Adding group games at a party is a great way to get everyone excited and to bring fun into the room. Enter a classic card game – War, except with a twist of alcohol. Drunk War is a fun icebreaker game that everyone at the party can play, all with just a deck of cards.
Features of the Drunk War Game
| ★ Game Name | Drunk War |
| ★ Group size | small |
| ★ Age | adults (21+) |
| ★ Type | stationary |
| ★ Skill | memory / coordination |
| ★ Place | indoor |
| ★ Time | up to 5 – 15 min |
| ★ Preparation | no |
| ★ Materials | deck of cards |
Aim of the Game
To win at Drunk War, your goal is to be the player with the most cards. Drunk War is a game that requires luck but can lead to moments of fun when played at a party for everyone to drink and be merry.
Ideal Age and Group Sizes
Drunk War is a card game that involves 2 players each time it’s played. For larger groups, you’ll have to separate everyone into 2s so everyone can play simultaneously.
To make Drunk War into a fun icebreaker game, you may want to pair players who don’t know each other too well to play together. Drunk War is suitable to be played by anyone aged 21 and above due to its alcoholic nature.
For a non-alcoholic version, fill the larger glass with Sprite and take turns filling the shot glass with Mio. The combination of Sprite and Mio will taste great!
Preparation and Needed Materials
To play Drunk War, you’ll have to prepare a deck of cards for every 2 players. If you’re expecting a larger turnout at a party, it’s best to prepare more cards so everyone can have fun together. You’ll also need a flat surface like the table or kitchen counter so your players can place the cards face up or down.
How to play Drunk War Game
Here’s how to play Drunk War when you’re at a party and want to have fun with friends:
Step 1: Have 2 players face each other. Divide a deck of cards equally, so both players should have 26 cards each. All cards should be faced down, providing moments of suspense for the players.
Step 2: At the count of 3, both players must take the first card from their hand and place it facing up on the table or counter. The player with the higher card number wins and takes all the cards on the table. They must place the new cards at the bottom of their deck.
Note: Although it is not recommended but if you want to go make the rules really hard, the losing player must then take a drink.
Step 3: In case the card values are the same, a war will begin. To start a war, both players must first take a drink. Then, have both players put down one card facing down and another card facing up. The player with the higher card on their 2nd draw will win all the cards on the table. The losing player will take another drink, hence the name of the game – Drunk War. The game ends when any of the players wins all 52 cards.
Alternative ways to play Drunk War
To play Drunk War with a twist, you may also consider playing it in teams. To do this, you will first have to separate players into 2 equal groups.
Each group will send a volunteer to face each other and play Drunk War following the same steps above. This time, however, the volunteer will change to another player in the team if the first volunteer loses.
The game ends when either team has sent all their volunteers to play at least once, and they will be deemed the loser. This is a great way to play with everyone in the room in case you don’t have enough cards to go around the party.