Make a few rounds more interesting while out in the wilderness. Drinking games are an excellent way to break the ice or get a party going, whether you’re with friends, family, or any company of age. While by no means exhaustive, here are some great picks. Remember to drink responsibly.
The best camping drinking games are:
- Two Truths And A Lie: Avoid That Order
- Mr. Freeze: A Good Accompaniment
- I’m Going To The Bar: Or The Cooler Box, Naturally
- Camping Words: Making Communication Laughably Tough
- Never Have I Ever: Your Companions Are Full Of Surprises
- The Tipsy Artist: Abstract Noun Oblivion
- Alphabet Game: Have Fun With Your X
- Beer Pong: Aiming Is Hard
- Jenga & UNO: The Drinking Versions
1. Two Truths And A Lie: Avoid That Order
In Two Truths And A Lie, each player takes turns telling two truths and a lie about themselves, and the others must guess which one was the lie. Once everyone has made their guess, those who were wrong commence the established drinking ritual. If everyone gets it right, the active player drinks instead.
This game is a good way to get to know others, but don’t underestimate it. It’s challenging to find a suitable lie that is:
- Ordered and spoken indistinguishably (avoid saying the lie last by default)
- Contains a similar amount of detail as the two truths (be naturally brief and confident)
- Approximately as believable as the other statements
Try to come up with some lies beforehand. Partial truths can help as they’re easier to say confidently. Making false statements about childhood, achievements, experiences, personal quirks, preferences, and so on can be good starting points.
2. Mr. Freeze: A Good Accompaniment
Mr. Freeze is an awareness-based drinking game. The unique twist of the lime to this one is that can play alongside other activities, including other drinking games.
A player is first allocated as Mr. Freeze. Other players should try to remain aware of when Mr. Freeze stops moving entirely and then freeze themselves. The last player to notice must take a shot. The first player to catch on and freeze is the new Mr. Freeze.
3. I’m Going To The Bar: Or The Cooler Box, Naturally
I’m Going To The Bar is a memory-oriented drinking game, best played after a few drinks have been downed already to get things off to a good start.
The setup and rules:
- Arrange your fellow drinkers in order
- The first person says, “I’m going to the bar, and I need a beer.”
- The next player must one-up the previous player by adding a new drink
- For example, “I’m going to the bar, and I need a beer and a bottle of cider.”
- Repeat until someone makes a mistake or forgets part of the ever-growing list
- That person must take a drink and optionally reset the game
Get creative, add drinks you can remember in the sequence that would be difficult for others. Also, if you’re more sober than the rest, getting complicated can add a satisfying shot of hilarity into the fun.
4. Camping Words: Making Communication Laughably Tough
Camping words is a drinking game that has you avoiding predetermined words, lest you have another swig. This can be in force across an entire trip, for set times, or even during other games, such as these great camping games for adults.
Decide on a list of words and an alcoholic penalty for saying them. Some examples include:
- Tent
- Camp
- Fire
- Food
- Container
- River
- Tree
- Boat
- Etc.
It’s best to add some leeway, exceptions, and respite to avoid (purely hypothetically, of course) getting drunk at 8 AM from drowsiness and hangover-induced mistakes. That way, the game has better longevity.
For those who are multilingual, consider adding some translations to the list. If you’re feeling crafty, take advantage of them instead.
5. Never Have I Ever: Your Companions Are Full Of Surprises
Never Have I Ever is a turn-based drinking pastime and is great for getting to know people better. The active player says, “Never have I ever done [something],” and everyone who’s done [something] takes a drink. The fun, of course, is in the surprises and the stories behind them.
6. The Tipsy Artist: Abstract Noun Oblivion
The Tipsy Artist is a hilarious way to test your visual communication abilities under the influence. While art supplies may not always be on-hand: sticks, firewood, loose equipment, or other bits and bobs can be used instead.
The rules: Pick a medium through which to express yourself. Pen-and-paper is uninspired and often unavailable when in the middle of nowhere. Anything that can be arranged into artistry, such as firewood, can be used to dry to depict a word uttered to the artist by someone else.
Once begun, use a stopwatch (usually in a phone’s clock app) and have the artist take a drink every 20 seconds. The artist can stop once the audience successfully guesses the word. You’ll want to provide an incentive, such as being the next artist, to a successful guesser.
Banning the depiction of letters and numbers is recommended for the sake of the challenge.
7. Alphabet Game: Have Fun With Your X
The alphabet game is simple but demanding – ideal for involving a few (too many) drinks. The core setup is as follows: pick a category (such as “camping”), and provide words in that category with initials in alphabetical order.
An example with three players and the category “camping” could occur like so:
Alice: “Alcohol”
Bob: “Barbeque”
Charlie: “Camping”
Alice: “Dirt”
Bob: “???” (fails, drinks)
Charlie: “Food”
…
Alice: “Zoning”
Bob: “Alcohol” (repeated a word, drinks)
And so on…
Some would prefer a soft time limit per turn to keep things moving.
8. Beer Pong: Aiming Is Hard
Beer pong, also known as Beirut, is a classic competitive drinking game. It may minimally resemble table tennis, but the idea is to land ping pong balls into the opposing team’s cup, causing them to drink alcohol. All the rest is up to variation, but it often goes like this:
The setup: Set up a table of a decent length, whatever makes a comfortable challenge. Arrange a triangle of six cups on either end (1-2-3 cup formation) on both ends, facing towards each other, and fill each to about two-thirds of the way with alcohol.
The rules: Players stand on both ends of the table with their feet planted and take turns lobbing/bouncing/pitching balls at each other’s cups. If a ball lands and remains in a cup, it is removed, and the opponent drinks from it. Proceed until one side loses all of their cups.
If sanitation is of concern, a standard, recommended variation is to fill the cups with water. Instead, you keep the alcohol on the side and drink that.
Beer pong has many beloved variations and house rulesets, but it’s worth noting that it’s not just another casual drinking game. No, no. The World Series of Beer Pong has fixed rules for their events, too, if you’re looking to take your alcohol intake- I mean, skills to the professional level.
9. Jenga & UNO: The Drinking Versions
Many ordinary games can easily be turned into drinking games, for instance, Jenga.
Embrace your inner demolition expert and take a shot whenever you collapse the tower, or a sip every time your opponent successfully removes a brick, or both. Why stop there? You can take it further by writing specific drinking requirements or other dares onto the blocks.
Other examples of games getting the same treatment include UNO. Here are some example rules:
- Play a +2; the following player drinks
- Play a +4; bottoms-up for all players
- Reverse or skip card; the originally-next player drinks
- Play two identical cards? Color changes? Etc.