Get the party started! A roundup of perfect playing card games for drinking parties
A fun drinking party with everyone together!
If we’re going to make the most of it, it’d be great to have games we can all play together, right?
When you think about that, the first thing that probably comes to mind is a deck of cards.
This time, I’m going to introduce lots of card games—from ones that get big groups pumped up to ones that make a two-person drink really exciting!
I’ve put together a wide range, from classics to lesser-known games.
If you bookmark this article, it might come in handy not just for drinking parties, but in all kinds of situations!
- [From small to large groups] Drinking games recommended for college students
- Punishment games that liven up drinking parties and banquets
- Party Games That Spice Up Your House Drinks Night
- Games for two people to enjoy. A roundup of party games that liven up drinking gatherings.
- Types of playing cards and how to play
- Recommended card game. Easy! Fun! Adults get hooked too!
- Put a penalty on the line! A roundup of party games that get everyone hyped
- Party games that liven up group dating events
- Drinking party crowd-pleasers: party and banquet games
- A fun penalty game recommended for men
- Simple but intense! A quick-and-easy penalty game that hypes everyone up
- Recommended for college students! Punishment game ideas that will make everyone laugh and hype things up
- Ideas for team-based games to enliven a party
Get the party going! A roundup of perfect playing card games for drinking parties (21–30)
51
This is a game where you exchange your five dealt cards with the cards on the table, aiming to match suits while reaching a total of 51.
On each turn, you can choose to exchange one card, exchange all your cards, change the table cards, or pass—select actions that help you swap for the cards you want.
When you change the table cards, you must exchange a card from them, even if it’s not a card you want, which makes this rule a tricky point.
The round stops as soon as someone reaches 51, and the rankings are determined by the scores at that moment, so keep a sense of speed in mind as you play.
golf
It’s a game inspired by golf scoring, where you progress through turns aiming to have the lowest total when all cards are face up.
Each player is dealt six cards, laid out in a 2-by-3 grid; two cards are turned face up, and the game starts with one card from the deck placed face up as the discard pile.
On each turn, one possible action is to draw a card from the deck and swap it with one of your grid cards; if you don’t want to swap, you place the drawn card onto the discard pile.
The other possible action is to swap the top card of the discard pile with one of your grid cards.
Players repeat these two types of actions in turn.
When any player has all their cards face up, the round stops.
Scoring includes a rule where matching pairs of the same number score zero, so the strategy of when and what to exchange is crucial.
Cockroach Poker
A slightly unusual game where you don’t decide the winner—you decide the last-place player.
It’s called “poker,” but despite the name, it’s a completely different, fresh style of card game.
Players pass cards around while doing a bit of acting—saying things like “This is a stink bug” or “This is a bat”—so those with a flair for performance might have an advantage.
You lose if you run out of cards or if you end up collecting four of the same card.
Enjoy the bluffing and mind games as you play.
Fun with cards! Pig’s Tail
Pig’s Tail is a game where you arrange a stack of playing cards in a ring and play.
The name may come from the fact that the ring of cards resembles a pig’s tail.
Pig’s Tail can be enjoyed by three or more players, and since the rules aren’t complicated, it’s easy to play casually.
Players draw one card at a time from the ring and place it in the center.
If you draw a card with the same suit as the top card in the center, you take all the cards from the center.
There are also local rules, such as being allowed to return cards from your hand when a Joker appears.
Mahjong Poker
Mahjong Poker, a game that combines hands from mahjong and poker, is a cerebral card game for two players that you can enjoy at a deliberate pace.
The dealer (oya) receives five cards and the non-dealer (ko) receives four; after the dealer discards one card, the non-dealer draws one and then discards one, and the game proceeds in this rhythm.
Like mahjong, you refine your hand to complete a combination, but the scoring is based on poker hands.
However, you cannot go out with just one pair or two pair, so you need a strategy that targets higher-scoring hands.
Points are assigned according to the completed hand; for example, a straight flush or four of a kind can net a big score all at once.
Reading each other’s intentions and choosing which card to discard is the key that often determines the outcome.
It’s a game packed with the thrill of bluffing and tactical exchanges.
Number matching
This is a game where you try to match card numbers three times in a row.
Use 12 cards of the same suit.
Try to guess what number your opponent will play, then choose from your 12 numbered cards and place one on the table.
If your card’s number matches your opponent’s, think ahead and play another card.
If the second one also matches, then for the third round, play all of your remaining cards.
At that time, place the card with the number you’ve guessed on top.
Matching numbers with your opponent three times may be difficult.
However, if you try several times and align your thinking, you might be able to match.
slowpoke
It’s a physical, reflex-testing card game! For example, if you’re playing with four people, prepare four sets of four cards with the same number and three coins.
Sit in a circle and place the coins in the center.
Deal the shuffled cards to everyone as their hands, and the game begins.
Everyone simultaneously passes one card from their hand to the person next to them.
As this repeats, at some point someone will end up with a hand where all the cards are the same number.
As soon as that happens, that player grabs a coin from the center, and the others try to grab a coin as well.
Since there are fewer coins than players by one, one person won’t get a coin.
That person loses.
It’s a tense, exciting showdown!
