With the holiday season over, we’re smack in the middle of the boring muck of winter. Nothing to do but sit around and drink. Eh, could be worse.
When friends gather to drink and kill time until Spring Break, there are countless ways to spruce up the evening. Games like Categories and Charades are typical staples amongst the directory of drinking games. However, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, there are more than a few drinking games to help you take your buzz to a whole other level.
Here are five of my favorite next-level drinking games every bro should try.
Battleshots
Players: 2 (or 4 if you play in teams)
Requirements: 20 shot glasses, as well as four chess/checkers boards (Or two empty pizza boxes, or anything creative you can find to re-create a large Battleship game board.
How It Works: If you’ve ever played the board game Battleship, then this is essentially the same principal, only with booze.
On a grid surface of 36 squares (6X6), strategically place your 10 shots of alcohol without your opponent seeing your board. After your opponent does the same, take turns guessing where your rival has hidden his or her shots. Use another, identical, 36-square grid surface or paper to mark off all hits and misses. Any “hit” results in that person having to ingest the shot on that properly-selected square.
The game ends once one person has finished all their shots and is declared the loser, or winner, depending on how you look at it.
Honk And We Drink
Players: 2+ (Any number works, just don’t play alone. That’s sad.)
Requirements: A marker, something big enough to write a sign on, and some chairs
How It Works: First, make a sign that says: “You Honk, We Drink.” I recommend doing this on a nice day, where you don’t mind sitting outside for a while. Get a cooler with some drinks prepped, grab some lawn chairs, and go park yourself on the side of a relatively busy road.
Then, just prop up the sign and wait. Every time someone honks, you drink!
Scotch Basketball
Players: Minimum of 6 (the more people, the better.)
Requirements: A basketball and hoop
How It Works: A few years ago, I came up with this concept as a way of celebrating my birthday and it’s become an annual event. Scotch Basketball works best in tournament format, with each team playing one another once, and the two best records meeting in a final matchup. The teams must be comprised of three players each (recommendation: two males and one female per team). Street basketball rules apply; a one pass minimum before attempting to score, scoring team keeps possession of the ball on the following play, clearing after a change of possession, and call your own fouls. The first team to score seven (7) points wins the game.
Now for the liquor part! After each point scored, the entire scoring team must take a full shot of scotch. The team has 60 seconds to ingest their booze. Failure to do so in the allotted time results in the point being removed (one person, preferably the oldest and/or fattest person in attendance, will be designated bartender AND timekeeper). Finally, teams have three (3) “saves” per game, where one player can take a second shot in place of his/her teammate. Tournament ends when one team is left standing (barely).
Roxanne
Players: 2+ (Unlimited people can play, I just don’t recommend playing alone.)
Requirements: A device to play music and a copy of the song Roxanne by The Police.
How It Works: Start by filling up a bunch of shot glasses with the alcohol of your choice. Next, press play on the song Roxanne by The Police. Every time lead-singer Sting says the name Roxanne, take a shot. You don’t need much more than one listen-through of the song to really feel its effects. A modification of this game can be played with the song Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N Roses, which is equally as fun and challenging.
Beer Pong Hockey
Players: 2
Requirements: An air-hockey table, a table saw, and a willingness to destroy your air-hockey table.
How It Works: We’ve all either played or witnessed Beer Pong before. This game takes Beer Pong and amps it up a couple of notches. Depending on the size of your air-hockey table, cut 6-8 cup-sized holes on either end. Then, proceed to play air-hockey as you normally would, with the puck and paddles. Rather than trying to get the puck into a net, however, the goal of the game is to get the puck into one of your opponent’s cups.
When the puck lands in a cup, the player in front of it must chug its contents.