If you’ve ever wondered how to ride the bus (no pun intended), then here’s your lucky day. Ride the bus is an interesting drinking game with simple rules. PartyJoys gets you familiar with this game.
You do not want to make enemies in this game. Alliances can be good till the very end. So choose who would dish drinks out wisely, for it can come back to bite you.
Ride the bus is a cheerful game to keep your guests interested, and at the same time, make them feel at home. To play this game, all you need is a driver (enforcer), a rider, and a pack of cards, and of course your favorite booze. To make it more fun, all the players say together, “Everybody plays, everybody wins, when you ride the bus!” It’s interesting if there are many players, but a minimum of two are required to play this game. Let’s go to the party riding the bus. (wink!)
- To get rid of all your cards.
- If you have the card, you put it down face up and give the appropriate amount of drinks.
- The person with the most amount of cards left in his/her hand has to ride the bus at the end of the game.
- Same as a pyramid, the bottom row has 5, next 4 … up to 1 card.
- It can also be a diamond, starting from 5 to 1 on either side.
Place the cards face-down in the pyramid manner. The first row should have only one card, the second row should have two cards, the third row three, and so on. Generally, only five rows are to be placed, but you can also extend, depending on the number of players.
Deal out the rest of the cards equally among all players, playing the drinking game.
The dealer flips the first card over. Players that have that card in their hand will give other players one drink. Multiples of the card are an additional drink each. Next, a card in the second row is flipped over. Any player that has that card should give out two drinks. The drinks can be given to one person or split up. If a player has more than one of the cards that was flipped, they are each worth two drinks.
Likewise, the next player will flip another card. The third row is worth 3 drinks, and the fourth row is worthy of 4 drinks!
Deal out 10 cards (if you going the diamond way!) face down in a line. Flip one over. If it’s a numbered card (2-10), you lucked out, ’cause it’s a free card, and so the next one can be flipped without taking any drinks. You gotta be lucky enough not to doom out any of the high cards because:
- If it’s a Jack, you would have to take 1 drink and add 1 more card to the pile.
- If it’s a Queen, it would mean taking 2 drinks and adding 2 cards.
- For a King, it is 3 drinks and adding 3 cards.
- For an Ace, you would have to take 4 drinks and add 4 cards.
Go ahead until all cards in the row are flipped over.
- At the end, the one with most cards left in their hand “rides the bus”.
- If there is a tie, then the ones who tied get to ride the bus together.
Some Other Versions of This Game
Ride the Bus―Higher or Lower Card Way!
A player is dealt a card. He/she must then guess whether the next card is higher or lower. The player must guess at least three in a row correctly, and then pass the turn onto someone else.
Step #2
If the player guesses incorrectly, he/she drinks for 1 sip per card in the pile.
Step #3
If the player guesses incorrectly 5 times in one turn, he/she must “ride the bus.”
Step #4
Riding the Bus: Aces are 4 new cards, Kings are 3, Queens are 2, and Jacks are 1.
Step #5
This continues until no face cards are dealt. The player must drink a sip for each card that has been dealt.
Ride the Bus―Red or Black Card Way!
After laying all the cards face down, the driver asks the passenger if the last card to be dealt is red or black.
Step #2
If the passenger guesses incorrectly, he/she must take a shot, and the card is pushed out of the game.
Step #3
Then, the bus driver lays out five cards face down on top of the remaining four, and the game is repeated.
Play this fun-filled game in your school reunions or evening parties, but be careful not to booze over a certain limit, else you may not enjoy it to the fullest. Non-drinkers too can relish it by taking non-alcoholic beverages without feeling left out. To keep it engaging, ask the sipper to make weird confessions, or give him/her some dare. Don’t forget to keep it playful.
