Drinking game · Game 221 of 388 ♥
Kings Cup
A circle of cards around a cup, a rule for every rank – and whoever draws the fourth King faces the cup.
- Players
- 3–10
- Duration
- 30 min
- Age
- 18+
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cards
- 52 cards, no jokers, plus a large cup
- Skill – Luck
- SkillLuck
- Everyone for themselves – Lots of interaction
- Everyone for themselvesLots of interaction
- Simple – Complex
- SimpleComplex
- Quick – Long
- QuickLong
Mood wildlearned in 5 minutesdrinking game
Collections: Games for three · Games for four · Games for five · Games for six or more · Drinking games · No score pad needed
Full rules
Overview
Kings Cup is a party game for adults, also called Ring of Fire or Circle of Death. The cards lie face down in a circle around an empty cup. In turn, everyone draws a card, and each rank has its own rule – some make one player drink, some make everyone play a quick word game, some change the rules for the rest of the game. Whoever draws the fourth King has to drink the King's cup. There is no winner; the game is the fun along the way.
- Players: 3–10.
- You need: a standard 52-card deck without jokers, a large empty cup, and a drink for each player.
The game works just as well with points, forfeits or soft drinks – and nobody should ever be pushed to drink. A "drink" in these rules means one sip.
Setup
- Put the empty cup – the King's cup – in the middle of the table.
- Shuffle the cards and spread them face down in a circle around the cup, each card touching or overlapping the next, so that the circle is closed.
- Sit round the table. Choose a player to start; play goes clockwise.
Playing a turn
On your turn, take any card from the circle, turn it face up so that everyone can see it, and carry out the rule for its rank (see the table below). Then it's the next player's turn. Keep the cards you have drawn in front of you – you'll need them to remember who is Question Master or who is your mate.
The cards
This is the most common set of rules. Groups vary them a lot, so agree on your own table before you start – the card-by-card rules below are only one version.
| Card | Name | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| A | Waterfall | Everyone starts drinking at the same time. You may stop whenever you like; the player on your left may stop only after you, and so on round the table in the direction of play. |
| 2 | You | Choose a player to take a sip. |
| 3 | Me | You take a sip. |
| 4 | Floor | Everyone touches the floor – the last one to do it takes a sip. |
| 5 | Guys | All men take a sip. |
| 6 | Girls | All women take a sip. |
| 7 | Heaven | Everyone points to the sky – the last one takes a sip. |
| 8 | Mate | Choose a mate: whenever you drink until the end of the game, your mate drinks too. |
| 9 | Rhyme | Say a word. Going round, each player says a word that rhymes with it. The first to repeat a word or fail takes a sip. |
| 10 | Categories | Name a category (e.g. car brands). Going round, each player names something in it. The first to repeat or fail takes a sip. |
| J | Make a rule | Invent a rule that holds until the end of the game (e.g. "no pointing"). Anyone who breaks it takes a sip. |
| Q | Question Master | Until someone else draws a Queen, you're Question Master: anyone who answers a question from you takes a sip. |
| K | King's cup | Pour some of your drink into the King's cup. The fourth King: see below. |
Example: Anna draws a 10 and says "fruit". Ben: "apple", Carla: "banana", Dan hesitates too long – Dan takes a sip. Next, Ben draws a Queen: he's now Question Master. Carla asks him what time it is; he replies "Why, are you in a hurry?", she says "No" – and has to drink, because she answered Ben's question.
The fourth King
The first three players who draw a King each pour some of their drink into the King's cup. Whoever draws the fourth King has to drink the King's cup. That ends the game. If the circle is used up first, the game ends then.
Because the cup can hold a mixture of different drinks, many groups keep it small – for instance just a splash from each of the first three Kings – or let the fourth King simply end the game.
Tips for beginners
- Agree on the rules for every rank before you start, and write them down if you change them.
- Keep the made-up rules (Jack) harmless and easy to remember.
- As Question Master, ask casual questions ("Can you pass the crisps?") – that's how people get caught.
- Drink water between rounds, and never push anyone who says "no".
Variants
Optional – agree before you start.
- Breaking the circle: if you draw a card and break the circle (two neighbouring cards no longer touch), you take a penalty (in the UK, Ireland and Australia the player who breaks the circle often takes the King's cup instead of the fourth King).
- Thumb Master (5): instead of "Guys", the 5 makes you Thumb Master: whenever you put your thumb on the table, everyone must follow, and the last one takes a sip.
- Ring of Fire with a can: instead of a cup, a closed can stands in the middle. Each player slides the drawn card under the tab; whoever opens the can has to drink it.
- German assignment: many German rule sites use quite a different table, e.g. A = everyone drinks, 2 = categories, 3 = rhyme, 4 = Question Master, 5 = drink yourself, 6 = Thumb Master, 7 = counting (count round the table and clap instead of saying any number with a 7 in it or divisible by 7), 8 = make a rule, 9 = toilet card (only the player who has it may leave the table), 10 = hand out ten sips, J = guys, Q = girls, K = King's cup.
Background & history
- Family: Drinking game (party game with cards)
- Origin: unknown; a folk game of English-speaking countries
- Also known as: Kings, King's Cup, Ring of Fire, Circle of Death, Donut
- Related games: Ride the Bus, Horse Race, Beat the Dealer
Kings is a folk game with no inventor, no date and no fixed rule book – the sources say nothing reliable about where it comes from. What all versions share is the basic idea: the deck is spread in a circle around a cup, each player draws a card in turn, every rank has a rule, and the Kings fill the cup in the middle. According to Wikipedia, the first three Kings each add some of their drink to the King's cup and the player who draws the fourth King must drink it.
The rules for the individual ranks vary more than in almost any other card game. Wikipedia lists the common English-language set used on this page (Waterfall, You, Me, Categories, Rhyme, Make a rule, Question Master …) but also several alternatives for many ranks, such as Thumb Master for the 5. German rule sites often use a quite different table, with "everyone drinks" for the Ace, categories on the 2 and a counting game on the 7.
There are regional versions too. Wikipedia notes that in the UK, Ireland and Australia the cup is often drunk by the player who breaks the circle, and describes a Belgian "Circle of Destruction" and the Ring of Fire form, where cards are slid under the tab of a can. The table on this page is one common version – choose the rules that suit your group, and play responsibly.