Power hour

Power Hour

Players	Any number
Setup time	Varies
Playing time	60 minutes
Chance	None
Age range	Legal drinking age
Skills	Endurance

Power Hour, with its variant Centurion (or Century Club), is a type of drinking game where every player drinks one shot of beer every minute. Each shot contains 1.5 fluid ounces (US) (45ml), for a total of 90 fl. oz. (2.66 litres, 4.68 Imperial pints) of consumption during the power hour. For purposes of blood alcohol content, this amount of beer is equivalent to 7.5 drinks. In the Centurion variant, beer shots are drunk one per minute for 100 minutes, with a shot size of 35ml, totaling 3.5 litres, 6.16 Imperial pints, or 9.9 drinks. All players that successfully complete the total number shots without retiring are winners. The game is simple and may appear easy, but players often have difficulty completing it. The rate of alcohol consumption necessary to win either form of this game can, depending on weight and other factors, raise blood alcohol content to a level at which death is possible.

In the Midwest and Great Plains regions of the United States, many people play Power Hour during the first hour, starting at midnight, of their 21st birthday. The birthday celebrant attempts to drink 21 shots within the first hour. Several alcohol poisoning deaths related to this activity have led to legislation in Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas.

Rules

Music may accompany each minute of the power hour, with songs changed at the 1:00 mark. This way, a dedicated timekeeper is not required. Themed power hours are not uncommon, including songs only from the 70s, 80s, 90s, or even Christmas songs. One variation includes songs only from certain artists or musical groups, while another includes videos to accompany the music. These are known as music video power hours and are watched on a normal DVD player. Other variations of DVD power hours include DVDs with movie clips (usually scenes with musical background), TV show introductions or other entertaining minute clips. Recent developments to DVD power hours include dubbing over movie scenes with alternative audio, or interleaving video clips' audio with a more entertaining, ironic, or juxtaposing song. A tabletop timer is also available so the participant may listen and watch whatever they want while still performing their Power Hour.

• Software like the Power Hour Game can keep track of time, shots, and tell you when to drink. It also includes fun beer quotes and entertains you.
• The Power Hour DVD is an excellent option for those wanting to play the game on ANY system that supports dvd playback.
• There is a Power Hour Store that offers many products related to Power Hour.
• A timekeeper has the very important role of instructing everyone to take a shot each minute. Any timekeeping device may be used. The Shot Caller is a tabletop timer designed for Power Hour.
• Vomiting or abandonment of the goal usually result in elimination. In some cases the re-drinking of vomited liquid is acceptable behavior to stay in the running.
• Players may be allowed bathroom breaks, but must "catch up" before or after taking the break.
• As a tie-breaker, if more than one person reaches the end, places are decided by either continuing the game until all but one player drops out (at one ounce per minute), or by having all remaining players try to drink a pre-designated amount of beer the fastest.
• Some power hours are played with specially programmed CDs, possibly including introductions and smooth fading, or a computer media player that plays songs for only a minute. When the song changes, everybody knows they must take a shot of beer. To listen to these power hour mixes online see Play Power Hour For software details on downloads, see Power Hour VX the original creator of Power Hour and Century Club PC Timers or myPowerHour which works with both Winamp and iTunes (Windows), Power Hour for Mac OS with iTunes, iPowerHour for Windows with iTunes (Windows). The GMan's Power Hour Plugin for Winamp (Windows). These application will change the song in the current playlist every 60 seconds along with other features. The stand alone program Hour-of-Power is free offering similar features. The tabletop Shot Caller is also available so a computer is not necessary.
• An extended variation of the game is known as the century club, where the game is extended to one ounce of beer per minute for 100 minutes. This is also practiced at the University of Auckland Tamaki Campus, where it is known as the Tamaki Ton. At the University of Otago it is known as the Hundy Club. At The University of Massachusetts Amherst it is known as the Dunny. This practice is also known as a Centurion; an Elite Centurion lasts 150 minutes. Alternately, Century Club can also refer to an extended drinking challenge in which the goal is to drink 100 beers in under 72 hours. For a player to drink over four cases of beer in three days is both difficult and dangerous. Power Hour VX also supports this game length in their software: View Power Hour VX and in a DVD Version at DVD Party Games
• In an effort to increase the difficulty of the power hour, it can be augmented into a Super-Power Half-Hour, which is a shot every 30 seconds for 30 minutes. Along with increased difficulty, the increased pace also makes it more dangerous. This can then be extended into a Monash University (or a Manchester University) Centurion, which is one shot every 30 seconds for 50 minutes. This logic can be taken to an extreme with an Ultra-Power Quarter-Hour, which is a shot every 15 seconds for 15 minutes (although practically speaking this would almost certainly require a dedicated pourer to aid the drinker).
• Century club is also practiced monthly at Drexel University, following the completion of the 100 minutes players who wish to be crowned champion compete in a Last Man Standing portion. When any player quits they must 'ring out' much like Navy SEAL candidates announcing their failure.
• In New Providence, New Jersey as well as in Cornell University, despite its Ivy League status, a budding Power Hour company has been assembled. Pioneer Power Hours has produced 10 well known Power Hour CD's as well as the more popular 4 Power Hour DVD's with more to come. They have a Facebook page and are expanding by the minute.
• A common way of augmenting the game is to play a tribute game in honor of some hero relating to a number for example a Great One would be 99 shots, a Tim Brown would be 81 (also could be called a Kobe) and for the very ambitious a Ted William (Baseball Player) would be 406 shots (much like hitting .406 for a Major League Baseball season, this is a task most of us won't achieve in this life).
• In an atomic century, each tenth shot is augmented by a shot of tequila or another liquor. This level of alcohol consumption is above the LD50 for humans and potentially fatal.
• The Beer Babe official character of Power Hour VX and Buzz Boost, also offers free Power Hour Mixes to listen to online from her official myspace page.
• Condensed versions of the Power Hour also exist, in which players consume an amount of beer equal to that in a Power Hour, but in a shorter time. Condensed Power Hours include the Super Half-Hour, in which players drink two shots or a doubleshot of beer every minute for half an hour, the Fantastic Fifteen--four shots a minute for fifteen minutes--and the Tremendous Ten--six shots a minute for ten minutes. The Tremendous Ten amounts to almost a whole can of beer per minute, and should only be attempted by skilled and experienced drinkers.
• One condensed version of a Power Hour is a Blitzkrieg (or Blitzedkrieg). The first song of the game has one second removed, making it 59 total seconds. The next song has 58 seconds, then 57 seconds, and so on until the final song is only 1 second long. The standard Power Hour will be completed in approximately 1/2 hour. There are multiple benefits to this style of play. First, as with all condensed Power Hours, beer is drank faster. Secondly, the ability to choose songs that may only have a few seconds that are worth listening to can be used in Blitzkrieg. One downside of the Blitzkrieg is the need to either multiple shot glasses, or a dedicated pourer, since the last few "minutes" are quick.

Variations

Power Hour DVD

Since 2005 the first Power Hour DVD hit the market and has been a hit with college students, military, bachelor parties and fraternities. This version play on any system that supports dvds. You can choose a game length from the main screen. Each minute you are notified to drink and a timer displays the shots left. This version is very provocative due to "The Beer Man says" content that is integrated in the game. Each minute you are encountered by a crazy dare from the beer man.
Creators: Power Hour Game
Web Site: Power Hour DVD

With liquor

In some circles, power hour refers to taking shots of liquor (vodka, tequila, rum, etc.) every ten minutes for one hour (6-7 shots total depending on how it starts and ends). This game version is a little less focused and doesn't require as much attention to the time and is more comfortable in some settings. As a variation (i.e. where these are not the standard rules) it is sometimes known as Atomic Power Hour.

Shotgun Centurion

The Shotgun Centurion is similar in that roughly the same quantity of beer is consumed in the same length of time: 100 shots in 100 minutes, or 100 shots in 50 minutes. The difference is that, rather than taking one shot each minute or thirty seconds, competitors do one shotgun every twelve minutes or six minutes, up to eight. With metric 30mL shots and 375mL cans, the volume consumed is identical, and the time is marginally faster.

Shotgun Centurions are rarely recognized as an official Beer Olympics event. Most commonly, they are unofficially run in tandem with a competitive Centurion.

Strawpedo Centurion

In a similar vein to the Shotgun Centurion, the same quantity of alcohol is consumed in the same length of time, in tandem with a normal centurion. In this variation, a bottle of a pre-mixed spirit beverage, e.g. Vodka Cruiser or Bacardi Breezer, is consumed in the form of a strawpedo every five or ten minutes, up to ten. With metric 30mL shots and 285mL bottles, the volume and time are again equal.

Ten minute warning

Ten minute warning is a drinking game. Every minute for ten minutes, a specified amount of beer is consumed. The amount to be drunk each minute is equal to the number of minutes passed. Therefore after one minute one shot is drunk, two minutes two shots are drunk and so forth.

Drinking Game Concerts

In February 2006, party band White Trashistan played the first ever live Power Hour Show at Brew Ha's in Normal, IL to celebration their newly recorded "Power Hour CD" (Winter 2005), also believed to be a first. Upon entrance, concert goers received plastic shot glasses and a referee kept time and count. White Trashistan's power hour CD features 60 one minute songs sepereated by one line jokes and ad-libs recorded by the band and friends instructing listeners to drink. Sample song available on White Trashistans Myspace page. White Trashistan MySpace Page

Ali Spagnola (official website) recorded a Power Hour Album in 2007. It consists of 60 one-minute songs focused on the theme of drinking. All the songs are original compositions and believed to be the first power hour written by a single artist. She performs the album live at her Drinking Game Concerts where listeners play the game. Ali Spagnola's MySpace Page

See also

• Blood alcohol content

External links

• Power Hour Software v6.9
• Power Hour Software Sports Edition
• Power Hour Store
• Power Hour DVD
• Flash Power Hour/Centurion Timer with Alerts