Kings (game)

Kings

Cards during a game of Kings
Alternative name(s)	Heroes Ring of Fire Circle of Death Sociables Think or Drink
Type	Drinking
Players	2+
Cards	52
Deck	Anglo-American
Play	Clockwise or counterclockwise
Card rank (highest to lowest)	Ace (A) – two (2) Owner Alexander Driscoll, Copyright author, CEO Drinkers
Playing time	20 to 40 minutes

Kings, circle of death, king's cup, donut, oval of fire, or ring of fire, is a drinking game that uses playing cards. Players must drink and dispense drinks based on cards drawn. Each card has a rule that is predetermined before the game starts. Many houses have their own variation of rules.

Rules and setup

Equipment

• 1 deck of standard playing cards
• 2 or more players
• Alcoholic beverages, typically wine, beer or mixed spirits
• A large cup: the king's cup (can be removed upon variation of the game)

Setup and common rules

In this game, players do certain actions that are associated with each card. Sometimes, rules on the cards "reveal interesting things about the participants."

Usually, cards are shuffled and dealt into a circle around either an empty cup or a full can of beer (or a shot/cup of spirits or wine). Each player takes turn drawing cards, and the players must participate in the instructions corresponding to the drawn card.

This game is highly open ended and all of the cards can signify any mini-game, the rules and the card assignments are normally confirmed at the start of the game. Depending on house rules, the game either ends when the last rule card has been pulled, or when the king's cup has been consumed; or when the cards are placed on top of the king's cup the game is over when the cards fall off, the one that knocked them off must consume the king's cup.

It is also common for the players to make up and agree on a set of rules every time the game is played.

Card assignments

The following are 2 lists of card assignments:

Card drawn	Title	Instruction
Ace	waterfall	The player who drew this card begins to chug or sip, so then does everybody else. When the person who picked up the card stops drinking the person to their right can stop drinking. When that person stops drinking the person to their right can stop drinking. This goes to the end of the circle. Also known as Tom Ace.
2	you	The player who drew this card selects someone who then must drink.
3	me	The player who drew this card must drink.
4	The Floor	Last person to touch the floor must drink. No ties.
5	guys.
6	Chicks	All chicks must drink.
7	heaven	The player who picks this card can place their thumb anywhere at any time and the last player to notice and place their thumb in the same position must drink. For example, if you place your thumb on the person to your left's nose, then all players must place their thumb on the nose of the player to the left. The last person to do this must drink.
8	mate	Pick a person to drink with
9	bust a rhyme	The player who drew the nine says a phrase, then the players go around in the circle saying phrases that rhyme with the original. No phrase may be said twice, the first player who can not come up with a phrase, or says a phrase that doesn't rhyme must drink.
10	categories	The player who drew the 10 picks a category such as sports teams or bands from the '90s, the players then go around in the circle saying items from that category; the first player who can not think of an item or says something not in the category (or if all items have been exhausted) must drink.
Jack	never have i ever.
Queen	question master	Whoever draws this card becomes the question master. Whenever they ask you a question, you must answer their question with another question, or else not answer them at all. If you answer a question with a statement, you must take one drink. This person is the question master until someone else draws a queen.
King	rulemaster	The fourth King drawn must drink the center cup. The first three Kings may add drinks to the center cups as well as make a rule. Disregard the old rule. There can only be one rule.
Joker	wild card	House rule.
Additional rule	Daggoe move	If there is general consensus that a player acts stupidly (otherwise known as a 'daggoe' move), said player has to down his drink in one go. Every player has the right to call a daggoe move and every player has the right to vote.

Card drawn	Title	Instruction
Ace	waterfall	To perform a waterfall, each player starts drinking their beverage, depending on the direction of the game (whether you are picking cards clockwise or counterclockwise). No player can stop drinking until the player before them stops drinking. Person becomes Tom Ace until next Ace is drawn.
2	you	The player who drew the card assigns someone to take a drink.
3	me	The player who drew the card takes a drink.
4	floor	Touch the floor
5	guys	Guys drink
6	chicks	All chicks must drink.
7	heaven	All players must point toward the sky. The last player to point must drink.
8	mate	Choose someone to drink with.
9	bust a rhyme	The player who drew the nine says a phrase, then the players go around in the circle saying phrases that rhyme with the original. No phrase may be said twice, the first player who can not come up with a phrase, or says a phrase that doesn't rhyme must drink.
10	categories	The player who drew the 10 picks a category such as sports teams or bands from the '90s, the players then go around in the circle saying items from that category, the first player who can not think of an item or says something not in the category (or if all items have been exhausted) must drink.
Jack	new rule	Create a rule that all the players must obey until another Jack is drawn and a new rule is made. Common rules include no names, no pointing and no swearing. If a player breaks one of these rules, they must take a drink.
Queen	questions	Going around the circle each player must ask the next person a question. The purpose is to essentially make the next person laugh so they cannot even ask the next question, thus making them drink.
King	everyone	Everyone drinks, This is used when you aren't playing with the cup in the middle.
Joker	choker	The person who drew the card must chug their beer until they finish it.

Variations and other rules

Like almost all other drinking games, Kings has endless variations of rules. It is not common to play Kings exactly the same when playing with new people. There will be similar rules, but there will most likely always be some you've never heard of. These rules below are some of the other popular rules not covered in the common rules. Many of these rules are used with the "King – Make a Rule" rule. You can also replace some of the common rules you do not like with these. Kings is not a competitive game. Some people have completely different rules for the cards drawn. As long as everyone knows what the cards mean before the game starts, then it doesn't matter what rules are being used.

Game variations

• A major variation in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or Canada is that the contents of the King's Cup are drunk by the player who breaks the circle of cards (known as the Ring of Fire in the UK).

• If playing with a full can of beer in the middle you must give gaggles, after each player draws a card s/he places it under the tab on the can, when a player's card pops the can open, that player must chug the can. In this situation, when a King is drawn the player makes a rule.

Card instruction variations

Card value	Alternative title	Alternative suggestion
Ace	"A spelling B"	The drawer of this card chooses someone to spell a word. If they are unable to spell the word they must drink. A level of difficulty/trickery is preferred in the word. For example: Wednesday, Salmon, phenomenon, banana, etc.
Ace	"Race"	The drawer of this card chooses one other player to "race" to the bottom of their cup. Both players must finish what is in their glass
Ace	"Dirty Pint"	For the first three Aces, the drawer of the card pours a part of their drink into a jug in the middle. For the last Ace, the drawer of the card must drink the concoction in the jug.
Ace	"Ace in your face"	The drawer of the ace puts the card on their forehead ("lick it and stick it") and has to drink until the card falls off.
Ace	"Ace to the face"	Once the Aces is drawn everyone draws an unknown card and posts it to their forehead, without knowing the value of the card. Using the help of others, and helping others you must figure out what your card is without any reference to its numerical or symbolic value. You are not allowed to say for instance "Your card is the number that comes after 6 if you're counting upwards". The last person to figure theirs out drinks.
Ace	"Ace is bass"	The drawer of the ace slams his hands down on the table, the last one to do so drinks.
Ace	"Ace slap your face"	All players have to slap their faces. Last person to slap their face must drink.
Ace	"Hot Seat"	Each player may ask the person who drew the ace a question. If the drawer of the ace refuses to answer the question, he/she must drink.
2	"Social"	Everyone who is playing takes a drink. Commonly used instead of the waterfall rule.
2	"2 fingers"	The drawer of this card must drink 2 fingers of their drink.
2	"Shuffle"	All players must switch places.
2	"Most Likely To"	The drawer of this card chooses a possible activity, like "throw up tonight" or "have a secret crush on Justin Bieber". All participants point at the person they think is most likely to do this activity. Each finger pointing at you is one drink.
3	"3 fingers"	As above but must drink 3 fingers.
3	"Rotation"	The direction of play switches, e.g., from clockwise to counterclockwise.
4	"Whores"	All women drink
4	"Moose"	Whoever gets this card must immediately put their thumbs to their head with his/her fingers splayed, resembling moose antlers. The last person to do this must drink.
4	"Dinosaur"	As the four is unveiled, the player may use a permanent marker to draw a dinosaur on a fellow player.
4	"4 fingers"	The drawer of this card must drink 4 fingers of their drink.
4	"Nicknames"	The person who picks up the name must allocate an amusing nickname to a fellow player. From now on – if anyone addresses this player by their real name, they have to drink.
4	"Rhyme"	Someone says 1 word, everyone must say a legitimate word that rhymes with that word. If they can not think of a word they must drink.
4	"Secret Service"	After drawing this card, the drawer is able to perform the following stunt once throughout the rest of the entire game. The drawer puts their hand on their ear signaling that they are a part of the secret service, the last person to put their hand on their ear is the president. All members of the secret service must tackle the president in an attempt to protect them.
5	"Divide"	The player who draws assigns 5 drinks throughout the group. They may assign multiple or all the drinks to one person or divide them evenly.
5	"Fuck You"	Starting with the player who draws, players count up from one, any number with 7 in it or that is a multiple of 7 is replaced with "Fuck You".
5	"Pediddle" / "Date"	Pediddle causes a chosen player to remove an article of clothing, and date would cause all players to remove an article of clothing.
5	"Drive"	When drawn, all players must mime driving a car by having both hands grip an imaginary steering wheel, then the player who draws shall "steer into" a player on either side while saying "vroom", then the 2nd player onward may continue the circle and steer in the same direction and say "vroom", or reverse the circle and steer into the opposite direction and say "screech". Any confused player (e.g. saying "vroom" while gesturing the opposite direction or pausing too long) must drink. Optionally, all players or just the player who draws can do a revving sequence for fun, which a rule for the former can be implemented for the person who continues revving after the player who draws have already "steered" must drink for added difficulty.
5	"Give Five"	Distribute five drinks among various players.
6	"Dicks"	All men drink
6	"Captain Dickhead"	"Captain Dickhead" The drawer of an 6 becomes the Captain (Dickhead) and can do anything they want, imposing an unlimited number of rules until the next 6 is drawn, where all the previous Captain's rules are revoked, unless the new Captain wishes to keep them. Similar to the rules card, except a little more extreme!
6	"Music Game"	Each person chooses an instrument and an action that mimes it. Everyone claps together twice, then the person who picked the card says their instrument and mimes, everyone claps twice again, then the person says someone else's instrument and mimes it, e.g.: *clap, clap* Drums! *clap, clap* Piano! Then, the person whose instrument was called out follows suit. If you forget your instrument or clap out of time, you must consume.
6	"Pick a Date"	Pick someone to be your "date" meaning they have to drink whenever you do
7	"Fat Boy"	The card holder starts the count off with "1." The next player continues the count around the circle, but any number that is a multiple of 7 or containing a 7 digit must be replaced with "Fat Boy." Once "Fat Boy" is said, the direction of the count is reversed. Whoever hesitates, says the wrong thing, or says something when they shouldn't, must drink.
7	"Snake-eyes"	When this card is picked, the holder becomes known as snake-eyes, and every time they make eye contact with anyone, that person has to drink.
7	"God"	The player that has this card licks the back and sticks it to their forehead. For the duration of the time in which the card is on their forehead they can do anything they like, force any player to do what they like so long as it doesn't go against the basic rules of the game.
7	"Random Text"	Whoever draws this card must surrender their cellular phone to another player, so that the other player may text a random person from their phone book. In the event of a text response sent by the randomly texted contact, the responsibility of responding is shared amongst all players except the owner of the cell phone. A reward/consequence system can be created around causing the contact to not text back.
7	"Fuzzy Duck"	The person who removed the card says 'Fuzzy Duck' and the person to the left repeats this. It travels round the circle until someone says 'Duzzy' and then it changes direction and everyone must say 'Ducky Fuzz'. The first person to say 'Duzzy Fuck' must drink.
7	"Tongue Master"	The player who picks this card can place their tongue anywhere at any time and the last player to notice and place their tongue in the same position must drink. For example if you place your tongue on the person to your lefts' nose then all players must place their tongue on the nose of the player to the left. The last person to do this must drink.
8	"Gimp"	Whomever picks this card becomes the 'gimp' whose 'gimpmaster' is the person to their left. The player remains gimp until someone else picks a Queen. The gimpmaster can make their gimp do anything (within reason), and the gimp is not allowed to speak or make eye contact with the group unless given permission to do so by their master.
8	"Straight"	The person directly across the table from the person who drew the card must drink. Alternately, a shot is poured for the drawer and they must drink it 'straight'.
9	"Nose Game"	When someone draws the allocated card, say a 3, they keep the card and the game continues. At any point during the game the holder of the card might put their finger on the nose (the idea being to do it so that no-one notices) the last person to then notice and put their finger on their nose has to drink.
9	"Thumb Master"	The player that picks the card becomes "Thumb Master". At any time during the game, they discreetly put their thumb on the table. Then everyone else puts their thumbs on the table. The last person to put their thumb on the table drinks.
9	"Thrift Tranny"	After drawing this card, everyone must switch a garment of clothing with a person to their right, left, or directly across the circle from them, this person must be of the opposite sex. Players must never make a switch that causes a return of their own clothing, and they must only switch out their own clothing. It is recommended to play this rule along with "shuffle(2)" so that the clothing distribution is even more erratic.
9	"Whine"	The player who drew this card must whine about something. Examples include "This wine is too cold!", "This fan is too loud!", and "My beer tastes like yeast!" After the player that picked the card whines, the player to their left must then whine about something else. Play continues in this fashion until the majority of players deem a whine not whiny enough or a player cannot think of anything to say. If this judgement is made, the whiner in question must drink.
10	"Simon Says"	The person who draws the card starts with a sign, for example peace sign or touching ones nose, and the next does the same and adds another. The next person does both previous signs and adds another. And so on until someone misses a sign or takes too long.
10	"Toilet Card"	A card is nominated toilet card and only the holder of the card is permitted to use the toilet
10	"Chinese Fire Drill"	When the card is picked, everyone must run one full-time around the table past their own chair and into the next chair. The last person to sit down drinks. To avoid cheating, anyone who knocks over a chair has to drink.
10	"Go on then!"	The player must remove an article of clothing.
10	"Cargo"	The player that picks up this card must start off by saying, "A ship came into the harbour, carrying a cargo-load of ...", then they name a category, such as 'politicians', 'shoes', 'rugby players', etc. You go around the circle, with each person naming something from the category until someone either says something wrong or can't think of anything. That person must then consume.
Jack	"Make a Rule"	The player can make up a new rule to be played throughout the remainder of the game
Jack	"Never Have I Ever"	Go around circle playing Never Have I Ever. Drink each time you put down a finger. First person to put down all five fingers takes an extra drink, and the game continues.
Jack	"Gentlemen"	Participating males drink.
Jack	"Mack"	The player who draws the first Jack must wait for the second Jack to be drawn. These two players must then Mack. This process is repeated for the remaining two Jacks.
Jack	"Prank Call"	The player who draws this card must have a random phone number dialed for him/her, preferably on speaker phone. When the phone is answered by the random person, the "Excuse me is your fridge running", "well you better go catch it" gag must be completed.
Jack	"Jackass"	The player who draws this card must take a drink whenever any other person at the table drinks. This continues until another Jack is drawn, at which point that player becomes the new "Jackass" of the game.
Queen	"Ladies"	Participating females drink.
Queen	"Questions"	The player begins by turning to a random person in the group and asking a question. That player must then turn to someone else and ask a different question. If the person does not ask a question (responds), cannot think of a question quickly, or repeats a question, they must drink.
Queen	"Assey"	The player must drink from two drinks at once for a designated amount of time.
King	"Community Cup"	An empty cup is placed in the middle of the table. Whenever a king is drawn, that person pours some of his or her drink to the community cup. When the fourth king is drawn, that person must chug the contents of the community cup.
Joker	"Extra Jacks"	Playing a deck with the jokers left in, treat them as extra Jacks. They may function as regular Jacks, or may introduce a random rule (such as from a list or drawn from a hat), or may "roll back" to the previous Jack's rule.
Any	"Gecko"	Once the card is drawn the person who does it shouts "Gecko". All players need to press their bodies flat against a surface like a wall or counter, and the last one to do so drinks.

See also

• List of drinking games