A Guide To Chinese Drinking Games

A Guide To Chinese Drinking Games
May 01, 2018 By Eddy O’Neil , eChinacities.com

Gānbēi (干杯) -- two of the most feared characters in the Chinese language, especially if they come at you during a Chinese drinking game. Translated as “Bottoms up”, it’s the way your night might end if you haven’t got some experience of Chinese drinking games and how to play them.

In the West, we have drinking games that border on competitive sports, such as Beer Pong or Flip Cup; that can spiral out of control based on the players’ creativity, such as Ring of Fire; and that are flat out wars of attrition, like Power Hours.

Chinese drinking games, however, are quite different. Below is a guide to some of the most popular so that you may have a chance of surviving the the first half hour the next time a local friend suggests to play.

Liar's Dice (吹牛, Chuī Niú)

Arguably the most famous and most deadly of all Chinese drinking games is Liar's Dice. Known locally as Chuī Niú, this drinking game is a common sight and sound in most Chinese bars and nightclubs. Veterans of the game may even experience a shiver down their spine when they hear the familiar rattle of the die in the cup.

Each player is armed with a cup stocked with five 6-sided die. Players shake their die, look at them but don’t show the other players. The next stage is where the game gets interesting.

Going around the group in order, players will claim they have a certain quantity of die showing a certain number. The next player must either increase the quantity or increase the total number.

So, for example, if I say, “three 5s”, you can say “four or more 5s” or “three 6s”. The sneak is that you don’t have to tell the truth about what you have.

Basically, the whole thing boils down to an intense game of bluff. The player that drinks is either the one who is caught out in a lie or the one who incorrectly calls out another player for lying.

5, 10, 15 (五, 十, 十五, Wǔ, Shí, Shíwǔ)

The very simply named “5,10,15” is indeed a very simple drinking game. This one is ideal for those already suffering from the effects of booze and need a game they can follow without being completely finished off.

You just need two players with two hands each, which hopefully you will still be in possession of by this stage of the night. The two players count down to revealing their hands, at which point they can display 0, 5, or 10 fingers. One player must guess what the total amount of fingers will be at the moment of the reveal. Clue: it can only be 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20.

If Player One guesses correctly, Player Two has to drink. If Player One guesses incorrectly twice in a row, Player One has to drink. See. Told you it was simple.

Two Bees (两只蜜蜂呀飞到花丛中呀飞呀, Liǎng Zhī Mì Fēng Ya Fēi Dào Huācóng Zhōng Ya Fēi Ya)

Mercifully, the English name of this game is considerably shorter than the Chinese. This Chinese drinking game and its rules, however, are decidedly less forgiving. It does make for a lot of fun though and it’s a great way to get a party started.

The game begins with one player saying the phrase,“Two bees fly down to a flower and fly”(see stupidly long game name). This is then followed by a classic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Stone. What follows is much less traditional.

If you win, you must pretend to slap your opponent three times. If you lose, you must pretend to be slapped three times. If you both produce the same hand signals you must pretend to kiss each other. If someone screws up the rules, it’s time for them to drink!

Do you know any more Chinese drinking games? Tell is about them below.

 

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Keywords: Chinese drinking games

2 Comments

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andybrocks2012

My advice, dont play

May 29, 2018 15:00 Report Abuse

Guest15381482

liar's dice? that is apt for this country.

May 04, 2018 11:47 Report Abuse