Card Drinking Games: 6 Games You Can Play With One Deck
A deck of cards is the most portable party there is. These six card drinking games cover everything from a three-person pregame to a full kitchen table, and all you need is one deck and something to drink. Here’s how to pick one, with quick rules for the short games and full guides for the big ones.
Card drinking games at a glance
| Game | Players | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Circle of Death (Kings Cup) | 3–10 | A deck, a big cup |
| Ride the Bus | 2–8 | A deck |
| Pyramid | 3–7 | A deck |
| Waterfall | 3+ | A deck (it’s Kings Cup’s Ace) |
| F the Dealer | 2–10 | A deck |
| Higher or Lower | 2+ | A deck |
The big three
- Circle of Death (Kings Cup): the king of card drinking games. Every card has a rule, the cards circle a cup, and whoever draws the fourth King drinks the King’s Cup. Our page has the full card-by-card table.
- Ride the Bus: three rounds of guessing, a pyramid and a brutal final ride for the loser. The best “one more game” game.
- Pyramid: memorize four cards, then bluff your way through a pyramid of 15. The only card game here where lying is the strategy.
Quick games
- Waterfall: everyone drinks in order and nobody stops until the player before them does. It’s the Ace in Kings Cup, and it works on its own too.
F the Dealer (Screw the Dealer)
The dealer holds the deck. The player on their left guesses the rank of the top card. Get it right on the first guess and the dealer drinks 4 sips. Miss, and the dealer says “higher” or “lower”; get it on the second guess and the dealer drinks 2. Miss again and you drink the difference between your guess and the real card (cap it at 5). Lay each card face up in rank order so everyone can count what’s left. When three players in a row miss, the deal passes left.
Higher or Lower
Flip one card face up. The next player guesses whether the next card will be higher or lower, and the dealer flips it on top. Right, and you guess again or pass to the next player. Wrong, and you drink one sip for every card in the pile, then the pile starts over. Ties count as wrong, and aces are high. It’s the simplest card drinking game there is, and it works with two players.
Which card game should you play?
- A big circle: Circle of Death. It handles ten players and anyone can learn it in one lap.
- A small group that wants strategy: Pyramid.
- A group that wants someone to suffer: Ride the Bus.
- Just two of you: Higher or Lower, or see our drinking games for 2.
FAQ
What’s the most popular card drinking game?
Circle of Death, also called Kings Cup or Ring of Fire. Every card has a rule, and the game ends when the fourth King is drawn.
What card drinking games can you play with 2 people?
Higher or Lower, F the Dealer and Ride the Bus all work with two.
Do you need more than one deck?
Not for groups up to about eight. Add a second deck for Ride the Bus or Circle of Death with a bigger crowd.
Can you play card drinking games without alcohol?
Yes. Every game here works with water or soda; the cards don’t care what’s in the cup.
Find another game by crowd: games for 2, big-group games, dice games. Or browse every game on our party games page, and settle the arguments before they start with the house rules builder.