“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”

So said Dean Wormer in the raucous Animal House-- he was right about the fat and stupid part probably, but getting a little drunk now and then is something everyone can enjoy. The "CHUG CHUG CHUG" chants aren’t exactly everyone’s scene however, at least not for life after college. Partying is no longer associated with crazy keggers, but it shouldn't mean you are doomed to an endless parade of quiet couples' dinners. Just sitting in an apartment with four to ten close friends and guests, a couple of handles of vodka and rum, along with a great drinking game is the one of the best ways to spend an evening. No more waking up the next day with a splitting headache and cringe-worthy memories or feeling bored with monotonous get-togethers; remember a fun, relaxed night with people whose company you genuinely enjoyed.

Why Drinking-Game Parties Work

A drinking game keeps people actively involved and included. No one need hang awkwardly about the walls sipping from a plastic cup here! The best benefit is probably that people are less likely to drink at their own pace (super fast or not at all), rather the entire group steadily, moderately gets tipsy together.

Essential tips

Drinking game parties are always best when done with a mixture of good friends and accquaintances. Use it as an opportunity to invite some favorite accquaintances and/or encourage friends to invite friends of theirs you don’t know yet. Three or more people is not a prerequisite for a drinking game, in fact some of the best experiences with drinking games are done with merely two very close people, especially romantic duos or best friends. If you are interested in trying out a game with just your significant other, the best game would probably be "Never Have I Ever," which is described in the following (under "Drinking Games"). The following drinking games use shots, so have six to twelve cups ready, shot glasses are ideal, but anything will do. Try to have a variety of alcohol, usually two varieties will do it, the best being rum and vodka. Chasers are important too, especially if you’ll have many ladies at the soiree (since women tend to prefer mixed drinks). Coke or Pepsi go best with rum, orange or cranberry juice with vodka. Depending on the group of people, sharing a chaser (drinking straight from the bottle) is not a big deal, but if a communal chaser is not welcomed, just give everyone extra cups. Try to avoid using beer or wine since they are not conducive to shots. If you must use them, always avoid using beer and wine together! The combination is widely known for making people quite ill in the stomach. Most importantly, hard liquor will likely last the game, whereas someone is bound to try chugging beer or wine. Few people will want to chug hard liquor. Now here are some of the best drinking games hitting parties today!