Stairways - Drinking Game Rules & How to Play

The viral TikTok card game. Climb the stairway without landing on drinking steps.

Equipment Needed

• Deck of cards
• Drinks

Setup

Lay out 7 cards face down in a row to create the stairway. Deal 4 cards to each player. Keep the rest as the draw pile.

How to Play Stairways

1. Each player starts at the bottom of the 7 card stairway.
2. On your turn, guess if the next stairway card is higher or lower than your current position.
3. Guess right and you move up one step.
4. Guess wrong and you drink and stay put.
5. If you have a card in your hand that matches the stairway card, you can play it to move up automatically.
6. First player to reach the top of the stairway wins that round.
7. Everyone else drinks based on how far from the top they are.
8. Reshuffle and play again.

Tips & Strategies

Hold onto matching cards for the higher steps where guessing gets harder. Pay attention to what cards have been played to improve your odds.

Variations

Speed stairways where you have limited time to guess. Team stairways where partners alternate guessing. Punishment stairways where wrong guesses send you back down.

Players: 3-10 | Duration: 15-30 min | Difficulty: medium