College Pregame Drinking Games — Get the Night Started Right
The pregame sets the tone for the whole night. The best pregame drinking games are loud, fast, easy to learn, and work in a cramped dorm room or apartment with whoever shows up.
Every game below fits the pregame formula: supports a decent-sized group, wraps up in under half an hour, and doesn't require anything you won't already have. Learn the rules once and they'll carry every pregame this semester.
The Best College Pregame Games (50 Games)
- Pub Golf — Bar crawl drinking game - visit 9-18 pubs and score like golf (4-20 players, 2-4 hours, medium)
- Dice Tower — Stack dice tower or drink the height (2-8 players, 15-25 min, medium)
- APT (Apartment) — The viral K-pop drinking game from Rose and Bruno Mars - stack hands and count to the beat! (3-20 players, 10-30 min, easy)
- Never Have I Ever — Confess your secrets - if you've done it, drink! (3-20 players, 20-60 min, easy)
- The Office Drinking Game — Drink along to The Office - that's what she said! (1-10 players, 22-45 min per episode, medium)
- Kings Cup — The classic card game where each card has a rule - draw and drink! (3-10 players, 30-60 min, easy)
- Flip Cup — Race to drink and flip your cups before the other team (4-20 players, 10-20 min, easy)
- Beer Olympics — The ultimate drinking game competition with multiple events (8-40 players, 2-4 hours, medium)
- Ride the Bus — Guess the cards right or drink your way through (2-8 players, 20-30 min, medium)
- Most Likely To — Point to who's most likely - most votes drinks! (4-15 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Liar's Dice — Bluff about your dice or get caught drinking! (2-8 players, 20-40 min, medium)
- Squid Game Red Light Green Light — The viral Squid Game drinking challenge. Freeze or face elimination! (4-20 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Do or Drink — Draw a card, do the dare, or drink. 350 plus cards of chaos. (3-12 players, 30-60 min, medium)
- Stairways — The viral TikTok card game. Climb the stairway without landing on drinking steps. (3-10 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Musical Shots — Musical chairs meets drinking. When the music stops, drink what you are holding! (4-15 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Truth or Drink — Answer the truth or take a drink to avoid it (2-10 players, 20-45 min, easy)
- Titanic — Float a shot glass in beer, add soju until it sinks. Whoever sinks it drinks it all! (2-10 players, 10-30 min, easy)
- Baskin Robbins 31 — Count to 31 but do not be the one to say it. Say up to 3 numbers per turn. (3-15 players, 5-15 min, easy)
- Boat Race — Relay race drinking - first team to finish wins! (6-20 players, 5-15 min, easy)
- Higher or Lower — Simple guessing game - will the next card be higher or lower? (2-10 players, 10-20 min, easy)
- Ship Captain Crew — Roll 6-5-4 in order, then compete for highest cargo (2-10 players, 10-20 min, easy)
- Pyramid — Climb the pyramid of cards and give out drinks (3-8 players, 15-25 min, medium)
- Mexicali — Beat the previous roll or bluff - get caught and drink! (3-10 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Captain Dickhead — Captain makes rules everyone follows (4-15 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Fingers — Predict fingers on cup (4-12 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Guess the Drawing — Quick drawing guessing game (4-16 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Pixar Drinking Game — Drink for emotional moments (1-10 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Yahtzee Shots — Yahtzee with drinking penalties (2-6 players, 30-45 min, medium)
- Kan Jam — Frisbee throwing at cans with drinking rules (4-8 players, 20-40 min, medium)
- Word Association — Rapid word association (3-12 players, 15-25 min, easy)
- Beer Bowling — Bowling with drink rules (2-8 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Phase 10 Drinking — Complete phases or drink the penalty (2-6 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- MCU Marathon — Watch Marvel movies with drink rules (1-10 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Beer Croquet — Croquet with drink checkpoints (2-6 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Cornhole Drinking — Cornhole with drinks for missing (2-8 players, 20-30 min, easy)
- Polish Horseshoes — Knock bottles off poles with frisbees while drinking (4-8 players, 20-30 min, medium)
- Capture the Flag Drinking — Capture the flag with drinking penalties (8-30 players, 30-60 min, medium)
- High Low — Guess higher or lower than the previous card (2-8 players, 10-20 min, easy)
- Thirty-One — Build to 31 in one suit or drink (3-9 players, 15-25 min, easy)
- First Dates Stories — Share dating disasters (4-15 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Going to Boston — Keep highest die each roll (2-6 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Wink Murder — Spot the winking murderer or drink (6-20 players, 15-25 min, easy)
- Ring the Bottle — Ring toss with drink stakes (2-8 players, 15-25 min, easy)
- Dice Poker Extended — Extended dice poker game (2-8 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Straight Face — Try not to laugh or smile (3-12 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Nines — Avoid taking 9 points in tricks (3-7 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Hot Seat Questions — Answer rapid fire questions (4-12 players, 20-30 min, medium)
- Midnight — Roll to maximize score with constraints (2-6 players, 15-30 min, medium)
- Pit Trading — Frantic trading game with drink penalties (3-8 players, 15-30 min, easy)
- Story Time — Tell a story one word at a time (4-12 players, 15-25 min, easy)
How to Choose
Timing is everything at a pregame. Start with a seated circle game like King's Cup while people trickle in, switch to standing games like Flip Cup or Rage Cage when the room fills up, and end on something loud right before you head out.
Space is usually the constraint — if you can't fit a table, stick to card and dice games or no-equipment call-out games that work on a couch and floor.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the best pregame drinking game?
- King's Cup is the definitive pregame game — one deck of cards, any group size, and built-in moments that get the whole room laughing. Rage Cage is the pick when you have a table and want maximum energy.
- How long should a pregame last?
- Most pregames run 60-90 minutes. Plan 2-3 games: a seated starter, a high-energy middle, and a quick closer. Leave on a high note rather than letting the energy dip.
- What pregame games work in a small dorm room?
- Card games (King's Cup, High-Low), dice games, and no-equipment games (Never Have I Ever, Medusa, 21) all work without table space. Save Beer Pong and Flip Cup for apartments with a table.
- What should you bring to a pregame?
- A deck of cards covers 80% of drinking games. Add a set of dice and some extra cups and you can run virtually every game in our directory. Don't forget water — pacing wins the night.
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