Photo: Nirat.pix (Shutterstock)
You don’t have to be a true football fan to make the most of a Super Bowl party. The big game is a perfect excuse to get together with your friends, huddle around some buffalo chicken dip, and day-drink to the point where you find yourself emotionally invested in car commercials.
Even if you aren’t crazy about the sport itself, you can take your Super Bowl party to the next level by playing your own games alongside the one on screen. Gamify your game day, if you will. (Also: Since this year Super Bowl LVI is on Feb. 13, you’re essentially pre-gaming Valentine’s Day. Just a thought.)
Before we dive into ideas for your own game-day shenanigans, let me be clear: Any game can be a drinking game, but not every game has to be a drinking game. You can take any of the gameplay below and assign “penalties” that aren’t drinking alcohol. For instance, my friend is in a fantasy league that has increasingly horrible stakes each year. This year, the loser has to retake the SAT. So, for any non-drinkers out there: please consider a game day point system where the loser suffers a highly specific, unexpected consequence. Now, let the games begin.
Drink every time _____
Let’s kick off (football) with the simplest premise: Take a drink every time [blank happens]. The key is to create a solid list beforehand. You can assign different rules for different items–like “take a sip,” “finish your drink,” or “eat a hot wing.” The penalties (or rewards) are up to you, depending on how likely or momentous the list item is. Here are some ideas to get your list started, and feel free to add your own:
Your team scores.A player points victoriously at the sky.There’s a penalty.Someone yells at the ref (on screen or off).The camera pans to a player’s baby.Everyone at your party goes “aw” at the player’s baby. An animal speaks in a commercial.A baby speaks in a commercial.An animal and a baby have a conversation in a commercial.Someone at your party says “sports ball,” or any item from this list.A commentator mentions Tom Brady. He’s not playing, but I’ll be damned if they don’t bring him up anyway.Commercial bingo
Print out blank bingo cards and write in Super Bowl ad-themed squares. These could be the names of big companies you expect to see ads for, or features of ads themselves, e.g. overly patriotic cars, overly erotic perfumes, and overly unhinged Mountain Dew fever dreams. As always, the first person to get BINGO wins.
Halftime show show-down
Take a break from the game on screen with a physical party game. Note: You can play these at any point, not just during the actual halftime show. I mean, at that point, you’ll probably have your eyes glued on Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar.
Some ideas for party games:
Flip cup. Just like college, right? Divide your players into Rams and Bengals to make sure the stakes stay high.
Paper football. Remember how you used to pass the time in math class, flicking folded-up paper “footballs” to your friend’s desk? If you were a more attentive student than me, here’s a refresh on how to make and play paper football.
Squares. This one comes from A Subtle Revelry. Here’s how they explain it:
Set up a grid of 10 squares and let everyone who’s playing pick an equal amount of squares. Then, assign a team to the columns and a team to the rows and randomly assign numbers 0-9 to each column and row. At the end of each quarter, the winner (aka drinker!) is selected by using the last number of each team’s score to see where they intersect.
Again, none of these party games have to involve drinking. But they definitely can if you want them to.
Create a pool based on your friends
We hinted at this above in the “drink every time [blank happens]” list. If you’re hosting a party with a good group of friends, test your knowledge of each other. Who will pay the least attention to the game? Who will have the most outrageous outbursts? Who will bring up how much they miss Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s iconic 2020 halftime show?
Write all your questions and predictions down beforehand, and then have fun deliberating who got the most right at the end of the party.
Watch or stream the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. The kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET./3:30 p.m. PT. Cheers.
