The Quarters Drinking Game: Rules For The Standard Game& Special Variations!

Ever heard of the ‘coin game’, or perhaps Monedita, and wondered what it meant? Well, it’s just another way to call our favorite drinking game, Quarters! This game is all about trying to land a quarter in a specific place, which most likely is a shot glass or a cup. Obviously, the drinking depends on how precise you are with your coin-bouncing. 

The latter could either screw you up and get you drunk, or give you the chance to make others drink (we’ll get to that later)! If you’re interested to know what the player who bounces the coin is called, how to play, or even better, to get to meet all the game variants, keep reading!

• Essential information about Quarters;
• How to play the standard game;
• Other game variants;
• FAQ;
• Conclusion;

Essential Information About Quarters

To put it all on one line, Quarters is a coin-bouncing drinking game, which is people’s favorite to play at all parties (adult parties, it seems), and especially in college gatherings. You’ll get to use 2 of your favorite things: money & alcohol! Here’s the equipment needed:

• One standard cup OR a shot glass as a place for the coin (note: it’s more challenging if you use a shot glass since it’s way smaller). This cup/glass should be filled with alcohol since it’s gonna be used as a penalty drink;
• A quarter or any other coin of the same size;
• Whatever alcoholic drinks you prefer. Beer’s always more recommended since it’s not that hard;
• A piece of paper in case you want to write any of the rules down;

Quarters is supposed to be played by 3 or more people, nevertheless, it works fine even as a drinking game for 2 people. About the age range, it can be played by all people who are 21 or older, since you know, it includes drinking. If there are younger people who want to play, use non-alcoholic drinks for them. 

The setup: Setting the Quarters drinking game up is as simple as you assumed. All you have to do is ask all players to sit around the table and place the coin’s cup in the center of it, about 10 inches away from all of them. Next, give everyone their cup with their preferred type of alcohol, and you’re good to go! 

How To Play The Standard Quarters Game 

Not just to cheer you up, but playing Quarters is simple. Just as playing most of the other no-cards drinking games. To begin with, decide who goes first. It could be the oldest, the single one, or the player who’s closest to the thirties. That player is called the shooter and should take the coin & try to bounce it into the center cup. 

However, there are 2 main rules you should be aware of. One is that it doesn’t count if the coin has landed on the sides, but only on its face, and the second is that it has to flip at least once before ending in the cup. Do you see how simple that was?

If you miss your shot, nothing happens, you just pass the turn to the player on your left. But, if you successfully bounce the quarter, you can make a player of your choice drink the penalty drink. Don’t forget to fill it again though. 

There’s also another second chance for you if you fail the first time. You may announce ‘chance’ and try again. Unfortunately, this comes with a ‘side effect’. If you fail on the second try as well, you have to drink whatever there is in the penalty cup. 

To make it even more enjoyable, if someone successfully bounces the coin 3 times in a row, they may add one rule. Here are some ideas:

• If you hit the rim of the cup, you can make another extra player drink;
• You can’t say the words ‘quarter’ or ‘drink’, or take a sip from the penalty drink;
• The quarter cannot bounce more than once;

Get creative and add whatever you wish. The game ends anytime you’re bored of it or think you’ve drunk enough.

Other Game Variants

Quarters is fun itself. If at some point you want to spice the game up and refresh it a bit, we’ll tell you about 3 other super fun variations. 

Speed Quarters

Speed Quarters is all about determining the loser. For this variant, you’ll also need one cup & one coin for each player separately, and there should at least be 4 players. 2 people on opposite slides and different corners of the table try to bounce the coins into their opponent’s cup. You have to try again until it lands successfully. 

Once that happens, you pass the cup and the coin to the player on your right. If a player has two cups and 2 coins at the end of one round, they are losers. The losers are given a second chance though. They have to try to bounce their coin into the penalty cup. If they succeed, all the other players drink. If not, the loser drinks the penalty drink.

Ice Tray Quarters

To play this variant of Quarters, you don’t need any cup. You just need to use an ice tray (without the ice) and fill the trays with alcohol. You take turns trying to bounce the quarter into the empty spaces. If it lands on one of the trays that aren’t empty yet (has alcohol), you can make a player of your choice drink that space. On the other hand, you just pass the turn to the player on your left.

Ponderosa

This way of playing requires a larger cup for the center of the table, and smaller cups for all players, which should of course be filled with liquor. Each cup belongs to one of the players, and everyone should remember which cup is theirs. Players take turns trying to bounce the quarter into the big cup. If it succeeds, all players take their cups and chug them down.

The player whose last to finish their drink drinks the contents in the big cup. 

If the coin ends in one of the opponent’s cups, that player has to drink their cup, and if it misses the cups completely, the bouncer drinks the liquor in their cup.

FAQ About Quarters

1. How do you play Quarters with only 2 players?

• The simplest way is to bounce the quarter, and every time you succeed, the other player drinks. You may play all the other versions as well. For instance, to play Ponderosa, if you bounce into the big cup, it’s only your opponent who drinks.

2. Is there any trick so you always bounce the quarter successfully?

• Well, a very useful trick is that you should hold the coin between your pointer finger and thumb and bounce it as flat to the table as you can. Here’s a YT video explaining it perfectly: How to Win at the Game of Quarters;

3. Is Quarters a recommended drinking game for couples?

• Sure. It is a good enough reason to drink, awakens your competitive spirit, and makes you challenge each other. 

4. Can you use anything else but coins?

• Well, coins that are similar in size to quarters always work best for all types of cups and glasses. However, if the cup is large, you may use Poker chips, chocolate coins, or other options. 

5. Is there a Mexican Quarters game?

• Yes. It doesn’t require cups. Mexican Quarters is all about spinning a quarter and making another player drink until the coin stops spinning. 

6. How can you play Quarters with dice?

• That is not a drinking game. That is called Quarter Pass with Dice, and you have to pass coins & roll the dice to tell where you should keep your treasure.

Conclusion

Quarters is definitely a good game for every possible party where all people participating want to drink. What makes it special is that it has very simple rules, no special equipment at all, flexibility in the number of players and game time, and of course, the other available game variants. Take your time, check the instructions carefully, and add your creative ideas. Cheers!