8 Fun Card Drinking Games for a Great Party

Looking to spice up your next gathering with some fun and easy-to-learn card drinking games? These party games combine the excitement of traditional card games with entertaining drinking rules, making them a perfect way to break the ice and bring friends together.

Whether you’re hosting a casual get-together or looking to add some excitement to your night, card drinking games offer endless laughs and friendly competition.

In this post, we’ll explore the best card drinking games, explain how to play them, and share tips to ensure everyone has a great time—responsibly, of course!

Here are some of the best fun card drinking games and how to play them:

1. Kings (Kings Cup)

Players: 3+
What You Need: A deck of cards, a large cup (the “King’s Cup”), drinks

How to Play:

• Spread the cards face down in a circle around the King’s Cup.
• Players take turns drawing cards, each corresponding to a rule. Here are the most common rules:
  • Ace: Waterfall – Everyone drinks in sequence, starting with the person who drew the card. No one can stop until the person before them stops.
  • 2: You – The person who drew the card picks someone to drink.
  • 3: Me – The person who drew the card drinks.
  • 4: Floor – Everyone must touch the floor; the last person to do so drinks.
  • 5: Guys – All men drink.
  • 6: Chicks – All women drink.
  • 7: Heaven – Everyone points upward; the last person to do so drinks.
  • 8: Mate – Choose a drinking buddy. Whenever one of you drinks, so does the other.
  • 9: Rhyme – The person who drew the card says a word, and others go around the circle rhyming with it. The first person to fail drinks.
  • 10: Categories – Pick a category (e.g., car brands), and players go around naming items in that category. The first to fail drinks.
  • Jack: Make a Rule – The person who draws this card makes a rule that lasts for the rest of the game (e.g., no saying “drink”).
  • Queen: Question Master – The person who draws the Queen can ask questions at any time, and anyone who answers must drink.
  • King: The first three Kings drawn add some of their drink to the King’s Cup. The fourth King drawn drinks the entire King’s Cup!

2. Ride the Bus

Players: 3+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• Step 1 – The Pyramid:
  • Lay out a pyramid of cards face down (starting with one card at the top and gradually increasing to five at the bottom).
  • Deal each player four cards face down.
  • Reveal each pyramid row, starting from the bottom, and players must discard cards from their hand that match the revealed cards (if they have one). If they don’t have a match, they must drink.
• Step 2 – Ride the Bus:
  • The player with the most cards left “rides the bus.”
  • They must answer a series of questions where they guess if the next card drawn will be red/black, higher/lower, in/out, or suit-specific. A wrong guess results in drinking.

3. Higher or Lower

Players: 2+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• The dealer draws a card and shows it to the player.
• The player guesses if the next card will be higher or lower than the current card.
• If they guess correctly, the game continues to the next card. If they guess wrong, they drink.
• The game can get progressively more challenging with each round.

4. Drunk Poker

Players: 2+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• Play basic poker, but with drinking penalties added.
• For each round, players who fold take a drink.
• The losing hand at the end of each round drinks.
• For added fun, the winner of each round can assign drinks to other players.

5. Circle of Death

Players: 3+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• This game is very similar to Kings Cup. Players sit in a circle, and cards are laid out face down.
• Each card corresponds to an action (like Kings Cup):
  • Ace: Waterfall
  • 2: Pick someone to drink
  • 3: The person who draws drinks
  • 4: Last person to touch the floor drinks, and so on (customizable to fit your group’s preferences).

6. Screw the Dealer

Players: 3+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• One player is designated as the dealer.
• The dealer draws a card, and the player to their left must guess the card’s value.
  • If they guess wrong, the dealer says if the card is higher or lower.
  • The player gets one more guess.
  • If the player guesses correctly on the first try, the dealer drinks two times; if on the second try, the dealer drinks once.
  • If the player fails to guess correctly after two tries, they drink, and the next player takes their turn.
• The game continues with players taking turns as the dealer.

7. Pyramid

Players: 4+
What You Need: A deck of cards, drinks

How to Play:

• Lay out cards in a pyramid shape (1 card at the top, 2 cards in the next row, 3 in the next, and so on).
• Each player is dealt four cards, face down.
• The dealer flips over the cards in the pyramid, starting from the bottom row.
• If a player has a card that matches the flipped card, they can tell another player to drink a specific number of times based on the row:
  • Bottom row (1st level) = 1 drink
  • Next row (2nd level) = 2 drinks
  • Continue increasing up to the top of the pyramid.
• Players can also bluff by pretending they have the right card. If they get caught, they drink double the penalty!

8. Spoons (Drinking Version)

Players: 4+
What You Need: A deck of cards, spoons (1 less than the number of players), drinks

How to Play:

• Players sit around a table, with spoons placed in the center.
• Deal four cards to each player.
• The dealer quickly passes cards one at a time from the deck to each player.
• Players must pass one card to their left after each draw, trying to get four cards of the same value.
• Once a player has four of a kind, they silently grab a spoon.
• Other players must also grab a spoon as soon as they notice someone has. The last player to grab a spoon drinks.

These are some of the most popular card drinking games, each adding a social and competitive edge to your next party! Remember to drink responsibly and have fun!