Five classic drinking games

Parties can be fun and all, but after a while dancing to good 4 u on repeat can get boring. Sometimes you need to bring a little spice to the party and that’s exactly what a drinking game is for. Don’t know any alcohol games? Fear not. We’re here to teach you everything from Fuzzy Ducks to Jenga.

From the fuzzy duck game to jenga, Here are five classic drinking games for you and your mates to enjoy:

Fuzzy duck game: A twist on the classic drinking game 

Best for: A big group of people. Good icebreaker for new acquaintances, and practically impossible not to swear if you’re already drunk.

Supplies: People and alcohol.

Gets you drunk? Unlikely.

The rules: Players sit round a table or in a circle on the floor. Each player has a drink in front of them, usually a shot of spirit.

If you make a mistake: You must down your shot. As the game goes on mistakes get more and more common, and you’ll be likely to say “does he fuck?” or “fuck he does.”

How to play: One player is nominated to start. They either say “fuzzy duck” or “ducky fuzz”. If the first player said “fuzzy duck” then the player on their left can either say “fuzzy duck” or “does he”. When the first player said “ducky fuzz” then the player on their right can either say “ducky fuzz” or “does he”. If the second player in either direction repeats the first player then the play passes on to the next person round the table. They can say “fuzzy duck,” “ducky fuzz,” or “does he.” The phrase “does he” reverses the play around the group i.e. switches from clockwise to anti-clockwise or vice-versa. It also has the effect of changing the phrase so “ducky fuzz” becomes “fuzzy duck” and vice-versa.

Two people can say “does he” one after another, then the play carries on in the same direction as before and with the same phrase. You cannot say the same phrase twice in one session. If you said “ducky fuzz” last time and the order of play means that you should say “ducky fuzz” again you must say “does he” so reversing the direction of play and the phrase. A session lasts until someone makes a mistake.

We know it sounds pretty complicated, but it’s honestly worth it for the lols.

Never have I ever

Best for: A group of close friends, major embarrassment.

Get you drunk? Unlikely, unless you’ve done everything. Good for exposing the truth though (unless you lie of course!)

Supplies: Alcohol and people.

How to play: Everyone sits around a table, or in a circle on the floor. One person goes first by making a true statement that begins with “never have I ever… ” For example: “Never have I ever been to Bilbao.” Then, if any other player has done what the person said, they simply drink. As the game progresses, the statements tend to get more personal and explicit. But the game only works when people are honest. However, if somebody drinks on an “I never… ” no explanation is necessary. For example, if someone says, “I’ve never had sex with an animal,” and someone ends up drinking to it, no explanation is needed, just a drink of affirmation. Of course, you can always pry if you want more info.

The Name Game

Best for: Getting to know people.

Supplies: People and beer.

Gets you drunk? If you’re a slow thinker, yes.

How to play: Everybody sits in a circle and someone starts by saying the name of someone famous, or pretty close to being famous as far as those people are concerned. The next person says a name that starts with the first letter of the last name of the previous name. For example: Simone Biles – Britney Spears – Simon Cowell – Charlie Chaplin (direction change) – Chris Brown – Barbie (direction change). Direction changes when first name and surname start with the same letter (Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Marilyn Monroe), or if the person has one name (Madonna, Rihanna).

Beer pong: THE classic drinking game 

Best for: Large house parties (just make sure to put a mat on the floor, it can get kind of sticky).

Supplies: People, beer, ping-pong ball (or anything similar), solo cups and a table.

Gets you drunk? Depends on your opponent’s skills.

How to play: Set up a set of solo cups in the shape of a pyramid at either end of the table. Fill each cup half-way with beer (this is IMPORTANT, you can’t have full cups otherwise it doesn’t work as well). Get into evenly split teams and stand at either end of the table. Take turns trying to throw a ping-pong ball into the beer cups at the other end. If the opposing team gets the ball in one of your cups, drink up. The game ends when one of the team’s cups are all empty.

Jenga 

Best for: A night in with your mates/ post-pub.

Supplies: “Jenga” (wooden block tower game), players, and alcohol.

Gets you drunk? Buzzed, but best to play when you’ve had a few already.

How to play: Build the tower. Take it in turns to remove a block with one hand and place it on top of the tower. If you successfully move a block according to the rules, you may command another player to drink. However, if you cause the tower to topple, you must drink an entire beer.

Alternative version: Write different phrases on the bottom of the pieces, like “Kiss the person on your left”, “swap an article of clothing with the player on your right”, “Go again”, “belly dance for two minutes”. Play the game, and whoever removes the piece has to do what it says, as well as drink two fingers. If they refuse, they must drink four.

Serious bit: All of these alcohol games should be done in moderation, never drink more than you can handle. Remember, binge drinking can cause you harm. 

If you want to find out about some more classic drinking games, click here!

If you want to class things up a bit, read our guide to cocktail parties.