Drinking games can be fun, but dangerous

Credit: Danielle Toth

“Drink two!”

“Take another!”

“Now, do a shot!”

Drinking games are a quick way to get drunk because of the large amount of alcohol consumed in a short period of time, said Scott Dotterer, coordinator of student health promotions.

The classic drinking games, such as kings and flip-cup, as amusing as they are, can be dangerous.

Beer Pong

Beer Pong is well-known among college-aged students. Cups are set up in a pyramid formation on either end of a long table and then filled with a set amount of beer. Opponents must throw ping pong balls into the cups to get the opposing team to drink the contents of the cups. The team that lands balls in all of the cups wins. The other team loses but wins, having consumed all the beer.

In some games, players are allowed to try to swat the ball away from their cups, but others play with hands behind their backs.

“The more you play, the more wasted you get,” said David Allen, freshman public relations major. “There is no easy way to win.”

Seven, Eleven, Doubles

This game uses two dice. The designated drinker continues to drink until the roller rolls a seven, 11 or doubles on the dice. If the drinker finishes his or her drink before the roller rolls the correct combination, play is ended and moves to the next person. However, if the person rolls the seven, 11 or doubles three times in a row, he or she can make a rule for the duration of the game.

“It’s fun times,” junior education major Ashley Ball said. “You get wasted fast.”

Hi-Lo

In Hi-Lo, two rows of four cards are laid on the table face-up. The person then guesses if the next card in the deck will be higher or lower than the first face-up card.

If he or she gets it right, he or she moves to the next face-up card. If he or she gets it wrong, he or she must take a drink. If the person gets the first four cards right, he or she take four drinks and keep going, said freshman psychology major Patrick Pyles.

Asshole

In Asshole, the cards are passed out evenly among the players. The two is the highest card, followed by the ace, king, queen, etc. The player to the left of the dealer puts down a card. The next player must put down a card of higher value than the previous card. Play ends when all players pass because they don’t have higher cards or a two is laid down. A two resets the game and play resumes.

If a player has two identical cards (such as two sevens) that are higher than the previous card, he or she can lay them down. The next player must in turn lay down two higher cards to beat the previous hand, or can lay down a two to reset the game. Twos are always the all-powerful card.

The person who gets rid of all his or her cards first wins and becomes the President. The President can make any person drink during the next game. The second person out is the Vice President and can make any person except the President drink during the next game. The others continue the hierarchy until the last person is left. This person is the asshole, who must fill the other players’ cups, deal the cards and can make no other person drink.

Use caution

While drinking games are fun, they are still considered binge drinking.

For men, binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in one sitting one or more times a week, and for females that amount is four drinks, Dotterer said.

“A drink is a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of wine, a 10 oz. wine cooler or a 1.5 oz. shot of 80-proof liquor,” he said.

It is important to be careful while playing drinking games, especially because of the risk of alcohol poisoning.

“Alcohol poisoning is an emergency situation,” Dotterer said. “Passing out, blackouts, vomiting, injuries and drinking and driving are also risks students take when binge drinking.”

Drinking games also rely heavily on an individual’s tolerance level.

“Tolerance is a warning sign,” Dotterer said. “If it takes more alcohol to get the same effect, that is a sign of alcoholism. It is a sign you are becoming dependent on alcohol.”

When drinking, he advises students to set a number of drinks that they are comfortable drinking in the evening and being assertive about that amount.

“Being assertive means being firm in communicating what you want to try to get across,” Dotterer said. “It is never OK to pressure someone else to drink. It’s all about respecting the other person.”

Contact features reporter Danielle Toth at [email protected].