We’ve rounded up only the best drinking games for our list of seven best drinking card games. (And how to play them, of course.) Why are drinking card games so popular? Because all you need is a deck of cards and a few friends, and you’ve got a party.
Our Top 7 Best Drinking Card Games (and How to Play)
The best drinking card games require little-to-no preparation and only use what you already have handy at home. Plus, knowing how to play all these drinking card games will make you the life of the party.
1. Blow the Cards
Blow the Cards is a pretty chill, low-stakes game to play when hanging out with friends.
Players begin by placing an open beer bottle on the table. A deck of cards goes on top of the bottle. Next to this bottle, place the alcoholic beverages you and the other partygoers will be drinking.
A player tries to blow a card off the beer bottle each round. The goal is to blow just one card off the deck to get through the round safely. But if you blow away several cards from the deck, you must drink. And trust me, the more you drink, the harder it is to blow a single card off that bottle.
The player who drinks the least at the end of the deck of cards is the winner.
2. Up and Down the River (Best Drinking Card Game to Play With a Large Group)
This drinking card game is awesome for large groups. You need two decks of cards for Up and Down the River.
Players appoint a fellow player to be the dealer. It’s the dealer’s job to deal and direct the game in each round. Their first task is to shuffle the playing cards from both decks and place them in the middle of the table.
Then, the dealer deals four playing cards to each player and themselves because the dealer also plays. Each player looks at their hand and places their cards face-up on the table.
Next, the dealer takes a card from the middle deck and places that card face up next to the deck. Whichever player has the same card in front of them or the same value card must drink.
In this drinking game, the card suit doesn’t matter; only the same value card decides whether the players have to drink. Some lucky/unlucky players may have to drink twice if there are two cards of the same value in front of the players.
3. King’s Cup
The best drinking card games are easy and quick to set up. King’s cup requires strategy, creativity, and one deck of cards. Everyone needs an alcoholic beverage at the beginning of the game.
Place the deck of cards in the center of the table. Next to this stack, place a large cup. That’s your King’s Cup. Taking turns, each player draws a card and performs the task that the card entails. This game never gets boring, and everyone gets to drink what they want.
How do you know what each card entails? Here is the meaning of each card in the King’s Cup drinking game, but every player and every party are different. You can make up whatever rules you want for King’s Cup.
4. The Lowest Card
The Lowest Card is the best drinking card game if you’re looking for fast fun. First, make sure you have enough cards. A large group will need two or three decks. Mix them up on the table.
Then, all players take a card, glance at it, and hold it against their foreheads, facing out so everyone else can see their card. Take a shot if you have the lowest card out of all the other foreheads. Keep playing like this until you run out of cards. The Lowest Card drinking game is perfect for those getting cross faded. It’s super low-key and requires little brainpower.
5. Knock Knock Knock
Drinking games with cards are always the most fun when you have to be quick.
Place a deck of cards in the middle of the table. Each player draws a card and looks at it. The player who believes they have the lowest card should start by announcing the card value. (Suits don’t matter in this game. So, you might say, “Two!” or, “Four!”) The player who believes their card value is next in this order announces their card. But, if that player is wrong, the player who should have gone next (the correct card in the order) must toss their card onto the table and knock three times.
The other players must knock three times as quickly as possible—the slowest knocker drinks.
6. Drink If You Dare
Drink if you dare is a drinking card game ideal for smaller groups that need a kick. Make a large cocktail for each player. Put a deck of cards in the center of the table.
Now the players agree on a card. (For example, all red-suited kings.) Players keep drawing cards until someone draws that card, and then they have to drink. Drinking is the game’s goal, so everyone gets their turn, eventually. The tingly suspense you feel waiting on your turn to drink makes this card game fun.
7. Bullshit! (Everyone’s Favorite Party Drinking Card Game!)
Bullshit is a fast-paced drinking game that requires no preparation, and it’s suitable for every kind of party.
Distribute cards evenly between players until everyone has the same number of cards in their hands. The player with the ace of spades plays first. One at a time, players place one or more of their cards face down on the table and announce what it is they’re discarding.
The first player says, “One ace.” The following player must discard the next card in ranking order. So, the next card in this example is a two. Each player can throw out all their twos or threes, etc., in one turn.
If a player doesn’t have the next card in order, they have to throw down a different card while lying and saying it is the correct card, hoping no one calls bullshit. If a player calls bullshit, the accuser can flip over the cards to see if they are what they claim to be. If the cards don’t match, the player must add the entire deck to their hand. The liar also has to drink. But if the player was telling the truth, the accuser must drink.
The best thing about learning how to play drinking card games is that you can create whatever rules you want, and no one will notice because you’ll all be too tipsy to care. And if drinking isn’t your thing, we’ve got you covered. Check out our list of top weed games to play.
