film based drinking games

A little ditty about how film based drinking games are supposed to work compared to how they are often designed. Let’s first have a look at what a drinking game is supposed to achieve:

Film based Drinking game (n): An activity designed to make the participants far drunker than they had intended through the use of previously unnoticed repetition within a favourite film.

Here you can see that the Collin’s dictionary has made a good point. Drinking games should get you drunk when you weren’t intending to. If you were willing to drink copious amounts of alcohol then you don’t need a drinking game. If you are not willing to do this, then you won’t want to do it by choice. What you need is an ambush.

So person A (let’s say Andy for simplicity), wants to get drunk with person B (Bill), but Bill doesn’t really want to drink too much. “Hey Bill” says A, “Let’s just drink and watch a film that you really like”. William will obviously agree to this. “Let’s make it a drinking game” suggests Andrew. Now Will is not about to say yes to this one unless he believes that there won’t be that much drink involved. There are now two options:

Option A: A furnishes B with a two page list of various events that occur in the film with the phrase “Drink when the following happens” at the top.

Option B: A says just one thing that if it happens in the film they must drink to.

Now option A will clearly have B spotting the dangers ahead and backing out. But option B has Bill thinking that he knows this film and can’t remember it happening too much, so it’s safe to take the challenge.

Sadly, far too many of the online “film drinking games” fall into the first category, with a massive page of detailed events listed that you must drink to. The other major problem with this is that even if you were game to try and do it, that you must stay sober and aware enough to constantly peruse a long list.

Instead let me give you an example of how I believe a drinking game should look:

Sin City.
Drink whilst the following is happening:
1. A colour is shown other than black and white.

That’s it. Bill will think “That does happen a few times, but is a fair challenge”. Before long he has drunk enough through being surprised at his underestimate of exactly how often this happens. Do try this one by the way. It’s a fun one.

Here are some other simple ones:
Blade: Drink along with vampires. Whilst a vampire is feeding, you have to be drinking.
Wayne’s World: Drink whilst anyone is talking to the camera.
Terminator 2: Drink during gun fire. If you’re less capable of holding your drink, drink whenever the kid’s voice cracks.
Lord of the Rings: Every time someone falls over
Dazed and Confused: Every time the kid touches his hair.
Saving Private Ryan Anytime anyone dies (Apologies for the bad taste)
Batman Begins: Anytime someone says gotham
Clockwork Orange: Any time someone uses a made up word