Free drinking games · Rules + play online
Shot games (with any drink in the glasses)
Shot glasses make great game pieces: they sit on a board, a wheel or a grid and everyone can see what’s at stake. These shot games work with anything in the glass, from juice and mixers to a small splash of spirits, and the best ones never need more than one real shot in a night.
- 👥 2–12 players
- 🎒 Small glasses and any drinks
Shot games: play online
A drinking roulette wheel you can edit
Spin to find out who drinks, who gives out sips, and who gets a water break or a free pass. Change any segment, add your own and share your wheel with a link.
Number your glasses 1 to 4 and fill them with whatever you like (water and juice count). Spin, and whoever spins takes a sip from the glass it lands on.
Shot games with rules and online play
Every game here uses small glasses; fill them with whatever you like.
Shot games: quick rules
Pick a game where the glass is the game piece: shot-glass roulette (spin to choose a glass), Battle Shots (sink a ship, take a sip) or shot-glass checkers (capture a piece, drink it). Fill most glasses with mixers or juice so the game lasts longer than the drinks.
Drinking games with shots: the one rule
Every game on this page works that way: the glasses are game pieces, not a dose. Mystery glasses (some water, some juice, one with a splash of something stronger) make the game more fun, not less.
One real shot per person per hour, at most. A standard shot (1.5 fl oz / 44 ml of spirits) is one standard drink, about what an adult body processes in an hour. Shot games are the fastest way for a party to go wrong, so fill the glasses with mixers, juice, soda or water and keep spirits for a small splash in a few of them.
Shot-glass roulette
Set 4 to 8 small glasses around a wheel (or number them on the table), fill them with different drinks, and spin. The glass it lands on is yours to sip. Our wheel above does the spinning; for more wheels and an editor, see drinking roulette.
Battle Shots
Battleship with glasses: each player hides a fleet of glasses on a grid and calls shots at the other’s board. Hit a ship and its owner takes a sip from that glass. Play it with two phones on our Battle Shots page, no board needed.
Shot-glass checkers (and chess)
Play checkers on a normal board with 24 small glasses as pieces: one colour of drink for each side (lemonade vs cola works great). When you capture a piece, you drink it. A king is two glasses stacked. The winner has usually drunk the most, which is why most groups play it with soft drinks and a single “king’s cup” of something stronger for the final capture.
More shots games for a party
- Chandelier: glasses in a ring around a centre glass; bounce a ping-pong ball or a coin into someone’s glass and they sip it. See quarters for the rules.
- Shot-glass tic-tac-toe: a 3×3 grid of glasses, two drinks. Three in a row wins; the loser sips one of their pieces.
- Pyramid of glasses: a 4-3-2-1 pyramid of small glasses with a card game: each flipped card sends someone to a glass. See Ride the Bus.
- Mini beer pong: tiny cups on a coffee table: see the variations on beer pong.
- Drinko: drop a disc down a peg board into cups at the bottom: our online Drinko board.
- Spin the shot: a glass in the middle of the circle; whoever it points at takes a sip: Spin the Bottle.
Shot games variations
- Mystery glasses
- Someone fills the glasses secretly: mostly water and juice, a couple with a splash of something stronger.
- Mocktail edition
- Every glass is a different mocktail or soda; the loser of each round describes what they drank.
Tips for a good game
- Small glasses, small pours.
- Label glasses with numbers or stickers so nobody argues.
- A jug of water on the table before the first spin.
Play it safe: every game here works with sips of any drink, or none at all. Only adults of legal drinking age should drink alcohol, alternate with water, and never drink and drive. [How to drink responsibly](/drink-responsibly/)
Shot games: FAQ
What are good shot games?
Shot-glass roulette, Battle Shots, shot-glass checkers, chandelier and shot-glass tic-tac-toe. They all use small glasses as game pieces and work with any drink.
How do you play shot-glass roulette?
Set numbered glasses around a wheel with different drinks inside, spin, and sip from the glass it lands on. Use the wheel above if you don’t have one.
How many shots is too many?
A standard shot is about one standard drink, which an adult processes in roughly an hour. More than one real shot per hour builds up quickly, so fill most glasses with mixers or soft drinks.
Can you play shot games without alcohol?
Yes: every game here works with juice, soda or water in the glasses. The strategy and the chaos are the same.
More drinking games to try
- Drinking roulette wheel An editable wheel of sips, water, dares and free passes.
- Battle Shots Battleship where every hit is a sip. Play on one phone.
- Drinko Drop the disc down the pegs; the slot decides.