What You'll Need
- Four or more players in a circle
- Drinks in front of everyone
- No cards, no cups, no equipment
Setup
Sit in a circle and agree which way the count goes. That is it. The game builds its own complexity as it runs, so the simpler the start, the better.
How to Play
The Count
Count up one number at a time, going around the table. Each player says the next number in order.
Messing Up
Somebody messes up the count, they drink, and the whole thing resets back to one. Early in the night that is easy. It stops being easy quickly.
Landing on 21
Get to twenty-one clean and the whole table shouts cheers to the governor and drinks together. It is the one moment in the game where everybody drinks and nobody is annoyed about it.
Becoming the Governor
Here is the twist. Whoever says twenty-one becomes the governor and adds one new rule to the count. A classic one is swapping two numbers, so the table says eleven where seven should be and seven where eleven should be. Miss the swap and you drink.
Rules keep stacking every time the table reaches twenty-one, which is why a game that opens as simple counting ends as something nobody can get through.
Winning
There is no winner. The count resets forever, and the only score anybody keeps is how many rules deep the table got before it stopped being possible.
Tips and Strategy
- Say the rules out loud before restarting. Once three rules are stacked, half the table has lost track and the reset is instant.
- Make a rule that hits everybody. A governor rule that only catches one player is a wasted rule.
- Count ahead. Work out your number and check it against every live rule before it reaches you.
- Speed is not required. Cheers to the Governor is an accuracy game, not a speed one. The table sets the pace.
Make It a Party Night
The whole game is a rule list, so having somewhere to write the governor's rules down is genuinely useful. More printable rules, scorecards and dare decks are in the Party Pack, and the free Party Starter Pack gets you going tonight.
Variations
Rules on Paper
Write every governor rule down as it is made. It keeps the count alive far longer than memory does.
Rule Cap
Cap the stack at five rules, retiring the oldest each time a new one is written. It stops the game from becoming unplayable an hour in.
This game involves alcohol. Please drink responsibly. Intended for adults 21 and older in the United States.
