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Party drinking games

A big group kills most drinking games: too much waiting, too many rules to explain. The games here are built for a crowd, with teams, short turns, and nothing that needs explaining twice. For the physical ones (Flip Cup, Civil War) see beer games; this page is the rest.

Players
Buzz
Needs

Start here

Power Hour illustration

Power Hour

1+ players 1 h

A shot of beer every minute for an hour. Nothing to learn, and the math is on the page.

Baseball illustration

Baseball

4 to 12 players 45 min

Quarters with innings and bases. A game that lasts the whole party.

All 6 games newest updates first

  1. Power Hour illustration Power Hour Every player takes a one-ounce shot of beer every minute for sixty minutes, usually timed by a playlist that changes song on the minute. Sixty shots is about five standard beers in an hour, which is why the pacing and the beer choice matter more than in any other game on this site. 1+ · 1 h
  2. Baseball illustration Baseball Two teams take turns bouncing a quarter at four cups in a row, the nearest a single and the farthest a home run, and track runners like real baseball. A batter who makes a cup drinks the cups past it, three strikes is an out, and the fielding team drinks for every run scored against them. 4 to 12 · 45 min
  3. Best Christmas Drinking Games illustration Best Christmas Drinking Games Eleven Christmas drinking games with rules, from the Elf and Home Alone movie games to a Secret Santa swap, Christmas Kings Cup, a carol relay, and a wrapping race. Each one takes a minute to explain and works with whoever is in the room, cousins included. 2+ · 2 h
  4. Beer Pot illustration Beer Pot Every player pours a beer into one big pot, then the pot goes around the circle and each person drinks as much or as little as they like. Whoever empties it wins, and the player who drank right before them loses and refills the pot for the next round. 3+ · 20 min
  5. Movie Drinking Games illustration Movie Drinking Games Movie drinking games run on a short list of triggers: drink when the title is said, when a catchphrase lands, when a character does the thing they always do. This page has ready-made rule sets for nine films and franchises, two templates for any rom-com or horror film, and a guide to building your own. 2+ · 2 h
  6. Online Drinking Games to Play Over Video Call illustration Online Drinking Games to Play Over Video Call Ten drinking games that survive a video call, from Never Have I Ever and Most Likely To to 3-6-9, Truth or Drink, and a screen-share movie game, each with rules adjusted for turn order, muting, and lag. Plus a short guide to running the call so nobody talks over each other. 2+ · 1 h 30 min

Formats that survive a crowd

Three formats work at scale. Teams: two sides, each turn involves everyone on the team, so nobody waits long (Flip Cup, Baseball). Circles: one rule goes around the room and the mistake lands on whoever slips (3-6-9, Sevens, Medusa). One-pot: everyone contributes, one unlucky person pays (Beer Pot). Everything else needs splitting into two tables.

Plan the night in that order. A circle game while people arrive, a team game once the room is full, and a one-pot game as the closer.

Party, answered

What drinking games are good for a big group?

Flip Cup and Civil War if you have a table and cups (they are on the beer games page). Without a table, 3-6-9 and Sevens run a circle of any size, and Medusa gets better the more people are looking at each other.

How do you keep a drinking game moving with 15 people?

Play in teams so each turn involves several people, keep rules to one sentence, and avoid games with a central cup that one person has to drink. Relay games and circle counting games are the two formats that never stall.

What is a good drinking game to start a party with?

Medusa. Five seconds a round, no setup, loud, and it gets strangers looking at each other. Follow it with Flip Cup once the room is warm.

Which party games work without alcohol?

All of them. The rules say who drinks, not what they drink; a party with mixed drinkers and non-drinkers just has mixed cups.

Are there drinking games for holidays?

The Christmas list covers movie drinking rules, gift-based games, and dinner-table games. Halloween and New Year lists are coming.

Please drink responsibly. Pace yourself, drink water between rounds, look after each other, and never drive after playing.