The Best Drinking Games for a Party (Apps, Cards, No Materials)

What makes a good drinking game

A bad drinking game is one where you drink a lot, fast, for no reason. A good drinking game does the opposite: you take a sip, often, because of something funny you just said or did. The sip is the penalty of a game that already works without it.

Three rules to make the night last:

• A sip, not a drink. Chugging ends a party in twenty minutes. Sipping makes it last.
• You drink because of something. A wrong answer, a minority vote, a forgotten rule. Never just because it’s your turn.
• A dare replaces the sip for anyone who wants. The one who’s driving, the one who doesn’t drink, the one who’s had enough: an impression or a story instead. Nobody asks why.

Drink responsibly. Every game below also works with water, soda or a dare, and the last section explains how.

The table

1. Picolo: the drinking game on your phone

How it works. You enter everyone’s names, the app runs through rules, dares and questions personalized with them: “Maxime, take two sips if you’ve lied to your mother this week.” Themed packs (party, hot, friends) change the tone.

What works. Personalization by name makes every line funny, and the pace is fast. It has been the reference for drinking games on mobile for years, and the first name that comes up when someone says “app for a party”.

What works less. Everything revolves around alcohol: without drinking, the game loses most of its point. Many packs are paid. And you learn little about the people.

Best for. Pregames, student parties, groups that want it to go fast.

2. TOZ: the Swiss army knife of party games

How it works. An iOS and Android app that gathers the revisited classics (Never Have I Ever, truth or dare, most likely to, would you rather) with soft, fun and hot modes, and contexts (chill night, big group, couples, after-work).

What works. One app for the whole night, thousands of dares and questions, no intrusive ads. The big-group mode is designed for people who don’t know each other.

What works less. Like Picolo, the game leans heavily on dares and sips; the funniest modes unlock with the subscription.

Best for. Student parties, orientation weekends, big groups.

3. Unpopular Opinions: the sip variant

How it works. An opinion shows up: “Tea beats coffee.” Everyone votes agree or disagree at the same time. The app reveals the real percentage of all players (51% on that one, on nearly 5,000 votes) and each person’s verdict: Popular or Unpopular. Whoever is Unpopular takes a sip.

The variants.

• Table vs. everyone: if the whole table votes the opposite of the majority of the app’s players, the whole table drinks.
• The loner: if only one person at the table is in the minority, they take two sips, but they get thirty seconds to justify themselves first, and if they make the table laugh, they don’t drink.
• The cascade: on an opinion under 20% or over 80% agreement in the app, whoever voted with the minority drinks double.

What works. It’s the drinking game that gets people talking the most for the fewest sips: you drink because of your take, not because of a die. Since the real percentage settles it, nobody can dispute the verdict or lie about their vote. More than 2,000 opinions and 2 million votes; the Classic and Politics themes are free, Premium unlocks Couples, Food, Sports, Controversial, Sexual and Random.

What works less. It isn’t a drinking game by default: it’s a debate game, and the sip variant is a house rule. If your group wants physical dares and chugging, Picolo or Kings Cup are built for that. iPhone only for now.

Best for. Pregames, nights where you want to talk, mixed tables with people who drink little. Fifty opinions to play without the app: 50 unpopular opinions. Download on the App Store.

4. Buzzed: the drinking card game

How it works. A box of cards by What Do You Meme?: players take turns drawing a card, read it out loud, and either they or the group drink depending on the prompt. Vote, compete, confess.

What works. No phone, no battery, an object you put in the middle of the table. The cards are written for groups of friends who know each other and like to roast.

What works less. The humor is blunt and assumed: not for the in-laws or a team building. You have to buy the box. Ages 21+.

Best for. Groups of friends, house parties, birthdays.

5. Ride the Bus (cards)

The dealer asks each player four questions in a row, one card each: red or black; higher or lower than your first card; between or outside your first two; which suit. Wrong guess, you drink. Then the dealer lays out a pyramid of face-down cards, flips them one row at a time, and anyone holding a matching card hands out sips (one per row from the base, more at the top). Whoever has the most cards left at the end “rides the bus”: they guess through a final row of cards and drink every time they’re wrong.

Why it works. The bluffing on the pyramid, and the bus. Watching someone ride the bus for the third time is a show.

6. Never Have I Ever

Taking turns: “Never have I ever… flown alone.” Whoever has done it takes a sip. The goal is to find things you’ve never done but the others have. Two hundred prompts exist online; the best ones come from the table.

Why it works. The game reveals stories, and stories make parties. No-alcohol version: raise a hand, and whoever has the most hands up has to tell the story.

7. Kings Cup

An empty cup in the middle, a deck of cards in a circle around it. Everyone draws in turn, each value has a rule: ace = waterfall (everyone drinks until the person to their right stops), 2 = you pick someone to drink, 3 = you drink, 4 = floor (last to touch the floor drinks), 5 = guys drink, 6 = girls drink, 7 = heaven (last to raise a hand drinks), 8 = pick a mate who drinks when you drink, 9 = rhyme, 10 = categories, jack = make a rule, queen = questions, king = pour some of your drink into the cup. Whoever draws the fourth king drinks the cup.

Why it works. Rhymes, categories and invented rules make people laugh; the cup in the middle creates suspense for the whole game. Watch the intensity: it’s the most alcoholic game on the list, play it with sips, not drinks.

8. 21

Count in a circle from 1 to 21. Whoever says 21 drinks and invents a rule (for example: 7 and 14 are swapped, or 5 is replaced by a clap). Whoever gets it wrong drinks and you start again from 1. One more rule every round.

Why it works. After six rules, nobody can count anymore, and that’s exactly the point. Playable anywhere, with nothing, with water as well as beer.

9. Beer pong

Two teams, ten cups in a triangle on each side of a table, ping-pong balls. Teams throw in turn; a ball in an opposing cup, and the other team drinks that cup. The first team to clear all the opposing cups wins.

Why it works. It’s physical, loud, and there’s a score. The house-party game par excellence, with a table to protect.

10. Flip cup

Two teams in a line on each side of a table, a cup of drink in front of each player. On “go”, the first player of each team drinks, sets the cup on the edge of the table and flips it with one finger until it lands upside down; then the next player goes. First team to finish the relay wins.

Why it works. The relay format makes everyone shout for their team, and the flip is harder than it looks.

11. Truth or dare

The classic: truth or dare, and whoever refuses drinks. The best games have one extra rule: the truth has to be verifiable by at least one person at the table, and the dare has to fit in the room.

Why it works. It needs nothing, everyone knows the rule, and the sip is an honorable way out.

12. Would you rather

Two impossible options: “Would you rather never eat cheese again or never eat bread again?” Everyone chooses by show of hands, at the same time. The minority takes a sip and explains.

Why it works. Same mechanic as the Unpopular variant: you drink because of your take, and the justification is often worth more than the sip. The two games chain together well.

The same games without alcohol

Everything above can be played without a drop. The rule: the sip becomes a dare, chosen by the table at the start of the night from a list of ten. Examples that work: an impression of someone present, an embarrassing story, ten seconds of dancing without music, a sincere compliment to your neighbor, singing a chorus, telling your last lie.

The opinion and question games (Never Have I Ever, would you rather, Unpopular Opinions) are even better without alcohol: the justifications stay funny all night.

For a full program, from icebreaker to music quiz: the best party games. For a table that would rather argue than drink: the best debate games.

The apps and games mentioned belong to their respective publishers. Descriptions match the versions available in September 2026. Drink responsibly.