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21s
This drinking
game is a counting game for players sat in
a circle, the aim being to avoid saying the
number 21.
The player elected to
starts begins by saying: "To my
left.../To my right..." followed
by "1...", and then play continues
in the direction to that player's left or
right around the circle with players
counting
upwards.
A player can choose to say
any of the following, it which case play is
affected as follows:
-
A single number
on its own (e.g. "3") -
play continues in the current
direction
-
Two numbers in
succession (e.g. "4, 5")
- the direction of play is then
reversed
-
Three numbers
in succession (e.g.
"6,7,8") - the next
player is skipped out
Three kinds of sets of
numbers may not be repeated in a row. That
is, a single number must not be said three
times in a row by different players, nor may
two numbers in succession be said three
times in a row, and nor may three numbers in
succession. If this occurs, the offending
player drinks a penalty three fingers, and
the phrase "Three in a row" is sung
repeatedly as an accompaniment to
this.
Play continues until either
the number 21 is reached, or someone makes a
mistake, such as saying the wrong number or
speaking out of turn. The offending player
drinks two fingers as punishment. They then
start the game again from 1.
When a player is forced to
say the number 21, play stops and that
player downs their remaining drink. They
will then start the next game from
1.
The player who lost the
previous round by saying "21" is
allowed to invent a new 'rule' for the next
and subsequent games. This can be anything
the player chooses, although some common
examples could be:
-
Replace any number
with a particular phrase or
action
-
Switch two of the
numbers over
-
Replace multiples
of 3 with the equivalent number in
French
Failure to observe the new
rule in a later game again results in a two
finger drinking penalty. Further rules are
added after each time 21 is again
reached.
Variations
Roman Numeral 21s
The rules of this game are
exactly the same as for standard 21s (see
above), but now roman numerals are used
instead.
For example the first
player might call: "To my left, I, II,
III" which would mean the person two
places to this players left would have to
say "IV...", and so on.
A variation on this version
of the game is played in the same way, but
with any three words replacing the letters
I, V and X. For example, I could be replaced
with dog, V with cat and X with monkey, so a
game could start "To my right, dog, dog
dog", and continue from there. Again as
an example, the number 16 (XVI) in this game
would be "monkey cat
dog".
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