Classic · 3–12 players

Kings Cup online

Kings Cup with the two things that usually go missing — a complete deck and someone who remembers the rules — replaced by this page. Draw a card, read the rule, play it.

Start playing — free How it works

No app, no signup
One phone, pass it round

Extreme

Spicy

Flirty, suggestive, a little dangerous.

MildRule

Waterfall: Everyone starts sipping, beginning with whoever drew. You can only stop once the person before you has stopped.

Alex’s turn

How to play

How to play Kings Cup

The deck is a real 52-card shuffle, so it plays exactly like the table version: the kings counter fills up as the night goes on, and the fourth king ends it.

01
Sit in a circle around the phone and take turns drawing.
02
Each rank has a rule — the card tells you what to do.
03
Break a standing rule and you take a sip.
04
The fourth king ends the game. Know your limits and look after each other.

The rules

13 free Kings Cup rules

Every rule in the deck, exactly as the game deals them.

1Waterfall. Everyone starts sipping, beginning with whoever drew. You can only stop once the person before you has stopped.
2You. Point at anyone in the circle. They take a sip.
3Me. Your card, your sip. Take one yourself.
4Floor. Last person to touch the floor with a hand takes a sip.
5Thumb Master. Until the next five, quietly rest your thumb on the table whenever you like. Last person to copy you sips.
6Heaven. Point to the sky. The last hand up takes a sip.
7Rhyme Time. Say a word. Going round the circle, each player rhymes it. First to repeat or stall sips.
8Mate. Choose a mate. Whenever either of you sips for the rest of the game, the other sips too.
9Categories. Name a category, like cocktails or movie villains. Go round naming one each. First to repeat or blank sips.
10Never Have I Ever. Quick round: everyone holds up three fingers and takes turns. First to put all three down sips.
11Make a Rule. Invent a rule that lasts the whole game: no first names, no pointing, speak in questions. Break it and sip.
12Question Master. Until the next queen, anyone who answers a question you ask takes a sip. Reply with a question to escape.
13Kings Cup. Add a splash of your drink to the cup in the middle. Whoever draws the fourth king finishes it — or picks a forfeit if your table prefers.

Play the full deck

Why every table plays Kings Cup differently

Kings Cup never had a rulebook. It travelled from party to party by word of mouth, and every group that learned it tweaked a card or two before passing it on. That is why two people who have played for years can still argue about what a seven means.

This version settles it before anyone can argue: draw a card and the rule for that rank appears. If your table has a house rule you love, play that instead — treat the card as a prompt, not a referee.

The cup in the middle

The game takes its name from the cup at the center of the circle. Traditionally, each of the first three players to draw a king adds a splash of their drink to it, and whoever draws the fourth king finishes it.

Plenty of groups soften that ending — the fourth king picks a forfeit instead, or simply ends the game. Agree how you will play it before the first card, keep water on the table, and look after whoever draws last.

House rules worth agreeing first

Rule cards are where games go sideways. A good convention: a new rule cannot cancel an old one, rules last until the game ends, and anything unsafe or unkind is off the table.

For categories and rhymes, keep topics wide enough that the round makes it past four people. A category that stalls on the second player is not a challenge, it is a dead turn.

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Kings Cup: questions

What are the rules of Kings Cup?

Every rank from Ace to King carries its own rule, from waterfalls to rhymes to making new rules. This version shows the rule as each card is drawn, so nobody has to remember them.

Is Kings Cup the same as Ring of Fire?

Yes. Ring of Fire, Circle of Death and Kings are regional names for the same game.

Can you play Kings Cup without drinking?

Yes — replace sips with points or forfeits. The rules work the same way.