I’ve put this list together with a few things in mind. First and foremost, I’ve either played these birthday drinking games myself or read through them thoroughly – a bad game wouldn’t make the cut, even with a cool name. You’ll find games for different size groups, from small birthday celebrations to full-blown parties. I’ve also got a good mix of silly and competitive, ensuring something for everyone. And hey, I’m not afraid of complexity – some like classic Beer Pong have simple rules, while others are meant to challenge a team-based group that’s up for it. Remember, it’s all about matching the game to your party’s mood!
Turning 21? Ditch the usual party and make it a night to remember with these epic birthday Cheers to the Governor drinking games.
1. Beer Pong Birthday Drinking Game
The classic, but with a birthday twist! Each cup represents a year of the birthday person’s life. Land a ball in a cup, they drink it – and share a funny memory from that year. Turns into a roast real quick!
What You’ll Need: Ping pong balls, lots of plastic cups, beer (or whatever the adult birthday legend prefers), a long table, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is hilarious. The stories get better (and more embarrassing) the emptier the cups get. Plus, those early year cups no one ever lands in? Now they have extra importance. If you manage to sink one from your teenage years, you’re a hero.
2. Never Have I Ever (Birthday Edition)
The juicy classic turns into a birthday drinking game! Everyone starts with a certain number of points (clothes pegs on your shirt work great). Someone says, “Never have I ever…” followed by something they’ve never done. If you HAVE done it, lose a point and take a drink. Last one standing wins and spills the tea on the birthday boy/girl – they have to explain one of their wildest “Never have I ever” moments.
What You’ll Need: Just yourselves and a willingness to share potentially embarrassing secrets!
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game always unearths hilarious stories, and it’s the perfect way to learn new (and potentially shocking) things about the birthday person. Just be ready for things to potentially get awkward… but hey, that’s part of the fun!
3. Flip Cup (Birthday Relay)
Teams line up facing each other across a table, each person with a cup of their chosen alcoholic drink. First players chug, then try to flip their cup so it lands bottom-down on the table. Once they succeed, the next player in line goes. First team to flip all their cups wins… and gets to decide a fun, birthday-themed forfeit for the losing team!
What You’ll Need: Plastic cups, drinks, a table, and competitive spirit.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This fast-paced birthday drinking game gets loud, it gets messy, and it’s sure to get the adrenaline pumping. Plus, you can customize the forfeit for the birthday adult – make them sing, do a silly dance, or take a celebratory shot!
4. Truth or Drink (Birthday Hot Seat Edition)
Everyone writes down questions – embarrassing, revealing, funny, it’s all fair game. Birthday person is in the hot seat! They pick a question, and it’s their choice: answer honestly, or take a drink. This gets juicy quickly!
What You’ll Need: Paper, pens, drinks of choice, and a birthday person brave enough to handle the heat.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This intimate party game is a chance to put the birthday person front and center. The questions can reveal hilarious secrets, forgotten memories, and maybe even a few crushes. Best played with close friends when everyone’s a few drinks in and ready to get a little wild.
5. Cup Swap (Birthday Shuffle)
Everyone gets assigned a random ingredient – sweet, sour, spicy, whatever you’ve got in the kitchen! Using only their assigned ingredient, each person has to create a mini-concoction in their cup. Then, on the count of three, everyone swaps cups and takes a surprise drink… with no idea what they’re about to taste!
What You’ll Need: Cups, a bizarre variety of drink ingredients, and brave tastebuds.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: Things get chaotic (and hilarious) fast! You could tailor the ingredients to things the birthday person loves and hates, or have a prize for the tastiest (or most horrendous) creation. Warning: there might be some gagging.
6. Paranoia (Birthday Whispers Edition)
Everyone sits in a circle. One person starts by whispering a probing question about the birthday person to their neighbor (like “Who’s most likely to steal their SO?”). That person answers out loud (“Sarah!”). Now Sarah chooses: take a drink to get the juicy details, or ask a new question to keep the paranoia going!
What You’ll Need: Just a group of close friends ready for a juicy round of gossip (and plenty of drinks!).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This adult birthday drinking game get hilariously tense! The questions can be playful, probing, or downright silly, and it’s sure to get the birthday person blushing. The paranoia is real, and everyone will be dying to find out the whispered secrets flying around the room.
7. Buzzed Drinking Game (Birthday Edition)
This one comes pre-packaged, thank goodness! It’s a fast-paced, card-based drinking game with prompts like “Everyone wearing glasses, drink” or “Take a drink for every tattoo you have.” Rules get wild, and sometimes a little racy… which makes it a perfect fit for a birthday party.
What You’ll Need: The Buzzed card game itself. If you don’t have it, DIY your own with inside jokes and references to the birthday legend’s life.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is hilarious and incredibly customizable. Target the rules and challenges directly at the birthday person, their habits, or their sense of humor. As the game goes on, things only get sillier and more chaotic!
8. Drunk Jenga (Birthday Challenges)
Standard Jenga, but with boozy birthday twists! Each block has a task – silly dares, personal questions, or maybe something inspired by the birthday person’s hobbies. Remove a block, do the task. Tower falls? You lose, and face a fun, birthday-themed consequence!
What You’ll Need: Jenga set, a marker, and a wild imagination for challenges.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This adult party drinking game challenges can range from harmlessly silly to delightfully embarrassing, perfect for celebrating the birthday person. This one builds suspense with every wobbly pull, and the potential for a hilarious collapse always adds a thrill.
9. Drunk Twister (Birthday Tumbles)
The classic game of tangled limbs, now with a birthday boozy twist! Add shots to the mix – the spinner decides a body part, color, and who takes the shot. Customize the colors to represent things relevant to the birthday person (favorite candy, sports team, silly inside jokes).
What You’ll Need: A Twister mat, drinks for shots, and a good sense of humor (balance is optional).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: Warning: this one gets messy FAST! The physical challenge mixed with shots and customized colors makes for hilarious collapses, unexpected entanglements, and plenty of laughter at the birthday person’s expense. Just be prepared for potential awkwardness…it’s all part of the fun!
10. Straight Face (Birthday Roast Edition)
Everyone writes down cringey, funny, or even sweet one-liners about the birthday person. Take turns reading them – whoever cracks a smile or laughs has to take a drink. The one with the most stoic poker face wins – and gets to tell their favorite embarrassing story about the birthday star!
What You’ll Need: Paper, pens, and thick skin (this one’s all about the gentle ribbing).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is the perfect way to turn all those inside jokes and funny memories about the birthday person into a hilarious game. It’s a lighthearted roast, a chance to get the laughter flowing and reminisce about shared good times (often at the birthday person’s expense!).
11. Roulette (Birthday Shots Edition)
Classic casino risk, but with a shot glass spin! Numbered shot glasses are filled (some with tasty drinks, some…not so much). Everyone picks a number, the wheel spins, and if the ball lands on YOUR number, you down the shot!
What You’ll Need: A roulette wheel set (you can find these easily online), shot glasses, an assortment of drinks (tasty and terrifying), and a brave group ready to let fate decide their drinks.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: The birthday person gets extra spins! Will those be filled with delicious cocktails or punishment shots of pickle juice? The risk factor adds a shot of excitement, and everyone gets a turn to test their luck.
12. Most Likely To (Birthday Edition)
Someone reads out a “Most Likely To…” statement, and everyone points at who they think best fits the description. Examples: “Most likely to end up on the news,” “Most likely to win the lottery and disappear,” etc. Target the questions specifically to the birthday person’s life!
What You’ll Need: Your imaginations and a willingness to get a little savage (but in a loving way!). You can DIY this or find printable “Most Likely To” cards online.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is ALL about those inside jokes and playful jabs. Get creative with the questions (“Most likely to trip during their wedding ceremony”, “Most likely to get lost on a simple walk”). Hilarious debates are guaranteed, and it’s sure to bring up some of those long-forgotten embarrassing stories about the birthday legend.
13. Beeropoly (Birthday Edition)
It’s Monopoly, but boozier! Roll the dice, move your bottle cap around the board, and complete drinking challenges along the way. Land on “Jail”? Down that drink! Get to “Free Parking”? Everyone else takes a shot! Customize spaces with inside jokes, embarrassing childhood photos of the birthday person, or their current obsessions. Last player standing wins…and probably needs a nap.
What You’ll Need: A Beeropoly game set, or get creative and DIY your own using a standard Monopoly board and making some fun drinking-themed challenge cards.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This one’s a long haul, perfect for a night of steady drinking and reminiscing. The customization makes it all about the birthday person, and the classic Monopoly gameplay offers a hit of nostalgia mixed with hilarious challenges.
14. Cocktail Party Games (Birthday Remix)
Ditch the usual drinks and become mixologists for the night! Everyone gets assigned a random spirit and a few mixers. Time to get creative and craft a unique birthday-themed cocktail. Everyone presents their drink with a silly name, then it’s taste-testing time! Vote on the best one, and the winner gets a birthday-themed prize (mini bottle of booze, a funny hat, etc.).
What You’ll Need: A variety of spirits (the wackier, the better!), mixers, cocktail-making tools, silly straws, and goofy garnishes.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: Unleash your inner bartender and discover some (potentially) delicious or disastrous birthday cocktails. It’s a great icebreaker, gets everyone a little tipsy, and might even inspire a new signature drink for the birthday legend!
15. Medusa Birthday Drinking Game
Everyone sits in a circle, heads down. On the count of three, look up! If you catch someone else looking at you, they drink! If you lock eyes with someone, you both yell “Medusa!” and everyone else drinks. Last one with their head down wins. Make the loser face a silly birthday-themed forfeit!
What You’ll Need: Just yourselves…and the ability to suppress giggles.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: Things get chaotic FAST! The sneaky glances, the bursts of laughter, and the random shouting matches make it pure mayhem. It’s a hilarious way to put the spotlight on the birthday person…and make them a little paranoid!
16. Name Game
Players take turns naming celebrities. The catch? Each new name has to start with the first letter of the previous celebrity’s last name. Think fast! Hesitate, or can’t think of a name, and you drink.
What You’ll Need: Just your brains (and a good knowledge of pop culture icons).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This gets trickier (and funnier) the more drinks you’ve had. You can even tailor it to the birthday person by making a rule that all the celebs have to somehow relate to them – their favorite actors, musicians from their birth year, etc.
17. Quarters (Birthday Bounce Edition)
The classic game of bouncing quarters into a cup, gets a birthday twist! Each cup represents a year of the birthday person’s life. If you land your shot, they take a drink and have to share a memory from that year.
What You’ll Need: Quarters (or any similarly bouncy coin), a long table, plastic cups, and drinks of choice.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is hilarious and surprisingly nostalgic! The stories get better (and more embarrassing!) as the game goes on. Plus, if you’re really skilled, you could watch the birthday person rack up those drinks as you conquer their younger years.
18. Stop Thinking, Start Drinking (Birthday Edition)
A deck of cards with ridiculous prompts, tasks, and dares. Some are silly, some are surprisingly deep, and some are definitely designed to get you tipsy. Perfect for a group that loves a good laugh and doesn’t mind getting a little weird.
What You’ll Need: A “Stop Thinking, Start Drinking” card deck (or a DIY version with your own crazy ideas).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: The birthday person is the star of this one! You can tailor some of the cards to inside jokes, embarrassing secrets, or even challenges involving their favorite things. It’s a great icebreaker and sure to get the party roaring with laughter.
19. Two Truths and a Lie (Birthday Edition)
Each player shares three “facts” about themselves – two true, one a total lie. Everyone else has to guess the lie! The trick is to make your lie believable, or your truths outlandish enough to sound fake.
What You’ll Need: Your imaginations and a willingness to spill some secrets (or make stuff up!).
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This birthday drinking game is ALL about the birthday person! Can their friends guess which cringey childhood obsession was real, or which wild story is totally made up? It’s a fun way to get to know them better (or realize how good they are at lying!).
20. Movie Drinking Game (Birthday Pick Edition)
Pick the birthday person’s favorite movie (bonus points if it’s hilariously bad). Create a set of drinking rules tied to things that happen in the film. Example: Drink every time the main character says their catchphrase, or when there’s a cheesy 90s slow-motion scene.
What You’ll Need: The chosen movie, drinks, and a set of ridiculous rules. View our List of TV & Movie Drinking Games Rules for more ideas!
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: This one’s all about celebrating the birthday person’s unique taste (even if that taste is questionable). Tailor the rules to their favorite movie tropes, characters, or cringey moments. The worse the movie, the funnier the game gets!
21. Video Game Drinking Game (Birthday Boss Edition)
Pick a multiplayer game the birthday person loves. Everyone else is competing to dethrone them! Loser of each round drinks. If the birthday champ holds their title for a set number of rounds, they get to invent a humiliating rule everyone else must follow.
What You’ll Need: A multiplayer video game, a comfy setup, and some competitive spirit. If you don’t know where to start, view our list of video game drinking games for suggestions.
Why it’s perfect for birthdays: Put the birthday legend’s gaming skills to the test! This format works with any kind of game – racing, fighting, even something silly like Overcooked. The stakes get higher as the drinks flow, and it’s sure to get rowdy.
