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Kings Cup also known as Circle of Death is one of the most famous drinking game with cards. You may also played before but called it Ring of Fire, Waterfall, or just Kings.

The game has been a staple of parties for generations and for a good reason. It gets those who participate drunk, as well as learning about each other’s wild side. This is the perfect game to play when you are meeting a new group of people!

👉 Are you looking for more fun? Follow this link and get to know the top 11 card drinking games of all time!

Equipment for King’s Cup ✅

  • A standard card deck with 52 cards
  • Beer, hard liquor or other alcoholic drinks
  • A large cup which will be used as the King’s Cup
  • At least 2 players, but we recommend a group of 4-12 people

Tip: Playing Kings Cup is even more fun when the cards are waterproof. No more ruined games or soggy house rules! Check out this waterproof card deck on Amazon:

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Kings Cup Rules and Setup 🤓

The Kings Cup rules are simple: Kings Cup is played clockwise and round-based. Each turn, a player picks and turns over a card. Each card represents an action. When a card is turned over, the player who uncovers the card executes the action assigned to the card.

Kings Cup Gameplay

Gather all people around a table. Place a big cup in the middle of the table. This cup is called the Kings Cup. Now distribute all cards around the King Cup face down. You’re all set!

Kings Cup Card Rules 🃏

Here are the card rules for Kings Cup / Ring of Fire / Circle of Death 👇


Kings Cup Card 2 Illustration Two

Give 2: Pick a player. This player takes 2 sips. Or pick 2 players and each one of those players needs to take 1 sip.


Kings Cup Card 3 Illustration Three

Take 1: If you pick this card, drink 1 sip!


Kings Cup Card 4 Illustration Four

Give 2, take 2: Pick a player. You and the chosen player take 2 sips each.


Kings Cup Card 5 Illustration Five

For the men: All the guys take a big sip.


Kings Cup Card 6 Illustration Six

For the Ladies: All girls must drink.


Kings Cup Card 7 Illustration Seven

Thumb Master: Whenever the player who drew this card places their thumb on the end of the table, however discretely, all other players must place their thumbs there as well. The last person who places their thumb has to drink. The drawer of this card has the power to do this at any point. Until the next jack is drawn, or the end of the game.


Kings Cup Card 8 Illustration Eight

Drinking Mate: “Eight is for mate”. Choose a person to be your mate, and they drink when you drink for the rest of the game. If one of the mates draws another 8 card they choose another player and now all three have to drink. You can also merge two mated pairs this way. If all players of the game become mated, then all ties are canceled.


Kings Cup Card 9 Illustration Nine

Rhyme: “Nine is Rhyme”. You say a word, and the person to your right has to say a word that rhymes. This continues around the table until someone cannot think of a word or take too long to come up with a rhyme. This person must drink. The same word may not be used twice.


Kings Cup Card 10 Illustration Ten

Social: Cheers, everyone drinks! 🍻


Kings Cup Card Jack Illustration Jack

Make A Rule: This is my most favorite card to get. You can come up with a new rule for the game or remove one. If a player breaks the rules, he must drink!

An example of this would be: Everyone needs to chug their drinks with the left hand. Or everyone needs to moan while drinking. You get the idea.

Kings Cup Rule Ideas: If you need further inspiration for more “Make a Rule” - Card, have a look at our list of the best rules: Kings Cup Rule Ideas 👌


Kings Cup Card Queen Illustration Queen

Categories: You come up with a category of things, and the person to your right must come up with something that falls within that category. This goes on around the table until someone can’t come up with anything. This person must drink.

Kings Cup Categories

Here are some possible categories to use while playing Kings Cup:

  • Cocktails: Gin Tonic, Sex on the Beach, Pina Colada, Whisky Sour, Vodka Lemon, Sherry-Cocktail…
  • Sex Positions: The Bridge, 69, Tea Bag, Afternoon Delight, Eagle, Cowboy…

More examples for Kings Cup categories: Brands, Pornstars, Pokémon, Movie Heroes, Sneaker brand names…


Kings Cup Card King Illustration King

King’s Cup: The first 3 people who draw this card, pour their drinks into the Kings Cup in the middle of the table. The 4th player who gets this card must drink all the content of the Kings Cup.


Kings Cup Card Ace Illustration Ace

Waterfall: To perform a waterfall, each player starts drinking their beverage at the same time as the person to their left. No player can stop drinking until the player before them stops.


Kings Cup Rules PDF Print Version

Download the Kings Cup rules as a PDF for free to print at home.

All Kings Cup rules on paper to print at home

Kings Cup Rules PDF


Play Kings Cup Online 🕹

Are you in a bar or at a poorly organized house party without cards? No problem! You can also play King’s Cup online on your mobile, tablet or desktop. For this we have created a browser game with a complete map deck, including rules of the cards:

Play Online


Make a rule ideas for Kings Cup ✅

While playing Kings Cup with the standard set of rules, it gets even more fun when someone draws the “Make a Rule” card. But with your increasing alcohol level, making creative new rules gets harder and harder. We’ve been there, and that’s why we created this list to spice up your Ring of Death game.

The Best Kings Cup: Make a Rule - Ideas

We collected 20+ new rules for the “Make A Rule” Card in Kings Cup: The Card Drinking Game. Pimp your party with these creative new rulesets and turn your evening into a crazy game-night that nobody will ever forget.

Here’s our ultimate list of new Kings Cup rules to make this already awesome game even more fun:

1. The Majestic Rule

Everyone has to speak of themselves in the majestic “we” form. For example: “I have to go to the bathroom” turns into “We have to go to the bathroom”. This rule will do justice to the Kings in Kings Cup!

2. Don’t show your teeth when laughing Rule 🤭

Pretty self-explanatory, but to be sure: If someone laughs, the person is not allowed to show their teeth. Otherwise, the person has to drink!

3. The Forehead Master Rule

Similar to the Thumbmaster Rule, the last one who touches the table with his forehead has to drink. The drunker the players are, the better this rule becomes. After the first laceration, however, this rule should be lifted! ⚠️ Take care, people!

4. The Nickname Rule

Everyone is allowed to nickname the person who sits to their left. As long as this rule is not lifted, everyone must be addressed by their nickname. If the real name is used instead of the nickname, the person who used the real name must drink.

5. The Dictator Rule

The dictator is allowed to lick a card and stick it to his forehead. As long as the card sticks to his forehead, the dictator may set up any rule he wants and ignore any rule himself. When the card falls from the Dictators forehead, all the rules that the dictator has set up are removed. The dictator then loses his immunity. The dictator is not allowed to touch the card once it is stuck to his forehead!

6. T-Rex Rule 🦖

Funny T-Rex Dance

Everyone must hold their elbows to their body like a T-Rex. The hands are not allowed to be stretched. If someone violates this rule, the person has to drink and make a dinosaur roar!

7. Penguin Rule

Everyone has to hold their elbows to their body, and in addition, they can only touch things with their palm. No grabbing allowed! If someone violates this rule, they have to drink. Drinking will become really hard with this rule.

8. The In Love Rule ❤️

Whenever someone distributes a drink or a sip in the course of Kings Cup, he has to pretend to be in love with the person to whom he has the sip or drink distributed and say, “Please drink my honey!”.

9. The Kevin Rule

Super simple: Everyone is called Kevin now. If someone violates this rule, they have to drink. And yes, you can replace “Kevin” with any given name. ✌️

10. Your Mobile Phone is Lava Rule 🔥

As soon as someone touches their phone, the person who has set up the rule may send any message with that phone. In addition, the person who touched the cell phone has to take a sip of their drink.

An alternative to this rule is that the person must reveal a number of a person in their cell phone that does not participate in the game. Each of the Kings Cup players may send a message to that person.

11. One-Night Stand Rule

Each player may only be named by the name of a person they slept with. This rule may lead to very embarrassing situations. And that’s great! 😁

12. Shit Bitch Rule

Each sentence must start with Shit and finished with Bitch. If a player forgets to say those words, he must drink.

13. The Foreign Ministers Rule

Only the designated Foreign Minister may speak to persons in the room who are not participating in the Kings Cup game. Anyone who wants to communicate with a person who does not participate in the game must do so through the Foreign Minister. If some violates that rule, drink up!

14. The Harry Potter Rule

Everyone can only be approached with Mr. Potter, and you have to say it with a British accent. If a player uses a different name, the player must drink. Before drinking, however, he has to say: “Please excuse me, Mr. Potter, this drink will go right away. EVANESCO!” And of course also with a British accent! 🇬🇧

15. The #Hashtag Rule

Each player must start their sentence with “hashtag”. If you don’t hashtag’ your sentence, #drink!

16. Don’t Point at Someone with your Finger Rule

Once a player points at someone else, he must drink.

17. Little Green Fairy Rule

Everyone has an imaginary little green fairy sitting on their drinks. Before anyone drinks, he has to place his little green fairy from their drink on to his shoulders. After drinking, the little green fairy must be placed back on the drink.

18. Get down Mr. President

When the maker of the rule puts its finger on the ear, all other players have to do the same. After that, each player has to get up and shout: “Get down, Mr. President!” The last player to do so will be knocked down by the other players and must drink afterward.

19. Famous Asian Rule

Whenever a player turns a card with a number, he has to announce a famous Asian. If the player does not know any famous Asians anymore, he must drink.

20. The Hodor Rule

Whenever someone curses, the person is from now on only allowed to say “Hodor” for the rest of the game. The player remains Hodor until another player curses.

Got any more Kings Cup Rule ideas?

Send us your favorite King’s Cup rule ideas and get featured on this list! We can’t wait to hear your ideas! Send us a mail at hi@psycatgames.com

King’s Cup Multiplayer Game 👌

Try out these new rules with a modernized version of Kings online, directly in your browser! Play with your friends and get wwwasted! 👇

Play Kings Cup online

Kings Cup App

Kings Cup can be a lot of fun. And it’s even more fun when you can play it whenever you want. Our Kings Cup app offers different game modes, and you can also create your own rules. It’s available for iPhone and Android:

Have fun while playing one of the most fun games out there: King’s Cup! Always remember to drink responsibly and take care of each other while playing. If you’re looking for more fun games to play, check out our collection of 17 insanely fun drinking games!

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