Making Bad Choices One Playing Card At A Time; King’s Cup Explained
To play King’s Cup all you need is a few friends, a deck of cards, an empty cup, and absolutely no fear of germs.
If you’ve attended any rowdy parties, there’s a decent chance you’ve made the mistake known as “King’s Cup.” This drinking game is fairly simple. Because when a game is designed to take you from “sober” to “call The Doctor, I’ve time traveling directly to tomorrow morning” as fast as possible, you don’t want a lot of complex rules confusing everyone at the table.
Unlike most of the other game we explain, King’s Cup is very much a party and drinking game. If alcohol isn’t your thing, this may be an explainer to skip. But instead may I recommend this little bit of nostalgia:
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King’s Cup
There are a lot of games out there designed for parties and meant to encourage players to drink a little more loosely. They’re also usually pretty fun and can work pretty well as ice-breakers if jumping right into. social situations isn’t your strongest suit.
King’s Cup is one such a game. But unlike beer pong or “take a sip when the specific thing happens on TV,” it seems designed to slingshot at least one (un?)lucky right past tipsy and into “I may regret this later” territory. This is due to the very nature of the game itself and the inevitable drink mixing.
The history of King’s Cup is by and large an unknown. It likely didn’t come about until after playing-card manufacturing began in the US in 1867. Beer pong dates back to sometime in the 1950s, so King’s Cup may have sprouted up in the same time frame. But regardless, there isn’t a known game designer to credit or specific history to speak up. King’s Cup just is.
Equipment and Game Prep
Not a whole lot is needed for a game of King’s Cup. This is probably a contributing factor to its popularity as a party game. All players need is a deck of regular playing cards, their own drinks, and an additional large empty cup.
To set up your game, place the empty cup in the middle of the table. Then shuffle the playing cards and lay them face down in a circle around the cup. Once that’s taken care of, you’re ready for trouble.
How to Play King’s Cup
Once your center cup is in place and the cards are circling it, players take turns picking cards from the ring. Each card type (numbers, Jack, Queen, Ace) has a specific meaning which we will get to in a moment. But this is the King’s Cup, so the King is the card to look out for.
When a King card is pulled, the player who drew the card must pour some of their own drink into the center cup. This rule applies to the first three players to draw a King. The final player to draw the King must drink the contents of the King’s Cup. This can, of course, be a bit problematic if not downright disgusting depending on what’s been poured in throughout the game and how well mix. If everyone’s drinking the same thing, your biggest concern is probably germs. If every drink is different, there’s chance this mixture could be putrid.
For the remaining twelve types of cards, rules tend to be easy to remember and rhyme.
“Two Is You,” meaning the drawing player chooses who else drinks.
“Three Is Me,” so the drawing player takes a drink.
“Four Hit the Floor,” or, the last person to touch the floor with their hand takes a drink.
“Five Is Guys,” so the guys at the table drink.
“Six Is Chicks,” see above, I think you’ll get it.
“Seven Is Heaven,” or, the last player to reach up takes a drink.
“Eight Picks a Mate,” so pick a friend to drink with.
“Nine, You Rhyme,” or players go around trying to say words that rhyme with the word before, the first to fail must drink.
Ten is Categories. Here, the drawer picks a category and players go around naming something that falls within that category. Again, the first to fail must drink.
Jack is “Never Have I Ever.” The drawing player states “Never have I ever ____,” and whoever has done this action must drink.
Queen is Questions. Players take turns asking questions and answering questions with questions. The first to fail takes a drink.
Finally, Ace is the Waterfall. Here, all players begin drinking at the same time and nobody is allowed to stop until the player to their left stops beginning with the card puller.
Alternative Rules
As a game with no known history and rules that are by-and-large passed on by word of mouth from one tipsy twenty-something to another, the rules of King’s Cup aren’t always set in stone. There’s a good chance that you looked at my list and said, “That’s not how I used that card!” at least once. King’s Cup is a game with a lot of variety and tons of different regional rules.
Some include a “Make a Rule” option for the Jack card. Here, players can add any rule that must be followed for the rest of the game. Failure to follow this rule will result in taking a drink. Another additional rule or the Jack is “Social,” or everyone taking a drink.
In some versions, the first three players to pull the King can also add rules.
For some versions, players pretend they have a “little green man” sitting on their drink who they must mime moving before they’re able to pick up their cup. In others still, the first person to break the ring of cards must chug their drink.
Is King’s Cup A Real Game?
Yes.
Is It Fun?
Honestly, yeah. The rules are silly and it’s an easy game to play with people you don’t know very well.
Can You Play With Non-Alcoholic Drinks?
Of course you can!
Happy adventuring!
