The greatest drinking games ever

Benjamin Triggs on 28 January 2014
Cards around a pint glass with a mystery drink, ready for ring of fire.

Whether you love them or think they're a bit disgusting, student drinking games are unavoidable. For many, a night out wouldn't start without them! But which game is the king of the drinking games?

Drinking games have become part and parcel of the ‘pre-drink’ at uni. They’ve often caused controversy and some have probably gone too far. However, most games are good-natured fun and are a great addition to nights out. I think this should be celebrated. From the classic Ring of Fire to Shot Roulette, students everywhere can’t get enough of them.

Here at In The Hut we wanted to know what the best drinking games are. So naturally we asked lots of students and gave a fair few a go ourselves. We know we couldn’t possibly try every single one, but here’s our best effort of a top 5.

Arrogance

Rules:

• Grab some drink, a cup and a pack of cards.

  • The first person fills the communal cup with their own drink up to a level of their choice (depending on how arrogant they’re feeling!)
  • They then have to guess whether the next card is higher or lower than the current card.
  • The card is turned over and if that person is right, the cup gets passed on to the next person.
  • This continues as the communal cup gets filled up with all sorts of weird drink.
  • When someone gets ‘higher/lower’ wrong, they down the contents of the cup (if it’s gone round more than about 3 people, it will probably look brown and may have yoghurt in it!).

Yes it’s fairly disgusting. And yes I know, you could get freshers’ flu. But if you like a stupidly good drinking game that can escalate quickly, it’s the one for you. It’s simple to play and it’s fun watching an ‘arrogant’ friend downing a filthy concoction. Not so fun if you get it yourself!

Never Have I Ever

Rules:

  • Get into a drinking circle (that’s a circle of people drinking by the way…just in case people were unclear!)
  • Take it in turns to say 'never have I ever', followed by something you've never done (fairly straight forward...)
  • Whoever has done the said thing is obligated to drink a finger's worth of drink - and depending on how outrageous the feat is, tell the tale!

What a great way to get to know all your mates’ naughty little secrets. The beauty of this game is that it works in a big group and it keeps everyone involved and, depending on how ‘adventurous’ you are, drinking. It can get a little stale after a while as people run out of topics. But before you reach that point, it’s fantastic entertainment and a great way to get to know far too much about your friends.

Student drinking a pint of guinness
Above: Nice shirt bro...

The Motor Racing Game

Rules:

  • A variation of the classic drinking game, 21, this game involves using sounds from motor racing instead of numbers.
  • One of the group calls ‘Start your engines’ which is greeted with an encore of revs and people gripping tightly to their invisible steering wheels.
  • A combination of sounds from F1and hand gestures dictate which direction the game goes (e.g. pit stop involving skipping one person).
  • Unique to the Motor Racing game, the call of ‘radio check’ requires an unsuspecting person to start a tone-deaf version of a popular song.
  • It stops when the slightly less with-it member of the group cocks it up and has to booze. The beauty of this game is that you just need yourselves (strong vocal chords help!), so you can play it literally anywhere.

But what actually makes this game better than 21 and warrant a place in our top five is twofold.

Firstly, it’s just a bit more interactive and boisterous. Secondly, the call of ‘radio check’ - Let’s face it, after a few, having a little sing-song is exactly what’s needed!

Beer Pong

Rules:

  • Two teams stand on opposite ends of a table.
  • You fill up 6 (or 9!) glasses/cups with your beverage of choice and put them in a triangle formation at each end of the table.
  • Each team aims to bounce a ping-pong ball into their opponents’ cups.
  • If they hit, a member of the opposition has to drink the contents of this cup.
  • The team that clears out their opponents cups first wins!
  • There is usually some sort of forfeit for those defeated.

For sheer entertainment value this would be number one! The thrills, the spills and the ‘them vs. us mentality’ makes this game unique. It is difficult to comprehend how throwing a ping-pong ball into a cup can be so exciting! Yet when you’ve had a few to drink, aiming to sink the ball in your opponents’ last cup, it feels like the most exciting thing in the world!

However, you need lots of equipment compared to most games, plus lots of space. But if you’ve for the kit, what better way to start a night?

university beer pong
Above: Beers, terrible furniture and an apple - ready for Beer-Pong.

Ring of Fire/King's Cup

Rules:

  • All you need is a pack of cards fanned out face down around a King’s cup (an empty cup in the middle).
  • The drinking circle fills the King’s cup with a mixture of drinks and then takes it in turns to pick cards.
  • Each card is assigned a task or action (e.g. 3 ‘Me’ – means that the person who picks the card drinks; Jack – could mean that a new drinking rule has to be created).
  • There are so many versions of this game that it feels like each hall’s kitchen has different rules. The King seems to be the only one with consistent meaning - you down part or all of the King’s cup. Very logical!
  • There are often a whole host of other rules, so the drinking flows and flows…and flows.

I know it’s old and will have been played to death by the end of your first year. However, it’s the King of Uni drinking games and no other comes close to its supremacy. There are so many variations of this game and whichever University you go to, you can “make the game your own” (Yes I know, I should be an X-Factor judge)!

cards around a pint glass
Above: Alcohol, cards and a King's cup. Ring Of Fire time!!

Commiserations to our unlucky drinking games which just missed out on our final five: Good Day Bruce, F*** the Dealer and the Horse Racing Game.

Remember to have fun and drink responsibly kids!

What's your favourite drinking game? Join the Student Hut Community today and let us know in our opinion panel.

Benjamin Triggs
Benjamin Triggs on 28 January 2014