It’s been a long time since we were children. Somewhere between primary, intermediate and eventually high school, we put down our toys and picked up the phones. In high school, parties were all about drinking as much as possible and doing a quick tacky in the upstairs toilet, or clubbing until 2am with beer goggles strapped firmly on. Everyone was trying to look older, act older, and feel older. But at university, party games make a comeback.
Games we enjoyed as kids and hated as teenagers have been modernised and alcoholised. The same crumpled deck of cards we used to play family games of Go Fish with are repurposed, stomped beneath peoples shoes, splattered with red wine and collected up at the end of the night. In lieu of game tokens, can tabs, vapes, earrings and sticks of gum are used for hand painted board games. A flat is suddenly full of red solo cups that have never been used in the daylight.
As an ode to the adult party hosted by the childlike spirit, Critic Te Ārohi has compiled six party games for you to pull out at your next red card, wine night, pre-game, or flat host.
Beer Pong
We stole and doctored these rules from the Critic Te Ārohi Beer Pong Handbook. If you prefer a painstakingly detailed guide on beer pong, check out the full article on our website. We’ve included most of the rules that were voted via census in 2023. There’s a lot of rules. If your flat doesn’t like a particular rule, feel free to cross it out. The beauty of beer pong is in its fluidity.
1. Equipment
1.1 Cups: Either 12 or 20 cups (the red solos work best), depending on whether you are playing a 6-cup or 10-cup formation.
1.2 Table: Any table will do, although the fold-out Night ‘n Day ones are the Holy Grail. Stickier the better to keep the cups in place.
1.3 Balls: 2 ping pong balls (preferably undented).
2. Players & Teams
2.1 A team consists of two players.
2.2 A player can only play for one team. No swinging.
3. Beverage
3.1 A team can choose what liquid to put in their cups, with the caveat that should it not be alcoholic they must be taking sips of an alcoholic beverage when a cup is sunk by the other team.
4. Starting Game & Etiquette
4.1 To decide which team starts, one player from each team must maintain eye contact with the other and shoot for a cup on the opposition's side of the table, known as “snake eyes”. If neither sinks a cup, their partners repeat. This continues until someone sinks a cup. The cup remains in the game, and the team of the player who sank it receives both balls to begin the game.
4.1.1 Snake eyes determine the starting team for every game, regardless of whether there was a game previously played on the table.
4.2 The elbow of a player must not extend over the table on their side whilst shooting.
4.2.1 Any player or spectator may call “elbows” if a player is in violation of rule 4.2. If a cup is sunk by a player in violation of “elbows”, it does not count and the cup remains in the game.
4.3 The contents of any sunk cup, or equivalent from a personal vessel, must immediately be drunk by a player on the opposing team.
4.4 If a team knocks over one of their own cups at any point during the game, that cup is taken out of the game, counting for the other team.
4.5 If at any point during the game a cup is knocked over by outside interference, it is refilled and put back in the game.
4.6 If at any point during the game a ball is spinning within a cup, a player on the team whose side it is on may attempt to blow it out.
4.6.1 Fingering a spinning ball is not allowed.
5. Cup Formations
5.1 Each team may call for a “rearrange” once during the game, where the cups on the opposition’s side are rearranged into a formation of their choosing.
5.1.1 A rearrange may be called even if there are just two cups left.
5.2 At any point during the game, a team may request for the opposition to “fix” the alignment of their cups to the correct formation.
6. End Of Game Penalties
6.1 Any unsunk cups from the winning team's side must be drunk by the losing team.
6.2 Penalties apply if any player at the end of the game has not sunk any balls, regardless of whether they were on the winning team or not.
6.2.1 Sinking a redemption shot counts as a shot, meaning if a player only sunk a redemption shot the entire game, end of game penalties do not apply.
6.3 The official end of game rule is a naked run, whereby a player must strip naked and run a distance acceptable to the players and spectators of the game.
7. Types Of Shots
7.1 If both players on a team each sink a cup, they get their balls back for another turn.
7.2 Rim bounce: If a ball hits the rim of other cups before landing in a cup, those cups are all removed in addition to the sunk cup.
7.3 Grenade/Explosion: If two players hit the same cup, all the cups touching it are also removed from the game.
7.4 Graveyard: Any cup that is sunk during the game is put to the side into what is called the “graveyard”. If a shot lands in a graveyard cup, spectators drink.
7.5 Island: Each player may call “island” once during the game. They must select a cup that is isolated from the rest of the cups, and if they sink that cup one other cup is also removed from the game.
7.5.1 To call “island”, the player must name an island (e.g., Easter Island). No repeats.
7.6 Bounce Shots
7.6.1 A shot may be bounced off any surface and will count as two cups if sunk
7.6.2 A bounce shot only counts as one cup if there are only two cups left on that side.
7.6.3 If a bounce shot is taken, the opposing team may attempt to block the shot.
7.7 Celeb Shots
7.7.1 At any point during the game a team may call for a “celebrity shot” where a spectator takes the turn of a player.
7.8 Trick Shot
7.8.1 If a shot misses, the ball can be retrieved from anywhere by either the shooter’s team or a spectator for a trick shot.
7.8.2 What counts as a trick shot is determined by the players and spectators of the game.
7.8.3 A trick shot may not be blocked by the opposing team, unless it is a table-based bounce shot per rule 7.6.3.
7.9 Bitch Cup
7.9.1 The bitch cup is either the middle cup if playing with a ten-cup formation or the front cup if playing with a six-cup formation.
7.9.2 If the first cup a player sinks is the bitch cup, they must play with their pants down until they sink another cup (regardless of gender) This rule only applies if players are comfortable with it. Consent is key, kings and queens.
7.9.3 Bitch cup counts if the cup is sunk due to swatting from the opposition (swatting is only allowed for a bounce shot per rule 7.6.3).
8. Redemption
8.1 After a team sinks their final cup, the opposing team is able to call for “redemption” where both players attempt to sink a cup. If the opposing team sinks a cup, both cups sunk on each side remain in the game.
8.2 You are not allowed to call for a rearrange during redemption.
Rage Cage
Your objective is to convince a group of adults that repeatedly bouncing a ping pong ball into cups of beer is a legitimate sport.
1. Equipment
1.1 Cups: One for every player.
1.2 2 Balls: 2 ping pong balls. As above, best if undented.
2. Players and Teams
2.1 Anyone you can find that fits around a table.
3. Beverage
3.1 Beer is the standard drink for this game. Unlike above, there is no caveat for taking sips between rounds.
4. Setup
4.1 Arrange cups in a circle around a central "power cup." Fill with beer.
5. Playing
5.1 The two starting players each grab a cup, drink it dry, and start bouncing a ball trying to sink it into their now-empty cup.
5.2 Land it? Pass your cup and ball clockwise to the next player. The chain has begun, and it will not stop for anyone.
5.3 Sink it on your very first try? Skip the queue entirely, pass your cup to any player at the table who isn't already mid-bounce.
5.4 If you land yours while the next person is still fumbling, you stack your cup onto theirs. They've officially lost that round: they pass the whole stack clockwise, grab a fresh cup, drink it, and start bouncing all over again. Their tower of shame grows.
5.5 Repeat until every cup at the table is gone.
King’s Cup
There are a million versions of King’s Cup out there. This list has been inspired by Critic’s 2020 King’s Cup census (yeah, we stole our own rules again – sorry) and may differ to your version of the game.
1. Equipment
1.1 Large cup: The King’s Cup. It’s in the name.
1.2 Card deck: 1-2 decks are good.
2. Players and Teams
2.1 A group of friends. The game gets better with more and more people.
3. Beverage
3.1 Anything, but the King’s Cup is usually alcoholic. If you are not drinking, we suggest you steer clear of drawing the last King or select a friend who will drink for you if you’re unlucky.
4. Setup
4.1 Arrange cards facedown in a circle around the King’s Cup.
5. Playing
5.1 Players take turns drawing cards from the circle. Every card in the deck has an instruction for the player to follow.
5.2 If you break the circle of cards when you draw one, you must finish your drink.
6. Card Rules
Ace = Waterfall: Start drinking. The player on your left follows, followed by the player on their left and so on. The rest of the players can only finish once the first player has finished.
Two = You: Nominate someone else to drink.
Three = Me: Drink.
Four = Floor: Last player to touch the ground must drink.
Five = Guys: All male identifying players must drink.
Six = Chicks: All female identifying players must drink.
Seven = Heaven: Last player to point up must drink.
Eight = Mates: Nominate a “mate” to drink when you drink. You can have more than one mate.
Nine = Rhyme: Pick a word. Don’t pick the word orange. Players go around the circle taking turns to say a rhyming word until a mistake is made or a word is repeated.
Ten = Categories: Like Rhyme, the player picks a category with an example going round the circle with players adding examples until a mistake is made or an example is repeated.
Jack = New Rule: The player chooses a new rule to last for the rest of the game. Alternatively, a 3-fingered game of Never Have I Ever can be played. Drink if you’ve done something, the loser finishes their drink.
Queen = Question Master: Until someone else draws a Queen, you are now the question master. Anyone who answers a question must drink. If you ask a player a question, and they reply “Fuck you Question Master” you have to drink instead.
King = Kings Cup: The player must sacrifice a portion of their drink to the King’s Cup. If you’re the unlucky one to draw the fourth king, you have to down the cup and the game will come to an end.
Fuck The Bus
When all you have is a card deck.
1. Equipment
1.1 Card deck: That’s it. Shuffle it.
2. Players and Teams
2.1 Dealer: Pick one player to be the dealer.
2.2 FTB works best with at least 4 people. It’s do-able with less.
3. Beverage
3.1 No standard drink for this game. Alcohol works best.
4. Setup
4.1 Pyramid: Deal out a 6-card wide pyramid facedown - 6 cards on the bottom, 5 in the second row, 4 in the third, 3 in the forth, 2 in the fifth and top it off with just 1.
4.1.2 Rows: Each row = a different # of drinks. Bottom row = 1 drink, second row = 2 drinks, third = 3 drinks, forth = 4 drinks, fifth = 5 drinks and sixth = 6 drinks.
4.2 Hands: Deal out 2 cards to each player. Players get ONE look at their hand of cards and then set them back facedown in front of them.
5. Playing
5.1 The dealer turns over one card one at a time, starting from the bottom row of the pyramid.
5.2 There’s two possible scenarios: depending if you’re bluffing or not. If you have a card that is the same number as one of the flipped cards, tell another player of your choice to drink. OR if you want to bluff, tell another player to drink.
5.3 If a player thinks you’re bluffing, they can challenge you.
5.4 If a player challenges you and you’re bluffing (i.e. you don’t have a card of the same number), you have to drink twice the amount assigned. If you’re not bluffing, show your card and the other player has to drink twice the amount assigned.
5.5 Draw a new card to your hand after each time you show one of your cards.
5.6 The game ends when you reach the top of the pyramid.
Beerio Kart
1. Equipment
1.1 Any Nintendo console (Switch, Wii, DS, 64).
1.2 TV.
2. Players and Teams
2.1 Minimum 2 players, and no teams.
3. Beverage
3.1 Any drink in a can or bottle will do. Obviously beer is more ideal considering this is Beerio Kart.
4. Setup
4.1 The most important step is choosing your character (obviously).
4.2 Choose your course and how many races you want to do. This will determine how turnt you get. Expect to sink a beverage for every race you complete – time is ticking! The bot drivers in the game do not come to play.
5. Playing
5.1 The premise is that your beverage needs to be empty by the time the 3 laps of your Mario Kart course is done.
5.2 No drinking and driving – if you want to take a swig of your drink, you must stop touching your controller or put your controller down.
5.3 Strategy is everything – try hitting a Banana Peel right before you drink because that will mean that your character is unable to drive for a few seconds anyway. You can chug your drink at the start of a game, or space it out throughout the laps. It’s up to you!
5.4 Turn on frantic item settings to make things extra chaotic.
For The Girls
This game is a gift from past Critic contributors to your flat. The aim of FTG is to get the girls rinsed and break the ice at your next gathering. The tiles are designed to get people talking to one another, so playing with water instead of alcohol (or a mix of both) works just fine.
1. Equipment
1.1 Dice. Can be physical, on your phone, whatever.
1.2 Cup. Or a bowl, or a vase. Any vessel you don’t mind drinking out of.
1.3 A personal token. This could be your earring, bracelet, carabiner, ID or a coin – literally anything. Even the condom in your wallet will do in a pinch.
2. Players and Teams
2.1 Any amount of players. No teams.
3. Beverage
3.1 Alcoholic. Or non-alcoholic, we guess.
4. Setup
4.1 Surprise, it’s the centrefold! Carefully pull it out and spread it flat.
4.2 The cup (the ‘King’s Cup’) is traditionally placed in the middle of the board. However, the centrefold is made of paper, and paper disintegrates when wet. Look around you. Are you playing with clumsy people? If so, place the King’s Cup to the left of the person reading out these rules (as they are usually the most onto it).
5. Playing
5.1 Players all move their tokens to the starting position, and the youngest rolls the dice first, moving clockwise.
5.2 To get out of doing any tile, you’ll need to drink the entirety of the King’s Cup.
5.3 The game ends when a player rolls a 6 on the Roll A 6 tile (see 7.2.8). That’s the only way that the game ends.
6. Tile Rules
6.1 Start: Drink when you pass start!
6.2 Singles: All singles drink.
6.3 Make a Rule: The person who lands on this tile needs to make a rule for the rest of the group to follow. For example, nobody is allowed to drink with their left hand. If someone is caught breaking the rule, they drink.
6.4 Blackout: Finish your drink (within reason).
6.5 Truth or Dare: The person who lands on this tile must ask someone else a truth or dare question.
6.6 Bartender: The person who lands on this tile must pour some of their drink into the King’s Cup. To get out of doing any other tile, you must drink the King’s Cup.
6.7 +2 Shots: Take a couple swigs of your drink.
6.8 Chicks: All chicks drink. If you’re non-binary/gender diverse, you’ll need to drink for both the Chicks and the Dicks tiles.
6.9 Nepotism: If your name starts with a G, E or an H – congrats! You’re a nepo baby. Nepo babies can make any one player do whatever they want. If no nepo babies are present, everyone drinks. Send your thanks to Grace, Emmie and Hanna!
6.10 Waterfall: The player who lands on this tile begins drinking, creating a domino effect. The person next to them starts drinking, and then the person next to them. Once the original player stops drinking, the person next to them stops, and so on.
6.11 Roll Again: Self explanatory. Don’t forget to take a sip of your drink!
6.12 Dicks: All men drink. If you’re non-binary/gender diverse, you’ll need to drink for both the Chicks and the Dicks tiles.
6.13 Sex Q&A: The group must ask the player who lands on this tile a sexy question.
6.14 Neighbours Drink: Players next to the player that landed on this tile drink.
6.15 Pick 3: The player that landed on this tile picks three other players to drink
6.16 Paranoia: The player who landed on this tile must whisper a question to any other player about any other player, making sure all other players do not hear the question. The player who got the question must say their answer out loud. The dice is then rolled. If the dice lands on an even number, the question must be said aloud. If the dice lands on an uneven number, the question remains a mystery – leaving all players in a state of paranoia.
6.17 Change Direction: The player must choose to either enter the Punishment Circle (which means that the player will need to tell the group their Worst Story) or change directions on the board, moving counterclockwise.
6.18 Safe: Safe – but not for long. Take a sip!
6.19 F, Marry, Kill: The player that lands on this tile must ask any other player to choose who they would fuck, marry or kill out of three people.
6.20 Stoners: If you’re stoned, you drink.
7. Punishment Circle
7.1 To get out of the Punishment Circle, you’ll need to go around it three times land on the Back to Start tile (see 7.2.7). Rolling a six on the Roll A 6 To Win tile (see 7.2.8) within the Punishment Circle is the only way to end the game.
7.2 Punishment Circle Tile Rules
7.2.1 Gays Drink: If you’re queer, take a sip.
7.2.2 Never Have I Ever: All players must put five fingers up. Starting with the player that landed on the tile, each player must go around and say one Never Have I Ever Question. If a player has done something, they must drink.
7.2.3 Swap Shirts: The player that landed on this tile must choose another player to swap shirts with.
7.2.4 Brown Eyes Drink: Unlucky!
7.2.5 Character Night: The group must choose a character for this player to impersonate for the rest of the game.
7.2.6 Election Night: All players must vote on who is the biggest Shit Cunt (ie. someone who isn’t playing the game right, or made a subpar decision lately). The Shit Cunt must drink.
7.2.7 Back To Start: Take a drink, and head back to the Start tile on the outside circle.
7.2.8 Roll A 6 To Win: Now’s your chance!
7.2.9 Quick Draw: Start a 45 second timer. Everyone needs to run outside (or inside if you’re outside) and drink at least half of their drink. The slowest must finish their drink, and everyone who hasn’t made it back inside after the 45 second timer is up must then take a big sip. ★
