No deck of cards in the house? No problem — Beer Pong, dice and a few clever guessing games get the party going just as reliably. This list rounds up the best drinking games without cards, each with full instructions, every rule and ready-made examples so you can dive straight in. No cards, but you do need a few cups, balls, dice or a Jenga tower — round those up and you're ready to go.
💡 By the way: that's exactly why we built the ski boot shot glass set — the glass shaped like a ski boot with a click-in binding. More on that further down ↓
What are drinking games without cards? Drinking games that run on dice, cups, balls or pure verbal mechanics — no deck of cards required. Handy for a spontaneous night in when there's no deck of cards to hand.
Drinking Games Without Cards: Cup and Ball Games
Beer Pong
The ultimate party classic. Set up 6 or 10 cups in a pyramid on each side of a table and fill them about a third full with beer. Both teams take turns throwing table tennis balls into the opposing cups — land a ball, and the other team has to drink the cup it landed in and take it off the table. First team to sink all the opponent's cups wins. Popular house rules: a ball that bounces first ("bounce") counts double but can be swatted away; a ball still spinning inside a cup can be blown out before it settles.
Flip Cup
A fast-paced team relay. Two teams line up on opposite sides of a table, each player with a cup holding one sip. On "go," the first person on each team drinks their cup empty, sets it on the edge of the table and flicks it from underneath so it lands upside down. Only then can the next person on the team start. First team all the way through wins — pure chaos and ideal for bigger groups.
Beer Pong Olympics
For a long night: combine several throwing and skill disciplines into one tournament — classic Beer Pong, Flip Cup, cup throwing and target water. It's basically a whole evening of beer pong alternatives and games like Flip Cup rolled into one, with points for each discipline and the overall losing team buying a round at the end. Perfect if you want competition and variety.
Explained step by step in pictures – @apresallstars
A small swap with a big effect: put the ski boot shot glasses with binding on the table instead of standard glasses, and you've already served up the first talking point.
Dice Drinking Games — No Cards Needed
Dice and Drink
The simplest dice drinking game there is: give every number a fixed meaning that you agree on beforehand. A tried-and-tested set: 1 = you drink · 2 = the person on your right drinks · 3 = the person on your left drinks · 4 = all the women drink · 5 = all the men drink · 6 = everyone drinks. Take turns rolling and the matching rule kicks in. Quick to explain, instantly playable.
Liar's Dice (also called Mexican)
The classic bluffing game with two dice under a cup. You roll out of sight, sneak a look and call out a result — the truth or a lie, but always higher than whatever the last person called. The ranking runs low to high: ordinary combinations, then the doubles (11 through 66), and right at the top, Liar's Dice itself (a one and a two = 21). The next person either believes you (rolls their own dice and calls higher) or challenges you. Get caught bluffing and you drink; challenge wrongly and you drink instead.
Drunk Jenga (the Wobbly Tower)
Write a task or drinking rule on every block of a Jenga tower beforehand. Taking turns, everyone pulls a block without toppling the tower and does whatever it says. Whoever brings the tower down drinks the rest of their drink in one go. Ideas to write on: "2 sips" · "Give away 3 sips" · "Everyone drinks" · "Choose a drinking partner" · "Make up a rule" · "Do 5 squats or drink 3" · "Truth or Dare — the group decides".
Guessing and Word Games Without Cards
Who Am I?
Everyone writes the name of a well-known person on a sticky note and sticks it on someone else's forehead without them seeing. Taking turns, everyone asks yes/no questions to work out who they are ("Am I a real person?", "Am I a musician?", "Am I still alive?"). As long as the answer is "yes," you keep asking; on "no," it's the next person's turn. Guess wrong and you drink a sip.
20 Questions
One person thinks of an object, a person or an animal in their head. Everyone else gets a combined total of 20 yes/no questions to guess it ("Is it bigger than a fridge?", "Can you eat it?"). If they guess it within the 20 questions, the person who set the riddle drinks; if they don't, the whole guessing group drinks.
Fingers (also called Mouse)
Everyone puts a fist in the middle of the table. Taking turns, each player calls out a number, guessing how many thumbs will be sticking up in total once everyone reveals — each person shows 0, 1 or 2 thumbs. Whoever calls the right total gets to remove one fist (the goal: be the first to lose both). Whoever's still got fists in the game last drinks. A subtle bluffing and observation game that runs entirely on hands.
A small swap with a big effect: put the ski boot shot glasses with binding on the table instead of standard glasses, and you've already served up the first talking point.
If You Do Have a Deck of Cards
If a deck of cards does turn up after all, it's worth digging into Kings Cup, Ring of Fire and Ride the Bus from Drinking Games for 3 People. Want to skip equipment entirely? You'll find purely verbal games in Drinking Games Without Any Equipment.
The glasses are dishwasher-safe and have their own distinctive shape — the set with binding holds up to far more evenings than any plastic cup.
Tips for Card-Free Drinking Games
- Dice or a ball, always within reach: the only bit of kit that covers almost every one of these cardless games.
- Beer Pong needs space: Make sure there's enough table so the balls aren't constantly rolling off.
- Alcohol-free version works too: Every game here works just as well with soft drinks or as a pure points game.
FAQ
Which drinking games work without cards?
Beer Pong, Flip Cup, Beer Pong Olympics, Dice and Drink, Liar's Dice, Drunk Jenga, Who Am I?, 20 Questions and Fingers all work without a deck of cards.
Do you still need any equipment?
Yes, for Beer Pong and Flip Cup you'll need cups and a ball; the dice games need dice or a Jenga tower. Who Am I?, 20 Questions and Fingers need no kit at all — just your hands and your voice.
How many people do you need?
Beer Pong, Flip Cup and the Beer Pong Olympics work best in teams of 4 or more; the guessing and dice games work fine too, whether as 2 player drinking games without cards or with three or more of you.
What's the difference to drinking games without any equipment?
Drinking games without cards only rule out card decks — dice, cups or balls are still fair game. Drinking games without any equipment skip every bit of kit completely.
Do these games work without alcohol?
Yes, every mechanic works just as well with soft drinks or as a pure points game.
Which game works best for a big group?
Beer Pong, Flip Cup and the Beer Pong Olympics work best with several teams playing at once and scale well with group size.
Related articles:
Drinking Games Without Any Equipment ·
Drinking Games for 3 People ·
Cool Games for a Birthday Party