Best 17 Drinking Card Games With Regular Cards

We bet you’re looking forward to having fun with your mates this weekend. Wait… Haven’t you found your drinking card games yet? Don’t worry about it. We’re here to bring to you a list of the most entertaining drinking card games you could play with only a deck of cards, and drinks, obviously. 

• The games: 

1. Killer;
2. Screw Your Neighbour;
3. Waterfall;
4. Horserace;
5. Blow Me;
6. Toepen;
7. Across The Bridge;
8. The Lady Has The Deck;
9. Beeramid;
10. Fe Fi Fo Fum;
11. Ride The Bus;
12. Kemps;
13. Blind Man’s Bluff;
14. Spit;
15. Presidents & Assholes;
16. Circle Of Death;
17. Snap;

• Conclusion. 

1. Killer

Players: 4 or more.

Let’s start this list with a type of crime, shall we? Remember that if there are up to 8 players, there must be one red card and the rest black. If there are more than 8, use two red cards. Everyone has to draw one card, and only keep it for themselves. Whoever has the red card is the killer. That player has to secretly wink to someone else, without the others noticing. Whoever the killer winks to, that player is dead, and they have to drink. 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 or more.

Just as in Poker card games, in ‘Screw Your Neighbor’ as well, Aces are high and 2s are low. One player is the dealer, who shuffles the deck and gives everyone one card facedown. All players sit in a circle. The first player turns their card over and checks the value. They have to decide if they want to keep the card or switch with the player on their left. This continues repeatedly 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.

3. Waterfall

Players: 3 or more.

I mean, who doesn’t love a good Waterfall game? All you gotta do to set the game up is place one 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. 

4. Horse Race

Players: 3 to 8.

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, vertically. One of the players is the announcer, who 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, until it reaches the finish line. All the other players, except the one who gambled on the winning suit, drink. Optionally, every time your Ace (horse) moves back, you drink. Check the full rules here.

5. Blow Me

Players: 2 or more.

‘Blow Me’ or ‘Blow Cards’, whatever you call it, brings a great atmosphere. Take one beer bottle or any cup, and place the deck of cards on top of it. Everyone tries to blow one card from the top of the bottle, without using their hands. If you complete blowing one card, every other player has to take a sip of their drink. If you blow 2 or more cards, you take a sip. If you blow the whole deck of cards, you have to drink while the group sings a verse from a famous song. 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! 

6. Toepen

Players: 3 to 8.

Toepen, as a great drinking game for 3 people (and more) it is, is very simple to play. 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, innit? 

7. Across The Bridge

Players: 3 or more.

Will we go across the bridge? 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 shot & card are added to the row for Jacks, 2 shots & cards for Queens, 3 for Kings, and 4 for Aces. So, the card’s value tells you the number of drinks (shots or sips) you should take. The game ends whenever there are no cards left on the horizontal line. Pretty similar to Drunk Driver if you’ve noticed.

8.  The Lady Has The Deck

Players: 3 or more. 

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. 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. The Lady Has The Deck is indeed one of the simplest drinking games for 3, if you’re looking for one!

9. Beeramid

Players: 2 or more.

To start playing Beeramid (or Pyramid), arrange the cards into a pyramid on the table, starting with 7 (or optionally 5) cards at the bottom, and 1 card at the top, face-down. The remaining cards should be dealt equally to all players. Then, the first card on the bottom gets flipped, and every player that has the same value card gives a drink to a player of their choice. The player who is chosen to drink may either drink or call it ‘bullshit’. Now, the giver has to show the card. If it turns out he lied about having the card, they drink twice, if not, the victim drinks twice. The amount of drinks depends on the cards’ row. The number of drinks depends on the card row; starting with 1 drink for the first row, to 7 drinks for the last one.

10. Fe Fi Fo Fum

Players: 4 to 6.

Fe Fi Fo Fum starts with shuffling the deck and dealing all cards equally to all players. The first player plays a card of their choice on the table and says ‘FE’. If a player has a card of the same suit, but in numerical order, they play it on top of the previous and say ‘FI’. This continues until it all creates the game name. After ‘FUM’, the next player should say ‘Giant’s Bum’, and may start a new run of cards. 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. 

11. Ride The Bus

Players: 2 or more.

Well, Ride The Bus is played in several phases, and 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, gives 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, and drinks for every card that is part of the Court, or an Ace.  

12. Kemps

Players: 2 to 6.

Oh finally, a team drinking game! At ‘Kemps’, only teams of 2 must be playing. 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. If the opposites say the ‘forbidden’ word before any of you two say ‘Kemps’, your team drinks! 

13. Blind Man’s Bluff

Players: 3 to 12.

To play this unique-named game, there’s a dealer that deals 1 card to each player, facedown. Players can’t see their own cards, but they must hold them on their forehead, just so all the other players can see. After players have looked at each other’s cards, they may either stay in or fold. After the folding phase is over, the remaining players look at their cards, and the highest value is the winner. Players that folded but had a lower card, take 2 drinks. Those who folded but had a higher value, take as many drinks as their card value. Players who didn’t fold, drink the difference between the value of their card, and the winning card. 

14. Spit

Players: 2.

As a drinking game for 2 players, Spit starts with all cards being dealt equally to both of you. Each player starts 5 stockpiles, with 1 card in the first stockpile, to 5 cards in the last one. The top card of these piles is flipped over, and the remaining cards create the spit decks of players. You two, going at once, play cards in the middle of the table, creating two spit piles. You may play from your stocks to the spit piles, only if the rank is one higher or lower than the previous. If none of you can play cards from your stockpiles, you say ‘Spit’, take sips of your drink, and play one card at the same time. Whoever gets rid of all the cards first, wins, and the loser drinks!

15. Presidents & Assholes

Players: 4 to 7.

The deck of cards is dealt to all players, one card at a time. The player who has the third of Clubs plays that card into the middle of the table. Whoever’s on that player’s left goes next, and they must play a card higher than the previous (third of spades). The play continues the same for all players. However, you must know that doubles (which clean the pile too) beat single cards, three-of-a-kinds (reverse the play) beat doubles, and four-of-a-kinds beat the latter (and make everyone drink). The first player to run out of cards is the President, the second is the Vice-President, the last is the Trash, and all other players in between are Citizens. All players besides the President must finish their drinks. 

16. Circle Of Death

Players: 2 to 8 people (if more than 8, use 2 decks of cards).

Circle Of Death, as a cool & simple game it is, starts with placing one bottle or cup of alcohol in the center of the table, and spreading the deck around. Players take turns to draw cards and complete actions depending on the card value. Even though we have a special guide about this game (attached above), here are a few of the drinking rules: 

• Ace – Everyone waterfalls;
• 9- A game of categories must begin;
• Jack- Start a thumb-master war;
• King- Make a new game rule;

17. Snap

Players: 2 to 8.

Snap starts with the dealer dealing all cards to all players. They keep them as a facedown pile. Players going in turns turn over the top card of the pile, and if two cards of two players match, they must shout ‘Snap’. The first player who shouts the word collects both these cards and adds them to their pile. If both players say ‘Snap’ at the same time, they drink & move the matching cards into the middle and create the Snap Pot. If during the game, one player’s card matches with the top card of the Snap Pot, anyone can say ‘Snap Pot’ and take the entire middle pile. The player whose card matches with the top card of Snap Pot must drink. The first player to collect all 52 cards, wins! 

Conclusion

What’s not to love when talking about drinking games, that require nothing more but a deck of cards & a few drinks? After extensive research, we included different drinking games with a deck of cards, therefore, different levels of difficulty, different rules, and amounts of drinking, obviously. All you gotta do is pick your favorite, and enjoy life!