Beer Darts is a drinking game that involves throwing sharp objects at people’s feet. Well, I guess the goal is to not hit people’s feet. Nevertheless, if you get through this game without a sharp prick to your lower extremities, you’re doing alright. Maybe just don’t wear flip-flops.

The real goal is to hit your opponent’s beer can as many times as you can with your darts. This way, you force them to drink, and you win the game.

Beer darts is best played outdoors, as you need plenty of room and there can definitely be spills. It’s perfect for a tailgate, backyard cookout, camping trip, or just a weekend hangout!

What You Need

  • 2-4 people
  • As many chairs as people
  • As many darts as people
  • Several beer cans
  • Your own personal drink for sippin’
  • Optional: some pizza boxes (we’ll explain later)
  • Optional: a ready-made beer darts game set
Dart hitting beer can.

Beer Darts Setup

To play beer darts, you need at least two people. You can play as teams, with multiple people on each team, as long as you have an even number. 

This game is played sitting down in chairs (although you could theoretically do it standing if you want to, or if you just don’t have chairs). Either way, you should be 10 feet apart and facing each other.

Beer darts game setup.

For a 2-person game, players will be sitting in the chairs with full, unopened beer cans in front of them by their feet. This is where the pizza box (or anything similar) can come in handy as a shield with which to protect your feet. If you haven’t been snacking on pizza… that was your first mistake. You should always have a pizza. If you’ve got nothing substantial to use as a guard, just make sure you’re straddling the can wide enough so you do not become the dart board.

For a 4-person game, team members sit next to each other, still 10 feet from opponents. But in this case, the beer can sits in the middle of the two team members. A pizza box or a cooler will still work well as a backboard.

Finally, an Innovation in Beer Darts

If you want to make your beer darts-ing quite a bit easier, a small company in Colorado has created a wooden set so you no longer have to scramble for darts and use a greasy pizza box to hold your beer can. Everything is self-contained in the wooden carrier (except the beer of course), which makes for a really easy way to play beer darts anywhere. Check ’em out on Amazon, or on their website, beerdarts.co.

Beer darts on the lake.
Source: beerdarts.co

The Gameplay & Drinking Rules

Each player will take turns throwing a dart at the beer can in front of their opponent. Depending on where it hit, either you or your opponent will drink a certain amount, as follows:

  • If you hit and puncture your opponent’s can, they drink down to where the puncture happened. If it was at the very bottom, they drink the whole thing and get a new beer.
  • If you hit but do not picture your opponent’s can, you must take a sip from your own personal drink. 
  • Any can that is hit 3 times must be consumed in full by whoever it is sitting in front of. Then replace it and continue.
  • If you hit your opponent, you must finish your own personal drink.
  • If a dart goes into the hole of your opponent’s open can, they must drink the whole thing and replace it.
  • A point is won when an opponent must finish and replace their beer can.

Players should decide how many points warrants a victory. This could be 1 or 2, if you’re playing a 2-person game, or maybe 4 or 5 if you’re playing a 4-player game. It should be low enough that it won’t leave the loser incapacitated!

As always, be safe, know your limits, and drink plenty of water while playing any drinking game! If you’re looking for more fun, check out other party drinking games here.

Comments are closed.