Drinking Games
Best 15 Drinking Games With Regular Cards – Cards & Drinks And You’re Good To Go!
Jul
We bet you’re looking forward to having fun with your mates this weekend. Wait… Haven’t you found your drinking card games yet? How could a fun night BE a fun night without drinking, and precisely without games that make you drink? You’ve hit the nail on the head, it can’t! To save your precious time, and to help you make the right choices only, we’ve made a list of drinking card games that have not disappointed a single person on this earth and further!
The best thing about all the games you’ll find below is that they all only require a deck of classic cards to have unlimited fun. A deck of classic cards, a.k.a regular cards is a standard 52-card deck that contains cards of all the four suits: clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades. Just go through your shelves, I bet you’ll find more than one deck somewhere. We have one main tip: take your time while you pick the games. That’s the most important part of the night.
- Tips on choosing the perfect games;
- The games:
- Killer;
- Screw Your Neighbour;
- Shithead;
- Waterfall;
- Horserace;
- Give & Take;
- Blow Me;
- Toepen;
- Across The Bridge;
- The Lady Has The Deck;
- Beeramid;
- Fe Fi Fo Fum;
- Ride The Bus;
- Electricity;
- Kemps;
- Let’s sum it up!
Tips On Choosing The Perfect Games
Pay attention to the number of drinks in each game. This matters especially when it comes to how drunk you want to get, if I may say. There are games where you’ll only drink if you’re the loser, such as ‘Kemps’ kinda, and if you do have luck or use any kind of strategies, you may remain sober the whole game. On the other hand, there are games where you drink continuously, just as ‘Waterfall’, ‘Give & Take’ and many other are. Undoubtedly, no matter your tolerance, games like these 2 we mentioned, will get the whole group drunk.
Decide between luck-based games and strategy ones. It all depends on your energy, and how competitive you want to get. For example, if you play ‘Fe Fi Fo Fum’, or even ‘Blow Me’, you have to put some effort into trying to win the game, being concentrated on not messing with the words, and controlling your breath. But, some games don’t require any skill at all. It’s all about what a lucky charm you are. ‘The Lady Has The Deck’, ‘Toepen’, and the mass of this list belong to the second group.
Get the group’s opinion if the game should be a competition or just something to get you drunk. Both types of games are included below. A considered number of them requires choosing a winner at the end of the game. We can mention here ‘Horserace’ or ‘Shithead’. Some games only want you to have some fun and get drunk, and no one gets competitive. Such games are most them, just as ‘Killer’, ‘Across The Bridge’, ‘Beeramid’, and more.
Consider how many people will attend the game. Especially if you’re playing with only one deck of cards. Games like ‘Killer’ or even ‘Waterfall’ don’t get affected by the number of players, it all goes the same. But if planning to play ‘Shithead’, even if you have 2 decks of cards, the largest number of people that can play (if you include the jokers) is 12. So, that’s what you pay attention to when reading the game details, since they’re based on real-life experience.
If at a game night, pick 2 or more games. One game will get boring, and we got proof of that. If you play it for one round only, it will end so fast. If you play several rounds, you’ll get tired of playing the same thing again. This is why you should always prepare for 2 or more games to play, and they must be different from each other. It will still be a card game, but with a very different game flow, rules, drinking, and more. We love diversity!
1. Killer
Players: 4 and more.
The aim: Detectives try to find out who the killer is.
Let’s start this list with a crime, shall we? You won’t need the whole deck to play. The number of cards required depends on how many players there are. The more the better, as always. Remember that if there are up to 8 players, you have to take one red card and the rest black. If there are more than 8, you may take two red cards, so there are two killers. One of the players arranges the cards and places them facedown on the table.
Everyone has to take one card, and only keep it for themselves. Whoever has the red card (s) is the killer(s). That player has to secretly wink to someone else, without the others watching. Whoever the killer winks to, that player is dead. Well, not literally. That player has to drink actually. If any other players catch the killer winking, the killer drinks. ‘Killer’ is also a great drinking game with shots. We call it ‘Drink Murderer’ and we love it!
2. Screw Your Neighbor
Players: 2 and more.
The aim: Not to remain the player that holds the lowest value card.
Don’t we all have a bit of an experience when it comes to screwing the neighbors? Just as in Poker card games, in ‘Screw Your Neighbor’ as well, Aces are high and 2s are low. One player is the dealer, which shuffles the deck and gives everyone one card facedown. All players sit in a circle. The round begins from the player on the dealer’s left. They turn their card over and see the value. They have to decide if they want to keep the card or switch to the player on their left, hoping it is a higher card.
This continues repeatedly, each player keeping or switching their card until it’s the dealer’s turn. They can decide if they want to keep the card or switch it with the top card of the remaining deck. After everyone has finished their turn, they reveal the cards. Whoever has the lowest card has to drink. You may play it for as many rounds as you want & also add your own rules.
3. Shithead
Players: 2 to 4 (good for 6 players only if Jokers are included);
The aim: To be the player who loses their cards first, and not the shithead.
Keep this word away from kids. They’ll piss you off. The dealer gives each player 9 cards: 3 face-down, 3 on top of them, face-up, and 3 on their hands. Give them time to rearrange the cards on their hands with the face-up cards in front of them. Ace is the highest and there are magical cards: two, seven, nine & ten. Now, one of the players flips over the top card from the remaining deck. That player begins with playing one of their three cards on top of the previous card, but only if it’s the same, higher, or one of the magical cards. You may also add specific rules when any of these special cards are played.
Continuing further, each player draws one new card from the deck, every time they play one from their hands. This continues until you can’t play a card anymore (there are no possible moves) and you start playing your face-up cards first, then your face-down ones. Whenever you run out of cards, you win. The player who remains the last that holds cards is the shithead. Luck, huh?
4. Waterfall
Players: 3 and more.
The aim: get you tipsy and bring some good laughs. That’s it.
I mean, who doesn’t love a good Waterfall game? The setup is simple if. All you gotta do is place one wine bottle or any cup in the center of the table and spread the whole deck around it. Next, going clockwise, everyone draws one card. Each card value stands for a different action or drinking challenge. You may read the rules in the special article about Waterfall linked above, but here are some of them:
- 2 – give 2 drinks to any 2 players;
- 4 – all the girls playing drink;
- 5 – boys drink;
- 9 – Everyone should say a word that rhymes with the previous player. Whoever messes up drinks;
- King – Make a drinking rule of your choice.
5. Horserace
Players: 3 to 8.
The aim: Trusting your gut and gambling on the winning suit.
Yup, it is a Horse Race! To start, make an L-shape of cards, with 4 Aces face-up on the short side, and 8 other face-down cards on the other side. One of the players is the announcer, which starts the game by flipping one card from the remaining deck up. Before the announcer does that, every player guesses the winning suit of the cards. Next, after the card is flipped, the Ace that has the same suit as the card flipped moves on step (row) forward.
At some point, when all Aces are on the same row, the face-down card that belongs to that row is flipped over. The Ace that has the same suit moves one row back. All the other players, except the one who gambled on the winning suit, drink. Optionally, every time your Ace (horse) moves back, you drink. Feel free to add your own house rules!
6. Give & Take
Players: 3 – 8 players.
The aim: Making you spill some truths or complete some dares.
Sounds like ‘Truth Or Drink’, huh? Start the game by dealing everyone with 4 face-up cards. Next, make two rows of 6 cards in the center of the table, and announce that one row is the ‘truth or take’ and the other is the ‘give or dare’. Seconds you have to drink continuously on both rows increase by two, starting from the first card to the sixth. This means that if the card is on the first row, you’ll have to drink for 2 seconds, but if it’s on the last row, you’ll drink for 12 seconds.
Next, someone flips one card from any of the rows. Each player who has the same card in their hand as the flipped card can start their round. If it’s on the truth row, you have to either answer one truth (a question made by the group) or drink for as many seconds as the card row tells you two. If it’s on the dare row, you can give someone seconds to drink (again, based on the row), or perform a dare, which we encourage you to do. Super simple, super-duper fun!
7. Blow Me
Players: 2 and more.
The aim: Blowing only 1 card from the top of the bottle/cup.
‘Blow Me’ or ‘Blow Cards’, whatever you call it, brings a great atmosphere. It is one of the easiest games to set up and play tbh. Take one beer bottle or any cup, and place the deck of cards on top of it. Everyone tries to blow one card, but one card only from the top of the bottle, without using hands or any other body part. If you complete blowing one card, every other player has to take a sip of their drink. If you blow 2 or more cards, babe, you have to take a sip of your drink.
There’s one more thing… If you blow the whole deck of cards, you have to drink the whole time the group sings a verse from a famous song or even your favorite song. The speed they sing the song depends on how drunk they want to get you. Extra rule: if someone blows 1 card, 3 turns in a row, they get to make someone of their choice drink whatever’s in the middle cup or bottle. Yeah!
8. Toepen
Players: 3 to 8.
The aim: To be the player who’s luckily got the highest-ranking card.
Toepen, as a great drinking game for 3 people (and more) it is, is very simple to play. Will you need some good luck? Hell yeah! But, will it be fun even if luck is not by your side, again, yes! In simple words, Toepen is a trick-taking game. To begin, the cards are spread equally to each player. One of you, volunteering, starts the first trick. Next, every following player should play a card that has the same suit as the previous card.
Continuing further, the player who has the highest-ranking card wins the trick, while all the others lose one life. To be clear, everyone has 10 lives during the game, and the player who loses all 10 first, has to buy a new round of drinks and take a shot. If you want to play for more rounds, just shuffle the deck, and start it all over again. Cool, isn’t it?
9. Across The Bridge
Players: 3 and more.
The aim: Wishing on drawing a numbered card, so you’re safe from drinking.
Will we go across the bridge? We sure will! The dealer deals 10 cards facedown on a horizontal line on the table. Each player, taking turns, flips one card over. If it’s a numbered card, you simply remove the card from the deck, and the other player continues. But, if it’s one card from the Court or an Ace, you take drinks. 1 for Jack, 2 for Queen, 3 for King, and 4 for Ace. So, the card’s value tells you the number of drinks (shots or sips) you should take.
That’s not all. Every time the card is one of the ‘specials’, you also add as many cards as the card value to the line. So, if the card you flipped is a Queen, you should take 2 shots, but also add 2 cards from the remaining deck to the table. The game ends whenever there are no cards left on the horizontal line.
10. The Lady Has The Deck
Players: 3 and more.
The aim: To be careful to not draw the only Queen remaining on the deck.
FYI, all Queens in a deck of classic cards have names: Judic, Pallas, Rachel & Argine. Now, to play this drinking game, remove three Queens from the deck, leaving only one remaining, I assume Rachel (maybe because it resembles of Friends drinking game). Shuffle the deck and place it in the middle of the table. Now, everyone takes turns drawing one card at a time from the deck.
Only one player will draw a Queen, since there is only one Queen on the deck, right? When that happens, that player must perform any of these two options: take a drink or perform a dare chosen by the group. For the best experience, play several rounds, so almost each player drinks or shows their limits while completing a challenge.
11. Beeramid
Players: 3 and more.
The aim: It’s all between trusting your gut, or drinking when others ask you to.
How could a game night go well without our very beloved ‘Beeramid’? Also found as ‘Pyramid’, this drinking card game is fabulous even for large groups. What you have to do about the setup, is arrange the card in a pyramid on the table, starting with 7 (or optionally 5) cards at the bottom, and 1 card at the top, face-down. Whatever remainder is left on the deck, should be dealt with equally by all players. Then, the dealer flips over the first card on the bottom. Every other player that has the same value card, gives drinks to players of their choice.
The player who is chosen to drink may either drink, or if they doubt, they may call it ‘bullshit’, and the giver has to show the card. If it turns out he lied, he drinks, if not, the victim drinks. The amount of drinks depends on the cards’ row. So, if you have the same value as the card on the third row, you may give 3 drinks. Drinks when in ‘bullshit’ situations get doubled, so for a card in the third row, you take/give 6 drinks.
12. Fe Fi Fo Fum
Players: 4 to 6.
The aim: To be the first player who gets rid of their cards.
Unlocking childhood memories, aren’t we? Yes, Fe Fi Fo Fum is a cool card game. Hands down, with some drinks added to it, it becomes a 10 out of 10. Start by shuffling the deck and dealing all cards equally (if possible) to all players. The player on the dealer’s left starts first, by playing a card of their choice on the table, and saying ‘FE’. If a player has a card of the same suit, but in ascending order, they play it on top of the previous and say ‘FI’.
This continues until it all created the game name. After ‘FUM’, the next player should say ‘Giant’s Bum’, and may start a new run of cards, in another order. King is the special card, so, when that is played, the order is reset and there starts a new run. If someone messes up with the words or plays an inappropriate card, take a shot. Also, whoever’s the last player left with cards in their hand, drinks. We conclude that the first one to get rid of all their cards wins the game.
13. Ride The Bus
Players: 2 and more.
The aim: Have luck by your side and not ride the bus by the end of the game.
Is the bus one equipment to play this game? Will we Ride The Bus? Well, we’re about to find out! As a cool card game, it is (even as a 2-player card game), ‘Ride The Bus’ is played in several phases. The first phase has 4 rounds: red or black, higher or lower, in-between or outside, and pick a suit. All these rounds have to do with guessing the upcoming card. Whoever guesses correctly in the fourth round, can give 5 drinks. Otherwise, they drink.
Next, the second phase is all about building a pyramid, with 5 at the bottom, and ending with 1 on top. Whoever has a matching card with the flipped card of the pyramid, drinks depending on the cards’ row. The final phase, finally, is about riding the bus. The player who remains with most cards after the pyramid rides the bus. They get 10 cards and drink if the card is part of the Court or an Ace.
14. Electricity
Players: 3 to 6.
The aim: To pay attention and see when you make a connection with someone.
Who doesn’t want some electricity between you and some other people? Not me! This game is all about making connections. Start by dividing the deck evenly among all players. Someone starts first by flipping a card over. Next, the other player to the left flips a card as well. If these two cards match either by number or suit (kinda like in UNO), both players drink as many seconds as the number shown on the card. If you match by suit, and you both have different numbers, you drink different amounts.
Now, the cool thing is that anybody could match with the current card. So, if you’ve already finished your turn, and have placed your card in front of you, and, let’s say the fourth player in the circle from you draws a card that matches, you drink, again! As you understood, many people may drink at once, and you will be anything but sober by the end of the game!
15. Kemps
Players: 2 to 6 players.
The aim: to have 4 cards of the same rank in your hands.
Oh finally, a team drinking game! Whenever you play ‘Kemps’, you should know that there have to be playing only teams of 2. As many teams as there are. For more than 6 players, add another deck of cards. Each player is dealt 4 cards face-down, and the remaining deck is placed in the center of the table. The dealer starts the game by flipping over the top 4 cards of the deck. Each player can exchange cards from their hands with cards on the table pile, but remember that you should always have 4 cards in your hand.
Once you have 4 cards of a kind, you should secretly cue your teammate, and once they get the signal, they should announce ‘Kemps’, before your opponents see it and say ‘Counter Kemps’. Now, if you misunderstand your partner, you drink. The losing team drinks. If the opposites say the ‘forbidden’ word before any of you two say ‘Kemps’, your team drinks! This is it!
Conclusion
Not only in the section of drinking games with regular cards but all about card games, what we listed above are our favorites. They really can make a party/game night go from a 1 to a 10 real quick, and what’s not to like here! Besides getting opinions from drinking game lovers and getting so many reviews, we enjoyed trying each game ourselves. At some point, we forgot that we were there to test them since we were having so much fun!
Don’t wait to like every game. That’s why there are 15 of them. That’s why there are descriptions and specifics. Try to match your preferences, and the groups as well as the games, and follow our guide, to find the perfect fit. If you don’t like the game, you’ve probably picked the wrong one, so, don’t give up.
Tip: You may also play these drinking games without alcohol! Just drink water instead and make a new rule: whoever goes to the toilet before the end of the game, has to complete a challenge. It’s fun either way!
Enjoy life, and our beloved games!
