Ride the bus
| Type | Drinking |
|---|---|
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | Ace(A)-Two(2) |
| Playing time | 15 minutes |
Ride the bus is a drinking game played through using a standard pack of cards. The object of the game is to have the fewest cards at the end of the round.
Setup
The first part of the game is for the dealer to set up the table of cards, called The Bus. This can be done in two ways;
Diamond
This method requires 9 cards, placed in a diamond pattern of 1,2,3,2,1 cards, so that the start and end of the Bus are shorter than the center. If there are eight people, you must arrange an extra row.
Triangle
This requires placing 10 cards face down on the table in a non-overlapping triangle. The triangle consists of 4, 3, 2, and 1 card per layer, with the apex facing the dealer.
Deal
The dealer deals four cards to each player, beginning on their left. Remaining cards are left aside in the pile. The pile is left aside as it will be used at the end of the round.
Alternate Dealing Pattern
The dealer deals cards to each player in 5 rounds and each time the player gets the answer wrong, he/she must drink:
- Player must guess the colour of the card (black or red).
- Player must guess the suit of the card (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts).
- Player must guess whether the card is higher, lower, or between the previous two cards.
- Player must guess whether the card will be the same or different face value than the previous cards received.
"Riding the Bus"
The dealer then turns a card in the furthest row of the Bus. All players with a card with the same face value may choose to play as many as they have and then discard the played cards. If a player has a playable card, they nominate any other player to take a drink of the victim's choice. If the card turned over was from the bottom row (4 cards), the player with a playable card can nominate another player to take one drink. Each successive row increases the amount of drinks the nominated player can be forced to take (or the drinks can be distributed amongst several players at the player with the playable card's discretion). Ex. If a player with a playable card plays his/her card in the last row of the bus containing only 1 card, the player can nominate 1 player to take 4 drinks or nominate several players to take a drink.
Play continues with the Dealer gradually showing every card in the Bus, being sure to empty each row before uncovering the next.
The game ends once the card in the bottom row of the Bus has been acquired. The player with the most cards remaining will continue playing from the beginning using the alternate deal until he/she guesses the answer correct.
External links
- "Game Plan: Ride the Bus", 9/30/05, The Daily Orange
- "Drinking Games Rules: Ride The Bus"
- "Ride the Bus to Hell"
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