Rules
The rules are fairly simple, though widely varying, and involve which hand a player may use to drink. One version of how to play the game is as follows:
- A player can hold their drink with either hand, but may only drink from it with their non-dominant hand. If any other Buffalo players spot them drinking with their dominant hand, they call Buffalo on the player and that player must finish their drink as quickly as possible. If the player hesitates to finish their drink, the other players will usually proceed to make a ruckus chanting "Buffalo!" and banging on the table until the player finishes.
- If the player calls Buffalo on somebody when they are actually drinking with the proper hand (or have an empty drink or are not drinking an alcoholic drink), they may return with a call of "False Buffalo" and the player is obligated to finish their own drink. If the buffalo-er does not currently possess a drink, the False caller must drink the nearest alcoholic drink available. Special care must be made when drinking with left-handed Buffalos because of this rule.
- Once a player begins playing Buffalo, they are playing it for the rest of their life.
Nobody needs to declare that the game is on. At least in principle, if rarely actually done, if the player spots a complete stranger drinking with what the player thinks to be their dominant hand, and the player calls Buffalo on them, they will either be confused or immediately know that they have transgressed the rules in the presence of another Buffalo player and are obligated to finish their drink or return a false Buffalo, if applicable.
Read more about this topic: Buffalo (drinking Game)
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—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
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—Herman Melville (1819–1891)