30+ Drinking Card Games That Are a Boozy Blast

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Red or Black

2 F the Dealer

3 Blow My Deck

4 Spoons

5 Slapjack

6 Cheat

7 Give and Take

8 Across the Bridge

9 The Lady Has the Deck

10 Escalation

11 Dice and Deck

12 Screw Your Neighbor

13 Blind Squirrel

14 Mao

15 Friends and Enemies

16 Blitzed Poker

17 Booze Baron Poker

18 Ride the Bus

19 President

20 Loose Tongues

21 Kemps

22 Mushroom Cup

23 Killer

24 Drown the Clown!

25 Bluff

26 Beeramid

27 King's Cup

28 Up the River, Down the River

29 Socials

30 Ace of Spades

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Co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD

Last Updated: December 22, 2024 Fact Checked

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Are you hanging out with some people looking for a fun drinking game you can play with a standard deck of cards? Well, you've come to the right place! While it's true that just about any card game can be turned into a drinking game with a little creativity, these are some of the best. Read on to find the best drinking card games to get the party started!

Steps

1

Red or Black

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1. Shuffle a deck of cards and set it down on a table, face-down. Players take turns guessing if the next card on the deck is red or black (the specific suits themselves don't matter for this game). If they're right, they guess the next card. If they're wrong, they take a drink and play passes to the next player.

   • How many people can play? 2+
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards without jokers
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2

F the Dealer

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1. Players take turns guessing what the top card will be. If they're incorrect, the dealer asks if they think the card is higher or lower than their guess. When the player is wrong, they have to drink, but if the player guesses correctly, the dealer drinks. Originally designed for 2 people, but this game can easily be expanded to accommodate more players by taking turns being the dealer.

   • How many people can play? 2+
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards without jokers

3

Blow My Deck

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1. Take a deck of cards and place it on top of a shot glass filled with the booze of your choice. Players then take turns using 1 breath, and 1 breath only, to try to blow at least 1 card off the top of the deck. The game continues until someone blows off the last card on top of the shot glass, which means they have to take that shot. Then refill the shot glass and load it up for another round.

   • How many people can play? How many people do you have?
   • What do you need? 1 shot glass, 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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4

Spoons

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1. Players sit in a circle with a pile of spoons in the middle that includes 1 fewer spoon than the number of people playing. Each player is dealt 4 cards, then players simultaneously swap cards to try to get 4 of a kind, with the last player drawing from the deck to bring a new card into circulation. Play continues until one player gets 4 of a kind and immediately grabs a spoon. The other players rush to also grab spoons. The one player left without a spoon is out and has to chug their drink, then play continues until there's only one player remaining.

   • How many people can play? Best with 3-12 people
   • What do you need? at least 1 fewer spoons than the number of players, 1 standard deck of cards without jokers

5

Slapjack

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1. To play the drinking version of Slap Jack, deal out the deck evenly in face-down piles in front of each player. Players take turns flipping the top card from their pile into the middle of the table. As soon as someone flips over a jack, all the players race to slap the pile first. The player who gets there first takes the pile, everybody else drinks. Play continues until 1 player holds all of the cards.

   • How many people can play? 2-5
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards without jokers
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6

Cheat

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1. Players take turns discarding their cards face down in ascending order. If a player thinks another player is lying about the number of a certain value they have, they can call "cheat" (or "Bullshit") and force that player to show their cards. If you're caught lying, you've got to drink!

   • How many people can play? 3-6
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

7

Give and Take

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1. Lay out 2 rows of 6 cards face-down on the table. One row is the truth row, the other is the dare row. Then, deal each player 4 cards. Players take turns flipping over either a truth or dare card. Any player with a card in their hand matching the face value of the flipped card has to answer the truth question, take the dare, or drink. Play continues until all the cards on the table have been flipped over.

   • How many people can play? 2-6
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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8

Across the Bridge

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1. Lay out 10 cards in a row face-down on a table—this is the "bridge." Players take turns flipping cards to attempt to cross the bridge. If they flip over a face card, they must drink and add cards to the end of the bridge (1 for a jack, 2 for a queen, 3 for a king, and 4 for an ace). Play then passes to the next player. The game ends when a player finally turns over the last card in the bridge without drinking.

   • How many people can play? 2-10
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

9

The Lady Has the Deck

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1. Think of The Lady Has the Deck as a boozy version of Old Maid. Take all but 1 queen out of the deck and distribute them to everyone playing. The goal is to pair up all of your cards and not end up with the odd queen—or you'll have to chug a beer.

   • How many people can play? 2+
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards with all but 1 queen removed
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10

Escalation

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1. Deal face-down piles to each player. Then, players take turns turning over their top card until there are 2 matching cards face-up on the table. The players with matching cards take the number of sips that corresponds to the face value of the matching cards. Then the game continues until there are no more face-down cards remaining.

   • How many people can play? 2-6
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

11

Dice and Deck

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1. The first player draws 2 cards from the top of a face-down deck and flips them face-up for everyone to see and make a drink wager. Then they roll 2 dice and the total on the dice must fall within the values of the 2 cards they flipped. If it isn't, they drink the number of drinks wagered—otherwise, everybody else playing has to drink them.

   • How many people can play? 3+
   • What do you need? 2 dice, 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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12

Screw Your Neighbor

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1. In the drinking version of Screw Your Neighbor, the dealer hands out a single card to all active players. Kings are high and your goal is to get the highest card of the round as you take one turn to either keep your card, pass it to the next player, or swap it with a card on top of the deck. At the end of each round, the player with the lowest card drinks!

   • How many people can play? 3+
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

13

Blind Squirrel

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1. Players take turns guessing, but the dealer here can choose to ask if the next card will be high or low or what the player thinks that card's exact value is. When the joker makes an appearance, a roll of the dice determines the number of drinks. The game is over when the second joker appears. If the guesser correctly called it, everybody shotguns a beer—but if they were wrong, they shotgun a beer alone.

   • How many people can play? 2+
   • What do you need? 2 dice, 1 standard deck of cards with jokers
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14

Mao

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1. 
   Gameplay is similar to Crazy Eights, except that players aren't allowed to tell other players the rules. Instead, you have to figure out the rules using inductive reasoning and strategic questioning—not so easy when you're also taking a drink for every incorrect guess. The object of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all of your cards, in which case you get to add another rule.

   • How many people can play? 4-6
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards without jokers

15

Friends and Enemies

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1. Deal out the deck to everyone playing. Then, players take turns flipping a card face-up into the middle of the table and assigning to another player the number of drinks equivalent to the face value of the card. If a different player also has that card, they can "save" the first player by taking those drinks and assigning them to someone else—but this time, the number of drinks is doubled. The chain continues until the next card is flipped into the middle and one player is left with all of those drinks.

   • How many people can play? 6-10
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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16

Blitzed Poker

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1. Just like any Poker game, blitzed poker has the potential to involve plenty of bluffing. But ultimately, you do have to show your cards and the worst 5-card hand must get down on 1 knee and chug a beer. To play, take turns discarding and drawing from the deck to create the best 5-card poker hand. The catch is that you have to take a drink for every card you draw.

   • How many people can play? 6-9 is best
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards with jokers

17

Booze Baron Poker

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1. Deal out an entire deck of cards minus the 2s, 7s, and face cards. Players take turns rolling dice with the aim of being the first player to get rid of all of their cards. Whatever they roll, they can get rid of any cards they have of that value (if they can't discard any cards, they have to drink). All other players can get rid of 1 card of that value. The game ends when someone gets rid of all of their cards, and everyone else has to drink for each card they still have in their hand.

   • How many people can play? 4-8
   • What do you need? 2 dice, 1 standard deck of cards with jokers. Take all the 2s, 7s, and face cards out of the deck so there are 38 cards left including jokers. Apart from that, just clear a table everyone can gather around.
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18

Ride the Bus

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1. Why play just one guessing game when you could play 3 at the same time? With Ride the Bus, you get 3 stages of guessing and drinking action in each round. Perhaps the name of the game is meant to imply that when this game is over, you shouldn't drive home.

   • How many people can play? 4-8
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

19

President

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1. To play President, shuffle up a deck of cards and deal them out to everyone playing. Players then take turns discarding their cards into a single pile in ascending order, starting with the player who has the 3 of clubs and moving clockwise. The player to get rid of all of their cards first wins the round and becomes the president. Presidents get to make up rules, including drinking rules, that apply for the rest of the game.

   • How many people can play? 4-7
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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20

Loose Tongues

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1. Players pair up and the dealer shows the pair a single card. The players have to come up with a word that starts with the same letter as the card's suit and shout it out as quickly as possible. The player who gets a correct word in first is the winner, the other one has to drink, and play continues. Up the challenge by setting categories for the words before you reveal the card.

   • How many people can play? At least 3. If you're playing with a large group, you might want to limit each pair to 3-5 cards.
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

21

Kemps

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1. Players pair up and create a secret signal. Then deal 4 cards to each player. Players swap cards back and forth rapidly, all at the same time, in an attempt to get 4 of a kind. As soon as anyone does, they signal to their partner, who must yell "Kemps!" Then the other team drinks. If the other team catches on to the signal first and yells "Counter-kemps" then the original team has to drink—unless the team guessed wrong and neither of them has 4 of a kind.

   • How many people can play? An even number of at least 4 (get a second deck if you have more than 6 players)
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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22

Mushroom Cup

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1. The physical challenge with Mushroom Cup is for your stomach. Players gather around an empty cup and each pour a little of their drink in. Then, take turns placing a card on top of the cup so that only 2 corners of the card are touching any other cards. If you knock any cards off the top, you have to drink the mushroom cup.

   • How many people can play? How many do you have?
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
   • How much setup is required? Just clear a table that everyone can sit around and get a clean cup ready to become the mushroom cup.

23

Killer

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1. Put together a Killer deck and deal 1 card to each player. The player with the red card is the killer and the player with the ace of spades is the detective. The killer must secretly kill someone, then it's the detective's job to solve the case by asking questions. Incorrect guesses earn the detective a drink.

   • How many people can play? 5-22
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck. Remove the jokers, all of the face cards except for the ace of spades, and all of the red cards except for one (it doesn't matter which one). Then add enough black numerical cards that the number of cards in your deck equals the number of players.
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24

Drown the Clown!

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1. Deal 1 card to each player. At the count of 3, all players flip over their cards and scan the table quickly. If you see someone whose card matches yours, shout "Clown!" as quickly as possible. The idea is to do this first, because the person who does it last has to "drown" themselves in alcohol by drinking for the number of seconds that matches the value of the matching cards. One round can last only a few seconds and you can go as many rounds as you want—there's really no end to this game.

   • How many people can play? 6+
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

25

Bluff

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1. Deal out a hand of 4 cards to each player, then lay out a pyramid of cards face-down with 5 cards on the lowest level and 1 card at the top. Flip over the cards one by one starting in the bottom left corner and any player who has that card can assign that number of drinks to another player. Of course, they can also lie about it—and if their bluff is called, they have to drink instead.

   • How many people can play? 3-10
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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26

Beeramid

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1. Set up a pyramid of cards on the table with 5 cards on the bottom row building up to a row with a single card at the top of the pyramid. Deal each player 4 cards, then flip over the top card on the pyramid. Any player who has a card that matches that card's face value has to drink. Keep going down the pyramid until all of the cards have been flipped (or all the players have run out of cards).

   • How many people can play? How many do you have?
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

27

King's Cup

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1. The mechanics of King's Cup are simple: players take turns drawing a card from the deck arranged face-down in a circle around an empty cup. Each card requires the player to do something specific—most often remembered for rhyming with the card value so you can remember them easily. For example, 7 is heaven (everyone points to the ceiling, the last player to do so drinks).

   • How many people can play? 4-10 (but honestly, this game can easily accommodate any number of people)
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers
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28

Up the River, Down the River

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1. Deal each player 4 cards, then flip over a card in the middle of the table. Any player who has that card in their hand has to drink. Continue with 3 more cards to go up the river, then return down the river in the same fashion. Who wins? Everybody.

   • How many people can play? 4 (more if you use 2 decks)
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

29

Socials

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1. Scatter cards face-down all over a table or other flat surface. Players gather around the table and take turns flipping over a card and drinking the number of sips indicated by the card (some people also play that the face value of the card tells you the number of seconds to chug your beer). The game ends when all of the cards are flipped over.

   • How many people can play? How many people do you have? Technically, as many as you have cards.
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers. Clear a table and spread cards out face down on it.
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30

Ace of Spades

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1. Shuffle a deck of cards and set it face down in front of you. Flip the top card. Is it the ace of spades? If not, drink. Continue until you've flipped over the ace of spades.

   • How many people can play? You could play this game with everyone in a professional sports stadium, or you could play it alone.
   • What do you need? 1 standard deck of cards, with or without jokers

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Warnings

• Drink responsibly. Make sure everyone who's drinking has a sober ride home. Don't drink and drive—and don't let anyone else do it either.
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• Many of these games have different names or rules in different parts of the world. Just use the rules that you're most comfortable with!
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