The 7 Best Drinking Games for 4 Players
Four is the team number — the one group size where everything splits cleanly two-a-side, and the only one that unlocks two games you cannot play with five.
Most lists treat four players as “small group” and hand you the same games they would give six or eight. But four is the one number where 2v2 actually works: beer pong and battleshots are built for exactly two teams of two and cap out there. Add a fifth person and they come off the table entirely.
Four also deals a 52-card deck evenly at thirteen each, and it is the minimum for President to have a real hierarchy — with three there is no middle of the table, so the ranks that make it funny never form. This list leads with the games where four is not merely workable but optimal, then fills out with the classics that play best at this size.
Beer PongMax 4 players
The reason this page exists. Beer pong is two teams of two and stops at four — with a fifth person somebody sits out every single round. If you have exactly four people and a table, start here and work out the rest of the night later.
⚡ Quick rules
- Two teams of two, ten cups racked in a triangle at each end of the table.
- Take turns throwing a ping-pong ball into the other team's cups.
- Sink a cup and the other team drinks it and takes it off the table.
- First team to clear the opposing rack wins; the losers finish whatever is left.
Full rules, setup and variations →2–4 players · Medium · EasyBattleshotsMax 4 players
Battleship with shots instead of pegs, played two against two behind a screen. Like beer pong it maxes out at four — and unlike beer pong it needs no table space, just two sheets of paper and more shot glasses than seems wise.
⚡ Quick rules
- Each team lays out shot glasses on a grid the other team cannot see.
- Call coordinates in turn to hunt the opposing fleet.
- A hit means the other team drinks that shot and removes it from the board.
- Sink every ship to win — by which point the losing team is thoroughly the losing team.
Full rules, setup and variations →2–4 players · Medium · EasyPresident
Needs a minimum of four to work at all. With three players there is no middle of the table, so the hierarchy never forms and the game is just cards. At four you get President, Vice President, Citizen and Asshole — the smallest complete social ladder, and the point of the whole thing.
⚡ Quick rules
- Deal the whole deck. Play cards in ascending runs, each beating the last.
- First player to empty their hand is President; the last one left is the Asshole.
- Next round the Asshole hands their best cards to the President and pours the drinks.
- Ranks carry over between rounds, so losing gets harder and winning gets easier.
Full rules, setup and variations →4–8 players · Long · MediumFuck You
Our most-played game, and four is close to its ideal size. Enough people that the dealer's bluff has an audience, few enough that your turn comes round fast — at eight you spend most of the game waiting for a card.
⚡ Quick rules
- Everyone holds 4 hidden cards — the dealer too.
- The dealer flips a card at you and claims to hold one equal or higher.
- Believe them and drink the card's value. Call the bluff and somebody drinks double.
- Whoever drinks deals the next card.
Full rules, setup and variations →3–8 players · Medium · EasyMexican
Two dice, one cup and a lie. Rounds are fast enough that four players keep the momentum going without the dead air a bigger circle brings, and calling a bluff lands harder when there are only three other faces to read.
⚡ Quick rules
- Roll two dice under a cup and look at them without showing anyone.
- Announce a score — the truth, or something better.
- The next player either believes you and rolls higher, or calls your bluff.
- Whoever is wrong drinks. A 2 and a 1 is Mexican and beats everything.
Full rules, setup and variations →3–10 players · Medium · MediumRide the Bus
The four-round structure and the pyramid both work better with a small table. With four players the dealing stays quick, and the final round — riding the bus alone — is genuinely brutal because the other three have nothing to do but watch you.
⚡ Quick rules
- Round one: guess red or black. Round two: higher or lower. Round three: inside or outside. Round four: guess the suit.
- Wrong answers earn drinks that stack up as the rounds go on.
- Build a pyramid of cards and hand out drinks by matching what is in your hand.
- Whoever collected the most cards rides the bus — alone, in front of everyone.
Full rules, setup and variations →3–10 players · Medium · MediumKing's Cup
The default party game for a reason, and four is comfortably inside its sweet spot. The deck lasts a sensible length of time, every rule affects somebody you can see, and the circle is small enough that the rules people invent actually stick.
⚡ Quick rules
- Spread the deck face-down in a ring around an empty cup in the middle.
- Take turns drawing a card — each rank has its own rule.
- Draw a King and pour some of your drink into the centre cup.
- Whoever draws the fourth King drinks the whole thing.
Full rules, setup and variations →3–10 players · Medium · Medium
Every game that works with 4 players
The seven above are the ones we would actually pick. If you would rather dig through everything that fits four people, the full list is below.
Fuck You
An aggressive bluffing card game where you either believe the dealer or shout 'Fuck you!' and risk drinking double.
King's Cup
A classic card-based drinking game where each card rank triggers a different rule.
Truth or Dare
Choose truth to come clean, or pick a dare and get moving. If you chicken out, you're taking a drink.
Mexican
Roll two dice secretly, announce your score, and bluff your way to the top. The Mexican (2-1) rules the table.
Cardinal Puff
A legendary ceremony that emphasizes the ability to focus. Flawlessly perform three rounds of gestures and toasts, or drink and start over.
Red or Black
Guess the color of the card before the dealer flips it. Right? The dealer drinks. Wrong? You drink.
Never Have I Ever
Take turns saying something you've never done — anyone who HAS done it must drink. Simple rules, endless secrets.
Pizza Box
Flip a coin onto a pizza box — land on blank space and trace a rule, land on a circle and follow it.
Ride the Bus
A high-stakes classic of guessing games and mounting penalties. Survive the pyramid, or you'll be the one stuck riding the bus.
President
A card game of hierarchy and power. The winner becomes President; the loser becomes the Asshole.
Power Hour
One shot of beer per minute, sixty minutes straight. It sounds easy — until it doesn't.
Higher or Lower
Guess if the next card is higher or lower. Wrong guess? You drink. Three in a row and you assign the drinks.
Categories
Name something from a category without hesitating or repeating. If you fail, you drink.
Cheers to the Governor
Count to 21 together. Whoever reaches the goal makes up a new rule that everyone must follow.
Around the World
Hit the cups in a row one by one. You must go further than the person before you, or you drink. If you beat them, they drink.
Pyramid
Memorize your four cards and bluff like a pro. Assign sips to believers, but risk drinking double if someone calls your bluff.
Drunk UNO
Classic UNO with a liquid penalty. Every action card, forgotten 'UNO', and leftover cards mean you drink.
Most Likely To
Someone asks a 'Most likely to...' question and everyone points. Take a drink for every finger aimed at you.
Drunk Twister
The classic game of Twister with shots on the mat — land on a color, take a drink, and try to stay up.
Roxanne
Play the hit by The Police – one team drinks to 'Roxanne', the other to 'red light'. Three minutes of intense suffering.
Straight Face
Keep a straight face while reading crazy sentences. Anyone who laughs drinks – and if nobody cracks, the reader drinks.
Flip, Sip, or Strip
Flip a coin and guess the outcome. If you're wrong, choose your fate: take a drink or lose a layer.
Fuck the Dealer
Guess the dealer's card, you only get 2 tries; if you miss, you drink the difference. Guess right and the dealer drinks.
Buffalo
Always drink with your non-dominant hand — if you get caught using the wrong one, you must chug your drink.