Beer Die - Variations

Variations

Like all drinking games, the rules vary greatly. Some common variations are:

Ohio: (University of Dayton, In this version of play, the game is played on a smaller, 2′ × 4′ table (coffee table size) in which the competitors are all seated. This version is often seen played at Ohio State University, The University of Dayton, The University of Cincinnati and more.

Minnesota: Any house table is acceptable. Games are played to seven. The "Basic Rules" apply. A point is awarded when a legal toss (i.e. the die reaches an appropriate height, bounces at least once on the table, and passes between the two defensive cups) hits the floor. Any rules violations results in the offending party taking one drink. When an offensive player sinks a defensive player the defensive player must finish the remainder of their beer.

Maine: Being rumored to have originated at Colby College, this variation is played on a 4′ × 8′ table (similar to 'beer pong') in which each player stands by their respective cup.

Missouri: Washington University in Saint Louis, Beer Die is one of the most popular games among the greek community. Most fraternities have their own distinctions, but typically, games are played to 5 unless the score reaches 4-4 in which case the game goes to 7. Additionally, players forfeit a drink, meaning one fifth of a beer, if players say the word "five" or "seven" at any point in the game. The words "biz" and "buzz" are used in replacement, respectively.

New York: (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), With a special emphasis on this being a gentleman's sport, teams must tap die before throwing otherwise they are called for 'shenanigans'. Shenanigans means that whoever was called on it must then wear the strangest hat you can find designating that they cannot talk the rest of the game. Games are played first to "buzz", win by 2. When someone plunks (gets the die in the cup), they then leave the room and everyone in the room makes up the most offensive name they can think of and then write it on the table. The person then has to find their name and then put a tally mark underneath the name, showing that you have plunked. In the event of the game reaching a score 20-20, the game then goes into 'epic rule'. This means that every point scored after 20-20, everyone in the house has to chug one beer. Also, there is a plink, when a player hits the opponents cup but does not plunk. This counts as a penalty towards the other team. Each team gets 4 penalties until they are 'boats', when a team is 'boats' they must finish their drink and refill.

Montreal: (McGill University) holds beer die games on most fridays.They emphasise on the throwing aspect of the game. The die has to be thrown in such a way that the elbow is above the throweres head with the hand below the elbow ( cannot be parallel to the elbow as you throw). The throw can't hit the ceiling and has to be within one foot from the ceiling. The game is 3 beers long and each beer has five sips. Any player who says the word 5 or 7 has to drink (also known as: wah and wah-wah, respectively). Also, if the die lands on the table and stays there, if the face up figure is a 5 then the team on the side of the table which lies the die has to drink 1 sip. When the team is down to their last beer, both players of the team must drop their pants until the game is over. When only one sip is left in the last beer of the team, they call "mercy". The team on mercy will not be penalized for saying 5 and not landing the die on the table. This allows the team to risk their throw.

Kingston: (Queen's University) As in New York, there is a emphasis on the game being for gentlemen, which entails filling up your opponents beer. Games are played in 3 periods, each period starting at 5 and counting down to 0. Once a team has lost all 5 points said team must finish their cup of beer before the song (any song) that is being played at the time is done. This song variation can either mean you have 10 seconds or 3 minutes for example to finish your cup of beer. A team can be in the 2nd period whilst another team can be in the 1st, your own teams performance is independent of the other teams. If a player sinks the dice in the opposing players cup, that player must drink his beer immediately and then spit the dice out onto the table. If the player spits out a 5, he must then immediately drink another beer. Additionally, a team may forfeit a point if any of its players say the word "five" or "seven" at any point in the game. The words "full" and "fill" are used in replacement, respectively.