The Best Drinking Games for Hens, Stags, Adults and Teams
Pre-drinks have started, the room is still a bit too sober and nobody can think of a game. Picking one that suits everyone is hard, especially on the spot. This guide covers easy games, ice breakers, team games and games for two, so you can choose one in seconds.
The 11 best drinking games at a glance
- Shot Roulette – easy, any group size
- Fuzzy Duck – no props needed
- International Drinking Rules – runs all night
- Taskmaster – ice breaker
- Never Have I Ever – ice breaker
- Paranoia – ice breaker
- Ring of Fire – card game
- Beer Pong – teams or one-on-one
- Flip Cup – teams
- Mr & Mrs – best with friends who know each other
- Heads Up – teams, just needs a phone
Easy drinking games
These games have hardly any rules. They suit big groups, and anyone who arrives late can join in straight away.
1. Shot Roulette
Fill a tray of shot glasses: half with water and half with vodka or another spirit. Each player picks a glass and guesses what’s in it without sniffing. Then they drink it. Guess wrong and you take another. Nobody needs to know each other, so it’s a great opener.
2. Fuzzy Duck
A classic British game with no cards or props. Sit in a circle and take turns to say “fuzzy duck”. At any point, a player can say “does he?” instead. That reverses the direction, and everyone now says “ducky fuzz”. Get the words wrong and you drink. It’s easy – until a few drinks in.
3. International Drinking Rules
International Drinking Rules are rules that apply to everyone for the whole night. There’s no setup. Everyone polices the rules as they go, and anyone who breaks one takes a drink.
Make up your own, or start with these classics:
- If you swear, take a shot.
- Drink whenever someone says your name.
- Only drink with your non-dominant hand. If you’re right-handed, hold your drink in your left.
- No pointing with your finger. Use your elbow instead.
- No saying the word “drink”.
- After each round, one person can add a new rule.
A whiteboard, or a note on someone’s phone, helps everyone keep track as the rules pile up.
Ice breaker drinking games
These get people talking. They’re ideal when the group doesn’t know each other yet, like a hen or stag do with friends from different parts of someone’s life.
4. Taskmaster
Pick a taskmaster with rock-paper-scissors or by drawing straws. The taskmaster sets another player a challenge that involves people who aren’t playing. For example, dance for a stranger for 30 seconds, or borrow something from someone at the bar.
Complete the task and you become the next taskmaster. Fail and you drink half your drink. Refuse and you finish it. Keep the tasks light, because anything too embarrassing kills the mood.
You can play with two, but it’s more fun with a crowd.
5. Never Have I Ever
Take turns to say something you’ve never done, such as “Never have I ever kissed a French person”. Anyone who has done it takes a drink. It’s the quickest way to learn the group’s secrets. The cheekier the statements, the better – just be ready to cringe at your answers the next morning.
6. Paranoia
Whisper a question to the person on your right. The answer has to be someone who’s playing, for example “Who’s the best-looking person here?” They point at their answer without saying the question out loud. If the person they point at wants to know the question, they have to drink first. Expect some brutal honesty.
7. Ring of Fire (King’s Cup)
Ring of Fire needs nothing but a pack of cards. It’s one of the best card drinking games for a big group, but it works with two players too.
Put a jug or tall glass in the middle of the table and spread the cards face down around it. Players take turns to draw a card and do its action. Rules vary, but this is the most common version:
- Ace – Waterfall. Everyone starts drinking in turn around the circle. You can’t stop until the person before you stops.
- Two – You. Pick someone to drink.
- Three – Me. You drink.
- Four – Girls. All the girls drink.
- Five – Thumb master. Quietly put your thumb on the table. Everyone copies you, and the last person to notice drinks.
- Six – Boys. All the boys drink.
- Seven – Heaven. Point to the sky. The last person to copy you drinks.
- Eight – Mate. Pick a mate. They drink every time you drink for the rest of the game.
- Nine – Rhyme. Say a word. Going round the circle, everyone says a word that rhymes with it. The first person stuck drinks.
- Ten – Categories. Pick a category, such as football teams. Everyone names something in it. The first person stuck drinks.
- Jack – Make a rule. Set a rule that everyone must follow for the rest of the game.
- Queen – Question master. Ask players questions. They must answer with another question, or drink.
- King – Fill the jug. Pour some of your drink into the jug. Whoever draws the fourth king drinks the lot.
Team drinking games
8. Beer Pong
Beer Pong is easy to learn and hard to master. Set out two pyramids of cups at opposite ends of a table and fill them with your drink. Beer works best, because anything stronger gets expensive and messy fast.
Teams take turns to throw a ping pong ball into the other team’s cups. Land one and the other team drinks what’s in that cup. Play in pairs, or one-on-one for quick rounds.
9. Flip Cup
Split into two teams and line up along the same end of a table, each team with a plastic cup. The first player in each team places the cup upside down, half over the edge of the table, and flips it until it lands upright. Then it passes to the next player in line. The first team to finish wins, and the losing team finishes their drinks.
10. Mr & Mrs
This one is best with people who know each other well, like two couples or old friends. It’s a hen party classic, too.
Two players stand back to back so they can’t see each other. The group asks questions like “Who’s the most fun?” or “Who’s most likely to be late?” If you think the answer is you, you drink. Only one of you should drink each time. If you both drink, you both drink again. If neither of you drinks, you both take a forfeit drink.
11. Heads Up
All you need is a phone and the free Heads Up app. Play in two teams, with at least four players in total. One player holds the phone to their forehead so they can’t see the screen. Their team gives clues to the word or name on it. Tilt the phone down for a correct guess, or up to pass. The team with the most correct answers wins, and the other team drinks.
Two-player drinking games
Only two of you? These games work just as well with a pair:
- Shot Roulette – take turns picking from the tray.
- Ring of Fire – skip the girls and boys cards if they don’t apply.
- Beer Pong – play one-on-one with six cups each.
- Taskmaster – swap the taskmaster role every round.
- International Drinking Rules – agree three or four rules for the night.
Want someone to run the games for you?
At a hen do, a Butler in the Buff can host the games, keep glasses topped up and take the photos, so nobody has to play organiser. There are more ideas on our hen party games page.
Whatever you play, know your limits, drink water between rounds and make sure everyone gets home safely.
