Ultimate Guide to The Best Beer Olympics Games & Events

When summer arrives for a wedding planner or any planner, it means time for parties. This summer has been so busy that I had to wait until later in the season to finally plan some fun events, but having two in one weekend made up for that. Enter the first Beer Olympics games we held in Baltimore! We all had a great time together, with some friendly competition and endless laughs. Below, I am giving you the exact steps, games to set up, and details you should consider before hosting your own beer Olympics games. 

I have wanted to attend or throw a Beer Olympic games for years. With the games starting the first week of August, it was necessary to gather our friends and kick off the sports with our own version of ceremonies. To have a successful series of events, I suggest following the information below and understanding that it takes a bit of work to get it together, but it’s worth it! 

Buy everything you need to host the ultimate Beer Olympics games on this list.

The Prep Work 

Sending out the invite. I used a Facebook event every year. It’s easy to invite friends and they are able to add their friends and partners as well. In the invite you will want to include:

• Team information: we always had teams of two, though you could have teams of four depending on the number of people and number of teams you want. Each team should pick a country. The host should have a master list of countries to ensure no two are the same. We had teams from all over the world represented and it was the best day.
• Beer information: we provide 2 cases of beer (sometimes a few extra cases- you really do need copious amounts of beer) and jello shots for the group, everyone else should bring their favorite beer (or other drink or non-alcoholic beverages) to consume before, during and after the games. We recommend at least a whole case of beer per team. Inform everyone that they should not bring beer bottles as most games will need cans, plus it’s safer. 
• Food information: every team should bring food to represent their country of choice. We also provide pizza at the end of the games. 

Choosing your games. We have done anywhere from 6 games to 10 games, between 7-8 is the sweet spot. This gives people time to arrive before starting and time to hang out after. Below are a few game ideas we have tried and enjoyed! 

Find a referee or two. You need this! There will be close calls, lots of yelling (mostly in good fun), etc. You need someone who will keep things in line, blow the whistle, etc. 

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The Decorations. 

It’s up to you how much you want to go all out; we always tried to have some semblance of Olympic decor with a mix of flags, streamers, banners, tablecloths for the food tables. 

Print out waivers. 

We always had safety waivers for everyone to sign. With a mix of drinking, some people who you now and others you don’t, it’s important to ensure everyone is covered. 

Things to Buy/Prep. 

• Trophy: You could either make a beautiful beer can trophy or you could buy medals. We have done both, medals are easiest for large groups and 3 teams of winners (gold, silver, bronze)
• Whistles. 
• Lots of plastic cups. 
• Markers. 
• Plates. 
• Napkins. 
• Paper towels. 
• ​Trash bags. 
• Poster board for the game board. 
• Various game objects as outlined with each game below. 
• ​Puke buckets (just in case!)
• Cases of water 

The Games. 

Oh the games, this is where the party starts! We have played a wide range of games, some we loved and some we didn’t, but it’s always been fun to mix it up. Some of these are still our favorite drinking game. 

Most games include all teams at one time. However, there will be cases where you should have a bracket system prepared or two different games going at once for separate teams. 

3-beer Chugging Contest– The perfect game to start the games! Each team should pour three beers into a container. Once the whistle blows, the team members can only pass the container twice! This means the first player will drink a max of two times, but the second person will only drink once. Drink as quickly as you can! The first team to turn their plastic cup upside down wins! 

You will need: large containers, bit enough to hold 3 beers | How to win: be the first, second or third to finish your beer

Beer Relay Race– pour one beer into a red cup and determine your relay location. Teammate 1 should run the relay with the beer cup in the palm of their hand without spilling, they should then pass off to Teammate 2 without spilling. When Teammate 2 crosses the finish line, they must check the beer level with the ref and then chug the beer. 

You will need: cups  | How to win: be the first, second or third to finish your beer

Ice Cube Relay Race– fill an ice cube tray with beer and elect one team member from each team to participate. Once the whistle blows, drink the beer through the straw with your hands behind your back. 

You will need: ice cube trays and straws | How to win: be the first, second or third to finish your beer

Dizzy Bat- This classic game likely doesn’t need an explanation, but I’ll give it anyway. One person (the batter) fills the bat with a can of beer, giving the empty beef can to the second player. The initial batter places their forehead on the top of the bat and spins around it with their forehead still in contact, making themselves dizzy. After spinning around the bat ten times, their teammate then tosses the beer can and the batter has to hit it. Once they hit it, the teammates switch places and the second player spins 10 times and attempts to hit the beer can.

You will need bats with the top of the handle cut off and beer | How to win: Be the first team to have each player hit the can. First, second and third place awarded.

Beer Pong or Giant Pong- we made a large beer pong table so 8 teams could compete at once. We usually had 16+ teams, so we had rounds to determine winners to move to the final round. This was pure chaos and fun times! Standard beer pong is fine if you can’t build a large table! You should use a bracket system in this case. 

You will need: pong balls and cups | How to win: Be the last team standing at the pong table. We awarded points to the final 4 teams. 

Battleship Pong- set up two small kiddie pools with small floats and cups of beer. Floats for cups would be perfect! The opposite team should try to sink their balls into your floating cups. This will be a bracketed event. 

You will need: small pools, small floats, solo cups, pong balls | How to win: Be one of the last four teams standing

Slip and flip relay- a combination of two amazing experiences. Slip-n-Slides setup into kiddie pools in-front of a table for flip cup. Two players at a time will start at the top, slide their way down, drink their beer, flip their cup and signal for their teammate to run up and do the same. Each player should slip and flip twice. This is a bracketed event. 

You will need: kiddie pools, slip-n-slides (we used this tarp), soap, floats, a hose, a table, and cups | How to win: be one of the final four teams in the bracket 

Survivor Flip Cup- one of my favorites! Every teammate should try to score points in this game. Everyone starts together, playing flip cup. The last person to flip their cup out of each round is eliminated. The final two players battle each other with three cups to drink and flip each. 

You will need: cups (and lots of beer!) | How to win: be one of the final two standings for the highest score; the final 4 should also get a few points. 

Drunk Waiter Relay- Each team should have 6 cups on a tray with three beers split between the cups. Teammate 1 should spin around 5 times and follow a path without spilling beer. If a beer spills, they must refill the cups and start again. They will then go back to their teammate for their teammate to repeat the process. Once both teammates have returned, they should drink the beer as quickly as possible. 

You will need: Trays and cups | How to win: be the first, second or third to finish your beer

Boat Race- This is a fun game that brings two teams together! We would match teams by score- the current highest scoring with the lowest scoring, etc. Start by sitting on the ground and forming a line. Prepare your beer shotgun style to consume quickly. Once the whistle blows, the player in the front should shotgun their beer then once finished, signal for their teammate behind them. Once all players have consumed their beer, the fastest team should stand up. 

You will need: beer! | How to win: be the first, second or third to finish your beer

Booze Ball or Beer Ball- Each team will set two upside-down beers on each corner of the table. Once the whistle blows, the first team will aim to hit the opposing team’s beer with their ball. Once hit, the throwing team should flip their can, crack their beer, and start drinking. Meanwhile, the team that was hit should find where the ball lands and grab it. As soon as they hit the table with the ball, the throwing team should stop drinking. To win, both of your team mates should have an empty can. This will be bracket style. 

You will need: tables, can of beer for each player, ping-pong balls | How to win: be one of the final four teams in the bracket 

Shots of War- there should be clear dividers on the table before starting this game. Each player should have one cup and a few beers, and there should be 1 shot in the middle of the divided sections. It starts as a flip cup; as you flip your cup, the shot should move one spot closer to the opposing player. With each flip from either side, the shot is moving. Once the shot is as far as it will go either way, the loser must take the shot and the winner moves onto the next round. This will be bracket style. 

You will need: tables, a shot (we had jello shots), cups | How to win:  be one of the final four teams in the bracket 

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Scoring System

There are a few games where four teams will win rather than 3, which is totally fine! The higher the scores and the chance to get competitive, the better! 

We scored as follows: 

• First place for each game: 20 points
• Second place for each game: 15 points
• Third place for each game: 10 points 
• If there was an instance where there are 3rd and 4th places for a game, they both get 5 points

Olympic Game Day Itinerary 

Arrive early to get everything setup for as many games as possible. I always tried to schedule the games I could setup in advance to start before lunch. Then lunch was always a time to change up the setups for the second half of the events. 

Have a specific space for coolers and beer. 

Opening ceremonies 

As the event’s host, I usually kicked off the opening ceremony with a reminder of a few rules (lame- I know but it was the best way to have everyones attention) and reminding everyone to fill out a waiver. I let everyone know about the timeline of events and introduced each country.  If it’s helpful, our rules are:

• If you need to puke, do so in a provided bucket or have 15 points deducted from your team! 
• Be nice & don’t be dumb. These games are all in on fun and it’s meant to be an exciting summer day 

May the odds be ever in your favor! Good luck! 

Between Games

We all did a jello shot together between each game to give a bit of a breather and chat before starting. 

Lunch Break 

Once you are halfway through the games, everyone needs some food in their stomach! We always had such a great variety of options, from Lumpia to waffles. It was always fun to hang out together and consume something other than beer for a bit. It’s also a great idea to start prepping for the next games while everyone is enjoying lunch. 

Back to the Games

End the events with your final 3-4 games. 

Closing Ceremony

The big reveal when the gold medal, silver medal and bronze medal are awarded. This was always a very fun ending to the events. After medals were provided, we always gathered for a group photo with our Olympic flag. 

We lived on the water so the end of the beer Olympics always meant we went for a swim and hung out through the end of the night. This gave people the chance to sober up even though most people would spend the night. 

With each year we learned a little bit about how to throw a fun beer olympics game. We played several games, had lots of drinks and had a blast hanging out all together.  It’s always one of those days where you just want to step back and take it all in. I love it when we have so many of our close friends all together in one place at one time, enjoying life.

Have you ever participated in Beer Olympics event? I highly recommend it! 

Have you ever played these games?