Fancy being the life of the party?

Maheen Rizvi has all the games you need to get the party started…

Out of all the vital life lessons that one learns from the university experience, it seems that the plethora of drinking games – the foundation of any successful pre-drinks – are easily the most valuable. In order to avoid the social faux-pas of hosting an uneventful pre-drinks, take note of these drinking games; depending on how far you make it, for each hour of pre-drinks you’ll have a suitable game at the ready.

1. 8:00pm – Fuzzy Duck – a seemingly simple game with a difficult tongue twister, relatively easy to play with light sipping, so perfect to start the night with.

This game can be played with as little as 5 people, but the more the merrier. All players must sit in a circle, with the first player to say the phrase “FUZZY DUCK”, making the direction of the game left, or “DUCKY FUZZ”, which means the direction would be right. The next player along could either repeat the phrase, continuing the games’ direction, or saying “DOES HE”, which reverses the direction of the game. If you want to make it more complex (read: people want to get more intoxicated), once the phrase “DOES HE” is said, not only is the direction reversed, but also the alternate phrase is used – but a player cannot say the same phrase consecutively. If a player hesitates, uses the wrong phrase or the wrong direction, he/she must drink. The game may sound complicated but is relatively easy to get the hang of, and the funny slip-ups and the light sipping is a good way to start the evening.

2. 9:00pm – Zimmy Zimmy (also known as Zumi Zumi) – a rhythmic game that involves chanting, perfect to up the tempo and the drinking during the midst of pre-drinks.

The game can be played with as little as four, but once again, the more the merrier… and you might need a table (and understanding resident tutors) for this one. Firstly, one player is chosen to be Zimmy. To their left, numbers are assigned round the circle. To begin the game, everyone starts the beat of bang, bang, clap, clap, whilst the person nominated to be Zimmy says “ZIMMY, ZIMMY”, followed by the name of another player twice. (e.g. “ZIMMY, ZIMMY, THREE, THREE”) Whichever player is that number must then repeat his/her number and then pass to another number. (e.g. “THREE, THREE, SEVEN, SEVEN”). If you mess up, you have to down your drink. This game is also surprisingly useful for helping learn who your new flatmates are – and can be made significantly easier – by swapping numbers for their names.

3. 10:00pm – Medusa – a hardcore drinking game that requires little time and loads of shots, is perfect as a way to end pre-drinks and gaining full drunkenness before heading out to the club.

For this game, there should be at least 6 or more players. All players must gather round a table that has a minimum of 20-25 shots. Everyone must put their heads down and count to three out loud. On 3, everyone must look up. If two people are looking at each other, they must both yell “MEDUSA” and then race to down a shot. Whoever finishes their shot last must take another. If more than one pair yells Medusa, then the last of the group to finish their shot has to take as many shots as there are pairs. e.g – if four people shout “MEDUSA”, the last person has to drink two shots, if six people, then the last must drink three. The game must be played until there are no shots left.

These games guarantee the perfect night of pre-drinks, starting from an easy game with light sipping, working your way up to a fast tempo game with occasional downing, and then ending the pre-drinks with a hardcore game of quick shots. It’s more important than ever during Freshers to know your own limits and stay safe, so be aware of how much you and your flatmates are consuming. These games will leave you and your guests sufficiently drunk, thoroughly entertained, stop you spending too much at the club, and securing your reputation as the most entertaining host in the entire building (and also the one with the most fine