Ready to Go Beyond Beer-Pong? Try These 5 Global Drinking Games Instead

Drinking games are not just for fraternity parties. Sure, you could sit around and wait for your turn of beer pong to come or watch two dudes play beer die for three hours straight, but that’s not really the point of a drinking game is it? 

The point of a drinking game is to socialize — to break the ice by working together (or becoming each other’s arch nemeses), laugh a little, and maybe even get a little tipsy along the way. And while American drinking games are tried and true, there are so many more options from around the world. Games play a massive role in South Korean drinking culture, often played with bottle after bottle of soju, and in Australia, wine bags on a spinning clothesline are a cultural touchstone.

So get some friends, get some booze, and try out one (or all) of these four drinking games from across the globe. 

Bing Bang Wa (Hong Kong)

“This was the drinking game of my youth,” says writer Kiki Aranita, who grew up in Hong Kong. To play, all you need is a group of friends, a drink, and a close attention to detail.

Have at least three people sit or stand in a circle. One player must point at another player and exclaim, “Bing!”. That player can then point to someone in the circle and say either “Bing!” (repeating the first move), or “Bang!” — in this case, the person who gets pointed at would raise their hands and whoever is to the right and left of them must shout, “Wa!” The person who raised their hands (and did not say “Wa!”) is the next to point, and can say “Bing!” or “Bang!.”

The game continues until someone makes a mistake and must take a sip of their drink. Beware: once a group gets the hang of the rules, this game moves very quickly. 

Flunkyball (Germany)

Gather two teams of two or more people, each person holding a bottle of beer. The teams should be facing each other and standing approximately 40 feet apart, with a half-full, sealed water bottle directly in the middle of them.

The two teams will take turns throwing a ball (something medium-sized and lightweight, like a tennis ball) at the water bottle, one person at a time, in an effort to knock the bottle over. If a team is successful, they will start drinking their beer while the other team runs to grab the ball and return the bottle to its upright position. Once everyone in that team returns to their starting line, they yell, “Stop!” meaning anyone drinking must put their beer down. If anyone finishes their beer during that time, they remove themselves from the game and can no longer throw.

The game repeats and continues until every player from one team has finished their beer and, consequently, wins. 

Fruititas (Costa Rica)

To play this food-themed game, start with a group of five or more people sitting or standing in a circle. “Each player chooses a fruit and adds the diminutive to the name in Spanish (-ito/-ita),” says Carlos Soto, founder of Nosotros Tequila.

So, if they select mango, they should call themselves “manguita” or “manguito”. Then, one person says their fruit name followed by another player’s fruit name (“manguita llama bananita,” meaning “manguita calls bananita”). Then, “bananita” would follow the same formula, calling on another fruit friend. The trick is, you are not allowed to show your teeth or laugh — if a player does either, they must take a sip of their drink.

“It’s very hard to keep from laughing while playing,” says Soto.

Goon of Fortune (Australia)

Fun fact: boxed wine was originally invented by an Australian winemaker named Thomas Angove in an effort to package large quantities of wine. The bag inside of the box, which Australians refer to as a “goon,” plays the starring role in this game, alongside a Hills Hoist, a height-adjustable, four-pronged clothesline that can spin in a circle.

The rules are simple — attach a wine bag to one of the prongs of the clothesline. A large group of people (ideally, 8 to twelve) stands in a circle around the Hills Hoist. Someone spins the Hills Hoist and whoever is closest to the “goon” once it stops moving, must take a drink directly from its spout. Depending on house rules, there are no winners or losers. Just keep on spinning until you can’t “goon” on.

The Bottle Cap (South Korea)

Many drinking games in South Korea center around soju, a grain-based spirit, and this one is no exception.

A group of any size (two or more) sits around a table. Someone opens a bottle of soju. The metal cap will have one long end hanging off that will be twisted into a rod. One by one, the players will pass around the bottle cap to flick the rod. Whoever flicks the rod to its breaking point must drink the rest of the soju bottle.