Planning to throw a big blowout with all of your university friends? Well, you’ll obviously need some awesome games to make the night even more fun! If you’re not sure what sort of games to play, that’s where I come in. Trust me; I’ve organized hundreds of bar crawls during my time as a bar crawl guide, so I know what games will be an absolute blast at a college party.
Through trial and error of nearly 100 drinking games over the years, here are the 20+ best college party games you should absolutely play for the best night ever!
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1. BEER PONG
No college party game list is complete without a mention of Beer Pong. This drinking game is a staple at any party for a reason. It’s easy to set up, easy to play, and, of course, super fun! All you need to play this drinking game is a long table, 22 solo cups, and 2+ ping pong balls. While you only technically need 2 balls, I always recommend bringing extra because you are guaranteed to lose at least one ball throughout the course of the game.
HOW TO PLAY
To play, just divide 4 people into teams of two, and take turns trying to throw ping pong balls into the other team’s cups. If you’ve never played Beer Pong before, have no fear. We’ve written down the rules for Beer Pong right here!
2. FLIP CUP
Another classic college party game is Flip Cup, a fun game that only utilizes a bunch of solo cups or plastic cups of your choice. This game is likely to get everyone playing pretty buzzed by the end of it, so it makes for a great game for the beginning of the night rather than the end. If you play when everyone’s already pretty drunk already, get ready for some majorly sticky floors!
HOW TO PLAY
To play Flip Cup, everyone should divide into two teams and stand around a table. Remember: this game is a relay! Then, on the mark, the two first players of each team must down their drink and then flip their cups. Once they successfully flip, the next players must do the same. The first team to successfully drink and flip their cups wins!
3. SLAP CUP
Looking for a super fun, competitive drinking game that is sure to get you tipsy? You should try Slap Cup! This is the perfect game for a college party if you don’t mind dealing with the clean-up afterward.
HOW TO PLAY
To play Slap Cup, fill all but two of the solo cups ⅓ of the way with beer. Then, two players must try to bounce a ping pong ball into one of these cups. If they manage, they can pass the cup to the next person. But if a ball lands in one of the middle cups, they must drink the contents before they can continue!
As for the slapping, this occurs when a player and the player to their left are both trying to bounce a ball into their cups. If the first player manages to bounce a ball before the second player, they slap their cup away! I know this game sounds a bit confusing, but you should read our full Slap Cup rules so you can play this game with your friends!
4. CHANDELIER
One of my favorite drinking games is Chandelier. This game takes some of the rules from other famous drinking games like Beer Pong and Flip Cup. It is super fast-paced and sure to get the floor dirty, so make sure you don’t play it on carpet!
HOW TO PLAY
To set this game up, set up one cup per player (with some beer inside) and place them in a circle in the middle of the table. In the middle of this circle should be an extra solo cup placed on top of another solo cup or bowl. Fill this cup with beer or another drink of your choice.
Then, to play, players frantically bounce ping pong balls with the aim of getting them into other players’ cups. If a ball lands in your cup, drink it and refill the contents. But if a ball lands in the middle cup, everyone must finish their drink and then race to flip their cups. The last person to flip their cup must drink the middle cup!
5. QUARTERS
Another classic drinking game you should definitely play at a college party is Quarters. The great thing about this game is that you don’t really need anything to set it up since all you need are some solo cups (and which college party doesn’t have plastic cups?) and a single coin (ideally a quarter) someone will inevitably find in their pockets.
HOW TO PLAY
The very core of the game is basic. Everyone has their own cup filled with alcohol, and there must be a cup in the center of the table, either filled with alcohol as well or empty for a less messy game. Then, a player takes the quarter and tries to bounce it into the middle cup. If they make it, they assign a drink to another player and bounce the quarter again until they miss. Once they miss, it’s the next player’s turn to do the same.
There are many variations and nuances to this super fun drinking game, so check out our full article on the rules for Quarters.
6. RING OF FIRE/KING’S CUP
It doesn’t matter whether you know this game as Ring of Fire or King’s Cup, there’s no denying that this is one of the most popular drinking games out there! This is also one of the best drinking card games, in my opinion, as it combines a bunch of other super fun drinking games that will not only get you drunk but also make you closer to your college friends.
HOW TO PLAY
To play, put a cup in the middle of the table and create a ring of cards around it, making sure they’re all face-down. Then, players take turns removing one card from the ring, making sure not to break the circle. If you break the circle, you’ve got to finish your drink or take a shot! Depending on what card you remove from the circle, there’ll be a rule associated with it, as the image above. If you want more clarification of the rules, head over to our page on the official rules of Ring of Fire.
7. DRUNK JENGA
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I mean, who doesn’t love a good game of Jenga? But take it up a notch and turn Jenga into a super fun drinking game by playing Drunk Jenga! This game brings up the stakes of the game so much higher, so try not to topple the tower!
HOW TO PLAY
Before you begin to play, grab a Sharpie or two and start writing rules on the Jenga blocks. Rules can range from “take a drink” and “kiss someone” to “choose someone to take a shot” and “play Never Have I Ever.”
Once that’s done, set up the game as usual and play Jenga as normal. However, unlike standard Jenga in Drunk Jenga, whenever someone removes a block, they must read out the rule written on the block and complete it. And whoever knocks down the tower must finish their drink and set up the tower again!
8. CIVIL WAR BEER PONG
Are you getting sick of standard Beer Pong? Or maybe you’re up for a bit of a challenge and chaos? In that case, you absolutely have to play Civil War Beer Pong! This fast-paced Beer Olympics game requires 36 solo cups, 4 ping pong balls, 2-3 tables, and, of course, a lot of beer. When you’ve gathered all the materials needed, get ready to have a ton of fun!
HOW TO PLAY
Place 3 6-cup triangles on each side of the table and put all 4 ping pong balls in the middle. Then, chaos ensues! There are no turns in Civil War Beer Pong. If you have possession of a ping pong ball, throw it into an opponent’s cup to sink it just like normal Beer Pong. The game continues until all 18 of a team’s cups are sunk!
9. THUNDERSTRUCK
If you love to play music when drinking at a college party, Thunderstuck is the game for you! Plus, this game is super simple and really easy to set up. You don’t need anything in terms of materials – just a drink per person – but everyone should have one in their hands already anyway!
HOW TO PLAY
To play, everyone should sit or stand in a circle. Then, simply grab hold of the party playlist, and turn on “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. At the first “thunder” in the lyrics of the song, the first person drinks. And they don’t stop drinking until they hear the next “thunder” in the song. At this point, the second person starts drinking. Keep going around in the circle in this manner!
The best thing about this song is that while you’ll hear the words “thunder” often enough, every now and then, someone might be stuck drinking for a super long time. That happened to me once, and I ended up drinking one and a half beers in one go!
10. NEVER HAVE I EVER
Of course, one of the most common games you’ll see at a college party is Never Have I Ever. This is a simple game that doesn’t require any setup. And best of all, you’ll get to know all your friends’ dirty secrets at the party! This is one way to get to know everyone super quickly, making it one of the best ice breaker drinking games.
HOW TO PLAY
Everyone starts with 5 or 10 fingers up, depending on how long you want the game to be. Then, players take turns stating something they’ve never done. Every other player must put a finger down IF they HAVE done the thing the player hasn’t done. Every player who puts a finger down must take a drink as well. If no one puts a finger down, the player who made the statement must take a drink.
Keep going around in a circle, with every player stating one thing they have never done. When someone runs out of fingers, they are eliminated from the game!
If you want some ideas on what to say and want to know the rules in more detail, check out our full article on how to play Never Have I Ever.
11. SOTALLY TOBER
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Honestly, I think Sotally Tober is one of the most hilarious drinking game names I’ve come across in a while. And it’s super fitting, too, since this game will sotally get you drunk! While you will need to buy the actual Sotally Tober cards to play this game, in my opinion, it’s one of those drinking card games that is worth having around in your home, as you never know when you’ll host a wild party!
HOW TO PLAY
Setting up is easy: just shuffle the cards and place them all face-down in the middle. Then, players simply take turns drawing one card from the pile. The player that draws the card must complete the task. But if they don’t want to do it, they must take a drink.
Looking for other games like this? Check out our list of the funniest card games!
12. A+B
One of the most scandalous drinking games you can play as a group at any party is A+B or A Plus B. The concept of this game is simple, but you will end up in some outlandish scenarios throughout the course of the game – guaranteed! Only play A+B if you think you can handle it; it can get pretty risque pretty fast, especially as the group only gets drunker and drunker.
HOW TO PLAY
Everyone sits or stands in a circle, then pick one person to start. This player must close their eyes. The person to their right must pick a random person in the circle to be Person A, loudly announcing that they have chosen Person A. The person to the first player’s left must do the same but choose a Person B. Person A and Person B can be anybody in the group, including the first player.
The first player then opens their eyes and decides what Person A does to Person B, what Person B does to Person A, or what Person A and Person B do together.
After the two people complete their task, continue playing to the left.
13. BEERIO CART
Who doesn’t love some good old video games when at a party? Sometimes, it’s good to have a little bit of downtime, but that doesn’t mean you can’t turn this into a fun drinking game! To play Beerio Kart, you’re going to need some kind of Nintendo console with Mario Kart downloaded, as well as a whole lot of beer (or another alcohol of your choice).
HOW TO PLAY
Ready to play? Crack open a beer, choose your kart and character, and get racing! While you play Mario Kart as normal, you have the added challenge of having to finish your beer before you cross the finish line as well! You can either chug the beer before you even start driving, chug it before you cross the finish line, or slowly drink it throughout the duration of the race – up to you!
14. RIDE THE BUS
One of my favorite card games to play in any drinking setting is Ride the Bus. This drinking card game may be a bit more complicated, but it’s definitely worth getting to know, as everyone will get pretty drunk pretty fast. Plus, only one person needs to know the rules, so don’t worry about trying to get some tipsy people to learn a new game.
HOW TO PLAY
Ride the Bus consists of 6 different rounds, as follows:
- Red or black: The dealer must hold a deck of cards face-down and ask each player, one by one, whether they think the card is red or black. If right, the player can pick someone to drink. If wrong, that player must take a drink. Leave the card in front of that player.
- Higher or lower: Same as above, but the dealer asks whether the player thinks the next card is higher or lower in value than the previous card.
- Between or outside: Same as above, but the dealer asks whether the player thinks the next card is between or outside the value of the two previous cards.
- Suit: The player must guess the suit.
- Pyramid: Players take their four cards and must match the cards to a pyramid, and they can give out drinks according to the value.
- Ride the bus: The losing player must ride the bus by completing rounds 1 to 4 once again. But if they get an answer wrong, they must drink and start from round 1 again.
I know these rules may be confusing, but you can head on over to our Ride the Bus rules so you can actually learn how to play!
15. TRUTH OR DARE
To offset the complicated game above, a simple drinking game you can play at the party is none other than Truth or Dare. There’s not too much complicated about this game (besides the questions and dares themselves, of course). Plus, it requires zero setup, so you can easily play this whenever you want.
HOW TO PLAY
To play, simply ask each player, “Truth or Dare.” The player can choose between the two. If they choose truth, they must answer a question. And if they choose dare, they must perform a dare. The group decides what they want the player to answer or do. If the player refuses, they must take a shot!
16. CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
- A party game for horrible people.
- Comes with 500 white cards and 100 black cards for eternal replayability.
- Includes a booklet of sensible game rules and preposterous alternate rules.
Of course, a classic party game that I have to mention is Cards Against Humanity. This party card game is sure to get a lot of laughs out of everyone. And the best part is that there is really no limit to how many people can play this game. In fact, the more players, the merrier when it comes to Cards Against Humanity!
HOW TO PLAY
The game is simple. Players have 10 white cards in their hands to start, and they take turns being the Card Czar and drawing a black card to read it out loud. All other players besides the Card Czar pick a white card from their hand that best fits the black card and place it face down in the middle. The Card Czar then shuffles all the white cards and reads them all out loud. They pick their favorite response. The person who selected that card wins a point for that round!
Looking for some similar games? Check out my post on games like Cards Against Humanity.
17. TWISTER ULTIMATE
- Classic Twister gameplay
- Larger mat with more spots
- The last player standing wins
Who would have thought that playing a traditional children’s game could be so fun in a college party setting? Bring out this childhood favorite at any house party, and you’ll see just how wild people get as they line up to play this game. Adding booze to the mix makes Twister twice as fun, as people fall on their faces left and right. If you want to involve more people in the game, you can appoint one player to read out the Twister spinner.
HOW TO PLAY
To play, get spinning! Whatever the spinner lands on, all players must place a part of their body on the chosen colored circle. Continue to place your hands and feet all over the Twister mat until you are the last one standing!
18. FEAR PONG
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If you’re getting tired of playing standard Beer Pong, you should try Fear Pong to add another layer of fun! It’s a blast to play, so everyone will want to join in on the fun. Fear Pong combines traditional Beer Pong and card games in order to create a drinking game that is sure to keep everyone on their toes.
HOW TO PLAY
Play Fear Pong as you would play Beer Pong. But simply add a Fear Pong dare under each cup that you set up. Then, any time an opponent sinks one of your cups, hold your breath, as you’ll need to either drink the contents of the cup or complete a dare in order to keep it. The dares are pretty horrible, so keeping the cup is a lot harder than you think!
19. HORSERACE
Do you want to add a layer of gambling to the party? Horserace is the perfect drinking card game that you’ll love if you love games like Ride the Bus. For this game, you’ll need a standard deck of cards and some alcohol, of course. Once you’ve set that up, get ready to start betting on the horse race!
HOW TO PLAY
In this game, you’ll need an announcer or dealer. The dealer places 4 Aces face up on one end of the table and 8 cards face down perpendicular to the Aces. Now, everyone bets on which horse (or Ace) they think will win! Bets are quantified by number of drinks. You’ll need to drink half your bet before the race begins!
The announcer flips over cards, with the horses moving whenever it’s that suit that is flipped over. The first horse to reach the finish line wins! Horserace is not the easiest drinking card game out there, so check out the official Horserace rules here!
20. LIAR’S DICE
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If you’re a big fan of gambling games like Texas Hold’Em, you’ll love Liar’s Dice, a super fun gambling drinking game. A game involving strategy and deception, you’re going to have to really think in order to succeed in this game. But since you’ll be drinking as you play, there’ll certainly be a layer of hilarity that will make this college party an absolute success!
HOW TO PLAY
In this game, every player should have 5 dice and a cup each. At the beginning of the game, each player rolls their dice and keeps them hidden inside their cup so that only they know what their dice show. Players then make bets made up of the quantity of dice and the face value of the dice. Subsequent players can call a bluff or increase the bid.
If a player calls a bluff and the challenged bet is equal to or greater than what was challenged, the player that called a bluff must take 3 drinks and lose a dice. If the bluff was correct, the player that made the bet mus take 3 drinks and lose a dice.
Continue playing until only one player has any dice left.
Check out our list of the best dice drinking games for more recommendations!
21. MUSICAL CHAIRS DRINKING GAME
Another childhood game favorite that you can easily turn into a drinking game is Musical Chairs Drinking Game. I know it’s probably been a while since you’ve played any version of Musical Chairs, but worry not, as this game is super easy to play – even when you’re already drunk. But do drink responsibly, as this game does involve taking shots!
HOW TO PLAY
Set up chairs in a circle, and ensure there is one less chair than there are players. Then, start the music as players go round and round in a circle around the chairs. When the music stops, everyone must take a seat on a chair! The person left standing must leave the game, take a chair with them, and then take a shot as punishment. Continue playing until there are 0 chairs and only 1 player remaining. This player is the winner!
I am also a huge fan of travel and music and have started personal blogs about travel and music.
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