New Year's Eve Drinking Games
New Year's Eve is coming. And we have put together a list of the best drinking games for your party night! Bring out the bubbly and welcome the new year with a bang!
βοΈ December 15, 2022
- π€ Β 1. Never have I ever
- π€© Β 2. Jenga Drinking Game
- πΊ Β 3. Kings Cup
- π Β 4. Ride the Bus
- π₯³ Β 5. UNO Drinking Game
- πΈ Β 6. Russian Roulette
- π Β 7. Power Hour
- πΉ Β 8. Most Likely To - Drinking game
- π Β 9. Would You Rather - Drinking Game
- π» Β 10. Party Animals
- π Β 11. High Card Draw
- π Β 12. New Year’s Eve Charades
- π» Β 13. Name that Tune New Year’s Eve Edition
- π₯° Β 14. Guess Which Guest
- π§ Β 15. Pop Culture Trivia
- π³ Β 16. New Year’s Eve Truth or Dare
- π Β 17. Two Resolutions and a Lie
- π Β 18. Name Game
- π€ Β 19. Pass the Hat
- π₯ Β 20. New Year’s Eve Champagne Play Race
As the current year comes to an end, we always throw one last big party to celebrate the past year and welcome the new year. What better way to ring in the new year than by playing drinking games and having a good time with family and friends?
New Year’s Eve games are fantastic because anyone can quickly join in on the fun! Whether you have close friends, acquaintances, or friends of friends coming to your party, it’s an excellent way for people to connect and celebrate!
The only thing guests need to do is play some fun party games with loads of alcohol. Whether you have a big party with lots of strangers or a cozy gathering with your closest friends, drinking games will make your New Year’s Eve party more fun!
1. Never have I ever
Never have I ever is simple: each player takes turns to make a statement starting with “Never have I ever⦔, and anyone who has done what the player said must drink. It is a great way to get to know people and to break the ice if you’re playing with people you don’t know very well.
Just be careful because even when you’re playing with your friends, it might bring out some dirty little secrets! But that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?
Here are some great Never have I ever statements to get you started:
1. Never have I ever gone without a bath or shower for more than a week.
Be honest! This one is bound to get some interesting reactions.
2. Never have I ever shoplifted from a store.
Ooh, someone’s been a bad boy!
3. Never have I ever dined and dashed.
We’ve all been there, except for those who haven’t.
4. Never have I ever had a sex date with someone I had met online.
Who hasn’t done that?
5. Never have I ever accidentally sent nudes to the wrong person.
It happens to the best of us!
6. Never have I ever peed in the shower.
Come on; we’ve all done it!
7. Never have I ever smiled at someone when I realized I wasn’t listening to what they were saying.
This one is SO relatable.
8. Never have I ever made a picture of my genitals to see what they look like.
Humans are weird.
9. Never have I ever recorded talking to myself with a camera.
We all have our weird little quirks, right?
10. Never have I ever been caught embarrassingly dancing in my room all by myself.
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with dancing like no one is watching… even if someone is watching.
π Do you want more? We have tons of great Never have I ever questions for you right here: Never have I ever
Play Never Have I Ever Online
If you want to have it even easier, we even have an app made for “Never have I ever”. The app will randomly display various questions; you just need to read them out.
2. Jenga Drinking Game
The Jenga rules remain the same, but individual stones are labeled. If you drag one of these labeled stones, you must perform the action associated with the label. The stones can be labeled arbitrarily.

Here are some ideas for potential labels:
- In one go
Jug your drink!
- Small one
The smallest player has to drink three times and may appoint someone who also has to drink three times.
- Tequila
Drink a tequila shot
- 80s bands
Name three bands from the eighties or drink three times.
- 70s bands
Name three bands from the seventies or drink three times.
- Titanic
The ship goes down; everyone has to drink up his drink.
π For Jenga as a drinking game, there are still countless labeling ideas. If you need inspiration, have a look at our list: Jenga Label Ideas
3. Kings Cup
Kings Cup or Big Kings Cup is one of the most popular drinking games. Known everywhere, the game is played at every party or celebration. For Kings Cup only one card deck is needed.
Tip: Make this game even more fun with these waterproof cards on Amazon:
How to Play Kings Cup
A deck of cards is spread over the table face down, and a drink is placed in the middle.
Kings Cup is played round by the round in a clockwise direction. Each turn, a player turns over an upturned card, and each card represents an action. When a card is turned over, the player who turns the card executes the action assigned to the card.
Here are the King’s Cup basic rules:
- Ace
Ace means Waterfall. So all players must drink for so long and may not stop until the person stops drinking at their right. The first person allowed to stop is the person who turned the card over.
- Two
The player may choose a person to drink.
- Three
The player must drink.
- Four
All ladies at the table drink.
- Five
All guys at the table drink.
- Six
Everyone drinks.
- Seven
Everyone has to put his left hand on his head, and the last one who does it drinks.
- Eight
The player chooses a friend who must drink with him.
- Nine
Nine means Rhyme. The player may choose a word, and clockwise the next player has to devise a word that rhymes. If no rhyme comes to mind, they drink.
- Ten
Ten means Thumbking. When this card is drawn, the player who drew it becomes the “Thumbking” or “Thumbqueen”. This player puts their thumb on the table, the others may follow, and the last player to do so must drink. The Thumbking can repeat this process as long as they remain the Thumb King or Thumb Queen! There can only ever be one Thumbking or Thumbqueen, so if someone else draws a ten, you lose your power.
- Jack
The player must finish the drink in the middle and then replenish the glass.
- Queen
The Queen means category. The player is allowed to choose a category, for example, Car brand. Then starting with the player who decided the category, everyone mentions a car brand; the first player who can’t think of any more car brand, drinks.
- King
The King means Rule. The player may set a rule for the entire game; for example, Each player may only drink with their left hand, and if someone drinks with their right hand, they must drink again.
Play Kings Cup Online
If you don’t have a map deck, here’s an app designed to play Kings Cup online. Check it out!

4. Ride the Bus
Ride the Bus is all about guessing correctly! This game is great for large groups of friends and is perfect for those who like to drink and party.
The rules for the drinking game Ride the Bus are a bit more complex and need a bit more explanation than the other drinking games in this list, so we’ve put them together on a separate page: How to play Ride the Bus
Tip: You only need a deck of cards for this. Check out these waterproof cards on Amazon:
5. UNO as a Drinking Game
As one of the most popular card games in the world, UNO also offers a party and drinking game variation. Anyone who doesn’t have UNO in the household can get UNO dirt cheap on Amazon:

UNO Drinking Game Rules
Mix the cards, and you’re ready to go. The youngest player always starts and then continues clockwise. Here are the rules that make UNO a drinking show:
- If you play the same color as the player right before you, you drink.
- If you play the same number as the player right before you, you drink.
- If you play a suspension card, you may choose another player to drink.
- If you play a return card, the direction is changed like in the classic Uno version.
- If you play a draw-two card, the player next to you drinks twice.
- If you play a plus-four card, everybody has to drink.
6. Russian Roulette
Russian roulette is a drinking game in which luck and skill are important. Since there is only one cup filled with vodka on each side and the opposing team does not know which one it is, a hit can often be enough to avert the worst and plunge the opponent into misfortune.

How to play Russian Roulette
To play the game, you need the following:
- 12 Beer Pong Cups
- a Ping Pong Ball
- Vodka or other hard liquor
- A big table
As soon as you’ve prepared everything, follow those steps:
- One team starts and tries to throw the ping pong ball into the cup of the opponents. If they succeed, the opposing team must drink and take the cup off the table.
- After every throw, as usual in Russian roulette, the opposing team’s turn. The winner is the team that first hits all the opponent’s cups.
- The losing team must also drink the remaining cups of the winning team.
7. Power Hour
Power Hour is a drinking game based on music, where a shot of beer is drunk every minute. Since there is already music playing in the background on almost all New Year’s Eve parties, you can also hit a power hour mix.
What is a Power Hour Mix?
A power hour mix is a mixture of several songs, each lasting only one minute, and the playlist usually lasts one hour.
There are many different ways to make a power hour mix. You can use any music, from popular songs to classical music. There are also many different ways to arrange the songs in the mix. Some people like to put all the songs from one artist back-to-back, while others prefer to mix up the genres.
How to Play Power Hour
Each player places a shot glass in front of them (or simply a beer bottle), and with every song change, everybody drinks a shot or takes a sip from their beer.
Making a power hour mix is a great way to get everyone in the party mood! Especially because everyone can contribute their favorite songs to the mix.
8. Most Likely To - Drinking Game
In the game Most Likely To you have to decide who is the most likely to do a certain thing. For example, “Who is most likely to get drunk first?” Then everyone has to point at the person they think most likely to do be the first one drunk. The person who gets the most votes drinks.
Here is a list of some fun Most Likely To questions to inspire you:
1. Who is most likely to get married within the year?
You might be surprised who people think will get married first!
2. Who is most likely to die of something stupid?
Remember, this is all good fun!
3. Who is most likely to embarrass themselves in front of their crush?
Nothing like a little bit of light-hearted teasing to get the party started!
4. Who is most likely to punch a wall out of frustration?
Is someone in your group dealing with anger issues?
5. Who is most likely to sleep through an important event?
This could be me…
6. Who is most likely to be caught stealing?
Ouch, this one might be a little too close to home for some people.
7. Who is most likely to insult a child?
There’s always that one person who hates kids.
8. Who is most likely to survive in the wilderness?
To survive in the wilderness, you need to be resourceful and have some basic knowledge of survival skills.
9. Who is most likely to become a millionaire?
Everyone has that one friend who is always talking about making it big.
10. Who is most likely to be caught in a lie?
Nothing is more embarrassing than being caught in a lie.
π Need more ideas? Here is a list of more Most Likely To Questions that you can check out!
Play Most Likely To Online
If you don’t want to think of your statements, try our Most Likely To app:
9. Would You Rather - Drinking Game
Let your guests take turns asking questions that start with, “Would you rather⦔ They need to complete the question with two different scenarios from which the rest of the players will need to choose.
For example: Would you rather spend New Year at home with your family or on a tropical beach in another country all by yourself?
Once the player asks the question, the rest of the players should shout their choice out loud. All players who picked the losing option need to take a drink.
The crazier the choices are, the more fun it is for everyone!
Here are some New Year’s-themed Would You Rather Questions to get you started:
1. Would you rather clean up confetti in Times Square or clean up after your family’s New Year’s meal?
Both options sound pretty bad…
2. Would you rather give up Instagram or TikTok for the coming new year?
Tough choice, isn’t it?
3. Would you rather drink champagne or tequila on New Year’s Eve?
I will never understand people who like to drink tequila.
4. Would you rather repeat the past year or move on to the new year?
It’s always better to move on and make new memories, right?
5. Would you rather drink a toast every ten seconds with your friends or give one toast in front of a huge crowd?
There’s nothing worse than having to make a toast in front of a huge crowd.
π If you want other themes for your questions, go through our list of 500+ Would You Rather Questions!
Play Would You Rather Online
Playing Would You Rather is even more fun with our Would You Rather App! So what are you waiting for? Follow the link and give our app a try today!
10. Party Animals
This is a simple drinking game where people need to know a lot of animals and stay on their toes to answer correctly. The thing is, if you’re drinking, the game becomes so much more challenging and hilarious!
Before the game starts, make sure that you have your penalty drink of choice nearby. One suggestion is to use Jell-O shots for this. Make everyone sit in a circle before you start and decide if the playing sequence will be clockwise or counterclockwise.
The game officially begins when someone names an animal. The person next to them should give another animal that starts with the last letter of that animal’s name.
For example: If Player 1 says “elephant”, player 2 says “tiger”, player 3 says “rat”, and player 4 can’t think of any animal that starts with ’t’, so they drink.
The game continues with players giving different animals and ends until everyone has a turn at playing! You can change the topic during playing if you want to make it more interesting. Instead of animals, you can use all other categories you can think of!
11. High Card Draw
Test your luck with a game of High Card Draw! It’s a game that will get you and your friends drunk in no time.
All you need for this game is a deck of cards. Gather your friends in a circle and put the deck of cards in the center. For each round, all players will draw one card from the deck and then turn the card over simultaneously.
The main rule is: Whoever has the highest card drinks! You can do this for as many rounds as you want. If you want to make the game more interesting, add new rules to your game!
12. New Year’s Eve Charades
You can never go wrong with a classic game of charades. It’s a game you can play for any occasion, including New Year’s Eve!
Depending on your number of guests, divide your guests into small or big groups. The main objective of charades is to guess a word or phrase that another player from your team is acting out.
Here are some New Year-themed words that you can include in your game of New Year’s Eve charades:
- Bubbly
- Calendar
- Sparkles
- Champagne
- Cheers
- New Year
- Balloons
- Cheers
- Confetti
- Parade
- Resolution
- Fireworks
- Firecrackers
- Noisemakers
- Countdown
- Times Square
- Calendar
- Midnight kiss
- New Year’s baby
Want to add another unique twist to your game? Include significant events that happened in the past year. These could be current events such as the latest national elections, pop cultures such as the latest Marvel movies that came out, or even personal big events that happened within your circle of friends, such as weddings, babies, or even promotions at work!
Every time a team makes a wrong guess, they drink a round of penalty drinks. It’s a fun consequence of not staying up to date with what’s happening!
π If you want to throw in words not related to the New Year, here are more words that you can use for charades.
Play Charades Online
If you’re looking for an easier way to play charades, give our Kabuki app a try! This app makes it simple to set up and play charades with friends and family. With our Charades App, there’s no need for complicated rules or scoring - just grab some friends and start playing!
13. Name That Tune New Year’s Eve Edition
Name That Tune is a fun game to play while listening to your favorite music. It’s also a great game to play during your New Year’s Eve party!
All you need to do is divide your guests into 2-3 groups depending on the number of people. Create a playlist of the best songs of the year.
To play the New Year’s Eve edition of Name that Tune New Year’s Eve, the teams should listen to songs from your playlist at the same time. The first team to shout out the correct song title and/or artist of the song gets corresponding points!
Here’s how your point system can work:
- Song Title = 1 point
- Artist = 2 points
Remember to mix up the genres when you play the songs to make them more exciting! This game is a great way to look back at the past year’s best songs and what you did when the songs became popular.
The group with the most points wins the game. For the remaining groups, make them take a drink and ask them to dance to one of the songs as their punishment!
14. Guess Which Guest
Find out what’s going on in your party guests’ lives with a game of Guess Which Guest. This game is perfect for a small group of friends who haven’t seen each other for a while or for a big group with people from social circles who may not know each other.
All you need to do is to create a list of facts about your guests. These could be something significant that happened to them in the past year, such as, “quit my job”, “went on a safari”, “got engaged”, “received a job promotion”, etc.
Print your list and include a blank next to each fact where your guests must write which other guest fits the statement. Your guests can ask each other questions to determine which names match the statements on the list. The guest with the most number of correct matches wins the game!
Give the losers a round of penalty drinks. You could give them beer, tequila, or your very own New Year’s Eve cocktail drink.
15. Pop Culture Trivia
How well do you remember which people or events defined the past year? Test your and your party guests’ pop culture knowledge with a trivia game!
To play Pop Culture Trivia, prepare your questions in advance. Since you know the questions, you will also have to act as the Trivia Quiz Show Host.
Decide if you want people to play individually or divide them into groups. The players with the most correct answers win the game! You can give them gift cards as their prize. Don’t forget the losers! Make the rest of the players drink as their penalty, so there’s something for everyone!
Pop Culture Trivia Questions
Thinking about pop culture questions can be a daunting task. That’s why we collected some pop culture trivia questions that are sure to get everyone talking:
1. Who sings the song “Say So” that’s behind the popular TikTok dance?
- Eminem
- Doja Cat
- Ariana Grande
- Taylor Swift
Show answer
Doja Cat
Of course, Doja Cat sings this popular song.
2. On which social media platform did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce they were stepping down as senior royals?
- TikTok
- YouTube
Show answer
The couple announced it on Instagram.
3. Troy Bolton’s dad in High School Musical is the brother-in-law of which famous actress in real life?
- Blake Lively
- Meryl Streep
- Angelina Jolie
- Jennifer Lawrence
Show answer
Blake Lively
Actor Bart Johnson is married to Blake Lively’s sister Robyn Lively.
4. What are the names of the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus?
- Sandy, Angelina, and Mary
- Winifred, Mary, and Sarah
- Christina, Sarah, and Angelina
- Jennifer, Winifred, and Sandy
Show answer
Winifred, Mary, and Sarah
Yes, they are called Winifred, Mary, and Sarah.
5. What is the name of the Netflix docuseries about Joe Exotic?
- Seaspiracy
- The Tinder Swindler
- Tiger King
- Made You Look
Show answer
Tiger King
The series became a hit in 2020.
6. What does the acronym SMH stand for?
- See My Heart
- Shaking My Head
- Shaking My Hips
- So Much Heart
Show answer
Shaking My Head
It stands for “Shaking My Head” or “Shake My Head” and is used when something is really stupid.
7. Which film won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2020?
- Joker
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Parasite
- The Irishman
Show answer
Parasite
The South Korean black comedy thriller became a worldwide hit.
8. What are the names of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s kids?
- Chicago, North, Kylie, and Kris
- Psalm, Wolf, Saint, and Kim
- Saint, North, Paris, and London
- North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm
Show answer
North, Saint, Chicago & Psalm
They have four kids together.
π Want more questions? Check out our Party Trivia article!
Play Trivia Online
In need of more questions? Check out our app for more Trivia questions out of different categories!
16. New Year’s Eve Truth or Dare
What’s a party without a game of Truth or Dare? When you think of a new year, you think of new beginnings. Welcome the new year head-on and start the year a little bit more daring!
Make sure to gather everyone in a circle and then take turns spinning the bottle. Whoever the bottle points to must answer a truth question or complete a dare. If they refuse to answer the question or complete the dare, they must take a drink.
This game is a fun way to discover new sides to your friends whether they share a secret or do something unexpected!
Here are some Truth or Dare questions that you can try out:
New Year’s Eve Dares
- Sing New York, New York while dancing.
- Give every player a New Year’s resolution.
- Text your crush and tell them to have a Happy New Year.
- Pretend to be a cuckoo clock at the stroke of midnight
- Wear all your clothes inside out
- End every sentence you say for the rest of the game with “and Happy New Year!”
- Jump three times while saying, “I wish I’ll grow taller next year.”
New Year’s Eve Truth Questions
- How would you like to celebrate the holidays this year?
- Where did you have your first kiss?
- Have you kissed a stranger before?
- Did you ever break a heart before?
- Have you ever pretended to be sick because you were too lazy to have a night out with your friends?
- What is the first item on your bucket list?
- What is something that you want to achieve for next year?
Play Truth or Dare Online
Don’t have time to prepare your Truth or Dare questions, download our Truth or Dare app to find more!
17. Two Resolutions and a Lie
Do you and your friends like making New Year’s resolutions at the start of the year? Find out your and your friends’ resolutions for the coming year with a game of Two Resolutions and a Lie!
All you need to do is to have players give two New Year’s resolutions and a made-up resolution. They must say the three statements in front of all the party guests, and it’s up to them to figure out which of them is the lie!
Every time someone mistakes the fake resolution for the real one, make them take a drink!
18. Name Game
If you want a more laid-back game, try out the Name Game. This game is perfect if you have various groups of friends attending your New Year’s Eve party, and it is an easy way for them to mingle and have fun with each other!
To play the game, just follow these steps:
- Once your guests arrive, make them write a name on a piece of paper. This can be a celebrity, a fictional character, or even one of the guests.
- Gather all the pieces of paper with names and mix them in a large bowl.
- Divide your guests into groups and make each group take turns guessing one of the names on the slips of paper.
- One player from the group will give verbal hints while the rest can ask questions to get hints on the name written on the paper.
- Whenever someone makes a wrong guess, they drink.
- Both groups take turns playing, and the group with the number of most correct answers wins the game!
Want to give it a New Year’s twist? List names of people who made a lot of buzz in the past year!
19. Pass the Hat
This is a quick game to get the party mood started! First of all, you need a hat. It could be a top hat, a fedora, a cone party hat, or any other headgear.
Once you have your hat, gather your guests in a circle and make them pass the hat from head to head without using their hands. If someone drops it, they’re out of the game and will have to take a drink. You can prepare your unique New Year cocktail drink or make them drink beer for their penalty!
The last player left wins the game! Give them a fun prize that they can use for the coming year!
20. New Year’s Eve Champagne Play Race
Who thinks that drinking champagne is a must when ringing in the new year? If bringing out the bubbly is a must for your New Year’s Eve party, you will love a New Year’s Eve Champagne Play Race!
How to play
- Choose five people or more and make them sit in front of a table.
- Each player should have a big bowl filled with champagne, an empty glass, and a teaspoon in front of them.
- The players will then need to fill their empty glasses with champagne from the bowl using only teaspoons!
- The first person to fill their champagne glass wins! Don’t forget to drink champagne!
Of course, many more drinking games will make your New Year’s Eve party even more awesome! If you need even more fun, take a look at our party game collection! Have a fantastic New Year’s Eve, and enjoy the last day of the year! π