You’re a gamer, right? At least, you like to roll dice for a random chance to see if you succeeded at something in a made up situation in a fictitious world? I bet you like to have a few drinks with your friends, too. If these things are true, then you would probably like to play a drinking game! Not just any drinking game, though. You’re a little too refined for something like Kings, and you want something that provides more lasting entertainment than beer pong. Something that tells a story, and has replay value, like a role-playing game! Well it turns out that such a thing exists and it’s called Drinking Quest!
Conceived by the McDouble-ramming genius Jason Anarchy, Drinking Quest is a “drinking RPG”. Jason is a pretty cool dude and was kind enough to discuss the DQniverse with me recently. You can find the full interview here.
Drinking Quest is made up of three games: “Drinking Quest: The Original Drinking Game”, “Drinking Quest 2: Yeddy Vedder’s Yeti Adventure”, and “Drinking Quest 3: Nectar of the Gods”. Each chapter is currently sold separately, but a new, sexified version that contains all three is being introduced via Kickstarter. Check out “Trilogy Edition”!
Combining a standard pen-and-paper dice-roller with the elements of a drinking game, players take on the role of one of four heroes. Each represents a familiar trope from fantasy games like Chuglox the Bar Room Hero. He’s a warrior, he drinks hard, hits hard, and has the highest Sexual Prowess of all the characters (yes, that’s actually an attribute in the game). Another example is Daiquiran the Witch; a sorceress with an attitude.
Each game is made up of four quests. Each quest gets its own pile of cards. On his or her turn, each player has the option to visit a shop to buy upgraded weapons, armor and items with hard earned gold. After making a purchase, or not, the player flips a card from the appropriate quest pile. It will either be a monster or some sort of challenge that requires a saving throw against one of your attributes. Killing monsters gains you XP and other rewards. Winning saving throws can earn you gold or buffs to your attributes. Players work their way through all four quests, restoring hit points and visiting the shop in between each. Once the last quest has been completed, the player with the highest XP wins.
So far, we haven’t mentioned the drinking part of this game. Here’s the thing: the world of is a dangerous one. Adventurers tend to die. A lot. When a player dies, his character can drink a Bellow Ale, an in game item that restores up to 1D6 of hit points. If you’re out of Bellow Ale, you can still bring your character back by chugging your drink in real life! The game has a “one chug per quest” rule, allowing three swigs as a fair substitute if you’ve already chugged your drink. The point is to have fun, not drink yourself into a stupor.
The rules are simple and easy to pick up, and the game’s light, RPG style allow for a round of Drinking Quest to play through pretty quickly if you’re pressed for time. But there’s a pervasive sense of humor that makes lots of nerdy and pop-culture related references. The first quest of the original game is called Lolevel Forest. One of the characters, Bartlebut the Berserker starts the game off with a Flaccid Axe. There’s even jokes in the art if you look hard enough. A lot of the humor revolves around video games and other facets of nerd culture and there will be times during the game where you will laugh out loud. Taking time to actually enjoy the game, and enjoy your drinks, allows for a slower paced, relaxed style of play. It’s the perfect way to spend time with some friends while knocking back a few. Just remember to drink responsibly… it’s in the rules!
Coming Soon – On a Quest, Part III: The Drinking Quest Comic Review!
Be sure to check out DrinkingQuest.com for more info (and a five page comic sampler) and, for the next six days, the Drinking Quest: Trilogy Edition Kickstarter.
fun stuff!