Cheers to the Governor

Cheers to the Governor is a counting game that rewrites itself. The first lap to 21 is easy, and that is the last easy lap, because every time the table gets there, the person who said 21 swaps a number for a rule. By the fourth lap, 3 is a clap, 9 reverses the direction, 14 has to be said in Spanish, and nobody is sure who is meant to be speaking. It needs nothing but people, so it lives with the other drinking games without cards, and it is one of the few that works just as well over a video call.

What you need

• A drink for every player
• 3 to 15 players in a circle
• Someone willing to remember the rules (or a phone with a notes app)
• Nothing else

Setup

1. Sit in a circle and fix the direction of play. Clockwise is the default. Some rules will reverse it later, so everyone needs to know where “next” is.
2. Agree on the penalty for a mistake. Standard is one drink and the count restarts at 1. Some tables keep the count where it was, which makes the game shorter and kinder.
3. Pick the first player. They say “1” and the game begins.

How to play Cheers to the Governor

1. The first player says “1” and the next player says “2.” Counting goes around the circle, one number per player, in order.
2. Keep counting until someone says “21.” Anyone who says the wrong number, hesitates for too long, or speaks out of turn drinks, and the count goes back to 1 with the next player.
3. On 21, everyone raises their glass and says “cheers to the governor.” Then everyone drinks. This is the only moment in the game when the whole table drinks at once.
4. The player who said 21 makes a rule. The rule replaces one number with something else: an action, a word, a sound, a direction change. The rule applies from the next count onward and stays for the rest of the game.
5. Start again from 1 with the new rule in force. The rules stack. Each lap adds one more. Breaking any of them drinks and restarts the count.
6. Play until the table cannot get to 21. There is no formal ending. Most games stall somewhere between eight and twelve rules, when the count has become a memory test that nobody passes.

Rule ideas

The best rules are small and easy to forget. A rule that is too complicated stops the game; a rule that changes one number is the kind that makes everyone drink on the third lap. These are all in common use.

1. Swap two numbers. 7 is said as 8 and 8 is said as 7.
2. Skip a number. Nobody says 12. The player who would have said it stays silent and the next player says 13.
3. Clap instead of saying it. 3 is a clap. The numbers continue as normal on either side.
4. Another language. 15 has to be said in a language other than English. The table decides whether “quince” every time is allowed or whether it has to be a new language each lap.
5. Reverse direction. Whoever says 9 sends the count back the other way.
6. Drink instead of speak. The person on 5 takes a drink instead of saying the number. If they say “5” by habit, they drink twice.
7. Replace with a name. 4 becomes the name of someone at the table, and that person has to say the next number out of turn.
8. Replace with a noise. 11 is an animal sound. The animal is fixed for the game.
9. Point at someone. The player on 6 points at another player, who has to say 7 regardless of where they sit, and play continues from them.
10. Stand up. Whoever says 10 has to stand up. Whoever says 20 sits down. Anyone standing who should be sitting drinks.
11. Say it twice. 13 is said twice by the same player, “13, 13,” and then play moves on.
12. Count backwards for three. After 16, the next three numbers go 15, 14, 13, and then 17 resumes. This one is cruel.
13. Touch something. Anyone who says 8 has to touch the floor while saying it.
14. Rhyme it. 2 has to rhyme with the previous number, so “one, shoe” or “one, sun.”
15. Swap seats. Whoever says 18 swaps seats with the player opposite. The count continues from the new positions.
16. Switch on 21. Instead of “cheers to the governor,” the table has to say a phrase the rule-maker chooses, such as “cheers to Dave” or a line from a song.
17. Whisper. 17 must be whispered. Anyone who cannot hear it and asks what it was drinks.
18. Add a word. Every number from 1 to 21 has to be followed by a word the rule-maker picks, such as “sir.” Miss it and you drink.
19. Hands on head. The person who says 14 puts their hands on their head and keeps them there until the next 14. Dropping them drinks.
20. Nobody speaks on an even number. For one lap, even numbers are silent beats. The table has to keep the rhythm by counting in their heads. This one usually ends the game.

Variations and house rules

• 21. The same game under its most common name outside the US, without the toast on 21. The player who says 21 still makes a rule. Some versions let each player say one, two, or three numbers per turn, which turns it into a tactical game about who lands on 21.
• Keep the count. A mistake costs a drink but the count continues from where it was. The game gets to 21 more often, so more rules get made, so it gets hard faster. Pick this for a big group where restarts are slow.
• Rule removal. On 21, the rule-maker can remove an existing rule instead of adding one. It gives the table a way out of a rule everyone hates.
• Governor’s immunity. Whoever said 21 is immune from penalties on the next lap. A reward for getting there, and a target for the next rule.
• Speed count. A referee keeps time, and any player who takes more than three seconds drinks. The pauses while people think are where this game loses pace, and a clock fixes that.
• Video call version. Turn order is the order of tiles on screen. Count slowly and leave a beat between numbers for lag. Rules that involve pointing or touching the floor work fine; rules about swapping seats do not. See online drinking games for the full setup.

Tips

• Write the rules down. By lap six nobody remembers what 11 is, and the person who says “it was a clap” with confidence is not always right. One phone, one list, no arguments.
• Keep the drinks to sips. Everyone drinks on every 21, and the restart mechanic means a lot of single penalties on top. On a big table with ten rules in play, that adds up over half an hour, so use beer or something light and refill with water between laps.
• Make rules that fit the room. A rule that needs a language nobody speaks or a seat nobody can reach kills the count. The good ones are the ones that feel easy and get forgotten anyway.
• Stop when it stalls. A table that cannot get past 9 for five attempts is done. Reset the rules and play a fresh game, which is better than watching the same person drink on 9 for ten minutes.