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Shot drinking games

Shot games are short by design: the penalty is a shot, so rounds have to be quick and the total has to be small. Medusa is the one to learn; the others are memory and speed games where a single mistake costs a glass.

Players
Buzz
Needs

Start here

Medusa illustration

Medusa

3 to 15 players 15 min

Heads down, heads up, lock eyes, shoot. Five seconds a round.

I'm Going to the Bar illustration

I'm Going to the Bar

2 to 12 players 15 min

A memory chain with shots at the end. Gets harder every lap.

Best Sucker Challenge illustration

Best Sucker Challenge

2+ players 10 min

A race with baby bottles. Funnier than it sounds, and it sounds funny.

All 3 games newest updates first

  1. Medusa illustration Medusa Everyone puts their head down, and on the count of three everyone looks up at another player. If two people lock eyes, they both shout "Medusa!" and take a shot. 3 to 15 · 15 min
  2. I'm Going to the Bar illustration I'm Going to the Bar Players go around the table repeating an ever-longer bar order and adding one drink each turn. Forget a drink, muddle the order, or stall, and you take your shot. 2 to 12 · 15 min
  3. Best Sucker Challenge illustration Best Sucker Challenge Every player gets an identical baby bottle of beer and races to empty it through the nipple. The first to finish hands out three shots and the last to finish takes three. 2+ · 10 min

Keeping shot games fun

Every shot game on this site comes with the same advice: cap the rounds, pour small, and play it early. The games are designed around a penalty that lands every few seconds, which is fine for ten rounds and a problem for thirty. Medusa is the format that works best because the penalty lands on pairs, so the shots spread across the table instead of piling onto one person.

Shots, answered

What is the best shot drinking game?

Medusa. It needs nothing but shots and a table, it scales to a big group, and a round takes five seconds. Everything else on this page is a niche pick next to it.

How many shots is too many for a shot game?

Set a cap before you start. Ten rounds of Medusa with eight people produces two or three shots per person, which is enough for a pregame. Pour small, pour weak, or play sips with a beer after the first few rounds.

Can you play shot games with sips instead?

Every game here works with a three-second sip instead of a shot. The rules do not change, and the game lasts long enough to be fun instead of ending at round six.

Which shot games work with two people?

Best Sucker Challenge is a race and works with two. Medusa needs at least three and is better with six or more.

What should I shoot for these games?

Something weak or something small. Flavored low-proof spirits, or half-shots of anything stronger. The point is the game, not the shot.

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