'Tis the season for drinking games! Whether you're having pre-drinksbefore a night on the town, wrapping the evening up with some work pals, or the house party you're at is in desperate need of an energy boost, it's always good to have a few ideas in your social arsenal.
That said, there's a simple rule of thumb when it comes to drinking games: if it takes a long time to explain it, then it's probably going to take an even longer time to get through it.
With that in mind, here are some really easy drinking games that are both legitimately fun and require minimal cognitive engagement. We've left out some of the classics though, because who doesn't know the rules of Beer Pong, or Never Have I Ever?
An important aside: a good drinking game may be the perfect way to keep a party going, but don't forget to stay hydrated, keep an eye on your friends - and yourself - and call it a night when you feel you've reached your limits.
Have fun!
7 Really Easy Drinking Games With Really Easy Rules - Grazia (Stacked)
1 of 71. Flip Cup
Split yourselves into two equal teams, and line up at either side of a table facing each other. Take some plastic cups and place one in front of each player. Fill them up so that you all have the same amount to drink. The first player of each team has to drink their drink as quickly as possible, pop the empty cup on the edge of the table and then flip it, so that it lands on the table upside down – but only using one hand. The next player is not allowed to start their drink until the one before has had a successful flip. First team to finish wins.
2 of 72. Fives
The most stressful of simple games, Fives can cause friction between even the best of friends. The group of you put your hands in as if you're about to play a huge game of rock paper scissors, except the options are either zero (your hand stays in a fist like 'rock') or five (your hand opens up like 'paper'). The first person counts to three, and then shouts out a multiple of five – this is their guess for how many people will show their 'five'. So, if there are four of you playing, the highest you could shout is 20. If you get the number right, you can remove your hand from the game and you're safe, then it's the next player's go – but only if you manage to say 'thank you very much for the game of fives' without looking happy about it. If you can't, you drink. If you're left with your hand in, you drink.
3 of 73. Up Chickens, Down Chickens
All of you sit around a table (you need quite a few to make this work) and split yourself in half – one team on one side, another team on the other. A member of the first team takes a coin and passes it under the table to one of their teammates. Everyone on the coin team has their hands under the table so that the other team can't see who ends up with the coin. When everyone's happy with where the coin has landed, someone from the guessing team shouts 'up chickens'. This means that everyone on the coin side has to raise their hands (all making fists so that the coin can't be found or fall out of your hand). When they shout 'down chickens', the coin team slams their hands flat on the table at the same time. Then the other team have to guess where the coin is, eliminating the hands on the table one at a time. If they find it, coin team drink.If they don't, the guessing team drinks.
4 of 74. Straight face
Warning: this requires a minor level of brain usage. Everyone writes a sentence on a piece of paper (with the intention of raising a smile. So a joke, a pun or something shocking) and pops it into a pile, cup, hat or whatever vessel you have to hand. Each player takes a turn picking one out, and reading. If anyone laughs, they have to take a drink. Simples.
5 of 75. Buzz
If you never mastered your seven times table you'll probably struggle with this one. You go around in a circle counting up from one (two, three, four etc). You can say up to three numbers at a time (player one might say 'one, two', player two might say 'three', player three might say 'four, five, six') but the rule is that you can't say any number that has a seven in it, or is a multiple of seven. Instead, you must say 'buzz'. When someone says 'buzz', the order of players switches direction and the count goes the other way around. If you forget to buzz, you drink. This gets harder as the game continues.
6 of 76. Most likely
A slightly less annoying version of Never Have I Ever. Participants take turns finishing the sentence 'who is most likely to…'. Things normally end up being sex-related, but this is not vital. At the same time (perhaps count down from three) everyone has to point to whoever in the group they think is the most likely to do whatever funny/dirty/inappropriate thing was said. Whoever has the most fingers pointed at them drinks.
7 of 77. Paranoia
Sit in a circle. Whoever wants to go first has to think of a question to which the answer is someone in the room. For example, it could be a 'most likely to' type question, or it could be as awkwardly savage as 'who is your least favourite person'. You whisper the question to the player next to you (either side, we're not precious) and they then have to point at whoever in the group is their answer to the question. If whoever is being pointed at wants to know what the question was, and why they've been chosen, they can ask and it has to be revealed to the group. If they don't want to know, they can take a drink to move the game on but that means no-one is allowed to know what the question was. It can get slightly brutal. Be careful.