Power hour

Power Hour

Players	Any number
Setup time	Varies
Playing time	60 minutes
Chance	None
Skills	Endurance

Power Hour, with its variant Centurion (or Century Club), is a drinking event 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 of 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 depend on weight and other factors. The rate of alcohol consumption is what makes the players feel intoxicated within such a short period of time.

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. Another variation deals with songs only from certain genres such as Southern Rock, Techno, or 90's Rap. Another variation includes power hour mixessongs only from certain artists or musical groups, while another includes videos to accompany the music. There is also the Power Hour DVD which is full of dares and challenges that will get your party going. There is also free power hour software that you can download and use in the dorm rooms or at house parties.

• 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. Another player or person must verify that the player did in fact use the washroom and did not vomit.
• 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.
• Video power hours have emerged as a new variant with one minute video clips played in place of, or in addition to, music. One famous video power hour is Ali Spagnola's Power Hour DVD. Ali Spagnola wrote and recorded 60 one minute music videos all about drinking. They are all viewable on her site for people to play online.
• A rotating liquor dispenser makes for more convenient pouring of the beer. In place of the liquor bottles, 40 oz bottles of beer are loaded to help avoid clutter and spills.

Variations

• 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.
• Once per game (or any other predetermined time interval, i.e., each hour, 30 minutes, or 15 minutes) each active player is allowed to call one "Double Time." When a "Double Time" is called, each player (including the person who made the call) must take 2 shots of beer for that minute interval. This rule is effective in eliminating those players who look as though they are on the brink of forfeit or vomit, but may recover if given a full minute to do so. In addition, this rule raises the drink count from 7.5 beers (90 oz) in an hour closer to 8 beers (96 oz.) beers in an hour. This round number of 8 is more game-friendly for two reasons: 1) You can divide a case (24-count) of beer evenly among people, and 2) if anyone has any beer left in their 8 cans, it is easy to determine who went too light on the shot pouring. An option to include with this rule is if two or more "Double Times" are called within the same minute, then the shot-count will increase from 2 to 4, 4 to 8, etc., doubling each time. Variations of this rule are also known as "Double Play," "Double Up," "Man-up," "Two-Timer," and "Dobles Tragos" (only for mexican beer).
• A common way of augmenting the game is to play a tribute game in honor of some hero relating to a number
• 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.
• 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).
• 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 consumed 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 for either multiple shot glasses, or a dedicated pourer, since the last few "minutes" are quick.

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.

Power Fifteen

The power fifteen is when you take a shot of wine every minute for 15 minutes.

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 in celebration of 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 separated 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
• Endurance game

External links

• FREE Power Hour Download Free Power Hour Software
• Power Hour Mixes Listen to Free Power Hour Music Mixes
• HourOfMusic.com Music Power Hour Generator