1. Red Rover
Old game: Two teams of people stand in parallel lines holding hands. Each team takes turns choosing the supposedly scrawniest player and then singing “Red Rover, Red Rover, Send [selected weakling] right over!” The chosen run turns really fast towards them trying the break the grasp of two player’s hands until someone inevitably sprains a wrist and the game is officially banned from the playground.
New game: Same, but with drunk people. If you do not make it through the chain, DRINK.
2. H.O.R.S.E.
Old game: Players take turns being the leader and throwing a basketball into the hoop in various ways. Once the leader makes a shot, the second player must copy the same distance/posture/etc. and try to make the same shot. For each miss, the player gets a letter starting with H then O then R and so forth. The first player who gets HORSE loses.
New game: Given you do not make the shot in this version not only do, you get a letter you also get to take a shot. Additionally if you are the leader and everyone makes the same shot as you, you do not get a letter, but itis your turn to drink. You will be surprised how much easier it is to shoot a weird free throw after a few. However, see how long it takes before you forget how to spell HORSE.
3. Heads Up, Seven Up
Old game: Seven players from a group are chosen to go to the front of the room. Sitting players put their heads down and thumbs up. The chosen ones walk around the room and touch the thumb of one player. When seven thumbs have been touched, the selected seated players have to try to guess which chosen one tapped their thumb. In case they guess correctly, they get to be a chooser. Everyone cheats.
New game: If you do not guess your picker, you drink. Alternatively, if the person you picked guesses right, you drink!
4. Simon Says
Old game: “Simon” makes various ridiculous and humiliating demands by barking out “Simon Says (insert weird action).” Players are legally obligated to perform all actions that are preceded by “Simon Says” but if Simon tries to trick them by saying a command without that preface, and they fall for the cruel trick, they are out.
New game: “Simon says do a shot of Jaeger.” “Simon says shotgun a beer.” “Simon says spin in a circle.” You try spinning in a circle after shot gunning a beer.. It is not easy.
5. Telephone
Old game: Players sit in a line or circle. One person whispers a sentence or phrase into the ear of the player next to them. That player whispers whatever they heard to the next person and so on until the last player says the phrase aloud, which is usually something nonsensical and unrelated to the original statement.
New game: Same, except players are seated in order of intoxication with the drunkest person as the originator. Whatever garbled nonsense they say in the beginning will become something more coherent by the last sober person.
6. Spoons
Old game: Everyone sits in a circle around spoons (one spoon less than the number of participating players). The dealer starts the game by giving each player four cards. Then the dealer draws a card from the top of the deck. They can either keep that card, or give it away, but regardless they must pass a card to the person sitting to their left. This process continues as the dealer continues drawing cards and the players pass the cards around. The first player with four of a kind draws a spoon. Once one spoon is drawn, all the spoons are up for grabs and it becomes a game of reflexes to grab a spoon before there are none left. Whoever does not get a spoon is out of the game.
New game: Have each player fill a red solo cup. Once they reach four of a kind, the player must chug the contents of the cup, then proceed to play flip-cup. Once they have successfully flipped their cup, the player can grab a spoon. However, once the players notice that one player has started drinking, they too can start chugging, the same way as normal spoons. It is then a race to the finish to get a spoon.
7. Catch phrase
Old game: In this game, you are holding a device where a word or phrase comes up, and you have to describe it for your team members to get them to guess it correctly before the timer goes off.
New game: Let’s say you accidentally say the word or part of the phrase while you are describing it, you drink. If one of your teammates guesses the word or phrase correctly before time expires, that person gets to pick out a member of the opposing team and make them drink. If you skip a word or phrase because you think it is too tough, your entire team drinks. If your team fails to guess the word or phrase before your time expires, your entire team drinks.
8. 20 Questions
Old game: One player thinks of a person, place or thing, and the other players get to ask ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions to guess what it is. The object of the game is to guess correctly before using up 20 questions.
New game: During the question and answer period, if a question is not asked in the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ format, the asker drinks. If the asking team does not guess correctly after using up their 20 questions, that entire team drinks. If the asking team guesses correctly, then the team that came up with the word or phrase drinks.
9. Charades
Old game: You have each player write down a movie, book title, famous person, an animal, place, etc. These are then put into a bowl. Players are split into two teams. On your team’s turn, one player draws a slip from the bowl and must act out what is written without speaking. Teammates then guess until they correctly name the character, or the allotted time runs out.
New game: Every incorrect answer guessed by the team is a sip for that guesser. Incase the other team guesses correctly, your whole team drinks. If your team cannot guess the word before time runs out, your team drinks. If after a losing turn, both teams believe the ‘acting’ was so poor, then they can punish that player with a rotten tomato drink – a drink determined at the beginning of play but reserved for just this occasion.
10. Hot Potato
Old game: Members would sit in a circle and pass around a potato or other object while music played in the background. When the music stopped, whoever was holding said object was eliminated from the game.
New game: Partiers should sit or stand in a circle and pick a song that everyone knows well. Fill a flask with your drink of choice and seal it tightly – make sure nothing will spill! When the group begins to sing the chorus, pass the flask around the circle. Whoever is stuck with the flask when the chorus ends has to drink. Bottoms up!