The Surprising History of Drinking Games
Illustration credit PUNCH
Does the phrase “drinking games” immediately conjure the musty basements and beer-soaked carpets of your youth? What you may not realize is that humans have been engaging in drinking games since the dawn of history, long before the existence of Solo cups or Natty Light.
Virtually all known societies since Neolithic times have used alcoholic beverages in some way or another – usually to mark important events or rituals, but also to convey social status and pledge affiliation to a group. Drinking games are a natural outgrowth of humanity's intimate social relationship with alcohol.
Drinking Games Defined
So, what, exactly, is a drinking game? According to professor (and drinking games expert) Byron Zamboanga, they generally follow four criteria:
● There are rules governing alcohol consumption
● The aim is to "hasten intoxication"
● The activity is social
● The activity involves "physical or cognitive tasks"
So why have we played them for thousands of years? As scholars Olli Sotamaa and Jaakko Stenros sum it up, "Drinking games combat boredom, get the party started and make social situations easier by providing a clear framework for interaction." These principles applied even in ancient societies.
Early History
Although it's possible that our cave-dwelling ancestors engaged in some prehistoric form of beer pong, recorded history provides the earliest examples of drinking games – and they're pretty wild . . .
Kottabos
"Tavern Scene," an 1833 watercolor by Achille Pinelli
While spilling wine at a party won't win you any friends these days, the ancient Greeks saw it differently; they regularly engaged in kottabos, or wine-flinging, at their soirees (called symposia). Reclining on couches, players took turns launching their vino from a vessel called a kylix to knock a small bronze disc from its perch atop a pole. Depictions of the game on pottery show a javelin-like throwing style with points for accuracy and a graceful form. Although sweets were usually the winner's prize, sometimes it could be a kiss (or more!) from a love interest. While Kottabos remained popular for many years and spread throughout Greece and Italy, it disappeared before the 4th century BC.
Passatella
Beginning in ancient Rome – and still played today in parts of Italy – this rowdy, sometimes violent, card game gave power to certain players designated "bosses" to dole out both drinks and punishments (usually a verbal roast). As players got progressively drunker, fist or even knife fights were commonplace. Italians know how to have a good time!
Ancient Chinese drinking game, “Bottoms Up”
Jiuling
The ancient Chinese knew how to get a party started, which often involved a form of jiuling, where lots were drawn from a silver container, instructing various players to drink based on criteria like age or social status. Participants who got out of hand were penalized with – you guessed it! – more drinks, resulting in hours of boozy fun. Bowing out early brought social shame – and the possibility of not being invited to the next rager.
Automatons
Automatons, beautiful wind-up contraptions used primarily in royal courts, would move slowly around a table, eventually stopping in front of a participant. The impressive machine would then produce a hidden drinking vessel from which the player would imbibe. Automatons are displayed at museums throughout Europe and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A New Era
Drinking games have evolved (or devolved) significantly from their elegant beginnings. If you grew up in the United States, chances are you've engaged in the cherished collegiate pastime known as beer pong. Immortalized in countless movies and TV shows, tossing ping pong balls into plastic cups of cheap beer has become a cultural symbol of youthful revelry.
Legend has it, beer pong, or "pong," originated in the frat house basements of Dartmouth University in the 1950s, with players using actual paddles. By 1979 the game had found its way from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania, where fraternities at Lehigh University decided to forgo the paddles and toss the balls with their hands. This simplified version of the game spread like wildfire, earning the name "Beirut" (an insensitive reference to the beleaguered Lebanese capital), along with the tagline, "If you play, you get bombed."
As time went on, this moniker, and the paddle version, faded away, and the hand-tossed incarnation became known as beer pong. The game's popularity culminated in the 2000s with the inaugural World Series of Beer Pong, a multi-million-dollar spectacle featuring over 500 teams.
Whether we're flinging wine across the room or dirty ping pong balls into an opponent's drink, humanity's love affair with drinking games continues to endure, just as it has for millennia. What’s your favorite drinking game?
