Whether you’re throwing a flat party, getting ready for a night out, or just looking to spice up your evening with housemates, drinking games are a rite of passage at uni.
Some are easy icebreakers, others are pure chaos in card form, but all lead to laughter.
Here are ten drinking games every student should try at least once, with a ‘messy rating’ to warn you what you’re getting into.
The Rules Game (aka Pub Rules or The Game)
How it works: Start with a couple of basic rules — like “no swearing” or “you can’t say the word drink.” As the night goes on, players take turns adding new rules, like “left hand only for drinking,” “thumb on the table whenever someone touches their nose,” or “you must moo before each sip.” Anyone who breaks a rule, even accidentally, has to drink. As the rules stack up, so do the slip-ups — and the chaos.
Messy rating: 10/10 (starts sensible, ends with everyone confused and tipsy)
Best for: House parties and long drinking sessions where the aim is gradual, hilarious anarchy.
Never Have I Ever
How it works: Go around the group saying “Never have I ever…” followed by something (semi) scandalous. Anyone who has done it drinks. Prepare to learn too much about your mates.
Messy rating: 7/10
Best for: Smaller groups or pre-drinks when you want the chat to get juicy.
Drunk Jenga
How it works: Just like normal Jenga, but each block has a written rule (e.g. “Take 2 sips”, “Swap seats”, or “Text your ex”). You can DIY it with a pen or buy a pre-made set.
Messy rating: 6/10 (unless your blocks are savage)
Best for: House parties and lazy Sundays.
Paranoia
How it works: Whisper a question to the person next to you (e.g. “Who’s most likely to cry in the club?”). They say someone’s name out loud. That person flips a coin — heads, they hear the question but have to drink two fingers; tails, they don’t have to drink but they never know what the question was.
Messy rating: 5/10 (psychological messiness counts)
Best for: Pre-drinks with friends you mostly trust.
Pyramid
How it works: Lay cards face down in a pyramid shape (5-4-3-2-1). Everyone gets 4 cards. Flip each pyramid card one by one — if you’ve got a matching card, you make someone drink. Bluffing is allowed, but they can call you out (and drink double if they’re wrong).
Messy rating: 8/10
Best for: Long nights where bluffing and betrayal are on the table.
Buzz
How it works: Sit in a circle and count upwards, replacing every number that’s a multiple of 7 (or contains a 7) with “Buzz”. So: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Buzz, 8…” Miss it? You drink. Simple, right? Wait until you’re on your third pint.
Messy rating: 4/10 to start, then your brain melts
Best for: Pre-drinks with a mathematical twist (ish).
Chandelier
How it works: Think beer pong meets flip cup. Everyone gets a small cup of drink and surrounds a central pint glass. Take turns bouncing a ping pong ball into each other’s cups — if it lands in yours, you drink. If it lands in the middle, everyone races to down their drink and flip their cup. Last to finish drinks the centre pint.
Messy rating: 10/10
Best for: Loud house parties with a table to spare.
Spoons
How it works: Like musical chairs, but with cutlery and alcohol. Players take turns drawing cards, aiming to collect four of a kind. Once someone does, they grab a spoon — then everyone else scrambles for one. The issue is there is one less spoon than there are people. No spoon? You drink.
Messy rating: 7/10 (especially if spoons start flying)
Best for: Larger groups with quick reflexes and carpet you don’t mind ruining.
21
How it works: Count up to 21 as a group, but say one number or a few at a time. If you mess up, you drink and add a rule (like switching 5 with 15). Sounds easy, but it escalates fast.
Messy rating: 6/10 (grows steadily more confusing and fun)
Best for: Long pre-drinks with clever mates and quick tongues.
Save the Lady
How it works: This one’s a slow burner — and it lasts all night. A designated coin (usually with the Queen’s head on the back) is “the lady” and starts with one player. At any time, they can try to stealthily drop it into someone else’s drink. If they succeed, the unlucky drinker has to down their drink to “save the lady” and the coin passes to them. If the attempt is spotted or misses the drink, the original dropper has to down theirs instead.
Messy rating: 7/10 (builds steadily, and no one’s ever safe)
Best for: House parties, BBQs, or any long session where people might forget they’re being hunted.
