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The 8 Best Drinking Board Games to Play Right Now

Pretty much any board game can become a drinking board game if you want it to be, which is something we probably all did at college parties. But we’re adults now; we have the money and ability to get drinking board games that are specifically designed for drinking and can be played with actual good booze and not whatever cheap stuff the guy with the fake ID could get.

Now is the perfect time to revisit classic drinking games that have been given a more grown-up gaming twist, as well as to try new ones. Here are the best drinking board games you can play right now. Sit back, drink responsibly, and enjoy.

More Drinking Games

Drink-a-palooza

Drink-a-palooza
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Often referred to as the “ultimate drinking board game,” Drink-a-palooza combines several of the most popular old-school drinking games like beer pong and quarters into a single drinking game juggernaut. The board is laid out in a Monopoly-style grid, with a central spot in the middle of the board hosting a Solo cup. Players roll the dice to move around the edge of the board and follow the directions of whatever space they land on. The objective is to be the first player to collect a six-pack of mini-bottles, which you do by landing on “bottle” spaces and completing the drinking tasks like beer pong or flip cup. If you complete the challenge, you get a mini-bottle. In between the bottle spaces, there are also group games like Waterfall, Pour/Drink directives (to down your drink or pour more), and so on. By combining so many classic drinking games into one, it’s bound to bring back plenty of memories of college (plus maybe a hangover or two).

Beeropoly

Beeropoly
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This easy and fun board game is a great way to jazz up an evening with friends and family and is perfect for brew lovers. Players roll dice and move around the spaces on the outside of the board that has directions like “Girls Drink,” “Pour A Drink Into The Community Cup,” “Cheers! (Everyone Drinks),” “Waterfall,” and more. The straightforward directions and gameplay mean there’s no sitting around trying to figure out the rules; you just dive right in and start playing and drinking. And in keeping with the beer theme, the player pieces are bottle caps.

MadWish

MadWish
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This grown-up twist on Truth or Dare adds alcohol to the mix, guaranteeing an evening of intriguing revelations and crazy acts. Different actions — Take a Shot, Truth, Dare, Snitch (pick a player and tell them something to do), and Go (where the player performs an action, everyone mimics it, and the last person to do so drinks) — are spaced on a circle, with a spinnable bottle pointer in the middle. There are cards for each action except Snitch, so, for example, if the player spinning the bottle lands on “Truth,” they’d pick a card from the Truth pile and have to answer the question. And there’s a boozy component to each action: If you land on “Truth” and don’t want to answer, you take a shot, and if you land on “Dare” and don’t do the dare, you have to do a shot.

Drunk Jenga/Tipsy Tower

Drunk Jenga
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While not a board game in the traditional sense of the word, Drunk Jenga kicks the normal game of Jenga up a notch and involves more rules and directives, so think of it as a vertical board game. Before the blocks of wood are stacked into the Jenga tower, different tasks and commands are written on the blocks like “waterfall” (everyone has to down their drink until the person on their right stops), “floor is lava” (the last person who gets up on a chair off the floor has to drain their drink), take a shot, girls drink, boys drink, and so on (here you can find a list of common commands for the game, but you can also get creative and make your own). Sometimes the commands pertain only to the person whose turn it is, other times it’s the whole group. Each player takes a turn pulling out a block and follows the command on it; the person who eventually makes the tower fall down has to finish their drink.

Pass Out

Pass Out
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Looking to really forget your problems tonight? Try Pass Out. Players roll dice and move around the board, which is set up like Monopoly with squares that each have a directive for the player(s). The squares all have different colors, and the central part of the board is also divided into four zones with different primary colors as well. So, for example, if you land on a green square that says “Take a Drink,” anyone in the green zone of the board has to drink. Other squares have the player pick a white Pass Out card that could have instructions for just the individual player or the whole group. Every time you pass Start, you also have to pick a Pink Elephant, which has a tongue twister. You need to recite the tongue twister three times, which will get more difficult as the game progresses. If you’re able to successfully say the tongue twister three times, you get the card; the first player to collect ten Pink Elephant cards wins.

Buzzed

What Do You Meme?

If you’re someone who enjoys simpler drinking games that don’t have complicated rules, Buzzed is the perfect choice to consider. I mean, who has the time and energy to actually pore over game rules? Get the fun part started as soon as you open this game. The drinking card game’s rule is easy, draw one of the 180 cards and do what the card says. Case in point, you might draw “Drink if you were in a sorority or fraternity”, and if the shoe fits, bottoms up. This drinking game can also keep the party going as it allows as little as a trio to as much as twenty players.

Unstable Unicorns

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Yes, drinking games are a fun activity to get closer to your peers but it can also be a free pass to betray them on the spot. Unstable Unicorns is a game made for adults with an age rating of 21 and above. The goal of the game is to collect and protect seven unicorns while sabotaging the other players. The game may seem like a standard strategic game but it also has optional rules made for stripping and/or drinking for added excitement. Whether you only want to play this game with one person or another group of seven, they’re totally welcome to join.

Telestrations After Dark

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Telestrations After Dark is the grown-up version of the classic party board game Telestrations. This fun game made for 4-8 players combines Pictionary and Telephone all in one package. Basically, you have to guess the picture drawn and pass it around. The results might come out differently by the end of the chain which will induce laughter and fun among the players. You can also add a drinking twist to the game for even more hilarious, weird, and crazy outcomes.

Zoe Baillargeon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Zoe Baillargeon is an award-winning travel writer and freelance journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. She covers travel…
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