A good ‘zomedy’ is one of the best foundations for a movie-inspired drinking game. This guide will teach you how to play one of my favorites: the Zombieland drinking game.
I don’t remember how many times I’ve seen Zombieland, but I am pretty sure that I’ve had some drink in hand each and every time. This type of wild comedy mixed with horror elements simply works best when combined with a glass of wine or two.
But last year, when I was planning out a Halloween party for my friends, I realized this movie could be turned into a fabulous movie drinking game, too. (By the way, here are some other good tips for Halloween drinking games).
Of course, I soon found out that I wasn’t the first to come up with this idea – there are many guides on playing the Zombieland drinking game online, and some are really good.
Nevertheless, I am proud to tell you that the rules below are probably the best you can find, as they’ve been meticulously tested and proven by me and my friends.
What You’ll Need to Play Zombieland Drinking Game?
If you want to play the Zombieland drinking game, make sure you have the following:
- Zombieland movie in any form (DVD, VOD, online streaming, TV, etc.)
- A device to play the movie
- Alcoholic beverages of your choice (beer, wine, spirits, mixed drinks, etc.)
- A couple of friends to join you
- A comfortable place to sit
1. Why Zombieland?
When I started discovering all the movie-inspired drinking games out there, I was amazed at the great variety of genres they comprised.
I was particularly surprised to see how many drinking games involved films that were originally intended for children! (Like the Harry Potter drinking game, for example).
On the other hand, creating a drinking game around films like Zombieland sounds completely logical to me. This savage black comedy makes us imagine that our world has been taken over by bloodthirsty zombies, which in itself is a pretty good reason to have a drink, isn’t it?
Here are a few other reasons why I personally think Zombieland as a drinking game works so well:
- The movie is genuinely hilarious, with tons of crazy jokes that sound even better after a couple of drinks. Good laughter is guaranteed.
- Alcohol also appears in the movie (Tallahassee, the character played by Woody Harrelson, is quite fond of whiskey), so drinking along the film almost feels like you’re a part of it.
- The film is full of catchy phrases and unforgettable moments that work great as drinking triggers.
- If you don’t have enough when the movie ends, you can continue playing while watching its sequel, Zombieland 2!
Moreover, the game is straightforward and does not require any special preparations. Let’s move on to the instructions, and you’ll see for yourself.
2. Setup
Before you start playing, make sure to:
- Get the movie ready
- Allow each player to sit where they can comfortably see and hear what’s happening in the movie.
- Grab the drinks and place them on a surface where everyone can reach them. Preparing some snacks and non-alcoholic beverages is certainly a good idea, too.
When you’re ready, press play and start watching the movie.
How to Play Zombieland Drinking Game: Rules and Gameplay
The rules of this game are pretty simple. All you have to do is watch out for any of the triggering phrases, sights, or situations below, and then have a drink (or a sip of a drink) of your choice.
Have a drink whenever:
- Columbus mentions a new rule for surviving the apocalypse
- A Zombie is killed (prepare for lots of drinking with this one)
- A jump scare occurs
- A character reveals their real name (they’re called after their hometowns)
- Someone drinks in the movie
- Someone says: “Twinkie.”
- Someone drops the f*** bomb (beware, I’ve counted 28 of them)
If you want to make the game even wilder, you can add the optional ‘waterfall’ rule: When it’s triggered, everyone starts drinking and cannot stop until the player to their right stops first.
Here are a few situations that can trigger ‘waterfall’:
- Someone earns the title “Zombie Kill of the Week.”
- A random celebrity appears in a cameo role
- Someone says: “Nut up or shut up!”
Alternatively, each of the abovementioned triggers can apply only to one of the players. If they forget about it (and someone else notices their mistake), they must have a double drink as a penalty.
Additional Tips
Playing movie drinking games is one of the funniest ways of enjoying a drink with your friends. Nevertheless, I’ve noticed that it’s pretty easy to forget about the basic rules of moderation while you’re immersed in the film.
So, if you want to have good memories of this experience, take the following advice into account:
- When it comes to alcohol, we all have different tastes and tolerance. Don’t force every player to drink the same type and amount of alcohol. If someone enjoys a sip of wine just as much as you enjoy a shot of spirit, it’s okay!
- Eat well before you start playing, and have some snacks at hand during the game, too. Your body will cope with the alcohol much better this way.
- Don’t play drinking games (including Zombieland) with anyone you don’t feel comfortable around. This is a game for good friends who can rely on each other.
- If anyone feels like they don’t want to continue drinking, don’t force them. They can continue playing with a non-alcoholic drink – or just watch the movie normally.
- Make sure you know how you’ll get home safely after the game. Or, even better, play the game somewhere you can all stay for the night.
Who Wins?
The original version of this game does count the winners and losers among all. We could probably say that everyone who can stand straight when the film ends can be considered a winner.
However, if you’d like to make the Zombieland drinking game competitive, there are a few ways to adapt it.
You can, for example, award penalty points whenever someone forgets about drinking when they’re supposed to. Or award good points to the player who grabs their drink first when the trigger appears.
Whoever has the most good points (or the least bad points) when the film ends becomes the winner. Of course, alternatively, you can opt for some other drinking games that are naturally competitive, such as Beer Pong, Ride the Bus, or King’s Cup.
