The 12 Best Super Bowl Drinking Games You Need To Try
Super Bowl Sunday is arguably an unofficial national holiday for many Americans, with an estimated 208 million viewers tuning in for 2022's game (via the NFL). That means that nearly two thirds of the U.S. population participate in the festivities in one capacity or another. Whether you are watching to see the big game, awaiting the epic halftime performance, looking forward to the commercials, or just there for the camaraderie, chances are you'll be engaging in some good-hearted revelry, which often includes a bit of imbibing.
One way to kick the party up a notch is to engage in some good-natured drinking games. Regardless of whether you plan on drinking in a group or alone, these games can help pass the time and up the fun. The key is to not overcommit. Pick one or two games maximum; otherwise the rules get complicated, and chances are you won't make it to the end of the game awake. We also recommend having plenty of snacks to help absorb the alcohol and plenty of water to keep hydrated. And for non-drinkers or kids, you may want to consider making up some awesome mocktails so that everyone can participate.
No matter who wins the Lombardi Trophy, you are sure to win Super Bowl Sunday by playing one of these games.
1. Touchdown-the-Hatch
This first game is pretty simple, and it's ideal for those who want to moderate their alcohol intake somewhat. For every touchdown, you'll polish off what's left of whatever it is that you are drinking (via Lifehacker). Depending upon your alcohol tolerance, or the excitement level of the game should one of the teams get hot and start scoring a ton of touchdowns, you may want to amend this to taking a shot of something for each touchdown. Or, better yet, make up a batch of these Irish Jell-O shots to throw down the hatch.
If you'd like to follow your beverage with an edible chaser, we recommend a one-bite appetizer to whet your whistle. Buffalo cheese puffs are a little labor intensive but will definitely be a hit. For something easier but equally as satisfying, try these herby pigs in a blanket made with store-bought crescent roll dough.
2. Bingo
Bingo is always a good idea, but Super Bowl Bingo is a great idea for a drinking game that is easy to follow and won't necessarily involve too much alcohol consumption too rapidly (via Buzzfeed). Print off bingo cards with squares for things you'll likely see during the game and distribute them among your guests. Depending upon the level of familiarity with football your guests have, you may need to do a bit of a tutorial on what some of these terms mean before the big game begins. The first person to cross off five items wins and has to (or gets to) have a drink of something or do a shot. Depending upon how quickly this occurs, you may opt to print two sets of bingo cards so you have one for each half of the game.
For a twist, you may select a category or two that prompts a group toast when it occurs, like an interception or a touchdown, just to make things a little more festive. However you opt to play, this is a game that you could easily participate in while simultaneously playing something else.
3. Pick Your Side
For this game, you are going to have to pay attention to the football game itself. If you are only there for the commercials or halftime show and aren't focusing on who is playing or what happens, you may want to opt for a different game. Everyone else, go ahead and pick a team to root for, or against, as the case may be. Every time your team of choice has a bad play, or perhaps a penalty, take a swig. And every time the opposing team has a good play, say a first down, take another swig (via GamblingSites.com).
If you are feeling super lucky, you can up the ante by progressively increasing the number of swigs you take for every bad or good play. If your team plays well, you are far less likely to have a hangover in the morning. If your team has a terrible game, try one of these hangover cure recipes to help you feel more like yourself.
4. Football Toss
For a little healthy rivalry, and a game that gets harder to play the more you have had to drink, Football Toss is a great option (via Distractify). The game is simple but does require some advance preparation, namely securing some mini footballs from your local discount store. To play, split your group into two roughly equal teams. If you'd like, you can name yourselves after the teams in the Super Bowl to stick with the theme. Next, you'll want to set up a receptacle of some kind across the room, like a box, bucket, or trash can.
Take turns allowing teammates to try to toss the footballs into the receptacle. The team who successfully gets all of their balls into the receptacle first wins. The losers have to imbibe whatever the agreed-upon beverage or amount is. You may want to whip up a pitcher of one of these cocktails in advance for the entire team of losers to consume.
5. Announcer Words
Another game to play if you are intent upon paying careful attention to the football and commentary going on is Announcer Words, per A Subtle Revelry. The rules are simple: Pre-select a handful of keywords that a commentator might say that trigger the cue to drink. Some options might include "veteran," "pro-bowler," "rookie," "star," "injury," and "touchdown." Make sure you write the words down before the game begins. The longer the game goes on, and the more frequently commentators say the words you choose, the harder it'll be to recall what the words are.
If you want to get really snazzy with this game, you might opt to assign a particular beverage or number of sips you have to take to each word. Worried about the old adage "Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear?" This isn't backed up by science (via ARK Behavioral Health). The overall amount of alcohol you consume, dehydration, and drinking without eating enough are much greater factors in whether or not you'll feel sick from drinking.
6. Drink every time something happens
This game will require a bit of effort and creativity on your part. The underlying point of the game is to have a drink every time something predetermined happens (via Lifehacker). Here is where you come in. You will want to decide on a list of possible occurrences during the game, commercials, or halftime show. Examples may include: someone gets a first down, there is a penalty, there is a celebrity sighting, there is a beer commercial, a coach yells at the referee, or players high-five each other. The sky's the limit on this one, so have fun with it.
Then you can determine if you want to give each of these items a different instruction. For example, one item means you take a sip, another item means a shot, and a third item means you have to take a swig of water to hydrate. However you design it, make sure all of the participants are clear on the rules and you have enough beverages at the ready so you don't run out.
7. Super Bowl trivia shot game
This is a game that should only be played by hard-core football fans who never miss a Super Bowl game and who live for geeking out on knowing things like "Who won the Super Bowl in 1996?" or "What year did Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson perform the halftime show?" Create a list of Super Bowl-themed trivia questions for you to ask your guests throughout the game, or look up a list online (via Distractify). For every wrong answer a player gets, they have to take a sip of a drink. The bottom line is that the person who knows the most about football and the Super Bowl is the one who will likely wake up without a hangover in the morning.
The only caveat is that someone has to be the quizmaster to proctor this game, so that individual will have to sit out answering the questions. Maybe give them their own game to play so that they can still participate even if they aren't answering the questions. Or perhaps they get to take a sip every time a specific individual gets one wrong. You get to decide on that one.
8. Finger-flick football
Finger-flick football is arguably one of the easiest drinking games you can play during the Super Bowl (via GamblingSites.com). The hardest part of this game is fashioning your origami football out of paper. Once you have your pint-sized football, all you do is take turns flicking the football into makeshift goal posts. The goal posts can be fellow players' fingers, or you could make your own out of something like empty toilet paper rolls with popsicle sticks glued to the bottom of them.
The drinking comes into play when you either miss or make your field goal. This obviously depends upon how talented you are at making finger field goals and how much you'd like to drink. For kids and those who aren't super interested in following the actual football on the television but still want to participate in the Super Bowl party fun, this is the perfect alternative.
9. Party People
Let's be honest, not everyone is all that into the Super Bowl itself, but they are the life of the party when it comes to having a great time. This game pays homage to these folks by focusing on them (via A Subtle Revelry). Rather than fixating on what's happening on the television, it allows you to really engage with everyone in attendance by paying attention to what they are doing and saying.
The rules are simple: Select a list of things or "infractions" that attendees may engage in. We recommend picking maybe a dozen or so. Examples might include yelling at the television, spilling your drink, saying "referee," or eating a potato chip. Each time someone is guilty of an infraction, they have to take a sip of their drink. Be sure to put the list of infractions on a poster on the wall so everyone can see them, and you may consider designating a referee who is in charge of calling folks out when they slip up. A little kind-hearted teasing may be in order when someone gets caught; just be sure to keep it light. You don't want anyone to feel like they are being ganged up on.
10. 'I watch for the commercials!' Bingo
We may or may not be part of the "I only watch for the commercials" crowd at our own Super Bowl festivities. For this reason, we love the idea of a game solely devoted to the commercials (via Lifehacker). A variation on Super Bowl Bingo, this game involves creating your own bingo cards and populating them with possible commercial themes. You can select items (like cars, beer, or insurance), a brand name (like Budweiser, Hellmann's, or Doritos), or even a celebrity (like Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift, or Cher). Just make sure each bingo card is slightly different to make things more fun.
You can either have people drink every time they fill in a square or only drink if someone wins by getting five squares in a row filled in. Or, if you are feeling fancy, do both, and maybe make the winner drink a special cocktail, like a daiquiri or a mojito.
11. The ultimate Super Bowl commercials drinking game
Another game for the "I only watch for the commercials" crowd in attendance comes from Adland. While this is a variation on the "drink every time (blank) happens" game, it is tailored specifically to the commercials, and it pairs a particular drink with each prompt. For example, it recommends drinking a Sapphire Martini every time an A-List celebrity appears in a commercial, or having some Tang when there is a space-themed commercial.
You could easily follow the prompts suggested, but we think making up your own would be infinitely more fun, like "Take a swig of a margarita every time a Taco Bell commercial comes on." This is more creative and will allow you to pare down the number of different drinks you might need to have on hand, unless you happen to be a cocktail connoisseur. Additionally, we recommend suggesting both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage for each prompt so that everyone can play whether or not they are consuming alcohol during the big game.
12. Printable Super Bowl drinking game
Leave it to The Duel to come up with the ultimate Super Bowl drinking game. Not only is this game tailored to the two teams playing this year, namely the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, but it has an easy printable PDF file you can download to hand out to all of those attending your party. If you do opt to play this game, it is pretty all encompassing, so we'd suggest foregoing any other games.
Prompts are divided into three categories for various game-night occurrences: "Take a shot when," "Finish your drink when," and "Take a sip when." Because it's so comprehensive, this game could easily get out of hand, so we recommend incorporating some non-alcoholic beverages in between alcoholic ones; otherwise you might not make it to the end of the game. And like with all the others, be sure to include kids and those who are opting not to drink alcohol in the fun by giving them some fun mocktails to sip on.