Have you ever looked around during a game of beer pong and wished there was a way to prove you made a 5 on your AP US History exam?
Or have you ever thought Monopoly could incorporate a few more beers?
Wacky hijinks and Nick Miller not included, this is the ultimate guide to True American, your new favorite pregame.
Last semester my roommates and I scoured the internet and stumbled through our first game of True American in our apartment as a pregame to our sorority semi-formal. We had so much fun that the very next weekend we invited a couple of friends over for a game. Soon, True American became a new crowd favorite and one of our weekend go-tos. There are no official rules, (well, there is an official website) but this is how we played it – enjoy!
The basic setup
Start by finding a centrally located coffee table/coffee table-like structure to be your “game board.”
Gather your beer cans and arrange them in an X (the beers are the “pawns”), and put one handle of liquor or bottle of wine (the “king”) in the middle. Then create a trail of chairs/couches/stools around the central coffee table.
During the game, you will move across these “spaces,” which the X on the coffee table divides into four zones. Designate four spaces to mark the boundaries between zones.
I’ve found that this works best with twelve spaces, four spaces marking the boundaries with two in between each zone. Of course, you can easily divide couches into two or three spaces.
The floor is lava so you can make getting around the circle as easy or hard as you like. No matter what, players will inevitably be sharing spaces at times, so get comfy!
Playing the game
The game starts with a shotgun tip-off.
Once the oldest player yells “JFK!” and all players call back “FDR,” each player grabs a pawn and runs to a space.
From then on, the floor is lava.
On your turn
Determine turns by the shotgun tip-off with the winner going first. When it is your turn you have three options:
A. Finish the quote
Think of a quote from US History, and say the first half of it for the group. The player who finishes the quote correctly first moves forward two spaces.
You: “Give me liberty, or…”
Player 2: “Give me death!”
B. Three things
Name at least three things related to the United States that fall under a certain category. The player who guesses the common trait first gets to move forward three spaces. For inspiration from American history, check out this article on the history of American fashion culture.
You: “Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Andrew Johnson.”
Player 3: “Presidents that have been impeached.”
C. FDR
One person shouts “FDR” and all players hold up a number to their forehead.
Anyone who holds up the same number as the active player gets to move one space forward.
How to win
The object of the game is to be the first to take a sip from the “king,” or the bottle in the middle. Once all of the pawns are cleared from the center, any player who has finished their drink and lands on one of the boundary spots may take a drink from the king and win the game!
In order to clear the pawns, all players must have a pawn in hand at all times. Once a player lands on a boundary space, they can finish their drink and call, “All trash belongs…” and all players respond “In the junkyard!” The player can then toss their empty can in the trash and grab a new pawn.
If any player is caught with an empty pawn, they must forego their next turn. The faster you move around the circle, the faster the pawns can be cleared.
House rules
The key to having fun with True American is making it your own!
Feel free to amend this guide as needed. Here are some alterations to consider:
If you’re underage
Oh America, land of the highest drinking age.
If you or your friends are under 21, swap the pawns from beers to an even more American drink, Coca-Cola.
The king can be a box of Twinkies, a McDonald’s Happy Meal, or whatever your favorite American food is.
The game is played the same way, and the first to take a bite from the king gets to keep the food to themselves.
If your pregames are very well-attended
Pick teams in the beginning by counting down from three and holding up a random number of fingers to your head.
Whoever is matching numbers is on a team If more than three people end up on the same team, redo the process until the teams are more even.
If your guests keep saying the game is too complicated
Get rid of the “boundary space” concept and allow players to grab a new drink whenever they finish the one in hand.
Once the pawns are cleared, the player who makes a full revolution around the circle from where they started can drink from the king.
If your guests say it’s not complicated enough
Each boundary can have a different challenge. Designate one space as the “pledge lot.” Whoever lands on the Pledge Lot must recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If they cannot, they must finish their drink.
Call one boundary space the British Quarter, in which whoever is in the British Quarter or the zone next to it must speak in a British accent the whole time. Again, if they can’t, they must finish their drink.
The third boundary space is the Topsy Turvy space. Whoever lands on this space must stand on one foot until it is their turn again. If not, they must finish their drink.
Finally, the last boundary space is the Talent space. Whoever lands here must perform a talent for the group!
If no one at the party had a Hamilton phase
Try opening up the theme to anything if the trivia aspect is frustrating. If you are playing with your soccer team, the game can be “True Footballer”- the same rules apply, but just modified to be about soccer. For example, you could name three Manchester United players instead of the founding fathers.
Once my friends and I played a “Boston Tea Party” round about our university using inside jokes or campus celebrity quotes for “finish the quote.” For “three things” we brought up drama from college and our unpopular opinions.
Now that you know how to play, it’s time to find out if you have what it takes to be a True American. 1! 2! 3! JFK!
