, a kitchen, a hotel room on a stag do. They also run alongside each other, so a Thumb Master can be going all night while you play something else.
Thumb Master
One player is the Thumb Master. Whenever they like, they quietly rest a thumb on the edge of the table, and everyone else copies as soon as they notice. Last thumb down takes a sip, and some groups make them the next Thumb Master. The trick is patience: wait until someone is halfway through a story. It is the 5 in Ring of Fire, played on its own.
Fuzzy Duck
Sit in a circle. The first player turns to their left and says "fuzzy duck", that player says it to the next, and so on round. At any point, a player can say "does he?" instead. That flips the direction, and the phrase becomes "ducky fuzz" until someone says "does he?" again. Say the wrong phrase, hesitate or trip over the words, and take a sip. It gets faster as it goes, and the slip everyone is waiting for is the whole joke. We will leave it there.
Paranoia
One player whispers a question to the person next to them, and the answer has to be someone in the room: a "who here is most likely to..." sort of question. The person who heard it says their answer out loud, the name and nothing else. The person named can find out what the question was by flipping a coin: heads, it gets read out; tails, it stays a secret. In the traditional version they can also take a sip to hear it. Then the answerer whispers the next question along.
Twenty-one
Count to 21 round the circle. On your turn, say one, two or three numbers in order. Whoever has to say 21 takes a sip and swaps one number for a rule: 7 becomes a clap, 12 has to be said in an accent. Then start again from 1, rules in place. A few rounds in, nobody can count.
The question games need no props either: Never Have I Ever, Most Likely To, Truth or Dare and Would You Rather are further down, each with its own page of questions.
Drinking games for two
Most drinking games assume a crowd. These four work with just two of you.
- Higher or Lower. The best card game for two. One deals while the other guesses, and you swap after every wrong call.
- Snap. Split the deck between you and take turns turning over the top card of your half onto your own pile. When the two top cards match, the first to shout "snap" wins both piles. The drinking version adds one rule: whoever is slower to shout takes a sip.
- Twenty-one. Works just as well with two, and turns into a battle of wits: there is a trick to never being the one who says 21, and finding it is half the fun.
- Never Have I Ever. Five fingers each; put one down for everything you have done. With two, it turns from a party game into a very long conversation. Our Never Have I Ever questions will keep it going.
Drinking games for three
Three is the smallest group where most of the classics work properly.
- Ring of Fire. Three is enough. Your turn comes round fast, and the cards that hit everyone (Waterfall, Heaven, Categories) hit harder.
- Ride the Bus. Plays the same with three as with eight, just quicker.
- Paranoia. With three, every answer lands close to home: there are only two other names to choose from.
- Imposter. Three is the minimum, and the normal rules need a few changes to hold up. Our guide to Imposter with 3 people covers them.
More ideas for a small group: party games for 3 or 4 people.
Christmas and New Year drinking games
December nights are long, the group is bigger than usual and half of it has not seen each other since last year. These classics suit those nights.
- The Christmas film game. Put on a Christmas film everyone has seen. Before it starts, each player picks a trigger: snow falling, someone saying "Christmas", a dog on screen. Whenever yours happens, take a sip or hand one out. Pick triggers that come up a handful of times, not every minute.
- Ring of Fire with cracker hats. Play it as normal, but make the Jack rules festive: cracker hats on until the next Jack, every sentence ends with "and a merry Christmas", no saying "Santa".
- Pass the parcel with forfeits. Wrap a small prize in layers with a forfeit under each one. When the music stops, whoever is holding the parcel opens a layer and does what it says. Drinking or not, it works for everyone at the table. Short of ideas? Borrow from our forfeit ideas.
- Never Have I Ever, year in review. On New Year's Eve, play it with one rule: every confession has to be from the year that is ending.
- Imposter with Christmas words. Everyone gets the same secret Christmas word except one player, who has to bluff. Our Christmas Imposter words are ready to go.
From 1 December to 1 January, the Antics app has a Christmas and New Year deck in Imposter and Christmas cards you can switch on in five of its other games, all free for everyone. More ideas: Christmas party games for adults.
The games in the Antics app
Antics is a party games app for iPhone and Android: nine games, thousands of cards, eleven languages and no ads. Nothing in it depends on drinking. Each game has its own page:
- Antics mode: a mixed run of challenges, votes and rules that last a few cards.
- Never Have I Ever: confessions, from easy openers to properly awkward.
- Most Likely To: read it out, count to three, everyone points.
- Would You Rather: two options, and the room picks a side.
- Truth or Dare: the classic, with questions worth answering.
- What Are The Odds: set the odds, both call a number, and if they match, the dare is on.
- Imposter: everyone gets the secret word except one player, who bluffs. 3 to 12 players, and you can play Imposter online free.
- The Four Kings: the app's own take on Ring of Fire, with a rule for every card.
- Spicy: bolder cards for adults (18+).
Playing these at a hen do or stag do
The no-props games above travel best: there is nothing to carry round a city you do not know. Keep the forfeit swap ready for anyone pregnant, driving or simply not drinking, so the whole group stays in the same game. We have written up what works for each.
→ Hen do games: no props, no printing, sober-friendly
→ Stag do games: zero setup, nothing to carry
Drinking games FAQ
What's the best drinking game for pre-drinks?
Ring of Fire if you want one proper game with a beginning and an end; Never Have I Ever if the group is new; Fuzzy Duck or Thumb Master once the room is loud. Most nights run two or three back to back.
What are the best drinking games with cards?
Ring of Fire, also called Kings Cup, is the classic: a full deck, a rule for every card and an ending on the fourth King. Ride the Bus and Higher or Lower need only a deck too, and Higher or Lower works with just two.
What drinking games need no props?
Thumb Master, Fuzzy Duck, Paranoia and Twenty-one need nothing but the people in the room. Never Have I Ever and Most Likely To need nothing either, just good questions.
What are good drinking games for two people?
Higher or Lower, Snap, Twenty-one and Never Have I Ever all work with two.
How many people do you need for drinking games?
Most classics work from three, and five to eight is the sweet spot. Higher or Lower, Snap and Twenty-one work with two. Imposter needs at least three, and the Antics app takes up to twelve.
What drinking games suit Christmas and New Year?
A Christmas film game where everyone picks a trigger, Ring of Fire with festive Jack rules, and pass the parcel with a forfeit in every layer. On New Year's Eve, play Never Have I Ever with every confession from the year that is ending.
What's a good drinking game for people who don't know each other?
Never Have I Ever: the questions create the shared history the other games rely on. Save Paranoia and Most Likely To for groups who already know each other.
Can you play drinking games without alcohol?
Yes. Swap every sip for a forfeit and the games run the same, so drinkers and non-drinkers play together and nobody sits out.
Want the cards dealt for you?
Antics has nine party games and thousands of cards for iPhone and Android, in eleven languages. No ads, no accounts, and nothing in it depends on drinking.
App Store Google Play