What You'll Need
- Four or more players around one table
- Drinks, all placed in the middle of the table
- Nothing else at all
Setup
Everyone circles the table with the drinks in the middle. That is the entire setup. Medusa needs no cards, no cups, no ball, and no table space, which makes it the game you start when the last one has just fallen apart.
How to Play
Heads Down
Every player puts their head down. Nobody is looking at anybody.
On Three
Count to three out loud. On three, everyone looks up at the same time and stares straight at one other player. You have to commit to a person before you know where anyone else is looking.
Locking Eyes
If the person you picked is staring straight back at you, you have both been caught. You both yell Medusa, and you both drink.
Getting Away With It
If you are staring at someone who is looking somewhere else, you are safe for that round. Heads go back down and the next round starts.
Winning
There is no scoring and no winner. Rounds are the whole game, and they keep coming.
Tips and Strategy
- There is no strategy, and that is the point. No talking, no pointing, no signalling. Everything happens in the second after heads come up.
- A round takes about ten seconds. Nobody stays safe for long, because the game runs faster than any other on this list.
- Do not change your pick halfway. Hesitating is how you end up looking at three people in one round and catching an argument about it.
- Keep the drinks in the middle. It stops people looking down at their own drink instead of up at the table.
Make It a Party Night
Medusa needs no equipment, which makes it the perfect filler between the games that do. More printable rules, scorecards and dare decks are in the Party Pack, and the free Party Starter Pack gets you going tonight.
Variations
Last One Standing
Anyone who gets caught twice sits the next round out. The shrinking circle makes eye contact far harder to avoid.
Silent Medusa
Drop the shout and keep only the drink. It is quieter, and it is much harder to tell who has just been caught.
This game involves alcohol. Please drink responsibly. Intended for adults 21 and older in the United States.
