15 Best Drinking Games to Play at Your Next Party

A good drinking game does three things: it gets people talking, it keeps the energy up, and it gives the night a story. Whether you're hosting a full house party or just having a few friends over, the right game makes the difference between "that was fun" and "remember when..."

We put together 15 of the best drinking games — a mix of timeless classics and newer games that deserve a spot in your rotation. Each one includes how to play, what you need, and who it's best for.

The Classics

These drinking games have been battle-tested at thousands of parties. They're classics for a reason — simple rules, high energy, and they work with almost any group.

1. Kings Cup

Players: 4-10  | You need: A deck of cards, a large cup

Spread a deck of cards face-down in a ring around a central cup. Players take turns drawing cards, each with its own rule. The standard rules: 2 = "you" (pick someone to drink), 3 = "me" (you drink), 4 = "floor" (everyone touches the floor, last one drinks), 5 = "guys," 6 = "chicks," 7 = "heaven" (point up), 8 = "mate" (pick a drinking buddy), 9 = "rhyme," 10 = "categories," Jack = "never have I ever," Queen = "question master," King = pour into the center cup. Last King drawn? You drink the whole thing.

Why it works: The variety keeps it interesting round after round, and every group develops their own house rules over time.

2. Beer Pong

Players: 2v2  | You need: A table, 20 cups, ping pong balls

Arrange 10 cups in a triangle on each end of a table. Teams take turns throwing ping pong balls into the opposing team's cups. Sink it, they drink and remove the cup. Clear all 10 cups first and you win. Standard variations: re-rack at 6 and 3 cups, bouncing counts as two cups (but can be swatted), and same-cup by both teammates is "bring it back."

Why it works: It's competitive, it's social, and spectators get just as invested as the players.

3. Flip Cup

Players: 6+ (two even teams)  | You need: Plastic cups, a long table

Teams line up on opposite sides of a table. First player chugs their cup, sets it on the table edge, and flips it upside down with a finger flick. Once flipped, the next person goes. First team to flip all cups wins. It's a relay race — the room gets loud fast.

Pro tip: Do best of three. One round is never enough.

4. Quarters

Players: 2-6  | You need: A quarter, a shot glass

Bounce a quarter off the table into a shot glass. Make it? Pick someone to drink. Miss? Next player. Make three in a row? You get to make a rule that lasts the whole game. It's small-scale, perfect for sitting around a table with a few friends. The skill gap between a quarters veteran and a first-timer is comically large.

5. Never Have I Ever

Players: 3+  | You need: Nothing but drinks

Someone says "never have I ever..." followed by something they haven't done. Everyone who has done it drinks. It starts innocent ("never have I ever been skydiving") and always — always — takes a turn into chaos territory within five rounds. The real game is in the strategic targeting.

Why it works: No equipment needed, scales to any group size, and you learn things about your friends you can never unlearn.

6. Power Hour

Players: Any  | You need: A timer or Power Hour playlist

Take a sip of your drink every 60 seconds for an hour straight. That's 60 sips. There are Spotify playlists specifically made for this — they switch songs every minute as your cue. It's not competitive, but it's a perfect background game that sets the pace for the whole night. Great for when people are still arriving.

Card-Based Drinking Games

A deck of cards is the most versatile party tool ever invented. These games prove it.

7. Ride the Bus

Players: 3-8  | You need: A deck of cards

Four rounds of guessing: red or black, higher or lower, in between or outside, guess the suit. Wrong answers mean you drink. After the guessing rounds, lay out a pyramid of cards. Players play matching cards from their hand to assign drinks. The player with the most cards left at the end "rides the bus" — flipping through a gauntlet of cards where any face card resets the whole thing. It can be beautifully brutal.

8. F*** the Dealer

Players: 4-8  | You need: A deck of cards

The dealer asks a player to guess the value of the top card. Wrong on the first try? Dealer says higher or lower. Wrong again? Guesser drinks the difference between their guess and the actual card. Right? The dealer drinks. After three people in a row guess correctly, the deal passes. The dealer gets progressively more screwed as the game goes on and card counting becomes easier. Aptly named.

9. Waterfall (Ace Rule)

Players: 4+  | You need: A deck of cards

This is often a rule within Kings Cup, but it's so good it deserves its own mention. When an Ace is drawn, everyone starts drinking. You can't stop until the person to your right stops, and they can't stop until the person to their right stops. The person who drew the Ace controls everything. Depending on where you sit, this is either a mild inconvenience or a genuine endurance test.

10. Pyramid

Players: 3-6  | You need: A deck of cards

Deal each player four cards. Build a pyramid face-down on the table (row of 5, then 4, 3, 2, 1). Flip one card at a time starting from the bottom row. If you have a matching card, you can assign drinks — bottom row = 1 sip, next row = 2, and so on up to 5 at the peak. The bluffing element is what makes this game: you can claim you have a matching card even when you don't. Get called out? You drink double.

App-Based Drinking Games

No cards, no setup, no cleanup. Just open your phone and start playing. These apps are built specifically for drinking games and they're genuinely good at it. If you're also looking for broader party games for adults, we've got a full list for that too.

11. SPILL

Players: 2-10+  | Platforms: iOS, Android

SPILL is a prompt-based drinking game app with 847+ prompts across six modes. The thing that sets it apart is the escalation system — sessions start with easy icebreakers and gradually build to wilder dares and confessions. So the energy at round 5 is different from round 20, which feels way more natural than random prompts at random intensities.

The modes range from Pregame (everyone-friendly) to Unhinged (absolutely chaotic) to Caliente (adults-only spicy). There's also a built-in recording feature — it overlays the prompt on your video so you can capture reactions and share them to TikTok or Reels. Pricing is one-time unlocks instead of subscriptions, which is a nice change from most apps in this space.

12. Picolo

Players: 2-10  | Platforms: iOS, Android

One of the original drinking game apps. Enter names, pick a mode, and swipe through prompts. It's clean and fast. The free version is limited but functional. The premium content requires a subscription, which is the main drawback — you're paying monthly for party game prompts.

13. Truth or Dare Apps

Players: 2+  | Platforms: iOS, Android

There are dozens of truth or dare apps on both app stores. Most are fine for a round or two but run out of good prompts fast. The advantage of dedicated apps like SPILL over generic truth or dare apps is the variety of game types — you get voting rounds, group challenges, and confessions in addition to classic dares. For a deeper look, check out our guide to the truth or dare drinking game.

Creative & Unique Drinking Games

Sometimes you want something different. These games break the mold.

14. Drunk Jenga

Players: 2-6  | You need: A Jenga set, a marker

Write a rule or dare on every Jenga block. Pull a block, do what it says. Knock over the tower? Finish your drink. The physical tension of regular Jenga combined with drinking rules is surprisingly intense — especially when someone has to do a dare with shaky hands while the tower is leaning. It takes some setup the first time, but the set lasts forever.

15. Movie/TV Drinking Game

Players: Any  | You need: A screen, a list of rules

Pick a movie or show and assign drinking triggers. Watching The Office? Drink every time Michael says "that's what she said." Horror movie? Drink when someone goes into the basement alone. The internet has pre-made rule sets for pretty much every popular show. It's chill, low-effort, and perfect for nights when you want to hang out without organizing a full game.

Tips for Hosting a Drinking Game Night

A few things that separate a good drinking game night from a great one:

• 1.Start easy, escalate. Don't kick off with the wildest game. Start with an icebreaker (Never Have I Ever, a low-chaos party game) and build up to the heavier stuff.
• 2.Always have water and snacks out. Nobody says it but everyone appreciates it. Hydration is the difference between fun and regret.
• 3.Let people opt out. Any good drinking game should have a "drink or dare" option so nobody feels forced. SPILL handles this with power-ups like the Truth Shield that lets you skip without penalty.
• 4.Have a playlist going. Background music keeps the energy up between rounds and during setup.
• 5.Mix up the games. Don't play one game for two hours. Switch every 20-30 minutes to keep things fresh.