The land mine drinking game is the game of choice for a party! Get your friends together, get some cans of beer, and you’re ready for a unique drinking game like no other. Land Mine stands out from games like Beer Pong and Waterfall.
It would be an excellent game for a bachelor or bachelorette party too. While the gameplay and rules are pretty simple, there is a lot of strategies involved in playing. However, you can, of course, ignore all this and just get drunk!
What is The Land Mine Drinking Game?
The Land Mine drinking game is simple to play but challenging to master. Like many drinking games, its history is a bit of a mystery. But the game was trendy at frat parties in the 90s and early 2000s.
The game isn’t quite as popular these days, but we think that makes it more special! The game is best played with a group of at least four people. But this really is a game that is – “the more, the merrier.”
You need a flat surface to play on, like a medium to a large table. Outdoor/ garden tables work particularly well for this. To start the game, a player spins a coin (the traditional choice is a quarter). They then must finish their drink before the coin stops spinning.
If the player finishes their beer, they can keep the can. This is important because it means the beer can later become a land mine. Player’s can use any land mines they have to slam down on the coin during another player’s turn!
The cans/ land mines stay in place on the table as well. This means as the game goes on, there will be less space to spin the coin. There are also numerous ways the game can be won, depending on what rules you choose. Although you can, of course, just play for fun!
What You’ll Need To Play?
To play the Land Mine drinking game, you’ll need a few different things. First of all, you’ll need cans of beer. Any beer can be used, but we don’t recommend opting for anything overly strong.
You’ll also need a coin to spin, and you can use plastic cups as well. While some rules ignore cups and say you can simply play with cans, we think cups add a new layer to the game. So, let’s take a look at why exactly that is.
Plastic Cups
So, why should you use cups? When playing the Land Mine drinking game, players bet on how much they can drink before spinning the coin. If they finish their cup before the coin falls over, they win the round.
Without using cups, players are left waiting till a whole can has been finished before it can be used. This effectively removes the betting aspect of the game, which in our opinion, makes the game less fun.
So, ideally, you should get some plastic cups ready if you want to play the Land Mine drinking game. These 20-ounce unbreakable plastic tumblers would make a great choice because they can be easily washed and reused for future games.
The Land Mine Drinking Game Rules and Gameplay
The Aim of The Game
So, what’s the aim of the Land Mind drinking game? Well, like most drinking games, the idea is just to have fun! However, unlike some games, there can be winners and losers. Depending on your end game rules, how this is decided can also be quite different!
But we’ll talk more about that at the end of our game guide. First, let’s go over how you set the game up and outline how you play, shall we?
The Set-Up
The set-up for Land Mine is quite simple. First of all, get all your cans of beer ready. Make sure you have enough to fill your playing space or to at least last a few rounds. The exact number you’ll need will depend on the number of players.
For a larger group game, we recommend having at least 30 cans at the ready. Don’t worry, any that don’t get drunk can always be saved for another game, can’t they? Then make sure every player has a cup. Then all you need to do is decide who will go first, and then you’re ready to play!
Game Rules
On your turn, you will first need to make a wager on how much you can drink. Now think carefully when you make your wager. If you play things safe and only wage a small amount of alcohol, you will likely finish your round before the coin falls over.
However, ideally, players will want to be able to finish a whole can. So, they can collect it as a land mine to use later. Each player should use a different can so everyone is playing on equal footing.
In the early game, you’re balancing risk vs. reward. If you wage a lot, then you can potentially get land mines to use first. But you are also running the risk of not being able to finish your drink in time. Once you have decided on your wager, you should pour the amount of beer into your cup.
Then you will spin the coin and start drinking. You need to use the same hand when it comes to drinking and spinning the coin. If you finish before the coin falls, then play moves to the next player. You also get to keep any cans once they are empty.
If you don’t finish in time, then you should immediately stop once the coin falls. Any beer left in your cup will need to be drunk on your next turn. That’s the basic gameplay, but we have to talk about how the land mines work.
Land Mines
Once you finish a beer can, it can be used as a land mine. Land mines can be slammed down on the coin during any other player’s turn. This immediately stops their current turn. Any player who hits a land mine will need to finish their drink and then take another turn.
So, players who hit multiple land mines will be getting drunk much more quickly. Once a can has been slammed down, it also stays on the table. Over time, these mines will build up and cover the table, leaving less space for the coin to spin.
End Game Rules
There are numerous different ways you can finish the land mine drinking game. In most rule sets, the game is over once the table has been completely covered in cans/ land mines. But how the winner is decided can vary.
The winner can be the player who places down the last can/ land mine. However, in some rules, the player with the empty cans (left unused) is the winner. While other rules say players should keep track of all the cans, they manage to finish throughout the game.
The player who drinks the most cans will win whether they have been used or not. Of course, you can ignore this whole bit if you prefer and just play to get drunk! If you decide to play with specific winner conditions, make sure all players know about them beforehand.
The Land Mine Drinking Game – A Fun, Unique Game!
So, that is everything you need to know about the Land Mine drinking game. This game is unique when it comes to drinking games and well worth playing.
It’s very much a party game at heart. So, not the best drinking game for two players. But if you can get a big group of friends together, you’ll be sure to enjoy playing the Land Mine drinking game.
