13 Best Drinking Card Games For Your Next House-Party

Drinking games can add fun to any occasion, whether you’re a regular player or haven’t touched a Solo Cup in years. Holidays, family reunions, or housewarming parties are perfect opportunities for some casual card-based drinking games.

I’ve compiled a list of the best drinking card games that don’t require Ping Pong balls, quarters, or other props. You might already know some of these games, but having a quick reminder is always nice.

Here are some of the best drinking card games to play in your next party. Keep in mind that the rules can vary depending on location or personal preferences, so feel free to tweak the instructions to fit your own style.

What Are Drinking Card Games?

Drinking card games are a fun and interactive way to enjoy drinks with friends and family. These games use a standard deck of cards and are designed to involve drinking as part of the game mechanics. Players typically follow rules that may include actions like drawing cards, assigning drinks, or performing specific tasks based on the cards drawn. 

Popular examples include “Kings,” “Circle of Death,” and “Flip Cup.” Drinking card games for adults are often played at social gatherings such as parties, holidays, or family reunions, adding an element of excitement and laughter to any event while keeping things simple and easy to set up.

Also Read: Fun Card Games To Play With Friends and Real Players Online

Best Drinking Card Games

If you’re looking for fun drinking game with cards to spice up your next party or social gathering, these games are sure to get everyone involved and entertained. Check out the basic overview of top picks!

Kings Cup

Kings Cup is a favorite drinking card game, especially for large groups. All you need is a deck of cards, a cup, and your favorite drink. It’s perfect for a fun time with friends.

To play, sit in a circle with the cup in the middle. Players take turns picking a card, each card representing a different action. For example:

• Ace: The player who draws the Ace starts drinking, and others follow in order.
• Two: Choose someone else to drink.
• Three: The player who draws it must drink.
• Jack: Everyone plays a round of “Never Have I Ever.”

Kings Cup is easy to learn, and the rules are fun to follow once you get started!

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 4 or more
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards, a large cup, and drinks of your choice
• Setup Time: 2-5 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy, suitable for all groups
• Best For: Large parties or gatherings

President Card Game

The goal of the President card game is to get rid of all your cards first. The game begins with the President showing a matching pair of cards. Players take turns trying to beat the President’s cards by playing a higher pair or passing their turn.

Once all players have had their turn, the person who played the last pair becomes the President for the next round. The person who ends up with cards left (the “scum”) must give their best card to the President and buy a round of drinks for the group. It’s a popular drinking game with cards for college parties.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 4 or more
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: 2-3 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Medium, requires some strategy
• Best For: Competitive players or college parties

Give and Take

For this game, set up two rows of 12 cards on the table labeled “truth” and “dare.” Deal four cards to each player, and the first player to the left of the dealer starts by flipping over a card from either row.

If someone has a matching card, they must complete either the truth row or dare task based on the card’s row. If no one matches, the next player takes their turn. If a player refuses to complete the dare or answer the truth, they must drink. The length of the drink is based on the card’s position (e.g., the 10th card means drinking for 10 seconds). The game ends when all the cards have been revealed.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 4 or more
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: 5 minutes (for arranging the cards)
• Difficulty Level: Easy, with room for creative tasks
• Best For: Parties with a mix of extroverts and introverts

Best Drinking Card Games for 2 Players

If you’re looking for some fun drinking card games to play with a friend, here are two exciting options. These games are easy to set up and will keep you entertained all night.

Suits

Suits is one of the simple drinking games for adults that works well for two players. To begin, shuffle the deck of cards and spread them out in a circle, face down, on the table. The first player starts by guessing a suit. The suits are Clover, Diamond, Heart, or Spade. After guessing, the player picks a card from the circle and flips it over.

If the card matches the guessed suit, the player tells the other person to drink and then picks another card to guess. If the guess is wrong, the player who made the wrong guess has to drink. The game continues with each player taking turns to guess and flip over cards until all the cards in the circle are turned over. At the end, the player with the most correct guesses wins the game.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 2
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: Less than 2 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy, great for quick rounds
• Best For: Casual one-on-one drinking fun

Horse Races

Horse Races is another fun game for two players. To start, remove all four aces from the deck of cards. Lay out 5 to 10 cards face down in a vertical line, and place the four aces face up in a horizontal line at the top of the cards. These aces represent the “horses” in the race.

Next, each player places a drink bet on one of the aces. The dealer then draws cards from the remaining deck and flips them over one by one. If the card drawn is a spade, the ace of spades moves forward one space. The race continues with the dealer drawing more cards and moving the aces forward until one of the aces reaches the end of the line, marking the finish line.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 2
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: 5 minutes (to set up the race track)
• Difficulty Level: Easy, with an exciting twist
• Best For: Friendly competition between two players

Best Drinking Card Games for 3 Players

If you’re looking for fun and entertaining drinking card games that work perfectly for three players, these two games will keep the excitement and drinks flowing.

Higher or Lower Card Game

Higher or Lower is an exciting, easy-to-play drinking game with cards that works great for three players. The game is all about guessing if the next card in the deck will be higher or lower than the one you currently have. It’s a simple concept that makes the game fun and engaging.

To start, one player draws a card and then has to guess correctly whether the next card will be higher or lower. If the guess is wrong, the player who guessed incorrectly has to pick another player to drink. If the guess is correct, that player gets to keep guessing. 

The player continues guessing higher or lower until they make three correct guesses in a row. Once this happens, the player can either continue or pass. If they decide to pass, the next player begins their turn from where the previous player stopped.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 3
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: Less than 2 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy, luck-based game
• Best For: Quick rounds during casual hangouts

The Lady Has The Deck

The Lady Has The Deck is another enjoyable drinking card game designed for three players, and it is based on the classic card game Old Maid. The twist here is that it includes drinking challenges and dares. To begin, you remove three of the four queens from the deck, leaving only one queen in play. Then, you shuffle the deck and divide the cards equally between the players.

The game continues as each player takes turns drawing a card from the person on their left. As players draw cards, the goal is to avoid picking up a queen.  When a queen is drawn, the player has three choices:

• Take a shot.
• Perform a dare.
• Drink a mixed concoction of alcohol prepared for the game.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 3
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards, drinks, and optional props for dares
• Setup Time: 3-5 minutes (to remove extra queens and shuffle)
• Difficulty Level: Medium, with a mix of strategy and luck
• Best For: Small groups that enjoy challenges and dare

Best Drinking Card Games for Small Groups

If you’re looking for some fun drinking card games to play with friends, especially in small groups, these games will keep everyone entertained and laughing. The follwing are some of the best options:

Pyramid Card Game

Pyramid is one of the classic and fun drinking card games for adults and is played with 3-5 players. To start, shuffle the cards and arrange them into a pyramid shape on the table, with four cards at the bottom, three in the next row, and so on until you have one card at the top. Deal the remaining cards to the players.

The first player flips a card from the bottom row. If it matches any of the other cards on the table, they get to make another player drink. If it doesn’t match, they must drink instead. As players move to higher rows, the number of drinks increases. When the top card is reached, if it matches another player’s card, they must finish their drink. If it doesn’t, the player who flipped the card must drink everything in their glass. Once all cards are flipped, shuffle and create a new pyramid, with the second player in the first round starting the next game.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 3-5
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: 5-7 minutes (to arrange the pyramid and shuffle the deck)
• Difficulty Level: Medium, requires focus and memory
• Best For: Groups looking for a structured drinking party game

Across the Bridge

Across the Bridge is another classic drinking game in which players start by placing 10 cards face down in a line across the table. These 10 cards represent the “bridge” that players need to cross. The first player flips the first card, and if the card shows a number between 2 and 10, the player moves on to the next card. Out of the many drinking card games for adults, the bridge is one of the most loved and frequently preferred card gamess.

However, if the card is a Jack, Queen, King, or Ace, the player has to take a drink and add extra cards to the bridge. A Jack means adding one more card, a Queen adds two, and a King adds three.

The goal of the game is to avoid adding cards to the bridge, as these cards make the game last longer and force you to drink more. The game continues until all 10 cards are flipped, and the last card to be flipped decides the winner. Once someone flips the last card, they win, and all the other players must drink.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 2-5
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards and drinks
• Setup Time: 2-3 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy, with increasing suspense
• Best For: Small groups wanting a lighthearted and suspenseful game

Spoons Card Game

This game begins by shuffling a deck of cards and placing 10 cards face down in a line, representing a “bridge.” The first player flips a card. If it’s a number between 2 and 10, the player flips the next card. However, if the card is a Jack, Queen, King, or Ace, the player must drink and add more cards to the bridge: one for a Jack, two for a Queen, and so on.

The aim is to avoid adding cards to the bridge. The game ends when the last card is flipped, and the player who flipped it wins. All other players must drink.

What You Need To Get Started?

• No. of Players: 4 or more
• Equipment: A standard deck of cards, one less spoon than the number of players, and drinks
• Setup Time: 3-5 minutes
• Difficulty Level: Easy, fast-paced with quick reflexes
• Best For: Lively groups who enjoy chaotic fun

Best Drinking Card Games for Larger Groups

If you are looking for the best drinking games to play with your friend’s group, then keep an eye on the following drinking games for larger groups.

Trails of Tens

This is a popular classic drinking game for adults where players have to read aloud and count from 1 to 10 in a specific sequence, and the 10th person drinks. The game is added with new rules with a few drinks on the table. The rules and gameplay are very simple and easy to understand.

There is a simple designated action for every number pronounced in the game. The next person in the clockwise direction takes the move, and it goes on till the last person.

What You Need to Get Started?

Number of players: 3 or more

Equipements: Drinks (favorite alcohol) and players

Setup time: 4-10 minutes

Difficulty level: Easy and fast-paced game with very simple rules

Best for: Game nights and late-night parties.

21 Drinking Game

The 21 Drinking Game is also known as Twenty Plus One or 21 or Bagram. This game is popular among larger groups where each player starts counting from 1 to 21, and players who call 21 in the game must drink a sip as a penalty before the next round starts in the game. This game gradually becomes hard as the 21st player also adds new rules to the game after drinking. 

The loser adds one rule to the game and moves to the next round. The Rules are not very complex and easier to understand. All you have to do is count, drink and add. The game can add many variants in the gameplay as the game progresses.

7 Minutes In Heaven 

If you have all your friends lined up for a fun and entertaining drinking game, then 7 Minutes in Heaven is one of the best games to start with. This fun and flirty game gives you a chance to impress your loved ones. It is a popular choice for birthdays, parties, or other public gatherings. Select a private area to set up the game and let people in the game get familiar with the rules. 

There are many ways to select a player, such as spinning the bottle, using the highest-ranking card, or other ways. You can become flirty sometimes, but you must remember to respect each other’s boundaries in the game. Set a timer in the game and declare the game end at the end of seven minutes. Make sure to knock before opening the door. You can add multiple variations and scenarios in the game to make it more fun and interesting. 

FAQs

What is the drinking game with playing cards?

Drinking Game with Playing Cards are card games that can be played while drinking. These games are generally multiplayer, flexible in rules, and with simple gameplay. There are many options for card games that can be played while drinking. King’s Cup, or Ring of the Fire, is one of the most popular and beloved games among people in the United States. 

What is the funniest drinking game?

Buzz game is one of the funniest drinking games where players take turns starting from one, and specific numbers are swapped in exchange for “buzz”. You only have to keep yourself from saying buzz. If you say buzz, you will have to take a drink. This game is filled with laughter and fun.

What are the rules for the game 7 Heaven?

In 7 heaven. When a player draws a 7 then all players must raise their hands in air as quickly as possible. The last player to raise hands must take a drink. The simple rules and speed of the gameplay make it more funnier and filled with waves of laughter.

What is the most fun drinking game?

There are many fun drinking card games, such as King’s Cup, Flip Cup, Drunk Waiter, Power, Power Hour, and Beer Pong are some of the most beloved and fun drinking games. These games have flexible terms of rules, are interactive, competitive, and filled with laughter, which makes them ideal for groups. 

What is the best drinking card game for big groups?

Kings Cup, 21 Questions, and Trails of Tens are some of the drinking card games suitable for large groups of players. This game can be played with a group of 2 or more players. This game consists of a standard deck of cards with a large cup known as the King’s Cup and drinks for all the players. This game is more fun for larger groups.

How do you play the 21-drinking game?

Players have to sit in a circle and start counting from 1 to 21. The player who lands up on 21 has to add a new rule in the game for the next rounds. The game gets more challenging as new rules keep on adding. If someone messes up and does not follow, take a drink, and the count starts over again.