The floor is lava, the beer is fuel, and the furniture is your only friend. The legendary chaos from New Girl.
True American is a combination of a drinking game, a children's game of lava, and a historical quiz. Everything we know about the game comes from the series New Girl, where the rules are intentionally confusing. The core is the Castle (a table with alcohol) in the center of the room, four zones full of furniture 'islands', and the fact that you must never touch the floor.
Set up the Castle: Place a bottle of hard liquor (the King) in the center of a table and arrange beers around it like pawns in rows (rays) pointing outward. Create 'islands' around the room using chairs, cushions, or crates. The floor is lava.
Start: Everyone shouts '1, 2, 3, 4, JFK!' at the same time, and the others respond 'FDR!'. Everyone grabs a beer from the Castle and runs to the nearest islands.
Movement: Move clockwise from island to island. If you touch the floor, you drink a penalty beer and go back to the start.
Winning the Move: The President (the last person to drink) decides how to move. For example, 'The Count': On the count of three, everyone puts 1 to 5 fingers on their forehead. Anyone who shows a unique number moves forward one island.
Quotes and Categories: The President can start a famous quote. The first person to complete it moves forward 2 islands. Or, they declare a category (e.g., car brands) and players contribute until someone gets stuck.
Drinking: You must always have a beer in your hand. Whenever you finish one, you must reach the Castle to grab a new one. Empty cans are thrown into a designated bin (the graveyard).
Victory: Once all the beers (pawns) are gone, the first player to reach the center bottle and take a drink wins the game.
Skip the historical quotes and replace them with pop culture references or movie lines for a younger crowd.
Play in teams as seen in New Girl. The team must hold hands or stay in contact during every move.
Duck, Duck, Goose for adults — every tap is a sip, but a 'Shot' means a race for the center prize.
Knock down the center bottle and drink until the opponents reset it and run back. A team race of accuracy and speed.