Kings Cup: Full Rules, Card Meanings, and House Rules
By Drunkdeck · Published July 24, 2026
Kings Cup (also called Circle of Death or King's Cup) is a card game where every rank triggers a different rule, and one card in the deck stacks the stakes for everyone. You need a standard 52-card deck, cups or glasses, and at least four players sitting in a circle around a shared "king's cup" in the middle.
Setup
- Spread the deck face-down in a circle around an empty cup.
- Each player pours a small amount of their drink into the shared cup whenever a King is drawn.
- Players take turns drawing one card and applying its rule.
- The game ends when the fourth King is drawn: that player drinks the entire king's cup.
Card-to-rule mapping
| Card | Rule |
|---|---|
| Ace | Waterfall: everyone drinks continuously, starting with the drawer, and can only stop once the person before them stops. |
| 2 | You: pick a player to drink. |
| 3 | Me: the drawer drinks. |
| 4 | Floor: last person to touch the floor drinks. |
| 5 | Guys: all male-identifying players drink. |
| 6 | Chicks: all female-identifying players drink. |
| 7 | Heaven: last person to raise a hand drinks. |
| 8 | Mate: pick a drinking buddy who drinks whenever you do for the rest of the game. |
| 9 | Rhyme: the drawer says a word, and going around, each player rhymes with it until someone fails and drinks. |
| 10 | Categories: the drawer names a category, and players name items in it until someone fails and drinks. |
| Jack | Make a rule: the drawer invents a rule that stands for the rest of the game. |
| Queen | Question master: the drawer becomes question master; anyone who answers their questions drinks, until the next Queen is drawn. |
| King | Pour into the king's cup: the fourth King drawn means that player drinks the whole cup. |
Common house rules
Groups vary on a few cards: some play Aces as "waterfall in reverse" (first person stops first), some make Jacks stack (multiple rules can be active at once), and some let the Mate rule end when the mate finishes their own drink instead of lasting the whole game. Agree on variations before the first King is drawn.
Play Kings Cup-style rounds inside Drunkdeck
Drunkdeck doesn't require a physical deck of cards: the NSFW deck includes rule-based cards inspired by classics like Kings Cup, dealt digitally so nobody has to carry playing cards to the party. Start with the SFW deck for a tamer version of the same rule-card format.
Playing with alcohol? See Responsible Drinking for pacing tips and alcohol-free options that work with any of these rules.