5 of the Best Drinking Games With Cards

Illustration for the article containing the 5 best drinking games with playing cards

The True Concept of Drinking Games

The emotional system we humans have can be broken down into two elements: fear and love. Love is what we feel of the soul, whereas fear is of our personality. Maybe you’re not a real big drinker. Heck, maybe through fear of what might happen when you’re drunk, you never touch the stuff!

In all honesty – (and in the interest of peer pressure) – we want to make it clear that you don’t have to consume an alcoholic beverage during a drinking game to join in or to have a good time. Our intention is for everybody to have fun, so if you’re not a big drinker; grab a mocktail and watch everyone get hammered and completely embarrass themselves! Feel love and interaction through good times and gathering around the table with your favorite group of friends at that long-awaited party!

If you’ve ever attended a party, you’ll know that there comes a point where people just literally run out of things to talk about. Drinking games with cards eliminate boredom and awkwardness and are a great way to get your group of friends interacting. It’s an ultra-fun way to spend time with your favorite people. The constant interaction will make sure that everybody is involved so the not-so-talkative ones don’t get left out.

Disclaimer for college kids: We know! Yes, you’re supposed to be learning. Yes, you’re supposed to be expanding your mind. And yes! working towards that degree will someday help you land your dream job. However, for most young adults in college, partying, and spending time with their favorite group of friends is the cornerstone of their college experience! Don’t just sit there and drink, trust us – it gets pretty boring after a while. Begin to make memories, laugh, joke, be stupid! Drinking games with cards are absolutely vital to liven up your college experience.

Fortunately, you can #turnup pretty much any party. By bringing just a deck of playing cards, alcohol, and an open mind (which kind of goes hand in hand with alcohol). You can use drinking games as a plan B! Here are the best ways to get the party started with playing cards.

#1 Playing Card Drinking Games – Friends and Enemies

If you love sabotaging your friends, then Friends & Enemies is the best drinking game with cards for you. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, this playing card game is responsible for breaking up even the best group of friends!

  1. Start the drinking game by dealing the deck of playing cards out evenly to your whole group of friends. It’s vital that you keep your cards hidden throughout the whole game.
  2. The person that has first pick must place their playing card in the middle of the table, and say the name of somebody in the group as they do so.
  3. That poor, chosen person, must start chugging their drink for as many seconds as the number on the playing card placed on the table. Basically, if the card is a five of spades, they must drink for 5 seconds. Bear in mind that the color and suit are completely irrelevant in this game.
  4. But wait! There’s more! A sneaky twist placed in this drinking game states that if somebody else in the group has a card with the same number (eg. the five of spades) they can choose to ‘save’ that chosen person; ultimately passing the drink on to someone else. Hence the name ‘friends and enemies’ – gaining a friend but also making an enemy.

The best (yet most evil) part of this whole game is that the numbers eventually stack up! If you were to pass on drinking when being the ‘chosen one’, you could double your 5 seconds to 10 seconds, and so on until all of the fives have been dealt. If luck hasn’t been kind, you could be looking at chugging down for as long as 40 seconds! So, ‘’ may the odds be forever in your favor’’ (yes, that was a Hunger Games quote).

#2 Playing Card Drinking Games – Irish Snap

A bit of initial advice, If you’re going to play Irish Snap, make sure to play it with a small group of friends. Believe us, things can and will get violent.

  1. To begin, this drinking game with cards requires everyone to be spread out evenly across the table. It’s key to make sure that all are within easy reaching distance of the center. Another note is to try your best to clear the surrounding area as much as possible. Keep all beverages on the floor, and remove any hand jewelry (you’ll soon see why.)
  2. Deal out the playing cards to your group of friends. Make sure everyone has an even amount, and put any spares to one side. Do not by any means look at your cards. Keep them facing down on the table or in your hand.
  3. Start with taking turns and go around the circle. Place a playing card in the center and only turn it upright as you put it down.
  4. When placing down your card, it’s vital that you say a value as you do it. Start with Ace and go all the way up to King before you start again. E.g the first person to play their card says ‘’Ace’’, the second says ‘’two’’, etc.
  5. Here comes the bit we all love… SNAP! This comes in when the number you say out loud matches the number on the card placed on the table. Every single person playing this drinking game must shout ‘’snap’’ and place (or violently slam) their hand on top of the pile of playing cards.
  6. The last person to place their hand has to drink, and add all of the cards from the middle to their deck. As complete intoxication takes over, you’ll find that this drinking game gets harder and harder.

#3 Playing Card Drinking Games – Up & Down The River

One game, many names! The Up & Down The River drinking game with cards is known by people all over the world, but by different names. Oh Hell, Estimate, Judgment, Oh Heck, 10-9-8, Diminishing Whist, Peanuts, Bumble, the list goes on and on! The original name was actually Oh Hell. However, this name was considered offensive (of course it was), and the drinking game ended up evolving and becoming popular as several other names.

  1. Each player in your group of friends is dealt with 4 playing cards that face up. These cards are kept in front of the player at all times. Once every single player has received their hand, let the games begin! Starting from the top of the remaining deck, the card dealer will begin to flip one card at a time.
  2. Players whose hands have a numerically matching card must take 1 drink. If they’re super unlucky, they’ll have more than one of the same card. If this happens, it is a drink for each playing card. The card dealer then turns over the next card, the same rules still apply, except that players must take 2 drinks. The next deal is 3 drinks, and the last is 4.
  3. After the 4th card, the card dealer will make there way back ‘down the river’ by dealing the next card on top of the 4th playing card dealt. Players who have matching cards in their deck now give 4 drinks away. Drinks can be given away in any combination; 1 drink to 4 players, 4 drinks to 1 player, or any other way. The double drinking rule still applies, if a player has more than one of the same card; they drink for each.
  4. The card dealer on another journey makes his way back ‘down the river’. They deal the 6th card on top of the 3rd card. This time around, players give 3 drinks for each matching card. The next deal is 2 drinks, and the last is 1.
  5. Once the current dealer finishes their deck, a new card dealer should be put in their place.

#4 Playing Card Drinking Games – The Pyramid

Taking you back to the pyramids of ancient Egypt, through a living room full of intoxicated young adults trying to prove their tolerance levels to each other. The Pyramid drinking game with cards makes players memorize the playing cards they were dealt by the card dealer, and assign drinks based on either a bluff, or on if they have a card that matches one in the pyramid.

  1. The card dealer starts by setting the playing cards facing down in a 6-5-4-3-2-1 pyramid formation. They then deal each player four cards, facing down.
  2. Learning how to play this drinking game is super easy! First, each player takes a 5-10 second look at their four-faced down cards. Do not reveal your playing cards to anyone else! Memorizing what cards you have, and in what order, is key. You won’t be able to look at them again – unless you get called out on a bluff that is.
  3. Once all are set, the card dealer should begin to flip over each card in the pyramid, one at a time, row by row. After each individual playing card is flipped, players can assign drinks to each other. This is based on either them having the card in their hand, or based on a bluff.
  4. If you have managed to get yourself assigned with a drink by another player, you have the option of calling their bluff. When this happens, the player that assigned the drink has to find the card in their hand with one guess (or they drink the assigned.)
  5. Each row of the pyramid in this drinking game with cards represents the number of drinks given. This ranges from the bottom row that begins at 1 drink, to the top which represents 6.

#5 Playing Card Drinking Games – Bullshit!

We thought we’d save the funniest one till last! Bullshit is a super fun and exhilarating drinking game with cards. The goal? Be the first to get rid of all of your playing cards by placing them face down, and not getting correctly called out on a lie.

  1. This drinking game starts with each player picking out a stack of playing cards. The person who has the pleasure of sitting to the left of the card dealer begins the game. The only way to start is by playing acquired Aces (face down.)
  2. They are then put at liberty to lie about the number of Aces they currently have – this means that if they’re holding a 1, they can put down an Ace and another playing card if they so wish. Keep in mind that if no aces are in their hand, they’ll have no choice but to lie.
  3. With every turn that passes by, it’s vital that the next player up in your group of friends must play the next lowest playing card from what has previously been played. This means that if it was an Ace, the following player must throw their Kings down, etc. As soon as two’s are played, the game then starts back at Aces and continues to go on as usual.
  4. The drinking game then continues this way until somebody gets rid of all their cards first and wins. When this happens, it forces literally everybody else to chug their drinks – we know, it’s bullshit!

Not to be boring, but it has to be said! Please remember to drink responsibly. We of all people know these games are insanely fun, but people tend to go crazy when trying to prove themselves. Alcoholic drinking games are not meant to lead you to become sick due to overconsumption or mixing drinks. So have fun, but be safe!

Try the app: DrinkUP!

Now, of course, the suggestions given are to be used just until our incredible app launches. We challenge you not to laugh and enjoy the best out of life with our new up and coming, completely free drinking game application! By implementing unbelievably exciting mini-games, challenge cards, funny dares, and rule cards; our goal is to make you forget the bad and focus on enjoying endless (drunk) laughter with your group of friends.

Get excited and sign up now by clicking here. You’ll be one of the first to be notified when our app launches! Trust us, you won’t want to miss out on this.

Click here to browse all drinking games!

If you liked this blog post, you will love the DrinkUP! app:

You WILL die laughing!

DrinkUP! is the drinking game app that guarantees the most fun night out you and your friends have ever had.

Learn more