Once the excitement of Christmas is over, just as you think you can relax, it’s time to start thinking about what you’re doing for New Year’s Eve. Whether you’re attending someone else’s party or hosting your own, it can be challenging to come up with new ideas to keep the party going and make it that little bit better than last year.
So, I have put together a list of New Year’s Eve drinking games that are a must-try while you’re seeing in the year ahead.
Best New Year’s Eve Drinking Games for 2023
It can be a mix of emotions when one year ends, and a new one starts, and one way people choose to celebrate it is by throwing a New Year’s Eve party. However, it can take a lot of work year after year to think of refreshing ideas that stand out from previous years.
So, throughout this guide, I have included some of the newest and up-to-date versions of New Year’s Eve drinking games that will make your party the most memorable one of all.
I have included some games that need nothing but you, your friends, the booze, and some others that you might need to purchase a few props for. However, I have tried to keep the cost of the game to a minimum, given the current climate.
So, let’s get this party started and see the New Year with a bang.
1. Uno Drinking Game
My family and I absolutely love playing Uno. The high speed, tension, and panic during the last minutes always get everyone in a twist, and we all end up in fits of laughter. However, I have recently learned that you can improve this game and make it even more hilarious by adding drinking to the mix. (I know, I don’t understand why I hadn’t thought about it before either; after all, it’s genius!).
Have you ever played the classic version of Uno? If so, you’ll already know what a great game it is, but when you add alcohol to it, it’s even better. Each card has different actions in the standard game, which usually include discarding or collecting more cards. However, in this drinking version of Uno, the cards mean something else entirely. The cards go as follows:
- Plus Four – Everybody takes a sip of their drink
- Plus Two – The next player takes two drinks
- Return Card – The game changes direction (This is the same as the standard game)
- Skip Card – Select a player to take a drink
- Matching Number – The previous player drinks
- Matching Color – You drink
Whoever is the first person to discard all the cards is the winner, so don’t forget to try and stump your opponents with more cards at every opportunity. Oh, and remember to hit Uno before you discard your second to the last card; otherwise, you’ll have to draw two more.
Find out more games you can play with your Uno cards, or spice things up with Spicy Uno.
2. Would You Rather
Would You Rather is a game that needs no equipment whatsoever, so as long as you’ve got your booze cupboard well stocked, you’re good to go. However, if you don’t want the hassle of thinking up your questions, then you could pick up something like this handy Would You Rather book, which will give you plenty of questions and answers to choose from.
The idea of the game is for a person to read aloud a question; for instance, would you rather win the lottery or be invisible, or would you rather live in the Bahamas with no money or live in Antarctica as a millionaire? You can change the questions to be a little more themed towards New Year’s Eve if you want, such as would you prefer to spend New Year’s Eve with strangers at the pub or with your in-laws?
Once the question has been asked, players must choose one answer; whichever answer has been selected the least means a drink for those who chose that answer.
3. New Years’ Eve Charades
Who doesn’t love a game of charades? Even if you’re one of those people who are so bad at it nobody wants you on their team, it’s still a game that everyone at the party can get on board with.
The drinking version is a fun twist on charades that makes it an adults-only game and means that things can be even more raucous.
To play the game, divide your group into teams of even numbers. If you have a smaller group, then divide it into pairs.
Acting out or miming is the goal of the game. You must try to get your team members to guess what you are acting out; this can be the name of a movie, a song, or describing an action. You can think of many ideas, but if you want a helping hand, then I recommend these charade sets from Amazon. This way, you won’t have a mind block for ideas halfway through the game.
But where does the drinking come in, I hear you ask? Well, that’s simple, each time your team fails to suss out what you’re trying to act out, you must take a drink.
4. Pop Culture Trivia
Trivia games are always a hit at any party, and you can spice this one up by adding drinking to it. For example, each time a team loses a round, they must all take a drink.
If you’re a bit lacking in knowledge when it comes to the classic game of Trivial Pursuit, then this pop culture version may be more suited to you, with questions covering all areas of music from the last five decades.
You can play this in teams or as individuals; it depends on your group.
5. Pass The Hat
Pass the Hat is an excellent game to play at the beginning of the night to bring everyone into the party gaming mood.
To play the game, you’ll need some kind of hat. This can be a baseball cap you already have in the house (maybe not your husband’s favorite one, though.) Or, you can purchase a novelty top hat, especially for the occasion.
Now you’ve selected a hat to play with, tell your other party members to stand in a circle. Now, each of you must pass the hat onto the head of the person standing next to you. But there is a catch: you’re not allowed to use your hands, and if you drop the hat at any point, guess what? You’ll have to take a drink.
The last person standing is the winner. It’s up to you to decide what they win. Maybe you could have some prizes ready beforehand.
6. Guess Which Guest
Guess Which Guest is an excellent choice for your New Year’s Eve party if you want to find out about everyone’s lives. This is because it gets people to reveal hidden truths about themselves, spilling the beans on their life events.
To start the game, write out a list of facts relevant to all your party’s guests. This could be things like working in Mcdonald’s, getting divorced, swimming with dolphins, or anything else you know about your party members.” It can help if you have a printer to print this off multiple times.
Hand out the sheets to your guests, ask them to mingle, and ask questions to one another to determine which fact is suited to which guests; however, they are not allowed to ask the questions directly.
Depending on how many people are playing, you could have one winner, the person with the most matches, or maybe a top three, and everyone else has to take a drink.
7. Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever is super easy to play, and that involves nothing but yourselves and the booze.
The rules are simple, one player makes a statement, such as “never have I ever…secretly borrowed someone’s toothbrush“. Anyone guilty of performing the act at some point in their lives must take a sip of their drink.
You never know; you might learn something new about your family and friends, so be prepared for that!
Take a look at the full rules and instructions for Never Have I Ever.
8. High Card Draw
If you are looking for a simple, quick game that will get you drunk in the quickest time, then you find anything easier than High Card Draw. All you will need to play is a standard deck of cards, which, if you don’t already have in your games closet, you can pick up on Amazon.
Put the deck of cards in the middle of the table, and each player draws a card. After everyone has taken a turn, place your cards down for the other players to see, and whoever has the highest ranking card must take a shot. It’s that easy! It’s so easy, in fact, that you might not want to play it for too many rounds; otherwise, your guests will be falling out of the door much earlier than expected.
9. Drunk Twister
Twister is an excellent group game that concludes with everyone usually in a giant heap of tangled laughter on the floor.
You can pick a full Twister game set up from Amazon and most other online gaming sites, and the game includes a color selector and a games mat. However, I recently learned that the game has now moved with the times, and you can get a Twister version that connects to your Alexa.
If you’ve never played Twister before, the idea is to put a body part to color each time it’s your turn, for instance, right-hand yellow or left-foot green.
The twist is, when you are given your next instruction, any parts currently on colors have to remain. If they slip off or you fall over, you’re out and must take a drink. As you can imagine, this gets much harder and more entertaining the longer the game goes, and the more everyone has to drink.
10. These Cards Will Get You Drunk
These Cards Will Get You Drunk is one of my favorite drinking games to play with friends, and not just on New Year’s Eve. It’s fabulous for any party or gathering.
All you will need to play is a These Cards Will Get You Drunk set, consisting of cards, each with a statement for you to carry out. Here are a few examples of what’s on the cards:
- Guess the color of someone’s underwear; if you’re right, they take a drink; if you’re wrong, they take a drink.
- Everyone votes for the most likely cat lady, the person with the most votes takes a drink.
- Everyone votes for the biggest alcoholic, and the person with the most votes drinks.
- Everyone shorter than you drinks.
- The last person to use the bathroom takes a drink.
A Final Note
I think that’s enough games to get you through until way after the clock strikes midnight and even into the early hours. However, don’t blame me for whatever state your friends end up in by the end of the night; hey, you asked!
If you manage to work through all these fantastic games, you could always take a look at my other guide on great party games.
