Nobody sits still at Carnival. Between wigs, masks and a costume that's just a bit too tight, you need carnival drinking games that use exactly that – the costume isn't a prop here, it's the game material. These eight carnival drinking games work with whatever is already in the room.
Last updated: 30 July 2026
What are carnival drinking games? Carnival drinking games are drinking games whose rules hook into costume, the Narrenruf call-and-response, and carnival customs in general. Carnival itself isn't a drinking game — it's the festival, and these are the games built around it. Instead of cards or dice, costume, reaction speed and rhyming skill decide who drinks next. They work in large groups, need almost no equipment, and keep running in the background while everyone dances.
💡 By the way: for the group round we built the SwigSki3000® – four people, one ski, one command. More on that below ↓
The ground rules: Narrenruf, costume, penalty shot
Before you start, two standing rules are worth setting up – they run all evening and turn any party into a game automatically. All you need are small glasses – regular shot glasses work fine, our ski-boot shot glasses with binding just get noticed more:
- The Narrenruf rule: If someone calls out the Narrenruf – the carnival call-and-response – everyone has to answer immediately. Which call is correct depends on the region: in Cologne, Bonn and Aachen it's "Alaaf", in Mainz, Düsseldorf and the south it's "Helau", in Mannheim it's "Ahoi". Agree on which one applies before you start – whoever answers late or with the wrong call drinks a sip. (Shouting "Alaaf" in Düsseldorf is actually considered an insult there, that's not a joke.) It sounds harmless, but it keeps everyone on their toes all night – after two hours, nobody calls anything out carelessly anymore.
- The costume rule: Once per hour, everyone may point at a piece of someone else's costume and claim it's "from last year". The accused can object – but then has to prove the piece is new. A photo is enough. Whoever can't prove it drinks.
Both rules cost zero preparation and run alongside everything else. And they work without alcohol too: whoever isn't drinking takes on a task instead – sing a verse, swap a costume piece, lead the next Polonaise. Everything else below is a game you start on purpose.
Eight carnival drinking games with instructions
1. Costume Taboo
Taking turns, everyone describes another guest's costume without using the three most obvious words: for a pirate, "pirate", "ship" and "sea" are banned. The group guesses who's meant – 60 seconds per round. Whoever uses a banned word drinks; if nobody guesses right, the describer drinks. Start with this one early, because afterwards everyone knows everyone else's costume. Warning: this reliably spirals into a heated debate about whether a wig counts as part of the costume.
2. Büttenrede Battle
The group shouts out a completely un-carnival everyday topic – tax returns, the recycling bin, a clothes rack – and whoever's turn it is has to deliver a 60-second Büttenrede (a rhyming carnival speech) about it, ideally with rhymes and ending in "Helau". Winner is decided by applause, but only once everyone has spoken. The weakest speech drinks. From eight guests upward, run two heats, or it'll eat the whole evening. Regularly the moment when the quietest guest steals the show.
3. Masked Ball
Everyone needs a mask or a scarf. One person asks the group a question ("Who's ever led the Polonaise?"), and on the count of three everyone answers at the same time: mask on means yes, mask off means no. Whoever is the only one to vote differently drinks; if it's several people, the smaller group drinks. Then the next person asks a question. Because everyone has to decide in the same instant, nobody can copy their neighbour.
4. Confetti Roulette
Spread a handful of confetti on the table, with a single differently-coloured piece hidden inside. Taking turns, everyone gives one short puff – don't blow hard, or the whole pile is gone after the first round. Whoever blows the special piece off the table hands out three sips, then it's rebuilt. As a bonus, the table decoration ends up exactly where it would have landed the next morning anyway.
5. The Prince Couple's Command
At the start, a prince couple is chosen by lot. In Cologne you'd make it a "Dreigestirn" instead – there's traditionally no prince couple, but a prince, a farmer and a maiden. The rulers may give commands, but only ones they fulfil and drink to themselves: "Everyone wearing a wig drinks" only counts if they're wearing a wig too. Maximum one command every five minutes, and after 30 minutes a new couple is chosen.
6. Never Have I Ever – Carnival Edition
The best-known round, here with carnival topics: "Never have I ever slept in my costume", "Never have I ever seen the inside of a carnival club", "Never have I ever still had my costume on the next day". Whoever has done it drinks. From eight people upward it gets really good, because someone almost always raises their hand that nobody would have expected.
7. Ski-Style Spin the Bottle
Everyone knows the principle, only the spinner is different: instead of a bottle, something flat and long that spins easily takes its place – a wooden spoon, a mini ski, or the remote control if nothing else is around. On four slips of paper around it, write the consequences: "swap wigs", "sing a verse", "hand out a sip", "drink one yourself". The advantage over real spin the bottle: it points at a slip of paper, not a person – so nobody feels singled out.
8. Polonaise with Stop
The Polonaise belongs to carnival as much as "Helau" does. Here's how you turn it into a game: stop the music without warning, and whoever isn't holding the shoulders or hips of the person in front drinks. Add a new rule every round – eyes closed, walking backwards, hopping on one leg. The perfect last game, because it flows straight into the dance floor.
Works with no equipment at all
Six of the eight games above need zero equipment – a few glasses and a group in costume is all it takes. If you want more of that kind: our collection of drinking games with no equipment is built on the same principle. That's exactly the point: carnival drinking games live off the situation, not the material. If you still want something on the table, put it there for the moment everyone joins in at once.
The SwigSki3000® is made exactly for that: a wooden ski with four built-in glasses, where four people knock one back on command at the same moment. It only works if everyone's in sync – and the laughter when it doesn't is the whole point of the thing. It's made of four individually removable modules that go straight in the dishwasher afterwards; if the group grows, an extension set adds six or eight spots, and eight modules is the cap.
What to drink out of
The same rule that applies to games applies to penalty shots: the smaller the glass, the longer the group lasts. A shot glass holding two centilitres is the right size – anything bigger turns a fun game into a short one.
If the glasses should match the costume too: the ski-boot shot glasses with binding come as a set of four, stand on their own on any table, and click onto a mini ski if someone wants to wear a glass around their neck through the flat. For an apres-ski carnival theme, that's already half the costume.
Getting through the season safely
Carnival stretches across several days, and that's exactly where the risk lies. A few things that make every round better:
- Alcohol-free on equal footing: every game here works just as well with juice, soda or alcohol-free sparkling wine. Whoever isn't drinking takes on a task instead – then nobody's left out.
- Small glasses, lots of water: put a jug on the table between rounds, not in the kitchen.
- Never push anyone: "Never Have I Ever" gets uncomfortable when someone's being grilled. If someone passes, they pass.
- Whoever's driving doesn't drink: no exceptions, not even for the one sip in the Narrenruf rule – that's what the task variant is for.
- 18 and over only: every game here is designed for adults. With teenagers in the group, only play the alcohol-free version.
- Sort out the way home in advance: for multi-day sessions, best to settle it right at the invitation stage.
More games for the carnival party
If the group is mixed and not everyone wants to drink, you'll find eleven games in our collection of the best carnival party games for adults – seven with a shot, four completely alcohol-free. And if you're planning the whole party around it, our carnival party ideas for adults cover theme, timeline, decor and bar setup. For more beyond carnival, our full overview of the best drinking games has ideas for any occasion, and if you've got nothing on hand, drinking games with no equipment will help.
Frequently asked questions about carnival drinking games
What are good carnival drinking games?
The games that work best are the ones that involve the costume: Costume Taboo, Büttenrede Battle, Masked Ball and the Prince Couple's Command. Add the Narrenruf rule as a standing rule for the whole evening. None of them need anything beyond a few small glasses.
Which carnival drinking games work in large groups?
The Narrenruf rule, "Never Have I Ever" and Polonaise with Stop scale to any size – the more people join in, the better. For a shared moment, a Shotski works well, where four people drink at the same time and it gets passed on quickly.
Can you play carnival drinking games without alcohol?
Yes, every game here works with juice, soda or alcohol-free sparkling wine. Alternatively, whoever loses takes on a task instead of a sip – sing a verse, swap a costume piece, lead the next Polonaise. In mixed groups with drivers or colleagues, that's the better option.
Do you need equipment for carnival drinking games?
Six of the eight games need nothing beyond glasses and a costume. Only Confetti Roulette and Ski-Style Spin the Bottle require anything extra – and both items are usually lying around at a carnival party anyway. The Shotski isn't a game of its own, it's an upgrade for the moment everyone joins in at once.
What is the Narrenruf rule?
If someone calls out the Narrenruf, everyone has to answer immediately – "Alaaf" in Cologne, Bonn and Aachen, "Helau" in Mainz, Düsseldorf and the south, "Ahoi" in Mannheim. Agree beforehand on which one applies to your group; whoever answers late or uses the wrong version drinks. The rule runs in the background all evening and needs no preparation at all.
Which games should you play at what point in a carnival party?
Start with Costume Taboo and Masked Ball, while the group is still seated and the costumes are fresh. Then Büttenrede Battle and the Prince Couple's Command, once the group has warmed up and nobody's afraid of performing anymore. Polonaise with Stop comes last, because it flows straight into the dance floor.
Sources: regional distribution of the Narrenruf calls Alaaf, Helau and Ahoi – planet-wissen.de, readersdigest.de. Büttenrede and Bütt – dwds.de, wissen.de. Prince couple and the Cologne Dreigestirn – Wikipedia (Karnevalsprinz), koelner-karneval.org. Polonaise as a carnival dance – Wikipedia (Polonaise). Shot glass volumes (2 cl / 4 cl, calibrated) – milliliter.info. As of: July 2026.
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