The classic way to bring together new friends, a good old drinking game never fails to improve an evening, leaving you a little merrier than you started off. But some countries take their drinking games more seriously than others… here we’ve rounded up the best of the bizarre.
Travelling this year? Give these European drinking games a go yourself and earn yourself some mates for life… if you think you can survive them.
Where? A bizarre German idea, this game seems easy to start with… but try swinging a hammer after 5 pints of Weiss beer…
What’s it mean? “Hammer Blows”
You’ll need: A tree. One nail per player. A hammer. A lot of beer. A medical team on site.
Each player places the tip of a nail into a tree (?!) and players take it in turn to sling the hammer and knock the nail into the tree – so far so good. The winner is the player who hits the nail all the way into the tree – but each time someone misses the nail, he has to finish his drink. We can see how this could snowball.
A team of drunk Germans hurling a hammer at a tree with nails in it… what could possibly go wrong.
Where? Thank Spain for this insanely complicated game. Sounds hilarious – but we can’t see it getting beyond the first drink.
What’s it mean? Named after a rumba band from Madrid (you’ll see why)
You’ll need: Hands. Musical talent. A lot of concentration.
Start out in a ring. Everyone claps “flamenco style” (whatever that means). Each player goes round the circle and shouts out a number. This is their number for the rest of the game.
Next, you go round the circle. *YOU SHOULD ALL STILL BE CLAPPING!* Each person in turn shouts out their own number and the number of someone else in the group. The new person now has to do the same.
Sounds ok? Well while all this is happening (and you’re still clapping, just to be clear) the person on the left of the current player has to mime playing the drums, while the person to the right has to pretend to play the guitar. If you mess any of this up or you don’t do it properly, you have to drink – no excuses.
As noted – we can’t see this one getting too far…
Where? Britain
What’s it mean? Withnail and I is a cult classic of British Cinema, and it involves a lot of drinking…
You’ll need: The film. Lots of alcohol.
The rules of this one are simple. Watch the film. Watch the characters drink alcohol. Whenever the characters drink, you drink. In total, if you make it to the end of the film, you and Withnail will consume 9 1/2 glasses of red wine, 1 pint of cider, 1 shot of lighter fluid, 2 1/2 shots of gin, 6 glasses of sherry, 13 whiskeys and 1/2 a pint of ale. Good luck.
Where? Austria
What’s it mean? “Case-Race”
You’ll need: A case of beer. A long road. Strong arms and a tough liver.
The name really sums up this Austrian gem. Race, with a case (of beer). By the end of the race, you must not only have carried the case the whole way, but also have drunk the entire contents of the case. We imagine it gets easier as you go…
Where? An unusually rowdy game from our sophisticated French friends
What’s it mean? Biscuit…(your guess is as good as ours on this one)
You’ll need: 2 dice. Gallic charm.
This game basically involves rolling two dice. The rules around what you roll are really quite complicated, so if you’re really keen to play you might need a notebook to remind yourself, but the most important thing to remember is that if you roll a 7, everyone has to put their thumb on their head (obviously…). If you’re the last to do it, you’re the bizkit and if anyone rolls a 3, the bizkit must drink.
Where? Worryingly this one’s from Russia
What’s it mean? It means drinking. Russian style.
You’ll need: Vodka. An authority figure. Optional tigers.
In classic Russian style, this game is heavy on the vodka. A leader is elected for the evening, and everyone takes a shot of vodka. At random intervals during the evening, the leader yells “Tigers coming!” at which point everyone has to take a shot of vodka and hide under the table until the tiger leaves.
This game doesn’t really have a winner as such… it has at least one loser though – the first person who fails to get up from under the table. Being honest about this game, tbh it won’t be long before everyone loses.
Where: Poland
What’s it mean? Something to do with sticks?
You’ll need: Some reluctant people and some sticks
Last but not least, we have my personal favourite of the list, though it isn’t a game as such. Po Stiklivka is a Polish song, the lyrics of which (loosely translated) mean something along the lines of…
“Come and drink with us! If you don’t we’ll beat you with sticks”
We don’t normally need much convincing, but if that’s not an excuse for a drink I’m not sure what is.
If you fancy trying out these bizarre games in their natural habitats, why not book a Euroventure today… your new friends will thank you for it.
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Words by Catherine Livesley
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