Ring of Fire is a drinking card game, often also known as Kings Cup, Kings, Waterfall, or very similar to Circle of Death; all well-known favorites with good reason. Every turn results in someone drinking! It’s as simple and as fun as that!
Here are the most widely accepted Rules for Ring of Fire card game including Variations and the most suggested ‘New Rules‘.
Just need a reminder of the rules? Click on Image below.
Reminder
- IN SHORT IF:
- Everyone Drinking Beer = play RING of FIRE
- Lots of different Drinks = play KINGS CUP
Resources Required
- 1 x Pack of Cards (ideally waterproof!)
- 1 x Can of Beer (probably more!)
- Several players (2 – ~10)
Set-Up
- Set the Can in the center of the table and spread the shuffled cards face down in a circle around it. This circle of cards is then known as “The Ring of Fire“.
- Each player gathers around the table with their drink (and refills!)
OverView / General Play
One person starts by taking one card from the circle, taking care to ensure the Ring of Fire is NOT Broken (i.e the remaining cards need to be touching so there are no gaps in the circle), and then follows the rules (see below) for that card.
Having fulfilled the rules for the card you then have to place it under the opening ‘tab’ of the can. As each player does so the ‘tab’ gets pushed up, higher, and higher.
Play continues until someone makes the can ‘pssst‘ (open :) when inserting his card. They then have to Chug the whole CAN!
Note: If when trying to insert their card they knock the other cards out they then have to finish their own drink AND put all the cards back, potentially then opening the can!
After following the rules for that card Play then continues to the next person around the table who then takes a card etc
Play continues until the last King card is drawn and, following the rules, the ‘Kings Cup’ ( the cup in the center) is then consumed.
For Full Rules then see our KINGS CUP Rules.
RULES for each Card
Time for one round: 20 minutes.
Rules: How to Play Ring of Fire Drinking Game
- Ace – is Waterfall
Everyone starts drinking, however, they can only stop drinking when you stop!
- 2 – is You
You choose another player to Drink
- 3 – is Me
You must Drink
- 4 – is Wh0re
All the Girls must Drinks
- 5 – is Thumb Master
As Thumb Master, in their own time, this player places their Thumb on the table. All other players must then race to also place their Thumb on the table, last player Drinks!
- 6 – is Dicks
All the Guys must Drink
- 7 – is Heaven
Last person to point to the sky Drinks
- 8 – is Mate
Choose a Mate to Drink with you.
- 9 – is Rhyme
Say a word (e.g. Rum) and then each player, in turn, has to say a word that rhymes (e.g. Drum). First player to stutter or fail, Drinks
- 10 – is Categories
Pick a category (eg Countries) and then each player, in turn, has to say a word in that category (America). First player to stutter or fail, Drinks
- Jack – is Never Have I Ever
The card drawer starts a game of Never Have I Ever. Each player starts with 3 or 5 fingers up depending on if you have a smaller or larger group. The turn ends when someone has to put their last finger down, and that person drinks.
- Queen – is Question Master
You can ask ANY question to ANYBODY at ANY TIME until the next Queen is drawn (then that player become the Question Master) but if ANYBODY answers your question they Drink
- KING – is RULER
Make up a new rule that EVERYBODY has to follow for the rest of the game!
You are also able to ‘Cancel’ any previous rule.
Eg
ONLY drink with your left hand
Can’t refer to people by their first name
If you point, then you and the person pointed at must drink - Breaking the Ring of Fire
If, when a player removes a card, the remaining cards are not left touching each other, leaving a gap in the ‘ring’ around the Can, that player is deemed to have BROKEN THE RING OF FIRE!
They must then Chug their own drink!
- Beer Tab Card FAIL’s
If :
– They Insert their card and they knock the other cards out, they DRINK their own Beer
– They don’t get their card under the Tab, and are caught doing so, they Drink their own Beer
AND in both cases, they must put ALL the cards back under the Tab, potentially then opening the can!
If they OPEN the beer when inserting a card, at ANY Time, they Drink the WHOLE center CAN.
BEST ‘NEW RULES‘ TO ADD TO RING OF FIRE
A lot of the fun with this game comes with the additional rules that players can add. Obviously the standard forfeit is to drink!
We play that these ‘New Rules’ stay for the evening, not just that round of Ring of Fire.
- ONLY drink with your LEFT hand
- Can’t refer to people by their FIRST NAME
- If you POINT, then you and the person pointed at must drink (an alternative is if two players make eye contact)
- You can ONLY point with your ELBOW
- Only refer to yourself in the THIRD PERSON (e.g. Bob cant say “I want a beer” instead must say “Bob wants a beer”
- End every sentence by saying the last word TWICE. (TWICE!)
- If you swear you have to put your FOREHEAD on the TABLE until somebody else swears!
- Everyone picks an ANIMAL NOISE and must make it before each Drink. (often gets people multiple times in a row!)
- T-REX – whenever anybody drinks they have to do it with stubby arms on their chest.
- RENAMING another player (e.g. DADDY, DARLING, etc) anybody that forgets, drinks.
- VIKING, Whenever someone holds their index fingers up by their forehead (to look like horns), everyone, once they see the horns, must make rowing motions and noises. The last person to notice and do the rowing must drink.
- Undo your INVISIBLE SEATBELT whenever you get up. Back on when you sit down.
- Triple D – DRUNK – DRANK- DRINK If you say any of these words, you d***k!
Cheat Sheets
Just need a Quick Reminder of the Rules? Check Out our Cheat Sheets.
Reminder
Printable Version
Printable
(FRIENDLY) Printable
Variations
Just as no two snowflakes are the same, so no two games of Ring of Fire will be the same. Different players and rules make each game unique but these are the most commonly noted variations:
Ace
is for Race
Pick another player and race them to down your drinks.
is for Slap Face
All other players have to Slap your Face, the last player to do so has to Drink
2
is for SHUFFLE
Everyone has to change seats. The last person to sit down has to drink.
4
is for Wh0re
‘Wh0re’ All the Girls Drink
is for Floor
(In the Kid Friendly version); Everybody has to touch the floor, last player Drinks
is for Dinosaur
In the event that no Ladies (Girls, Chicks, etc!) are playing then on taking this card the player draws a dinosaur on another player’s face.
5
is for Drive
Everyone pretends to be driving a car; the player who got the ‘5’ starts and turns towards a neighbouring player whilst saying ‘Vroom’. The player they turned towards can then say ‘Vroom’ and turn in the same direction or instead say ‘Skrrrt’ (skid sound!) and change the direction back. This mini-game continues until somebody makes a mistake, either turning the wrong way for the sound or making a sound when it isn’t their go. They then Drink!
is for Dive
Everyone has to Dive under the table, the last player Drinks
is for Guys
(In the Kid Friendly version) All males Drink
6
is for Chicks
(In the Kid Friendly version) All females Drink
8
is for Hate
You pick a player and they have to Drink until you say STOP but if they finish before you say stop then they get to do the same to you!!
Similar Games: Kings Cup or Circle of Death
What are the Best ‘New Rules’ that you play? Which Variations have we missed?
Leave us a comment and we will add in the most popular!
