Kings (game)

Not to be confused with King's Game.

Kings

Cards during a game of Kings
Alternative names	King's Cup Ring of Fire Circle of Death Sociables Think or Drink
Type	Drinking
Players	2+
Cards	52
Deck	Anglo-American
Rank (high→low)	Ace (A) – two (2)
Play	Clockwise or counterclockwise
Playing time	20 to 40 minutes

Kings is a drinking game that uses playing cards. It is common among university students in Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Lebanon and Belgium. Players must drink and dispense drinks based on cards drawn, and Kings can also be mixed with other drinking games. 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. Like many other drinking games, Kings is played with different "house rules" throughout the United States and Canada. 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. Once again, depending on house rules, the game either ends when all cards have been chosen, 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.

Common card assignments

The following is a list of the most common card assignments. They can be varied at the will of the players before the game commences.

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.
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"	Last person to touch the floor drinks
5	"Guys"	All participating men drink.
6	"Chicks"	All participating females drink.
7	"Heaven"	All players must point toward the sky. The last player to point must drink.
8	"Mate" or "Date"	The player who drew the 8 selects another player to be his/her "drinking mate" (or "date"). Any time the player drinks, the mate must drink as well.
9	"Rhyme"	The player who drew the 9 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 jack 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	"Make a Rule"	Create a rule that all the players must obey until the end of the game. Example rules include, "If you touch your face, take a drink" or "If you swear, take a drink," etc.
Queen	"Question Master"	Whoever draws this card becomes the "Question Master". Whenever they ask you a question, you are not allowed to answer them. You can still talk to them as long as you're not answering a question they asked you. If tricked into answering a "Question Master" you must take one drink. This person is the "Question Master" until someone else draws a queen.
King	"Thumb Master"	The person who pulls the King has the ability to put their thumb on the table at any time (until another person pulls a king), the last person to put their thumb on the table after must drink.

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, Australia, 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	"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.
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 horns. 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.
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	"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 8 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	"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Jack "Make a rule" suggestions

• Time Out. If any player says the name of another person, the player must place their forehead on the table until someone else breaks the rule.

• Reverse Snake-Eyes. The rule maker chooses another player. Every time this designated player makes eye contact with another person, the designated player must drink.

• No swearing. Anyone who swears or uses a curse word has to drink.

• No first names. If you say anyone's first name who is playing you must drink.

• No D words. Anyone who says drink, drunk, or drank at any time during the game has to drink.

• No Pointing. Anyone who points at another person at any time during the game has to drink.

• Touching the Table. Anyone who touches the table has to drink.

• Close your eyes. The last person to break a rule must close his or eyes, until someone else breaks a rule. If the person opens his or eyes or forgets to close them, he or she must drink.

• Gecko Choose one kind of card, e.g. 4. The meaning of that card is changed, and for the rest of the game, whenever it is drawn, all the players need to press their bodies as quickly as possible against a flat surface like a wall or a countertop. The last person to do so drinks.

• Eyes. The first person to make eye contact with you has to drink.

• Little Green Man. You pretend to have a little green man sitting on the rim of your cup. You must remove the little man from your cup before you drink, and replace him to the rim of your cup after you drink.

• Swears. Anyone who completes a sentence without using a swear/curse word at some point in the sentence must drink.

• Names. You must use the name of the person you're talking to at the end of every sentence. If addressing the group at large, use a predetermined group name

• We all drink! Every time the person who makes this rule has to drink, all players must drink with her/him.

• Tongue out. Everybody has to talk with his tongue out all the time.

• Whisper talk. Everybody has to talk whispering.

• No S's. Anyone who uses a word with the letter "s" has to drink.

• Dates go both ways. Whoever makes a date has to drink whenever their date drinks, and vice versa.

• Strip Rule. Every-time someone pulls a specific card. Or category of card IE (Evens/Odds, or a certain suit) That person removes an article of clothing.

• Viking rule. Every-time the person who makes the rule uses his hand to put Viking horns on his head, everyone has to pretend to row a boat, last one drinks.

• Last Word Twice. Every sentence you say, you have to repeat the last word. (ex. what game are we playing playing?)

• Permission. Before anyone opens a drink, they must ask the rule maker for permission.

• Falsetto. Players may only speak in a falsetto (high pitched) voice. Those that fail to do so must drink.

• Super Troopers. Players must say "meow" after every sentence they speak, anyone who fails to do so must drink.

• Hunter's Rule. Players may only talk if the person whose turn it is calls on them. If they talk without permission, they must sit on the floor until another person breaks the rule.

• Bilingual. Players must talk in the accent chosen by the rule maker.

• In my pants. Every sentence you say, you have to end with "in my pants". (ex. Its your turn in my pants)

• Jack Slap. The person who draws the card picks someone to slap them. The slapper can slap them as hard as they choose.