"Boot and Rally" is not a Feat of Skill

May 18, 2012 2:29 PM

Help me come up with a list of "bar games" for a pub crawl!

I'm running a Pub Golf event tomorrow and we're looking to include some "feats of skill" to allow players to lower their scores without having (too many) extra drinks.

So far we're planning a bullseye-throwing competition and a modified game of quarters.

We're not looking for drinking skills (chugging, etc.) and we don't want to lug any equipment around (so no props larger than pocket-sized: ping-pong balls are probably okay, hula hoops are not). The group is mixed-gender and varyingly-fit, so physical feats might not be appropriate.

We've got a dartboard at two bars and a coin-operated pool table at another, and need to move 15-25 people through each feat in about half an hour. The bars ought to be mostly-empty, so we're not terribly concerned about space or causing a ruckus.

There is (or ought to be, anyway) a referee to mediate.

Thanks!

posted by uncleozzy to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

I've seen things like:
Spitball competition (featuring a classy photo of a universally reviled celebrity (we used Rick Santorum))
Stupid small physical challenges that would be trickier if you're drunk. For example: Holding a napkin at the end of a straw, or who can stand on one foot the longest
word games for example the first contest days the name of a famous person, the next person has to say the of a celebrity who's first name starts with the same letter as the last name of the previous celebrity (Example: Brad Pitt, Peter Dinklage, Dennis Franz, Felicity HUffman, etc, etc
posted by FakePalindrome at 2:40 PM on May 18, 2012

Awesome. I also want to clarify that the feats don't necessarily have to be competitive--something that's just difficult to do (like standing on one leg), but could have multiple "winners" is fine (and possibly preferred).
posted by uncleozzy at 2:56 PM on May 18, 2012

Toddler-

You must squat run an obstacle course wearing a loose, cloth diaper full of 7 ping pong balls while sucking your thumb. If you lose your balls (poop on the floor), you are out. First one to the finish line wins.

I just made that up!
posted by myselfasme at 2:56 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Did you see this? You already mention some of the things listed, but maybe "Aunt Sally" would be a good option given your set-up.

Maybe a modified version of cornhole, using portable/lightweight cardboard? Beer can bowling? A modification (or not!) of the egg-and-spoon race? Speaking of eggs, how about some sort of challenge that involves eating those gross-looking pickled eggs that have been sitting on the bar for who knows how long? Or an adult-version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey? You could use FakePalindrome's example of a picture of Rick Santorum and make it Pin the Tail on the Ass ;)

Other ideas, maybe too buzz-inducing, up to you: you could make the winner Thumb Master until the next activity/winner; try beer pong or flip-cup with minimal amounts of beer (although you might need to tip your bartenders extra well for the mess those might create!)

Some of these (like egg and spoon, pin the tail) also serve as kids' party games; if you need more ideas, you might have luck searching for those and adapting where needed. Pub Golf is awesome--have a great time! Would that I l lived in a town with more than two watering holes!
posted by stellaluna at 3:29 PM on May 18, 2012

Card games? You could do a tournament of a quick card game, like speed. Requires quick thinking and reflexes. And it's fun sober, I bet it'd be a scream drunk.
posted by China Grover at 3:55 PM on May 18, 2012

Find a longish table and you can play beer coaster shuffleboard. Each player gets four coasters, and tries to glide each one as close to the far end as possible. Use something to mark lines for three scoring zones. (Maybe a bit of painter's tape?) Cross the first line, 1 point; 2nd line, 2 points, 3rd line, 3 points; hanging off the far edge, 10 points! Coasters that fall of the table score nothing.
posted by Dixon Ticonderoga at 4:34 PM on May 18, 2012

- get all the way though "Pattie Cake" with a friend while both of you have your eyes closed. It's a little ridiculous for adults to do, but boy is it hard after a few drinks!

- answering a simple trivia question the fastest. (e.g. What word is spelled by the 4th, 15th, and 7th letters of the alphabet?)

- If you're willing to bring cards, and you've got a copy of Mad Gab, bring a few of those cards along. It is an absolute RIOT to play with drunk people because it requires you to sorta slur your words.
posted by cmchap at 4:38 PM on May 18, 2012

As seen in the movie "Tape Heads," you could offer an increasing bounty for the Brothers Against Drunk Driving sobriety test: close your eyes and recite the alphabet backwards, skipping all vowels, accompanied by the American Sign Langauge equivalent of each letter. See 2:02 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku_wLVbIUA4#t=2m
posted by wenestvedt at 12:33 PM on May 22, 2012