Comments on: Games, Part 6: Drinking Games

By: Gary Fleming

Gary Fleming — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 21:17:35 +0000

Spoons is a classic, absent from the post only because it is so difficult to explain to people in words. Given a description of the game, people flounder; you really have to see it to get it. Who can forget that game of Garden Spoons who was present? Never have people fought so vehemently over eating utensils.

Word based drinking games are good, but they tend to favour those with a really strong grasp of pop culture (games like the Move Game) or those who have played them often. Leads to those less familiar falling apart and the hardcore elements being left sober, no longer subject to chance (or a rigged deck, as is so often the case.)

By: Gavin

Gavin — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:02:38 +0000

While not entirely a drinking game, I will always remember fondly the shenanigans of a drunken game of spoons in my back garden. Rugby tackles where a gazeebo is present do not a good combination make.

I've always had a soft spot for drinking word games. After a significant amount of booze, those whose speech is impared are destined for a date with the toilet.

By: Gary Fleming

Gary Fleming — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:32:13 +0000

You are, of course, quite correct, Neil. Fingers only work when people are drinking the same thing. I suggest vodka and mixer as the perfect finger-based drinking.

There were of course a large number of drinking games missed out (only 3 made it in, after all, and I know a shitload of them.) I do like the Centurion, but rarely play because of beer/cider being near essential.

By: Neil

Neil — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:24:09 +0000

I've had issues with the finger rule in the past... it doesn't translate well when people are drinking different drinks.

I once played drinking top trumps (with Ships of the World's Navies.. sounds boring but once you introduce rules relating to things such as whenever the USS Missouri (Featured in Under Siege with Steven Seagal) appears you all have to do Seagal impresssions it gets fun) and I was drinking wine while someone else was on lager. Not quite equivalent. Not hard to work out a conversion ratio though.

I think the good ol' Centurion deserves a mention. 100 minutes, 100 shots of beer. Sounds easy but a surprising amount of people fail. First time I did it two people vommed afterwards. Shocking.

By: Gary Fleming

Gary Fleming — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:16:18 +0000

I like the Doctor Who drinking game, and games based on series with long running traditions and cliches in general. Babylon 5, Stargate, American Gothic, etc. They can all be drunk to. Hell, drinking by Oasis albums is also fun (any time there is a cheap lyric, obvious chord progression, the word "shine", etc).

I prefer the Family Guy game to all of these because the ruleset is so small yet the drinking is insanely fast.

(As for textile, the rules are double newlines to indicate paragraphs. I'll make this more obvious in the rules when I get home.)

By: Stuart Langridge

Stuart Langridge — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:50:17 +0000

(“simple textile rules” don’t include carriage returns separating paragraphs, huh? That’ll teach me to preview.)

By: Stuart Langridge

Stuart Langridge — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:49:21 +0000

Pah!The Doctor Who Drinking GameThe drinking game of a true man. It works better if you are a Doctor Who fan.You can tell this by reading the game rules: if the bit that says 'take a drink whenever the Master shrinks someone, hypnotizes someone, uses a cheesy anagram for a false name, or says "I am the Master and you will obey me!"' doesn't make you at least laugh somewhere inside your head, you won't get the game at all.