The Best Outdoor Drinking Games to Play This Summer

Here at Cornhole Worldwide, we’re getting excited for summer—or “outdoor drinking games season,” as we like to call it! But which outdoor drinking games are the best outdoor drinking games? We’re glad you asked because that’s the subject of this article. We’ve rounded up eight of our favorite outdoor drinking games to help you turn your weekend backyard barbeque into the place to be this summer!

Beer Pong

Beer Pong–it’s a classic for a reason, and the reason is in the name! You know how this works: Set up ten red plastic cups in a triangle on each end of a card table. Fill each cup with beer. Teams of two or four take turns bouncing a ping pong ball from their side of the beer pong table to their opponent’s side, trying to land the ball in a cup.

If the ball goes into a cup, the opposing side has to drink! Keep going until one side is clear of cups and the opposite side is crowned the victor.

Beer Pong Golf

If you’re looking for a great game with that classic Beer Pong feel but want to dress it up a little bit for company, we’d like to introduce you to Beer Pong Golf! There are many different variations on the game that goes by this name, but our favorite is splitting into teams or playing individually.

Each person takes turns trying to putt a golf ball into a red plastic cup some distance away. If they miss, they drink; if they get it, everyone else drinks (if you’re playing on teams, teams drink or don’t drink as a team). If the person wants to try again after missing, they can, but they must drink for every missed shot.

Flip Cup

Flip Cup is another classic drinking game that’s been played for generations. Flip Cup is a great alternative to Beer Pong once you lose the ping pong balls! You know how flip cup works: Two teams of at least three people. Set up three cups along the edges of opposite sides of a table, one in front of each person, fill the cups with some beer. 

Starting at one end of the table, the first two people facing each other drink their cup of beer, then try to flip the cup from the edge of the table going from right-side-up to upside-down. Once the cup is upside down, the next person on that side of the table can drink and flip their cup. The first team with three flipped cups is the winner.

Drunken Jenga

Anything can be a drinking game if you add drinks to it! Easy mode is whoever knocks down the tower has to drink; if you want to play it on hard mode, everyone else takes a drink every time someone successfully removes a block.

Make it more suited to play outdoors by going giant-sized with our Tumbling Tower (which are even customizable) game so you can avoid losing (and later finding—ouch!) those little wooden blocks in the grass. 

High Noon

If you’re a Cowboys fan, a fan of cowboys, or are just looking for the simplest excuse to drink a few six-packs and get rowdy with your friends, High Noon is the outdoor game you’re looking for!

Each player takes a six-pack and stands in the center of the area you’ve designated as your O.K. Corral, then takes ten steps away from each other in a straight line. Someone counts down to “noon,” then the duelists turn to face each other, crack open a beer, chug it, crush the can, and throw the crushed can at their opponent. 

It sounds like a simple game until you consider that someone will be throwing a beer can at you while you’re drinking a beer! And when you consider there’s no upper limit to the number of players you can play with at once.

Cornhole

Everyone’s favorite outdoor drinking game, you can modify the rules of Cornhole to add drinks as a penalty or a reward, or just drink while you play! If you want to up your game and impress your friends, contact us to start designing your own custom Cornhole set. We have plenty of custom cornhole boards that are perfect for your outdoor drinking games.

Dizzy Bat

All you need for this fun outdoor drinking game is a Wiffle Ball bat and some beers. Split up into two teams. The first player from the first team chugs a beer, crushes the can, then puts their forehead on the bat’s handle and spins around ten times. The second team chooses someone to pitch; that person pitches the crushed beer can to the first player.

If the first player hits the crushed can within three pitches, everyone on the opposing team drinks; if they don’t hit the can, their team drinks. Who wins? Who loses? Honestly, we don’t really know, but it’s not about whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.

Beer Roulette

Sometimes, you have to shake a few beers to have a great backyard barbeque! We know, we know, this is a waste of perfectly good beer. It’s also a great way to wrap up an outdoor gathering with friends and family when you’ve gotten to the point where you don’t have the coordination to do anything more complicated! 

You take a few beers out of the cooler and shake ‘em. Then you put them on a table with some unshaken beers. People playing this outdoor game take turns to pick a beer and open it: once you touch the can, you have to drink the beer, so no cheating by testing which can has more pressure!

Bonus: Never Have I Ever

We’re throwing in an extra low-cost, low-effort, high-results favorite backyard game for those who got here by searching for the best outdoor drinking games because you’re at a boring outdoor event right now!

The rules go like this: Players are served a drink. Players take turns saying, “Never have I ever [something they’ve never done].” Anyone who’s done the thing takes a drink, everyone who hasn’t done the thing abstains. Keep playing until everyone has their limit!

How are you getting ready for outdoor drinking games season (or “summer,” if you insist on calling it that)? What’s your favorite outdoor drinking game, and why is it Cornhole? Let us know in the comments!