King's Cup online: the whole deck on one phone

How to play King’s Cup

1. Put an empty cup in the middle of the table. If you are using real cards, spread them face-down around it.
2. Take turns drawing, going clockwise. Using this page? Pass the phone round and let whoever holds it tap the card.
3. Do what the card says. Every card value has a rule; the full list is below.
4. Kings go to the cup. Each King adds a splash of the drawer’s drink to the cup in the middle.
5. The fourth King ends the game. Whoever draws it drinks the cup.

Agree the rules before the first card. Every group plays a slightly different version, and the argument is more fun before anyone has had a drink than after.

King’s Cup rules, card by card

Card	Rule	What happens
Ace	Waterfall	Everyone starts sipping, beginning with you. Nobody can stop before the player on their right stops, and you can stop whenever you like.
Two	You	Pick someone. They take a sip.
Three	Me	You take a sip.
Four	Floor	Everyone touches the floor. Last one to do it sips.
Five	Guys	Every guy takes a sip.
Six	Girls	Every girl takes a sip.
Seven	Heaven	Everyone points to the sky. Last one to do it sips.
Eight	Mate	Pick a mate. Every time you sip, they sip too, until the next 8 is drawn.
Nine	Rhyme	Say a word. Going round the circle, everyone says a word that rhymes. First to hesitate or repeat one sips.
Ten	Categories	Pick a category, like beer brands or Disney films. Going round, everyone names one. First to hesitate or repeat one sips.
Jack	Never have I ever	Read out a never have I ever. Anyone who has done it sips.
Queen	Question master	You are question master until the next Queen. Anyone who answers a question you ask takes a sip.
King	King's Cup	Pour a splash of your drink into the cup in the middle. Whoever draws the fourth King drinks the cup.

The online deck uses exactly these rules. Switch it to Ring of Fire rules for the UK version.

Roles that stick: mate and question master

Two cards hand out a role that lasts until the next card of the same value:

• Mate (8). Your mate sips every time you do. Draw an 8 yourself and you can pick a mate who already has one, and start a chain.
• Question master (Q). Anyone who answers a question you ask drinks. “Who’s next?” is the classic trap. The trap only works if you remember you’re question master, so the deck shows who holds each role under the card.

The fourth King, without the regret

The cup is the part of King’s Cup people remember, often for the wrong reasons. Mixed drinks in one cup taste terrible, and a full cup is too much. Keep it fun:

• A splash, not a pour. Every King adds a mouthful at most.
• Or make it a water cup. Kings add water, and the fourth King still has to drink it. The tension is the same.
• Put water on the table and make every Ace a water break for whoever draws it.

Popular variations

• 5 is thumb master instead of guys: put your thumb on the table whenever you like; the last one to copy sips.
• Jack is “make a rule” instead of never have I ever. That is the Ring of Fire version; see Ring of Fire rules.
• 7 is “seven up”: everyone points up, last one sips. Same as heaven, different name.
• Social (6): everyone drinks together.
• Small group? End the game at the third King, or take the 5s and 6s out.

King’s Cup for big and small groups

With three players, your turn comes round every third card and the rules stack fast; the drinking games for 3 people guide has a lighter version. Past ten players, split into two circles, or pick something from our drinking games for large groups. Need the Jack cards? Our never have I ever questions has hundreds. Want another card game for after? CardRules+, our card game rules app, has the full rules for hundreds of them.