Category Archives: Game

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Drinking Game

Setup:

  • Teams sit at opposing ends of a standard table (approx. 3.5’ x 8’)
  • In front of each player is a cup that is completely filled with beer

How to score:

  • The players take turns throwing dice
  • During the throw, the dice must come within inches of the ceiling (or even graze the ceiling) and land on the table
  • An improperly thrown dice is called a “rocket” if it hits the ceiling or “low” if it is thrown too low
  • The opposing team must call “rocket” or “low” before the dice hits the table in order to be valid
  • If the dice roles off the shorter end of the table (where the opposing team is sitting) and onto the ground, the team scores a point
  • If the other team catches a properly thrown dice with one hand before it hits the floor, nobody scores
  • 5 points wins the game, but the team must win by 2

When to drink:

  • Any time the dice lands on 5, which is known as “biz”
  • Any time someone says “five” instead of “biz”
  • If the dice hits the cup, the other team takes a swig
  • If the dice lands in the cup, the other team chugs the remaining beer in the cup
  • If the dice does not land on the table
  • If a player catches the dice with two hands or uses the body to trap the dice

Mike Searles learned the complex game of beer die from his brothers, and it has become a traditional game within his family for the past few years. His brothers learned the game within their fraternity, where it has served as a brotherhood event for decades. According to Mike, many people have their own unique rules that they have incorporated into the game, but this is the most basic form of the drinking game. Games usually take about an hour, but supposedly some games have lasted as long as three hours. An exciting element of the game is when opposing teams try to try each other into saying “five,” using tactics such as asking for phone numbers or addressed.

What strikes me about this drinking game is that it requires tremendous mental focus and physical coordination, both of which completely disappear when one is intoxicated. Complex drinking games such as beer die are almost always associated with a group or organization, such as a fraternity or club. Almost all of my Greek friends have unique drinking games within their houses, as these traditions help confirm the brotherhood and distinctiveness of the fraternity. However, unlike most fraternity traditions (which are kept secret), people always seem very eager to teach others their drinking games because they are often viewed as a symbol of status and verification of exclusivity to others.

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Beer Pong: Slap-Back Style

The rules:

  • Teams of two stand at opposite sides of a table
  • At the edge of each side of the table, the teams stack ten plastic cups in a triangular formation and fill them with a total of four beers
  • The players take turns throwing a ping pong ball at the cups; if it lands in a cup, the opposing team must remove the cup and drink the beer
  • If the ball is bounced into a cup, the opposing team must remove and drink two cups
  • If both players land their ball in the same cup, the opposing team must drink and remove three cups
  • Each team is allowed two “reracks,” which involve forcing the other team to rearrange the remaining cups in any formation
  • Slap-back rules: if a ball hits the table, the team can smack the ball back at the opposing team. If the ball hits an opposing player, he/she must chug an entire beer. However, if the opposing player catches the ball, the player who hit the ball must chug an entire beer.
  • The game ends when there are no cups remaining

Mike Searles learned the game of Beer Pong early in his college years; however, he learned the “slap-back” edition less than a year ago. He describes Beer Pong as one of the most popular games in college, and has participated in many tournaments that include as many as 32 teams. While the game of Beer Pong is already very competitive, he claims that “slap-back” is more competitive than many sports games he has played in. In Beer Pong, players generally drink about two beers per game, but he claims to have drunk as many as six beers in a game playing “slap-back.”

Beer Pong, in its most basic form, requires more coordination than most drinking games; however, the addition of the slap rules adds a very physical, aggressive component to the game. In reality, forcing drunken people to slap balls at each other seems like a recipe for disaster, since alcohol already fosters belligerence. Although popular amongst everyone, these physically derived drinking games are trademarks of fraternities and are generally more common amongst boys. Since boys tend to enjoy friendly competition, it is no surprise that adding more physical rules to Beer Pong has become common.

Drinking Game

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

King’s Cup

The rules:

  • All the participants sit around a standard table, and at the center is a cup of beer surrounded by a deck of cards.
  • The players take turns picking cards, and each card (2-A) represents a unique action that the player must take if picked
  • For example, a 2 could represent “Make a rule,” which enables the player to make any rule that will be in effect the entire game (such as, “anyone who cusses has to drink”), a 7 could represent “everyone drinks,” and a J could represent “nickname,” in which a player if given a nickname that replaces his/her real name
  • Every time a K is picked, it is placed on top of the cup.  The person who selects the fourth K must chug the cup of beer

Mike Searles learned the game of King’s Cup early in his college years, as it is a relatively popular game amongst novice drinkers. He says it is best played in groups of four or more, but that he has sometimes played in groups as large as ten. He describes it as his favorite social drinking game, as the game’s versatility in rules and procedure enables a unique experience almost every time. Also, he says he has encountered substantial variation with this game, as people differ significantly in their setup of rules and cards. There really is no time limit on the game, as the cup can be refilled and the deck repeated.

“King’s cup” is a drinking game that is clearly designed for social purposes. As more rules and nicknames are added, the game gets increasingly complex and, generally, more fun. Likewise, as more rules are added, the participants get increasingly intoxicated, thus making it nearly impossible to remember all the rules. The game seems like a very effective icebreaker, as it invites conversation amongst the closely confined group. While some drinking games are reliant on technique and strategy, there is basically no strategy involved in this game (and therefore no pressure). Thus, unlike the drinking games that foster competitiveness, “King’s Cup” fosters social interaction and is merely intended for everyone to enjoy themselves.

Game – Korea

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Syracuse, NY
Performance Date: March 2007
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

My informant is a Korean-American boy who has lived in California all of his life. He taught me this folk game that originated in Korea, called “ssireum.” Ssireum is basically Korean-style wrestling.

In the game, each contestant must wear a belt that wraps around both the waist and the thigh. This game is a very large part of Korean culture, and tournaments are often held in the summer and in the autumn. When this game was played in the past, the winner would be awarded a bull to take home to represent his strength. This game is played in a ring that is covered with sand. The two competitors grasp the belt and they both pull and yank on it until one person touches the ground with anything below his torso. The person who touches the ground first loses.

My informant tells me that this game is often played in a light-hearted way among boys. There used to be a large competition that had professional ssireum players. However, the tradition is dying because Korea is becoming more Westernized. Now, only one real team is left in Korea, and even this team has very little action during the year.

My informant says that this game is a good way for boys to bond, because showing strength is very important for Korean men. This game shows others that they are worthy of being friends. It also shows women that they are able to take care of them. This game seems to differ from American wrestling in that very little physical contact is needed. The players do not actually fight each other physically; rather, they are hands off in that they only pull on a string. This may make the game less brutal than the one that exists in Western culture.

Game

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 10
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Gabriel, CA
Performance Date: May 2007
Primary Language: English

When the designated “Simon” says “Simon says” before a command, then the people have to do it.  If he or she simply says the command and the people follow, then they lose the game.  The person who can follow the rules best wins the game.

Victoria plays this game in her elementary school and first learned it from her Kindergarten school teacher.  She says that they played the game every week and the teacher was always “Simon.”  She says that it is a fun game and that the meaning of the game is to win the game.

Since Victoria is only a 10-year-old, her interpretation of this game was simply to win.  The motives of elementary school students show that they do not see any more to a game than a winner and a loser.  She learned this game from a very young age, demonstrating that the spread of folk games start from a very young age in American culture.  Even from grade school, all the teachers teach it to their students in order for them to settle down and concentrate on one thing.  This game could have been created to increase the students’ ability to follow directions.  In order to teach discipline, games such as these and the “silent game” are taught from young. The silent game is not actually a game but a way to convince students to be quiet.  These virtues are taught to children and converted into a game so that the children will obey.  By making following directions fun, grade school teachers can trap their students to listening to them.

The “Simon says” game designates a person to be “Simon,” which is the person in charge of the group.  By having an authority for the rest of the group to listen to, this game creates a hierarchy with the students on the bottom and the teacher at the top.  Learning this game is both educational and fun for the children, especially because it revolves around such a simple idea.