Beer drinking games are, as the name implies, friendly competitions that involve the consumption of beer. The objective of any drinking game is to complete a task—whether it be winning a card game, or completing a trivia challenge—while the loser takes a penalty of drinking a glass of cold brew. Overall, however, the winner is whoever remains standing after a night of games, having proven that he can take the most amount of alcohol without collapsing on the floor.
Beer drinking games are usually held in pubs, bars, and private homes or dormitories. They are very popular among college students and young adults, because they’re fun, and also, quite affordable. Considering the cost of a weekend out of town, or even a night out at a trendy restaurant, the idea of staying at home is easier on the pocket. Beer drinking games make the night more fun and exciting—it’s an easy way of getting a party going.
Beer drinking games are clean, casual fun, and after any amount of beer, it’s understandable if you start acting a little silly. However, there are still some International Drinking Rules. Players may of course decide how to apply the rules, or even which ones to discard—it’s your party after all—but it’s good to know how traditional beer drinking games are discarded.
• Nobody can actually say the word “drink” and its forms (like drinking, or drunk). Penalty is, of course, a swig of beer.
• Players must agree on a particular phrase, word or fact they have to utter before drinking. This can be their social security number or telephone number, or a silly sentence or phrase like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!” This is to test the person’s memory, presence of mind, and speech—once you start slurring, it’s a sign that you’re being affected by the alcohol. Variations of this are requiring players to follow up any answer with a question, such as “That’s a great shirt…where’d you buy it?” or with an insult, like “I like your glasses…but you’re an idiot.” Again, it’s just to check presence of mind.
• No one can touch a glass with his pink finger.
• If you want to leave the table, you need to tap it twice with your finger. This is called ‘tap out” and is considered a sign of courtesy.
• Players can’t accept a drink directly from another player. The drink has to be placed on the table first.
• Everyone participating in the drinking game turns off their cell phone. You wouldn’t want to talk to anyone, anyway, after your fourth mug.
• Someone is named a Thumb Master. If he puts his thumb on the table, everyone has to follow suit. (You have to agree which thumb.) Drinking game players must also copy the Thumb Master if he decides to place another body part on the table—hands, elbows, his buttocks. Other variations: the Jive Master (who starts a dance) or the Freeze Master (everyone has to copy his pose). One particularly crazy variation is the Wife Beater Master, who takes off his shirt and whirls it around his head.
• Someone must act as the drinking game rule keeper, and is usually called Mr. President. He is assisted by Mr. Snitch, who reports anyone who’s missed out on any of the rules.
